Has anyone else had this? As time goes on the volume control becomes increasingly sensitive - what I mean is I can barely hear the stereo/radio on volume level 2, level 3 is pretty damn loud and 4 is busting eardrums! The dealer has replaced the entire unit TWICE! Each time the unit is OK at first but within a few days it starts to 'deteriorate' and within a few weeks it is intolerable.
Dealer is planning to replace with a unit yanked from new 8 in the showroom - I have my doubts.

 

Sounds strange, never heard of this issue, does turning off AudioPilot make any difference?

 

Haven't had mines deteriorate, but I do notice that Mazdas all seem to have rather poorly stepped volume levels. I've been in a Mazda3 along with my RX-8, and both have had problems where 4 was a tad on the soft side and 5 was a tad too loud. My RX-8 has the Bose system so I was a bit surprised to find it had the same problem the 3 had. If it had just one more step between 4 and 5 it'd be perfect.

Car manufacturers should take a lesson from Toyota...every Toyota I've been in so far has had an excellent sound system that's perfectly stepped.

 

yeah bummer but I agree the volume is poorly stepped

remove the HU? your service guys should have checked on another car, they are all like this

 

hey vertigo:
you've got an 8 and you live in Hawaii, that must be amazing!

 

I think anybody that lives in Hawaii would tend to tell you that Hawaii is a bit overrated. The weather is definitely nice, and people on the streets are generally a bit friendlier (that Aloha spirit thing), but there's not all that much to do here. And I live in a country-like city where the top speed limit is 45mph. I'm getting a steady 15mpg thanks to that.

 

I forgot about the speed limit, atleast it isn't going below freezing tonight like it will here

 

steps nicely between levels 7 to 12 for normal volume levels. Overall I think the stereo sounds pretty crappy for a higher end car. To me Bose is overrated from home stereo to car stereo.
Has anyone replaced the entire unit with non -Bose?