Fixing your MAZDASPEED3 BOSE Sound System

[Breezy]

Actually, in reference to blowing speakers, after this mod the speakers are MUCH more efficient. I get great strong volume at only the 9- 12 range (I have an 08 model. the 08.5> have a different volume count). Before this mod I often used 15 and up.

Maybe one of the reasons this mod works so well is that at these kinds of amp output there is no discernible distortion. Who cares, really. It just works.

 

[bacarl]

[kick-ass write up]

Thank you!

I was just coming into this thread and 6262MS3's to ask exactly where to install all these gizmo's (I ordered yesterday and will be installing this weekend). This explanation will save my ass.

...I've had door panels off so much it just seems like some never go back quite right

the ms3 appears to be a snap together car, so hopefully it will be snug even after a few on and offs...

In my various exploits trying to learn about and improve my stereo (my thread is linked in Breezy's OP), I have removed all four trim panels no less than three times. They're quite easy to R&R, and have xmas tree fasteners that are pretty robust. The only issue I've had is that one or two fasteners have stuck in the door and pulled out of the trim panel when I yanked on it, rather than sticking in the trim panel and pulling out of the door. This made it tougher to extract from the door, but in the end, no harm was done. One of those special scrivet-puller tools might help even more. I have no additonal squeaks or rattles after repeated R&R'ing of the trim.

 

[SleekDJ]

So like I said previously I had already done the things in the first post above which changes out the door tweeters and then adds inductors in the front door speakers to kill the excess bass. I just decided to expand on this solution and also added the same inductors to the rear speakers too.

The effect? Astounding! Now my system is clean and full. My best sound settings have the bass and the treble at zero, and I pretty much have the system at zero fade too. Sometimes I do increase the fade to the front if I want it a little brighter, or to the rear if I want to boost the mid range. It's really pretty nice, just like I was expecting when I bought the car. Plus I can now actually hear the little sub woofer working.

Thanks for the great suggestion, Breezy! And kudos to kvndoom for the killer write-up. I wouldn't have done this without you guys!

So I finished the front doors over the weekend and am pretty happy with the result. The mids and highs are much clearer now. I've tried putting the fader at F8, but now that the woofer is not putting out as much bass, I feel like the bass is a pretty lacking (even at bass +6).

So right now my favorite setting is bass at +4, treble at 0 and fader at 0. If I put the bass any higher it becomes a little muddy (because of the rear speakers?), but if I put it any lower it just isn't enough.

Having said all that, should I even do the rear doors? Wouldn't that decrease the bass even more? Or would it push the mids so much that I wouldn't notice the loss in bass?

 

[kvndoom]

As a stop-gap until I had money to do more upgrades, I just bought a sub and hooked it directly to the sub output of the bose amp. It was just a ported 12" Kicker L5 that I strapped down in the hatch, but it made a huge difference and I got it cheap off Craiglist. I've since moved to better things, but it worked well when I couldn't afford anything else.

You don't have to spend a whole lot of money on a sub Try for something that's pretty efficient even without a lot of power going to it. It will have to have a final impedance of 4 ohms or higher. Anything's better than the 5 or 6 inch piece of crap the car comes with.

 

[meicalnissyen]

As a stop-gap until I had money to do more upgrades, I just bought a sub and hooked it directly to the sub output of the bose amp. It was just a ported 12" Kicker L5 that I strapped down in the hatch, but it made a huge difference and I got it cheap off Craiglist. I've since moved to better things, but it worked well when I couldn't afford anything else.

You don't have to spend a whole lot of money on a sub Try for something that's pretty efficient even without a lot of power going to it. It will have to have a final impedance of 4 ohms or higher. Anything's better than the 5 or 6 inch piece of crap the car comes with.

interesting, cant' more than 30 watts available to that circuit

 

[SKiZZ]

Do they sell the Ford Bose speaker harnesses so I don't have to cut into mine and can make my own adapter with Xover and cap in it?

 

[kvndoom]

interesting, cant' more than 30 watts available to that circuit

Well, put in perspective with what the other speakers are getting from that same amp, it stays pretty balanced. Long term, a new amp/sub/speakers will always be the best solution though

 

[SleekDJ]

As a stop-gap until I had money to do more upgrades, I just bought a sub and hooked it directly to the sub output of the bose amp. It was just a ported 12" Kicker L5 that I strapped down in the hatch, but it made a huge difference and I got it cheap off Craiglist. I've since moved to better things, but it worked well when I couldn't afford anything else.

You don't have to spend a whole lot of money on a sub Try for something that's pretty efficient even without a lot of power going to it. It will have to have a final impedance of 4 ohms or higher. Anything's better than the 5 or 6 inch piece of crap the car comes with.

I can spend about $100 on a sub. What would you get from Crutchfield for that money?

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Prod...eItems=01|204BT6028&compareItems=01|575P1L110

 

[meicalnissyen]

I can spend about $100 on a sub. What would you get from Crutchfield for that money?

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Prod...eItems=01|204BT6028&compareItems=01|575P1L110

Shhh, parts express may be a better bet

 

[kvndoom]

Yeah check Sonic Electronix, Woofers Etc, Parts Express too, they often have much better prices than Crutchfield.

And look for model closeouts. I snagged a Kicker CompVX 12" for 99 shipped from Amazon back in December/January because they were rolling out the 2010 models. I just got a Phoenix Gold Rscd 12" for less than 120 for the same reason. There are some sick deals to be had out there.

 

[ejh]

I can spend about $100 on a sub. What would you get from Crutchfield for that money?

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Prod...eItems=01|204BT6028&compareItems=01|575P1L110

For $100, are you looking to buy the whole sub, with enclosure, for a plug and play type of install? That might be tough.

If you can build your own box, you can pick up a 8"-10" sub pretty cheap (example: I recently got two 8" Rockford Fosgate entry level subs for $80 from Crutchfield). Assuming you have some tools and skills, the cost of the box will be low. You could easily get a nice entry quality sub for under $100.

 

[tddvrrn]

so simple, so effective

thanks for the write up, this fix works incredibly well. pretty simple too. one thing i will add: solder the inductors and capacitors to the wires. i crimped mine and they slowly worked their way loose (probably says more about my crimping prowess). i soldered it all back together and it sounded even better. not audio show booming, but plenty clear and tight for my own listening pleasure.

 

[tddvrrn]

i know i'm resurrecting the dead here, but i don't give a funk...

so, i've been loving this fix, but lately there have been a few cds that have some annoying upper mid/lower treble distortion when played loud. i seem to have fixed this by using this: parts express 8.2 uf cap and this: parts express .05 mH coil

this lifts the frequencies the tweeter plays as well as the frequencies the mid in the door plays. this seems to have helped a lot.. before the tweeters were playing 4khz and up, while the mids handled below 4khz.

now the mids go up to 6khz and the tweeter play from 5khz up. it's only a lift of 1khz for the tweeters, but it seems to have helped, and bringing the mids up to 6khz has helped fill in the missing mids with this stereo.. i'll post more after a few days of listening.

update: sooo.. this didn't quite do it. so i bought new tweeters: tweeter. they're the same price as those from the OP, but they have a larger frequency response and can handle lower frequencies. so far they sound great. less bright than those listed in the OP and less distorted at higher volumes.. i still have the caps and coils listed above. i am too lazy to change them back. i will report back after more listening time.

just got in from listening.. these tweeters are fokking amazing! they are clear and crisp, but not as bright as the dayton tweeter from the original post. they are a lot smoother and do not get distorted as easily at high volumes. give these a shot with the caps and coils listed in the OP, i think they will rock! i'm even considering putting my old caps back in to get these to play more mids..