alejandro101

Im looking at getting a new car soon, and one of my choices is the TSX.

I was wondering if there are any large differences between ipod integration between tech and non'-tech. I read that both display artist/album/title information, and that the scroll function isnt the greatest on both.

Also is the ELS system worth the extra 3 grand? I know you get the navigation, but thats something Ill never use, I have other methods of navigating that have worked perfectly so far. Im think it might be better to upgrade the stock sound system and put in some quality parts. The only advantage I see in the ELS is the extra 3 speakers, which could also be upgraded.

Craig-D

In terms of the integration, there isn't a huge difference. Both with play most types of iPods and will display the iPod info on the screen. Where the huge difference lies is the quality of the display and the operation of the system. In the base model you get a monochrome display that only shows one line of text at a time. You have to press a button to alternate seeing the song title, artist, genre, etc. Contrast that with the tech that gives you a full color display where all song infomation is displayed at the same time. The other big difference is operation. With the base, you have to scroll through lists of songs and/or artists to find what you want. With the tech model, starting in 2011 models, you have Song-by-Voice. You merely speak the name of the song, artist, genre, playlist, etc. that you want to play or see listed on the screen and the car obliges you. I cannot stress enough how much better this is than manually scrolling with the jog dial while you're trying to drive. Instead of taking your eyes off the road, you just tell the stereo what to do!

Is the ELS system worth the premium over the base? By itself, no. But you are getting more than just the ELS stero. You get an 8 inch VGA color screen, voice activated navigation, a back-up camera, complete voice control of most in-cabin functions and your iPod, and the ability to have your phone's contacts downloaded to the car automatically as opposed to having to enter each name and number manually in the base model.

Having first had a base and now having a tech, I can tell you the tech is worth the price premium when all the extra goodies are taken into account together. However, if you have no use for the navigation, then I would say it's not worth it for you. It is the centerpiece of tech package, and probably accounts for half its price. The ELS stereo alone does not justify the price. It's better than the base stereo, but not significantly better, as the base system sounds nearly as good to my ears.

Terdbath

I have a base model but I came from a RL with the tech package. I do not miss the nav one bit or any of the voice command stuff. (although rear camera would be nice just not 3k nice)

alejandro101

What are the speakers in the tech package made of, are they rubber cones or paper? I was looking at replacing the stock sub woofer with something like this

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FHAXPA/...SIN=B000FHAXPA

Should that fit without any additional modification?

chellz

i just wanted to comment on the 'taking your eyes off the road part'. doesn't your car announce the songs as you're scrolling? if i'm driving more than 15-20 mph my system talks to me so i can scroll without looking at the screen. just askng. maybe you turned the voice function off?

Craig-D

Yes, my 2011 tech has that feature. I was referring to my experience with my 2009 base when I was talking about having to take my eyes off the road. Sorry if what I wrote wasn't clear.

gab2409

I came from an 09 base, and just got into the 11 tech. I use the flash drive as my music drive, but I imagine the functionality is the same. I will say this: the tech is worth it to me for the upgrade in audio quality alone. A lot of people disagree. I found the base to be a lot more user friendly, though. For example, my flash drive has about 175 albums. On the base, if I was listening to an artist that starts with an "S," I could go up a level in the directory and be where that artist was alphabetically. With the tech, when I go into the directory, it always starts at the beginning (the first folder on the drive). It was just easier to navigate. The other two issues I have with the tech is that when I have it on random, the system seems to forget what song it was on when I turn the car back on. Instead of starting where it left off, it's just in the middle of another song. It also seems to have a hard time diplaying the artist/song title on the secondary screen. It will just show "no title" until I hit the display button, and then it will recognize the song. All in all, the tech is worth it to me, but the funtionality was better in the base, imo.