CJams

I just replaced all of the door speakers with Infinity 6012i's and the rear 6x9's with matching Inifnity's and boy does it sound better. Still currently using the factory amp, but will be adding an Alpine MRV-F450 in a week or 2. But WOW does it sound better. Those stock speakers do sound muddy compared. At first I didn't think the system was that bad, but now that I am on the other side of the fence I would have to suggest to all new TSX owners, get better speakers, it will do the whole system justice. Even if you don't upgrade the amp, at least upgrade the speakers!

My !

sauceman

Yeah, I should do that.

matelot

how much $$$ ?

nivla

Putting Polk db650's in the wife's TSX doors this week, the Alpine S type 6X9' s next week. For a stock system the TSX is very good but being a audiophile I couldn't standby and leave it stock . I'll post the sound eval later.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

CJams, I have to check out your system tomorrow at work.

Mr B's TSX

Thanks for the info! I do love my music and I'll check into it!

05_TSX_GP

Do you two work together? Or work that close to each other?? !!!

Yeah, how much did the speakers upgrade cost you CJams? Parts and labour break-down please

What Watt and Omp rating to get if I just want to upgrade ONLY speakers? Should ALL 8 be replaced/upgraded all together? Or some of them are OK to keep?

CJams

I got the Infinity 6.5" door speakers for $99 a pair (2 pair). The 6x9's were $119 (I tried JBL's and exchanged them, they sounded good but the Inifnity 6.5s sounded best and I wanted all my speakers to match). And I also purchased a pair of Infinity 1" seperates ($79)to replace the 2 in the dash, but I haven't installed them since they don't fit perfect. I might reutrn them, we will see. I am still tryig to conjure a way to get 8"s in the back dash.

But all in all it was about $320 in parts to replace the (6) speakers that I have replaced. I installed them myself and had extra wood laying around to make the SPACERS for the door speakers. IMO, the Honda engineers should be taken out and beatin with a bat for making it so difficult to replace door speakers.

But with the new speakers I have heard sounds in certain soungs that I didn't ever hear before. It's funny. I had to look around yesterday when listening to a song that had the sound of a car engine reving that I had never heard before. I scanned back to make sure I wasn't hearing things.

BTW, Here are the reference threads I used to help the install go smoother. https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/%2A%2Aaudio-video-diy-info-faq-all-models-%2A%2A-299065/

If you listen to music that doesn't have way too much bass you could get away with just replacing the door speakers for $99 a pair (2 pair needed) and it would make a world of difference. I listen to the boom bap stuff and it made the stock 6x9's pop. (but like I said before....I'm still on a quest to get 8"s in the rear dash some how)

Deelover

90% of door rattle that some people hear comes from the way the stock speakers are held in the door. They are not screwed in to the door... it is held in by a bracket. Anyone that has replaced them know what I'm talking about. If you change the speakers and use some Dynamat in the doors, it makes a world of difference. I have Alpine S speakers all around.

05_TSX_GP

Thanks for the info and reference dude !

Man.. a-tsx IS dangerous indeed... I've never thought to replace my speakers until now... damn damn damn!!! I ain't made of $$$ *** must resist ***

Mokijoki

Being a bit of an audiophile myself I started with replacement of the standard speakers a while back. I replaced with Alpine type-S components (6x9 and 6,5). Sound was definatly an improvement, but still not balanced enough... bass was lacking. After pursuading my wife to give up some valuable trunkspace me and a friend went to work and I ended up with this :




As a sub I chose the Infinity Kappa 120.3se (300W RMS/1200W max). Monoblock AMP is a bit simple (Magnat BullpowerOne 225W RMS/450W max at 4 Ohm). To power the Alpine's I got a JBL 75.4 (4x 104W RMS at 4 Ohm). Can't open the JBL up more than about a third else the Alpine's start to pop (40 and 50W RMS), so I'm considering for Infinity's for these too, eventhough the sound is very nicely balanced now...

05_TSX_GP

Holy shit!!! That's sick (in the good way)

Some questions I must ask someone with such setup... do you or can you use the trunk to carry anything? Anything allowed to roll around in the trunk will probably hit and damage the sub, right?

I suppose the back seats won't be folding anymore?

That's way too extreme for me to do... but to you!!!

Mokijoki

I bought some protection for the sub later on to protect it against rolling things. You are correct about the back seats... They still fold, but the affect is 0% extra space :-) There is still a lot of space left, about 60 Liters less than original... Having a wife and 6 year old son I had to run it by her... Glad I got away with it because she likes the loud music as well...

05_TSX_GP

More power to you and your TSX sound system then

There is Mrs. 05_TSX_GP but no kid... both of us like listening music loud, we listen to all kinds of stuff, from Japanese pop (which neither understands the words) to Eminem, haha!!! But stoker amp is enough for us... maybe just better speakers (though I doubt she'd think it's worth-while). I have got not-very-picky ears, so not even sure if I can tell the difference myself (with just speakers upgrade).

CJams

If your ears aren't that picky you can just upgrade the fronts for $99. It would be worth it!

05_TSX_GP

Good idea! makes it a cheaper (more cost effective) mod for my not-picky ears and I don't have to feel left out having an all stock sound system

drigo

cjams...thanks for the info...i want to do the same set up as you...but for now...do you think just by replacing the 6x9's first would make a difference? and if so...which ones would you or anybody recommend? eventually i will do all 4 door speakers as well...thanks..

vitocorleone

fti - there are a lot of threads on this if one searches (which speakers people have replaced at which time and in which order). Look for threads with/by elduderino (or just contact him?). I liked what he did, so I did something very similar. i did this all at once, though, not one upgrade at a time.

i spent $2k+ on the stereo rather than a nav unit = priorities :-P (besides, this way I can get lost and not care as much because I'm listening to really great sounding music!)

* MBQ 6.5's REFs up front, tweets in dash
* MBQ 6x9's REFs in the rear panel (no tweets)
* a 4 channel amp
* audiocontrol 2 ch crossover for 6x9's
* stock amp powers stock rear door speakers, all rear speaker in rear channel so I can still fade all of the audio to the front when carrying rear passengers
* dynamat in the front doors (rear some day)

mrpphung

Hey CJams, what kinda infinitys did u get? I have a pair of kappa 6x9s from my old prelude. My only problem i had before was that the speaker was so big, that the stabilizer bars in the trunk it the magnet. I was thinking about swapping out the rear 6x9s but looks like there isn't that much clearance. Was wondering if you had the same problem.

05_TSX_GP

I don't know much about speakers, so won't speak to that...

I don't think those are stabilizer bars in the trunk, they are just the torsion bars that spring the trunk. You can take them out and install a strut for the trunk and can make room for the big speakers.

CJams

drigo----replacing the 6x9's will make your bass sound better. The 6x9's are set up to act kinda like subwoofers. You wouldn't get any benefit out of the second part of 2 way 6x9's. Your mids and highs wouldn't sound any better but the 6x9's wont pop and fart like the stock ones.

mrpphung-I was able to fit both JBL 6x9's and the Infinity' 6x9's in the back dash. The JBL's were fine, I just wanted my whole system to match. The Infinity 2005 Reference Series is what I have. I don't know if the kappa's fit. All you need is a flat head to pry the grills off and a 7mm socket to take them out. Give it a try, it won't hurt. Let us know.

As far as the torsion bars go....here is a link to follow...it's in the audio video section....this is another member fed up with those damn bars as well. We are trying to conjure a way to get 8's in the back dash and are designing a way around the torsion bars (to remove)using struts. I tried all ready and it is very possible take a look at my test pic
https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/i-gave-up-my-quest-bass-without-sub-box-trunk-306290/
BTW- the torsion bars are used to help support the trunk and pop it open. If you wanted to just remove them, I'm sure there wouldn't be any adverse effect besides not seeing the trunk pop open when you hit the fob, or the trunk would need to be supported to keep it open....I have seen audiophiles go to greater links to get the sounds they want.

dzuy

really? i wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference if you're not running a different amp.

CJams

The stockies aren't 2 way. Everything sounds so much clearer now. Even with the stock amp.

kaikai114

so only $320 on whole set of new speakers? that's a killer deal!

-kc

CJams

Not including the 1" seperates in the dash. I did find my speakers for about $20 cheaper per pair online. Wouldn't doubt if they could be found even cheaper. You could Save another $60 or so if you ordered them online.

virtualbong

Alright, so replacing the rear 6x9 woofers will give a nice thump instead of putting in a separate subwoofer box? I would rather do that to save space in the trunk. If it does give a nice thump, then I would just replace all the speakers and add an external amp to power everything. Does this sound like a good replacement plan?

elduderino

Using 6x9s as subs can sound pretty good - but it does NOT sound like a sub in a box as far as volumes and rap or hip-hop is concerned.

I have our demo TSX wired with 6x9 subs OR a single 10 (I flip a switch to go in between).

At volumes up to 30 (depending on the CD) they both sound very good. The 6x9s can start to "poink" with bass-heavy songs above a certain volume.

The hot ticket for these 6x9 woofs used to be MB Quart RCE 269 woofers (not using the tweets). Many members tried this and liked it. Sergeremi tried it and decided to get a 10" in a box instead.

We have 3 pair of the MB Quart 6x9 woofs in stock - and we have three pair of the Genesis 6x9 "subs" from England (see www.genesis-ice.com). I like the sound of the MB Quarts as subs better than the Genesis, but they are both OK, and the MB Quarts are almost impossible to find any longer.

jlukja

elduderino,
What is the difference between the MB Quart 6x9, the Genesis 6x9 "subs" and the Avincar 6x9 that you offer? Would you have to be an audiophile to hear the difference? Just curious.

CJams

Before I added subs I did end up getting some pretty good bass out of my 6x9's. They sounded close to a 10" sub. But being the old school bass head (Miami styley) I needed more. But just adding new speakers and keeping the OEM amp makes your system sound soooooo much better! And it just gets better from there.

I will have pics of my new system by the end of the week. Extra amp and a little sub swap again.

jlukja

I agree. I installed elduderino's TSX Avicar upgrade kit. For the price its a vast improvement. Just was wondering what compromise, if any, was made in acheiving that price point instead of going with the other 6x9 speakers that he mentioned.

virtualbong

Hmmm.....so it may be just enough for my taste, though I do listen to rap/hip hop alot. I think my subs in my Integra was a little bit too much though for my gf, so I think I'll just replace all the speakers and see how that works out. I'll also utilize an external amp to get even better sound.

Hmm.....I don't know if I can wait until next Spring for my Audio upgrades...maybe I'll do it soon...LOL

elduderino

THe avincar 6x9s do tons better than the OEM 6x9s... but NOT on a real amp - at least not as subs. They don't blow or anything, they just get a little "poinky" down low.

The kink is that for every octave lower a speaker wants to play, at the same volume, it has to mive 4 times as far. So for a 6x9 it can run out of excursion pretty quick.

I guess the MB Q's don't make the same poinky sound as much as the avincars... the Genesis sound a little less detailed but a little more "sub"-like to me.

Not sure if that helps, but our Avincar Certified Sound system for the TSX is a DLS 50W x 4, a set of the MBQs, and upgraded fronts (DLS, avincar, or a/d/s/). Starts at 850 for the gear, or at $1000 installed.

tonka_146

you wont be dissapointed in the 650's i also have the 690's for the rears

TSX 3Pedal

I know this is an old thread, but I was looking into upgrading my speakers as well. So I was wondering if pics of your system were still available?

Also, I'm not that familiar with audio components, so maybe you could help me out with that too

I'm looking into Infinity, JL, or Rockford Fosgate speakers and I know I need four 6-1/2 speakers for the doors and two 6x9's for the rear deck, but I don't know what type to get.

What I mean is...do I get 2-way or 3-way 6-1/2" speakers and the same goes for the 6x9's...2-way or 3-way?

Also, if I don't plan to get a sub right now, do I still need to get an amp for all the cabin speakers?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Tsx536

Don't forget those front tweets.

And the setup you should get also depends on your budget.

If you want to spend a little cash get a nice component set to replace the front doors and tweets along with a new amp to push them. Then get some 2 way 6 1/2" for rear door. You can go without these if you want. Having rear fill is debate-able.

Infinity is the best brand out of the three you mentioned, but there's a lot of other good brands out there such as DLS, Ads, Diamond, etc.

If you're on a budget the Avincar setup is nice for the price. You won't need to change your amp if you go with this setup. You can ask Jlukja how he likes his. Good luck!

famous47

i would get some components for the front. 6.5" these would come with 1" tweeters for the dash. and some 3-way 6x9s in the rear. replacing the factory amp would make the music sound better not really louder, and you could make more adjustments w/ the aftermarket amp.
if you have the money, get a sub also. 1 12" is enough. = the music will sould totaly different (in a good way)

for the cabin speakers i suggest Polk, Alpine... and for the amp and/or sub JL - there subs are awesome.

jlukja

Unless he runs another set of wires, or taps into the rear door signal, there is no reason to get 3-way speakers for the rear shelf. The HU only sends low freq. signals to the 6x9s.

Zoopa

Thanks for the original post. Who cares if the factory system has 360 watts when it sounds so crappy. My biggest complaint with the stock stereo setup is that there is no midrange. The sytems puts out an abundance of treble and bass, but has nothing in between.

Another thing, I'm convinced my car has a blown tweeter somewhere, but I can't figure out where its coming from. Anyoe know if the drivers in the dashboard by the windshield a pain to replace?

jlukja

Quite easy to replace. They pop right out if you pry them up with a small flathead screwdriver (wrap it in tape to prevent it from scratching the dash). If you're replacing with OEM tweeter then you just unplug the harness and plug in the new one. If replacing with an aftermarket tweeter you can use T-taps.

If you're not into volume then replacing the OEM speakers with better speakers will go a long way to improving the sound quality. The HU signal is actually pretty clear and the amp will do fine driving higher efficiency speakers that don't require a lot of power.

mltk53

why does everybody talk about and get the infinity ones? how jl audio ones? and pioneer ones?