Whats up everyone? I decided to pull the plug and replace all the speakers in my tsx. I have done a lot of research on this and I have also spoken to a car audio installer. He advised me to replace all the speakers with coaxial speakers even the front ones. Originally i was going to replace the front with a pair of components but he said that it would sound better if i just put coaxials and disconnected the factory tweeters. His reasoning was because im going from 2ohm to 4ohm i am going to loose power and not having separate tweeters would save from more power being draw. Does this sound right to you guys? what would you do?

 

lol aren't you the guy with the fake hood vents? lul

To answer your question... no i wouldn't do that. And I didn't. I went with separate tweeters and it sounds great to me. Having the tweeters down so low in the door would be really weird sounding.

 

Sounds like your installer wants to get some extra money from you.

Replace what's blown and call it a day, unless you're an audiophile and want the best of the best.

 

Haha it was a phase man!! I took them off after the first month..Crutchfield says i might have issue powering components on the stock amp...

Im pretty sure all but 3 of them are blown, i hear crackling and popping from them. But only on bluetooth its weird and then on aux it sounds decent but some songs are not clear at all. He's actually only doing the install for me, i told him im gonna buy everything online.

 

Yeah that doesn't *sound* right to me at all. (See what I did there?)

Sure, you can get good coax speakers but components are the way to go for the best sound possible. I mean, within reason of course; high end coax will sound better than flea market components, but all things being equal - go for components.

If impedence is the driver in your case (okay, that pun was unintentional), why not stick with a 2-ohm replacement?

 

You can install components up front as long as you use the crossover that comes with them. Be aware that the ELS system is over boasted on the high end due to the EQ applied to compensate for cheap speakers. If you install components that are overly bright it will sound like crap. My 09 tech was so bright after installing Polk components I built my own pre-amp to replace the factory amp.

Your installer doesn't understand what impedance is. Disconnecting the factory tweeter will have little impact.

Go with the components and if you can fine a set with an adjustable tweeter level that would be good.

Jeff

 

Wow your installer's advice is garbage... The stock tweeter location and positioning is one of the best I've had experience with. The imaging is simply amazing if the right components are plugged in. Get front components and coax's for the back with silk/soft dome tweeters so it doesn't get overly bright. Since your keeping the stock amp to power these make sure the rear fill speakers have a lower sens/efficiency rating than the front speakers so it doesn't mess with your imaging up front.

 

I just replaced my front two door speakers ( els premium surround). The guy at the audio place said he had to order 2 way because that's what they were and they only had 4's in the shop and if they used those they had to replace my amp. These were powerbass autosound full range L series coaxial 6.5 inch 180 watts. Now for some reason the bass pretty much sounds the same ( not quite as loud and deep)but there is not much sound coming from the door itself. Mostly all I hear is the music centered at my dash. Also I used to listen to most songs on 8-11 because the bass was impressive and did not need to go louder. Now that they are replaced I find myself listening to some songs on 19-20 that I never had to before to get the same volume out. Is this just in my head or is something different with the speakers? Can someone help me? I know nothing about speakers and I feel like the guy wont believe me when I go back to ask why its not as powerful. Are these speakers just as good as the factory ones?

 

Oh... you aren't really able to change the speakers on the tech system. They are paired to the ELS amp. That's probably why it sounds weird.

 

Ok any advice on how to get it to sound back to normal? ?

 

put the originals back in

 

Stock speakers are highly efficient woofers that can operate on very little power that's why they are used by car manufacturers. The aftermarket speakers you purchased are less efficient therefore need more power to achieve the same amount of sound. If you didn't change the center dash speaker it will be mismatched with the rest of your speakers and playing at a different volume due to it's higher efficiency rating. Change it and call it a day but make sure the sensitivity rating is the same as your new speakers.

 

But for the ELS it's not that simple (I don't think). Multiple people have reported problems with changing the speakers on the ELS amp and HU. They are somehow paired together and incompatible with other speakers.

Does the TSX have ANC in it? That would explain it..

 

mercman has said multiple times that the ELS amp over boosts the signals in an attempt to make the stock, shitty speakers sound decent. Put in a decent speaker and they will sound like iCrap.

 

oh yeah ^ that.

 

That sounds complicated as all hell... sorry.

 

No, it is not! Your problem here has to do with speaker sensitivity. The powerbass L2-652 6.5" full-Range has a Sensitivity (1W / 1M): 88 dB rating. L2-652 6.5" Full-Range | PowerBass USA


You would need a speaker with a sensitivity rating of 91dB or higher for the factory amp. Here's a simply explanation of sensitivity. Speaker sensitivity | What Hi-Fi?


A technical explanation Loudspeaker Sensitivity & Impedance Explained | Audioholics


These would be better speakers to use with the factory amp Polk Audio db651s 6-1/2" 2-way shallow-mount car speakers at Crutchfield.com
Infinity Primus PR6502is 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers ? also fit 6-3/4" openings at Crutchfield.com
Rockford Fosgate Prime R165-S 6-1/2" component speaker system at Crutchfield.com
Infinity Primus PR6500cs 6-1/2" component speaker system — also fits 6-3/4" openings at Crutchfield.com

 

I have the older version of those polks, they are actually very good sounding.

 

Yes, I understand all of this and I think I recommended something to that effect in an earlier post but was told it's much more complicated than matching up sensitivity specs for speakers due to the "elaborate processing" of the tech package amp... I recently gutted all the internals out of my TSX Wagon and just replaced everything as opposed to trying to mix and match components to ultimately find out that it still sounds just kinda meh. It sounds incredible (audiophile quality) and it wasn't that tough to do if you have the right components to pull it off.

 

^^ did you keep the stock head unit or go aftermarket.

I'd be interested to hear a little more about exactly what you did; what you kept, got rid of, bypassed, modified, etc.

 

Short version, I kept the stock head unit and used an amplifier and equalizer that accepts balanced inputs. A balanced signal is not the same as speaker/high level inputs and more importantly does not induce noise. I have always wanted to do a "balanced install" as I remember all the best SQ systems I heard back in the day were using this setup. So quiet you can hear a pin drop in between songs to the point of being creepy...Anyways, best SQ system I have ever installed and owned. Having said that though, I used really good components all around so that just adds a whole other dimension to it.

 

Here is a great article that everyone should read before they go out and buy a fancy head unit. Just remember it's not truly a balanced system unless the device your plugging into knows what to do with it.
Robot Underground - "Shops Hate Us, You'll Love Us!" - Worldwide Revolution: Killer sound from the factory head unit / why BLT's are killing you or at least your wallet.

 

It's not Ohms, Efficiency or ANC, it is the ELS amp and processing.
Here are the explanations of the two systems available in the 2nd gen TSX. ANC was added when the v6 became available.

The Tech or ELS system uses digital processing in the factory amp and the amp can not be bypassed.

The Base or Honda Premium Audio has no processing and the factory can be bypassed. I make an adapter for doing this.

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-b...preamp-819501/

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-b...ptions-773207/


Jeff

 

Ah ok NOW i get it. Thanks

 

Bchester6: I looked but didn't see, do you have a base or tech wagon?

 

Hey Jeff,

What's your take on evo9's suggestion of higher sensitivity speakers on the stock amp?

 

"The HU feeds a constant level audio signal to the amp where it is converted to digital for processing."
Mercman- So according to this statement I take it that the HU output wires don't have independent speaker leads indicating LF,RF,LR, RR, etc...but instead have just one signal wire that is processed and eq'd by the stock amp then split into all of the respective channels? Is this correct?

 

The ELS HU is different from the Premium HU because it only outputs a fixed level to the ELS amp. This is done because the front end of the ELS amp is a A/D converter. The ELS HU outputs a digital control signal that controls the ELS amp. When you adjust the volume at the HU it is really sending a code to the ELS amp to adjust the volume.

The original Premium audio system was on the 1st gen TSX. It is now used on Civics and Accords. I have been helping pepole mod this system since 2006.

Jeff

 

As I have said, sensitivity is not the problem, the processing in the ELS amp is the problem. Sensitivity is the last thing you should worry about.

If you can find components that let you adjust the tweeter level that would help. Also you must avoid bright speakers. As a last resort you can just install the door speaker and keep the factory tweeter, it's not what I would do but it will help.

Jeff

 

Thanks everyone! This was very interesting to read all of the replys!!

 

Jeff- Firstly, I admire your perseverance on this subject matter as I'm sure it's exhausting rehashing this with noobs like myself that apparently don't know shite from shinola but keep on fighting the good fight. I just struggle with settling for mediocre results and compromises in car audio as I know how important this can be during drive time. If this is truly the case which I'm sure it is cuz you're the man, all I can say is YIKES!! Technology is supposed to advance us and not burden us but whatever...Thanks Acura.

 

Yeah, but the stock technology is "advanced" enough and totally not burdensome for the vast majority of people. Folks like you, me, and well, everyone in this thread, are the outlier minority that find it frustrating.

So, if it's any consolation; we're the problem, not the Acura radio.

 

Haha!! You may be right but Autophilia is a sickness that can only be contained and never totally cured. The only hope is Mercman and his fancy gadgetry at this point. No pressure of course...