Okay guys, so I've been searching around, but can't find the answer that I'm looking for so I was hoping you guys could help me out. I have a 2005 base TL with NO navi. I'm going to install my Pioneer x4500bt touchscreen stereo in my TL here soon and before I start I want to make sure I have/know everything that I need to. I understand that they don't make a kit for the install, or at least I haven't found one. My question is once I take out the stock stereo, will the new stereo mount/securely sit in where the stock one was or will I need to modify it quite at bit. I'm not worried about the knob holes from the old stereo on the trim, I can fill those in myself. I just want to know if there's anything else that's a major pain with this so I don't rip everything apart and not be able to finish. If anyone has done this and can share some knowledge it would be much appreciated.

 

Hey I just did the install last week. Its only worth it if you plan to install a whole new system amps / speakers. Sounds terrible when you run it off the factory amp. Your new double din will bolt right in.

 

Agree you shouldnt have any issue other than getting the sound to work has IIRC you have to tap the gray wire into the factory amp if you are going that route. Agree agian its worth it if you upgrade the speakers, amp, etc.

 

Thanks for the input. I am indeed installing new amps and speakers. How is the fitment around the face of the screen though. It doesn't seem that the stock area is a perfect rectangle. May I ask what face plate you guys used or what stereo you went with so I can try to get a good fit? Also, is there a way to retain the factory bluetooth. I know the stock bluetooth runs through the stock radio so is there anything I can buy to keep this? Thanks in advance.

 

Your going to have to have to make your own dashkit. no one makes it except this company called krankitup

 

install your amps and speakers on the stock HU and dont worry about it

 

OP you wont be able to retain your factory BT as it only functions with the OEM HU. Unless you tap into it, but I am still rather a novice when it comes to I.C.E. so I raeally cannot answer that. Maybe someone with better expertise can??

No, you will have to make your own faceplate to fill in the gaps. Buy some from ebay and dremel them to your liking.

 

gonna be doing this soon too

 

Me too the signal from the factory radio is very weak and when I had a line driver it caused my processor to clip. I'd rather just skip that and get a higher signal from an aftermarket HU.

 

^^ that makes no sense

 

Hey ZFRED10... I have 05 TL non navi as well and just recently did this install... Only I kept factory amp and factory sub... It actually sounded way better than the stock deck... I love my double din... Here's a link to my thread I made documenting the install with pics...

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-94/2005-acura-tl-non-navi-aftermarket-double-din-install-w-pics-905787/

 

Thanks ... Just keep hanging on to your factory radio.

 

how did it not make sense? he was stating that the stock head unit produces a weak signal. So when he used his Line-Out Converter on the back speaker/sub wires, it caused his audio processor to clip.

So to eliminate the problem, he wants to put an aftermarket head unit in that he can wire his remote and rca's directly into the back so he can get a solid signal straight from the source.

:-)

 

Pretty much sums it up. But that other guy gets all upset everytime the topic of changing your head unit comes up. He needs to realize that the OEM radio is 10 year old technology and advancements have been made.

 

Yea I agree... My aftermarket head unit with the factory amp sounds 20x better than how the stock head unit sounded and I even loss the center speaker on dash... It's way louder and much clearer and does not distort at all. Although the stock head unit is pretty nice compared to other cars, the aftermarket has soo much more to offer me.

 

HAHAHA yeah sure! The guy said his processor was clipping. Thats not going to happen, an amp, not a processor. In any case all that would be needed would be any line driver that you can adjust the output on, or an amp that would work properly with the low HU output. So if you have the proper equipment there is no need for your fancy new double din that you covet so much.

Clearly if you are at all satisfied with the stock sub like you say you are, then we are talking complete opposite ends of the spectrum in what we find acceptable sonically. I am sure you will be happy with what you have assembled.

 

The Mosconi 6to8 has an automute feature the engages when it clips. You are right in stating that I could adjust the level on the line driver. When I did so my system had a loud hiss and the volume was reduced drastically. So why deal with all that nonsense when I can just swap the head unit and lose nothing and actually gain a few things (i.e. Stronger preamp signal, bluetooth audio, and ipod control.

And my stock sub was removed years ago so Im guessing that wasn't directed towards me lol.

 

So it still makes no sense to replace the only quality component in the system with something sonically inferior for connectivity that can be obtained with an iSimple. Then keep the crapptastic amplification and speakers and proclaim that you have upgraded the system! It plays just as poorly as before with just a bit more volume. My responses are directed at the OP and those who follow the same path.

 

Wish you could hear it pohljm... You would for surely retract your statement... Furthermore... I also hooked up 2 12's and another amp... I have a toggle switch on the amp wire next to my bass knob... When I don't want my serious bump or have someone in my car who doesn't like all the bass I kick off the 12's and am still able to enjoy some bass from stock sub... For me it works... Sorry it doesn't work for you... Maybe you were using an older inferior aftermarket head unit...

I have way more features on my aftermarket besides Bluetooth audio... I actually have a real nav now... As I had the non-nav TL, this was somethin I really wanted in my car. Furthermore I have more video outputs as well for when I add some screens... And in the mornings I can put a DVD disk full of Paw Patrol or Disney .mp4's and .avi's for my son to watch in the mornings on the way to his school... And without any extra cable, my iPhone streams audio through Bluetooth without plugging it in... I could go on about all the better features my aftermarket head unit does better than the stock one but I'm sure you are stuck on your ways and probably don't care...

Anyways... Another reason I swapped was the stock head unit had it's CD drive burn out and wouldn't read any type of disc. Dealership wanted 1200 to replace... I wasn't going to spend 1200 fixing a stock deck when I plan on upgrading my whole system soon anyways. I do plan on eliminating the stock amp down the line and adding+upgrading my speakers... But in the mean time at least I have a fully functioning system that sounds a hell of a lot better than when I had the stock head unit in...

 

As long as your happy thats all that matters. Once you properly upgrade drivers and amps you will then realize just how poor the current setup is.

No retracting statements here. I know what the OEM drivers are capable of and its not much.

 

We weren't disputing the OEM drivers' sound quality. We were talking about the over quality of the the stock system with the stock head unit vs an aftermarket one. With the stock system and an aftermarket head unit, it sounds much better than it did wit the stock head unit.

Obviously speakers rated at 20 watts aren't going to be capable of much...

 

It is a little louder thats why u perceive to to be better. Unless your HU was having issues there is no way that the sound has been markedly improved. The stock HU has won numerous national competitions, only very high end pre amp only aftermarket headunits would be a marginal improvement.

Dont get me wrong if your OEM HU is broken and you want a double din navi in your non navi car then thats a good reason to perhaps make the switch.

 

Even the people who were winning competitions have changed them out, you're like the only advocate left for the radio man lol

 

Wrong again but no worries! Lets see pics of the integration. And the ones that made the change are using top end HU's not the crap these guys are talkin about.

 

When was I wrong before? And how am I wrong now? Please tell me.

 

First time would be when you didnt understand that a processor clipping makes no sense. Next would be a blanket statement that the people winning contests have changed out HU's. But no worries!! No one keeping score.

 

I'll be keeping my OEM headunit ($for now$) and changing my OEM amp to to 4 channel as I already have a separate amp for my sub. All speakers have been changed except the tweeters. How bad is it to keep the OEM HU?

 

Have you ever worked with a Mosconi 6to8? Please do before you call me wrong. And secondly, of course not everyone is changing. But some people that have won before (and that just have high end systems) are changing them out. It's documented in build threads on here.

Its not bad at all, you will be able to build a decent stereo off it.

 

It senses clipping from the amp. It is not clipping. Next?

 

This was taken from a thread on DIYMA about the issue with the Processor:

"This unit does not like clipping of any kind. Period. If it senses a clipped signal coming in or going out, whether full out square or even soft clipping, it mutes the outputs entirely until you turn the voltage down either by volume knob or you adjust a setting on the DSP. The maximum unclipped voltage is a tad over 4 V RMS. Anymore than that and it shuts down the outputs because the unit itself is not capable of providing higher than this 4 Vrms output cleanly*.
Well, except when you boost the EQ and it normalizes the clipped signal to 4v. "

Like I said before, the input voltage from the line driver was too high going into the 6to8 therefore it caused it to mute. If I lowered it and the volume went with it plus I had a loud hiss. It had NOTHING to do with my amps and everything to do with the signal. So please stop telling me I'm wrong when I've been dealing with these issues since July. I think I know a little more about my stereo than someone analyzing from infront a monitor. Next?

 

The diyma paragraph says exactly what I have said all along. The processor does not clip, it senses clipping. This is ultra basic. Your noise issue is unrelated to you not setting your gains properly.

I really have no idea what your point is. If the OEM HU is broken replace it. But to replace it under the guise that you are upgrading sonically is typically false. And the connectivity issue can be solved easily.

 

Guess we are finally done with that. Only one thing left......where are all the pics of the DD integration?

 

Man you were wrong... stop trying to spin it. You said my amp was clipping. I told you the weak signal from the radio being boosted into the processor was causing the problem and that's what it is. So yea we are done with it!

 

Yeah! Ok show me anything I said that is wrong big boy! What do you think that line driver is? An amplifier perhaps? You just cant admit it can you. No worries the thread speaks for itself.

There must be some pics of these DD integrations?

 

Thank you for this! It helps a lot!


As for everything else, I'm okay with losing the stock bluetooth for the fact that mine went out anyways so that's not a problem. I thought I was going to lose the factory sub as well but now I'm hearing that I won't. Losing the center speaker isn't an issue either.

 

Right on ZFRED10... Glad I could help man... Hey BlueAC just ignore pohljm man... Dude is one those guys that can never be wrong no matter what it says... Thread isn't even about what he is whining on and on about... All dude wanted to know was how to do the install as he already had decided on swapping the deck out... Never did he ask for pohljm's opinion on the stock deck... From the looks of things, him trolling these thread-types seems to be nothing new... *yawn* no one cares what you think pohljm... You are barking up the wrong tree on this thread man...

 

your correct! I was never wrong. I also never provided my opinion the stock deck. I did agree that if your OEM HU was broken that would be an opportunity to install a DD deck. What I did say was that the reason given by BlueAc for opting for a DD deck made no sense. That still stands.

If you want to remove the only component of the OEM system that is worth keeping for no valid reason and maintain that by doing this and keeping the OEM amplification and drivers you have suddenly and vastly improved the system you are sadly mistaken.

I do not want noobs to be influenced by this nonsense.

 

And just for clarification the main reason for going this route isn't because of sound quality. I debated taking the iSimple route, but realized that it wouldn't satisfy all of my needs. First off, my stock blue-tooth took a sh** so instead of paying $200 for that plus shell out another $200 for the iSimple I would buy, why not just go double-din. My whole double din set up shipped is going to cost me about $600 and for the $200 extra dollars I'm going to spend I will now have Navigation, back-up camera, and other features the system has that the stock HU does not. Sorry should have clarified what I was really trying to get out of this install in the original post. May have avoided the misunderstanding. But thank you all again for the input!

 

even if the factory HU was proven to sound better than a high end double din, it has a cassette player!!!!! who the hell put cassette players in cars in 07 besides acura?

 

And your point is?