I found this youtube on the subject sometime back. It has been updated to 2024 and pretty much confirms your issue.

 

Funny, just the other day I was telling my wife how good I thought the sound system was.

 

I upgraded the front speakers and added the beatsonic dsp amp in my Sport-L and it really woke up the clarity of audio. Soon I will add a sub I hope

 

Gee, I thought the 12 speaker Bose system on my 2024 Canadian CRV Hybrid Touring sounded pretty damn good, depending on what I was listening to, and where the central point of the sound was set up to be.
You can choose just where the preferred center point is to be. It can be driver side centric or rear seat centered, and everything in between.
I also find that some streaming music has a lot less stereo separation of the channels than stuff I've ripped from my old albums and cd's.

 

After halfheartedly looking at several cars to possibly replace my 24 CRV, I have decided to try to upgrade the speakers (front door only so far). PS - the Hybrid CRV really is nice...

Well, I talked with some fine folks at Crutchfield and explained that I thought the speakers seemed "muddy" and likely coming from the lower door speakers. They recommended Infinity speakers - Infinity Primus 603CF Primus Series 6-1/2" 2-Way Component Speaker. I have installed these in the front doors and even my wife says the sound is clearer. Now, she drives a car with an extremely nice system (BMW X5 - Harmon Kardon), so she appreciates quality sound and recognized the improvement. I have not installed the Infinity tweeters or the Infinity crossover but may in the future. Right now, it is pretty good improvement, but it has only been 1 day and I haven't driven the car much. I did have to reduce the treble a bit to balance the overall sound to my tastes but the mid range and drum sounds are clear, not muddy. (I am 65 with really good hearing but not much above 11KHz)

This modification requires a speaker adapter (I found at Amazon and Crutchfield) and a set of connectors:
The adapter I used is RED WOLF Front Rear Door Speaker Adapter + Wiring Harness for 2008-2013 Honda Civic Accord CRV, Acura 2005-2019 Aftermarket 6.5"- 6.75" Speaker Spacer Rings Adaptor Mount 1 Pair from Amazon - they are somewhat fragile but work. I had to put a metal washer for the one screw that holds the whole unit to the door. The screw drove right through the plastic tab meant to hold - I could have over

The connectors I used are X AUTOHAUX Car Speaker Wire Adapter Audio Horn Harness Cable Connector for Honda Civic 2pcs. This makes for plug and play with no factory wire cutting/modification. Note that the speakers have the same polarity as the factory Bose so just attach the connector (you will need to pinch them or solder them) to the speaker so that the CONNECTOR is in the same orientation as the original speaker. The factory connector then plugs into door harness with no issue.

There are videos online showing how to remove the door panel - it was no big deal...

 

Having just purchased the Touring, I haven't really given the Bose system a full trial yet, mostly just listening to XM. During test drives of the sport-l and sport touring, I did tune in a radio station to see how that went and I thought the Bose system sounded better by a lot on a local classic rock channel. But that wasn't much of a test because it was short lived only testing in the parking lot after the test drive. During the drive I was comparing the noise and handling qualities between the two trim levels.

We have the Harmon Kardon sound system in our Subaru Outback and it sounds a bit better, not leaps and bounds, but a bit better. All in all I'm pleased, I didn't get the touring for the sound system, being mostly a xm listener, but for other atributes.

 

Ahoj, jsem z Evropy a jsem novým majitelem eHev Advanance AWD, což předpokládám, že v USA bude CR-V AWD Sport Touring Hybrid.
První věc, kterou jsem udělal ohledně hluku v autě, bylo odhlučnění celého vozu. S výjimkou střechy, kde je otevírací panoramatické střešní okno. Spolu s výměnou pneumatik z dodaných průměrných letních pneumatik Dunlop SP Sport Maxx za prémiové pneumatiky Michelin Crossclimate 2 SUV se hluk v autě snížil o dobrých 80 %. Teď dám nainstalovanému systému Bose nějaký čas, aby se reproduktory zahřály a usadily se. Doporučená doba výdrže reproduktorů pro domácnosti je přibližně 100 hodin přehrávání při normálním zatížení. Pokud se mi to nebude líbit, pravděpodobně vyměním zesilovač s integrovaným DSP a nechám ho znovu kalibrovat.
Zároveň musím přiznat, že systém Bose v mé předchozí Mazdě CX-5 z roku 2019 byl přímo z výroby výrazně lépe nastavený.

 

My Bose Stereo Setup

I recently purchased a 2026 Honda CRV Touring and wanted to share how I get awesome sound out of the Bose 12 speaker sound system.

I have an iPhone but I’m sure Android users can do something similar on their phones.

I typically listen to: 1. My music library. 2. Spotify. 3. Radio. 4. Bluetooth.

1. My music library

What I found that works well is putting all my MP3’s I’ve ripped into VLC Player and using VLC’s equalizer. Here’s some links that shows how to use VLC and iTunes to put music on your phone:

Here’s another way to get your music into the App:

And another

To find the iOS equalizer on an iPhone:

• First, select an audio song, or a video for that matter, to play. Play it and then while it is playing follow these steps:
• In the top right corner tap: “ … ”
• Next tap Equalizer from the list.
• Next set the preamp dB to your taste. I bumped it up bit to around 8 dB
• Next from Preset/preamp settings Drop Down select your preferred music preset EQ settings. For me, I chose Rock.
• Next Adjust the Rock settings to your ear with the sliders. I left the car’s audio settings (treble, mid, bass) at zero. I’ve seen people knock the mid range down a couple of notches. That’s up to you. I am finding the CRV Bose system needing a boost in the low frequencies and a reduction in the higher frequencies.

I adjusted the Rock EQ settings to the following levels:
31 Hz 10 db
62 Hz. 7.25 dB
25 Hz -5 dB
250 Hz -8 dB
500 Hz -3.32 dB
1k Hz 0 dB
2k Hz 5.5 dB
4k Hz 7 dB
8k Hz 7 dB
16 Hz 7 dB
Once you adjust the levels you can tap Save and name your setting. You have 6 or 7 custom settings in VLC. You can delete ones you don’t want by swiping left.

My VLC EQ Settings

2. Spotify.
Again, I use the Equalizer. I have found these settings below to be pretty good:

To get to the Equalizer:

Top left Your Initial > Settings and privacy > playback > Equalizer .

You can adjust the frequencies to your taste. Note that Spotify's EQ has less frequency bands.


3. Radio.

The HD radio stations sound pretty good without any adjustments. The nondigital stations do not sound the best. TuneIn Radio sound not bad without adjustments.

4. Bluetooth.

I haven’t used it yet. Does anyone have experience with it? What works best?

I hope this helps. Cheers!