I've been wanting to do a somewhat thorough upgrade of the audio system of my 2016 Mazda 6, but had a really hard time finding much info about the system in the models with BOSE and the newer head unit. So, with the little info I managed to find as a starting point, I decided I'd take a crack at figuring out everything I needed to know myself.

This video documents the various testing procedures that followed, as well as covers analysis of the results. I figured at least a few people other than myself would find this information useful so I decided to clean the video up a bit and share it here.

The video has a companion thread over at the Mazda6Club forums that you should also look at if you want even more information that isn't completely covered here: https://forum.mazda6club.com/electric...

* This information definitely applies to the 20142016 models, I'm fairly certain this information applies to the 2017 model, and am taking an educated guess that this info applies to the 2018 model.

BONUS 20162019 CX5 Basic Wiring Labels (Unconfirmed): https://i.imgur.com/wNoHrGI.png

Timestamps for your convenience:
0:00 Intro/Background
1:18 Extended Background
3:26 Applicable Vehicles & Vehicles Specifics
5:59 Section Breakdown
7:25 Companion Forum Thread
7:48 Connections From Head Unit to BOSE Amp
9:00 Single Channel Connected Discovery/Test
10:09 4Channel Wire Pairs Pinout
10:32 Head Unit/TAU Signal Type/Polarity Test
11:53 Test Signal on the OScope
12:19 Explanation of Different Signaling Methods
15:09 Differential Signaling Discovery
16:35 Audio Test Sanity Check
16:56 Channel Polarity Pinouts
17:12 Stereo, Balance, and Phase Test
18:55 Head Unit Signal Analysis (Intro)
22:04 Head Unit Signal Analysis (White Noise Results)
23:45 Head Unit Signal Analysis (Song Results)
24:25 Head Unit Signal Analysis (Bass Rollof Debunk)
24:53 Feature Retention (Head Unit Controls)
28:03 Feature Retention (Calls/Google Assistant)
29:05 Feature Retention (Chimes/Alert Tones)
31:08 Potential to Remove BOSE Amp Entirely
32:49 Conclusion