Had my CX-5 for just under a week now and I'm kinda surprised by how much I like the Bose system after all. I'm one of those who typically dislikes Bose with a passion and was expecting the worst (plus having read all the criticism of it in the reviews of the car itself).
Straight up, the bass is pretty boomy and the sound very front-heavy (coming from the dash), but I've adjusted it in a way that I find pretty pleasing - though quite a bit different from how I've typically set the EQ in my other cars.
I have the bass set right in the middle (0), with the treble around +3 or 4 (out of 6 iirc). Biggest change for me is having the fader set toward the back - about 2/3 of the way right of center on the slide control. I've never set a fader so far to the rear before, but that's how I like it here. It takes much of the boominess out of the bass and gives me a much better soundstage up front. It also really emphasizes the differences in some recordings. I listen to a lot of acoustic jazz, and on some CDs the drums seem to come from the very back of the car while piano and horns come from the front. Strangely, other recordings have much less front-back "stereo" presence. Have yet to figure out exactly why - may have something to do with Bose's sound processing. I also prefer it all with Centerpoint turned off.
Was curious how others have EQ tweaked their stock Bose systems. I may replace the dash speakers eventually with what I've read about here - the Polks i believe - but I'm no longer in any hurry. Curious, too, if anyone's disconnected the center dash speaker so as to emphasize the stereo imaging? Or would that ruin it? Does anyone know if the center speaker is summed, processed, or EQ'd differently? Thanks!
Straight up, the bass is pretty boomy and the sound very front-heavy (coming from the dash), but I've adjusted it in a way that I find pretty pleasing - though quite a bit different from how I've typically set the EQ in my other cars.
I have the bass set right in the middle (0), with the treble around +3 or 4 (out of 6 iirc). Biggest change for me is having the fader set toward the back - about 2/3 of the way right of center on the slide control. I've never set a fader so far to the rear before, but that's how I like it here. It takes much of the boominess out of the bass and gives me a much better soundstage up front. It also really emphasizes the differences in some recordings. I listen to a lot of acoustic jazz, and on some CDs the drums seem to come from the very back of the car while piano and horns come from the front. Strangely, other recordings have much less front-back "stereo" presence. Have yet to figure out exactly why - may have something to do with Bose's sound processing. I also prefer it all with Centerpoint turned off.
Was curious how others have EQ tweaked their stock Bose systems. I may replace the dash speakers eventually with what I've read about here - the Polks i believe - but I'm no longer in any hurry. Curious, too, if anyone's disconnected the center dash speaker so as to emphasize the stereo imaging? Or would that ruin it? Does anyone know if the center speaker is summed, processed, or EQ'd differently? Thanks!