2025 CT5 BW - AKG Settings

[BigBrett]

What is a CTS5V??

A cts5 v blackwing

 

[shbox]

A cts5 v blackwing

I know of a CTS and a CT5 (V or VBW), but never heard of of a CTS5V Blackwing.

 

[TruckeeTaurus]

I found the solution.

Add an aftermarket subwoofer in the trunk.

I just picked my car up from the Mo Music in Reno and just the one sub made a huge difference. (He was able to replace the “spare tire” foam insert and flooring cover with a custom floor box set up that didn’t require any drilling of any kind. It just fits perfectly into the space. Both the sub and amp were easy to fit in all of the space that foam insert takes up.)

The AKG system is simply a bit underpowered, and 6x9 speakers aren’t going to hit those low bass notes as cleanly anyhow.

I have my bass at +2 mid at +4 and treble at +3 I moved the focus trajectory so that the plus sign is basically on the center of the floor of the backseat. I can use the bass knob to raise or lower the sub power/bass.

The sound in the car is absolutely beautiful. As a bit of an audiophile I can say it sounds realllllllly clean.

I’ll post pictures in a bit, then again after I go back to Mo for the re-tune and he’s installing a light to shine on the speaker set up (he did the speaker baffle in carbon fiber to match the carbon fiber of the speaker cone.).

He also made me a little shelf for my spare tire (from Modern Spare) since the ‘25 CT5-V BW doesn’t have a man actual location for a spare.

 

[blackeneth]

So you added a sub (with amplifier), and kept the 6x9s on the back shelf?

I’m not an audiophile … but my impression is that the sound in the CT5-V Blackwing is “thin”. It sounds ok, but it doesn’t seem to have any depth or presence. Even with talk radio! Any idea of what I’m picking up on? I think the sound in my old 2014 Ford Fusion was better, and it was just the stock audio system.

 

[xnifex]

So you added a sub (with amplifier), and kept the 6x9s on the back shelf?

I’m not an audiophile … but my impression is that the sound in the CT5-V Blackwing is “thin”. It sounds ok, but it doesn’t seem to have any depth or presence. Even with talk radio! Any idea of what I’m picking up on? I think the sound in my old 2014 Ford Fusion was better, and it was just the stock audio system.

Lol i also have a 2014 fusion & loved the stock audio, but a sub took it 3 notches up. I've since had to replace all the speakers, but it still sounds so good. Tempted to put a sub in the ct5v

 

[Le Monstre]

It looks like no one has found a sweet spot for the sound settings (sans sub) for a 2025+

 

[williamset]

What's the easiest way to add a small sub? Anyone have a writeup or a materials list?

 

[TruckeeTaurus]

So you added a sub (with amplifier), and kept the 6x9s on the back shelf?

I’m not an audiophile … but my impression is that the sound in the CT5-V Blackwing is “thin”. It sounds ok, but it doesn’t seem to have any depth or presence. Even with talk radio! Any idea of what I’m picking up on? I think the sound in my old 2014 Ford Fusion was better, and it was just the stock audio system.

My guess is that because the Caddy has 16 speakers, that they’re all pretty small except for the 6x9s. So the amplifier used to push them is likely not very powerful.

The reason many people have found that fading the sound slightly to the rear of the car sounds better is probably because it pushes more power to the 6x9 speakers.

Personally I think that the 3D sound all the way up sounds best, and the volume at 40% or above was needed for the stock system to sound okay. Like mentioned by others, I had the aiming sight of the fade centered right behind the center console, and it did make a difference.

I am interested to see if there’s anything to the whole break in period someone mentioned. I know speakers definitely do need to be broken in, but I’ve never heard of it being as long as mentioned.

I do have to say that adding the subwoofer made the system sound incredible honestly.