The posts in this forum helped me a great deal when upgrading the audio in my 2018 CX-5 (non-Bose) so I thought I'd return the favour and write about some of the issues I encountered which I couldn't find much information on. Hopefully my experiences will be of use to someone else.
I'll try not to repeat too much of what has already been well stated and just focus on those areas where I couldn't find all the information on that I needed.
Firstly, as soon as I took my CX-5 home, I realised the audio was appalling. I was used to the stock unit in an F30 and the CX-5 just sounded terrible.
So, after a lot of research on these forums, I ordered some speaker adapter brackets (didn*t have the time or equipment to make my own) and some Hertz DSK 165.3 components.
Installing these was simple as the passive crossovers that come with the DSK are just high pass filters for the tweeters, and a full range signal goes to the mid-woofer. Hence everything can be replaced directly without any extra wiring (the crossovers can be stuffed in the A-pillars and only connected to the tweeters).
At this stage the audio was clearly better but lacked bass, so I bought a Kenwood KSC-SW11 under-seat subwoofer. I wired this to the speaker wires in the A-pillars, just before the high pass filter, and the power came direct from the fuse box (just 10A so no need to go to the battery).
This made an incredible difference and I was very happy with the results but noticed that there was still a massive peak in volume at around 150Hz and almost nothing at the frequencies just above and below that. Certain songs I was hearing often would have one very loud bass note in a melody, with other bass notes in the same melody almost inaudible. That really bugged me.
I decided that I needed an equalizer and decided on a DSP/amp combination as I was keen to go active.
I got the Sony XM-GS6DSP 6 channel amp/DSP and as I had 2 extra channels I also bought a shallow mount Pioneer TS-SWX3002 sub-woofer and removed the under-seat sub. This sub is unobtrusive and when lying flat you can pile stuff on top so it doesn*t affect boot space too much.
It took quite a lot of time to tune the DSP to my liking, but I got it sounding very nice eventually.
One thing that I wasn't expecting though, was that even with the DSP time alignment turned off, it was not possible to get a decent sound with the rear speakers turned up (they are still connected directly to the stock amp). I put this down to a small inherent delay in the amp/DSP which causes an echoey sound. If I want to use the rears in future I could use the 2 extra channels on this amp and get a separate amp for the sub, but for now I am ok with the rears being permanently off. I don't believe I have read of anyone else having this problem, so I don't know if this particular amp/DSP has more of a delay than others. The EQ and time alignment are both off, so I guess the active crossover is the circuit introducing the (very minor but audible) delay.
Anyway, although everything sounded great there was still that awkward peaking that could not be controlled (this amp/DSP does not have a parametric equalizer so I couldn't EQ it like originally planned).
Testing with the doors open, I realised that the issue was purely with the acoustics of the car, so I decided to treat the doors with STP Black Gold (the best available alternative to Dynamat).
This is where I ran into a lack of information. A lot of cars seem to give easy access to the outer door shell for sound damping, but Mazda do not.
Having already removed the door panels, I was aware that there was another panel (the Front Door Module Panel) underneath. It made no sense to put sound damping on the plastic panel (even though I*ve seen some examples of that) so I needed to get that off.
Removing this inner panel is not easy and there are a lot of very awkward clips that need to be removed to free it from the cables. This took me forever on the first door, but when I did the second door, I unscrewed the panel before removing the wires attached to it. This allowed me to push out the clips from the back and was actually very easy.
I was nervous about removing my window but had seen a video of a similar Mazda (possibly a Miata) and the window was taped in place (once unbolted) so that the inner panel could be removed. This didn't work for me, and I ended up having to remove the windows completely.
With the inner panel and window removed, it was easy to add damping to the outer door shell (and some on the inner shell). I managed the first door without cutting up my hands but had less luck on the second and wish I*d have worn gloves.
Putting the windows back proved tricky and although I thought I*d done it correctly, I later found out that my passenger side window was not properly slotted into the window guide and a couple of months later the window got partly stuck half way up. I believe part of the guide (on the rear-side of the window) was on the inside of the window and part of it on the outside. Through time, the point where the rubber crossed from one side to the other had moved and this had caused problems with the window. I had to remove the window again to get it to fit back nicely but there is now some minor cosmetic damage to the window guide/seal rubber.
The sound damping solved the issue with the peaking and made a big improvement to the sound in general so was well worth it though.
Having expanded so much on the original upgrade scope, I considered that it might be worth installing some higher end speakers than the Hertz DSK but I decided that any improvements would be marginal and disappointing compared to the earlier upgrades.
The only minor niggle I've experienced with this system is that when the iStop restarts the engine in the first few minutes of driving, the amp does occasionally cut out for 2 seconds. This has only happened 4 or 5 times so far and seems to be because of the voltage dropping below around 11.5 volts. It could be a calibration issue with iStop as it might be stopping the engine when the battery is a bit flatter than it thinks. The first time this happened was months after installing the amp and I*m sure a small capacitor would eliminate it entirely, though I don't think it is worth it for something that happens so rarely.
The radio is still the weakest link, but I mostly listen via USB/Bluetooth where it really shines.
I'll try not to repeat too much of what has already been well stated and just focus on those areas where I couldn't find all the information on that I needed.
Firstly, as soon as I took my CX-5 home, I realised the audio was appalling. I was used to the stock unit in an F30 and the CX-5 just sounded terrible.
So, after a lot of research on these forums, I ordered some speaker adapter brackets (didn*t have the time or equipment to make my own) and some Hertz DSK 165.3 components.
Installing these was simple as the passive crossovers that come with the DSK are just high pass filters for the tweeters, and a full range signal goes to the mid-woofer. Hence everything can be replaced directly without any extra wiring (the crossovers can be stuffed in the A-pillars and only connected to the tweeters).
At this stage the audio was clearly better but lacked bass, so I bought a Kenwood KSC-SW11 under-seat subwoofer. I wired this to the speaker wires in the A-pillars, just before the high pass filter, and the power came direct from the fuse box (just 10A so no need to go to the battery).
This made an incredible difference and I was very happy with the results but noticed that there was still a massive peak in volume at around 150Hz and almost nothing at the frequencies just above and below that. Certain songs I was hearing often would have one very loud bass note in a melody, with other bass notes in the same melody almost inaudible. That really bugged me.
I decided that I needed an equalizer and decided on a DSP/amp combination as I was keen to go active.
I got the Sony XM-GS6DSP 6 channel amp/DSP and as I had 2 extra channels I also bought a shallow mount Pioneer TS-SWX3002 sub-woofer and removed the under-seat sub. This sub is unobtrusive and when lying flat you can pile stuff on top so it doesn*t affect boot space too much.
It took quite a lot of time to tune the DSP to my liking, but I got it sounding very nice eventually.
One thing that I wasn't expecting though, was that even with the DSP time alignment turned off, it was not possible to get a decent sound with the rear speakers turned up (they are still connected directly to the stock amp). I put this down to a small inherent delay in the amp/DSP which causes an echoey sound. If I want to use the rears in future I could use the 2 extra channels on this amp and get a separate amp for the sub, but for now I am ok with the rears being permanently off. I don't believe I have read of anyone else having this problem, so I don't know if this particular amp/DSP has more of a delay than others. The EQ and time alignment are both off, so I guess the active crossover is the circuit introducing the (very minor but audible) delay.
Anyway, although everything sounded great there was still that awkward peaking that could not be controlled (this amp/DSP does not have a parametric equalizer so I couldn't EQ it like originally planned).
Testing with the doors open, I realised that the issue was purely with the acoustics of the car, so I decided to treat the doors with STP Black Gold (the best available alternative to Dynamat).
This is where I ran into a lack of information. A lot of cars seem to give easy access to the outer door shell for sound damping, but Mazda do not.
Having already removed the door panels, I was aware that there was another panel (the Front Door Module Panel) underneath. It made no sense to put sound damping on the plastic panel (even though I*ve seen some examples of that) so I needed to get that off.
Removing this inner panel is not easy and there are a lot of very awkward clips that need to be removed to free it from the cables. This took me forever on the first door, but when I did the second door, I unscrewed the panel before removing the wires attached to it. This allowed me to push out the clips from the back and was actually very easy.
I was nervous about removing my window but had seen a video of a similar Mazda (possibly a Miata) and the window was taped in place (once unbolted) so that the inner panel could be removed. This didn't work for me, and I ended up having to remove the windows completely.
With the inner panel and window removed, it was easy to add damping to the outer door shell (and some on the inner shell). I managed the first door without cutting up my hands but had less luck on the second and wish I*d have worn gloves.
Putting the windows back proved tricky and although I thought I*d done it correctly, I later found out that my passenger side window was not properly slotted into the window guide and a couple of months later the window got partly stuck half way up. I believe part of the guide (on the rear-side of the window) was on the inside of the window and part of it on the outside. Through time, the point where the rubber crossed from one side to the other had moved and this had caused problems with the window. I had to remove the window again to get it to fit back nicely but there is now some minor cosmetic damage to the window guide/seal rubber.
The sound damping solved the issue with the peaking and made a big improvement to the sound in general so was well worth it though.
Having expanded so much on the original upgrade scope, I considered that it might be worth installing some higher end speakers than the Hertz DSK but I decided that any improvements would be marginal and disappointing compared to the earlier upgrades.
The only minor niggle I've experienced with this system is that when the iStop restarts the engine in the first few minutes of driving, the amp does occasionally cut out for 2 seconds. This has only happened 4 or 5 times so far and seems to be because of the voltage dropping below around 11.5 volts. It could be a calibration issue with iStop as it might be stopping the engine when the battery is a bit flatter than it thinks. The first time this happened was months after installing the amp and I*m sure a small capacitor would eliminate it entirely, though I don't think it is worth it for something that happens so rarely.
The radio is still the weakest link, but I mostly listen via USB/Bluetooth where it really shines.
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