Hey folks,

I have some old equipment from the accord that I want to put in the TL so I asked a local shop for a quote:

Kenwood eXcelon 4ch amp - XR-4S
Alpine SWR-1022D w/ box
AudioControl Matrix 6ch
Front Components
Most of the wires

Response:

Here are your quotes provided no additional parts or wires are required:

Front component install $80
4channel amp with line driver $100 ( assuming you want to use 2 channels for the front and 2 for sub )

Does that look right? I've already spent 1k+ on the accord, not sure if this extra 180 is worth it since car audio depreciates so fast! Plus, my TL already rattles enough

I'm not sure if I'll need more wires too so there's a potential extra $100? If I have to spend this much, I'm thinking if I can get something better while I'm at it.

Thoughts?

 

So they'll run all your wires, amp kit, put the components in, etc for $180?? Not too bad really. I mean it's simple to do and you could save $80, but up to you. Not sure if they factor in an MDF baffle for the components, but you'll need one of those most likely.

Tell them to take the pre-amp! Better yet, print out and highlight the color of the wires you want them to use and they'll love you for that. Tell em where the amp is and let them go at it.

 

Initially, I had planned to do it myself but I'll have to pull the back seat out and don't really wanna mess things up there because the airbags are probably there too.

Is MDF baffle the ring around the speakers? I have 2 steel rings that I took out from the fronts.

Wouldn't they take pre-amp by default? Since I have 6ch on the matrix, I should feed in the fronts, sub, and rears? The rears won't be amped, so does this make sense?

 

That's not too bad.

I'll throw in another amp for the sub, though..and bridge the 4 channel on the comps.

 

^ i agree with eggy! And that price isnt bad. Make sure they maintain your rear speakers and center channel on the oem amp.

 

Wont have to pull the backseat for this install. Airbags are way up in the b pillars so no worries. The MDF (or whatever material you might use) baffle is used mainly for a little more depth as most speakers aren't shallow enough to fit straight onto the sheet metal without contacting the window when it's rolled down.

As far as a shop doing what they should do....don't count on it. Spoon feed them everything so they get it correct the first time

Yes you'll take the front left/right (pos & neg) into the matrix and then into the amp. You can use the amp like you want to for now, but I'll +1 to Eggy's comments. Find a cheap, but good sub amp on Craigslist or DIYMA and use the xr-4s bridged to the components. Won't need any more work besides another rca, a little more speaker wire and a distro block for branching off power/ground to each amp. Maybe $40 + amp cost.

Also +1 to make sure they don't cut all the wires so you retain the rears if you want them and the center channel. Print out the wiring color chart here and highlight them & take it to them lol

 

What additional speakers would the xr-4s drive if I were to get a separate amp for the sub?

 

None. You'd bridge the 4 channels of the amp down to 2, which would drive your components.

 

Is that the main benefit or would it be the sub getting separate amp? The sub sounded very nice as it is so I'm happy with that.

 

Down right cheap. We charge $80/hr for outside equip. I'd say you are at 5-6 hrs easily for that list of stuff. If it is a reputable shop that does good work I'd jump all over that.

 

Oh wow, I thought rates were similar to maintenance rates 50-60, I guess I was wrong. I should jump on it then. It is a well known shop.

 

Booked, estimated time is 5hrs of work, thanks folks!

Is there any cheaper alternatives for rattle prevention? I hear about weatherstrip often.

 

Those maintenance rates are cheap too! Maybe I should drive to Canada to get my car serviced.

 

Your setup will clip to hell with 100 watts allocated between mid, tweet, and whatever the crossover is gonna eat up. Every system does clip if you are listening to real music. The crest factor of a CD is like 30 dB (a power factor of 1000), which means the peaks can be 30 dB higher than the average, so if you are listening to music at 1 watt RMS - your amp (even the one on the tweeters) will need to be able to produce a full 1000 watt output - even if for just a few milliseconds. This why guys can put 600 watt RMS amps on every speaker and rarely if ever blow them, the power is for headroom (peaks). 300 x 2(what the xr4 provides bridged down to 2 channels) is ideal, imo.

 

Has anyone been able to fit an aftermarket HU in the lower compartment? It looks like a perfect fit but googling shows it's so hard, etc. I have the x794 that I pulled out of the accord and wondering if I could use that, but I'm not sure. If it's too messy then, I'll stick with the stock HU.

It's so hard to sell used car audio :/.

 

It can be done. I have a X996 in mine now, but to make it look good takes a fair amount of work. That portion is done, but the rest of the dash is still under construction, so no pics as of now.

 

I haven't measured the cubbie yet but it looks like a perfect fit, no?

 

No.

The opening has to be modified a bit, the mounting has to be modified quite a bit, and if you want it to look good there is a LOT of finish work involved. (both structural and cosmetic)

 

Here are a few pics of mine in progress. This was basically the halfway point. Not pictured, the mounting modification or the cosmetic finish work:








Essentially revers order of construction

 

dang!

 

Ok folks, the shop failed miserably. They didn't connect a remote in to my amp so my amp drained my battery overnight. Major fail, on top of that they said that I can't use the AudioControl Matrix because it accepts rca inputs and the stock system doesn't have any rca outs. So I'm trying to read up about this, the HU out gives unbalanced signals right? Can the matrix accept this, I read about the Balanced Input selector for the manual. Does this have to be disabled and then I can just soldier the speaker wires into rcas?

I was trying to find out exactly how this was done: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...=580314&page=1

I didn't know you can just make an unbalanced signal into a balanced signal like that.

So because of this they told me I need a loc, so they sold me this one: http://www.cacheaudio.com/cloc+d.html

This only has 2 ch outputs so my fronts aren't even using this. Man I got royally screwed, they were closed the past few days so I may drop by tonight to fix this mess!!!

I assumed these guys knew what they were doing but it seems like an amateur like myself knows more.

 

I forgot to add that I disconnected the power to the amp at the battery and electric taped the end.

 

Wow that sucks! Hopefully they have another more experienced installer! Solder rca cables from the HU and feed the matrix, i have to believe it will play nice with the signal . Good luck!

 

Thanks man, so I told him all the things that he did wrong and the unprofessionalism. You would expect they'd clean after themselves. There were wire strips in my trunk, finger-printed windshield, etc.

Anyways, so he offered a complete refund while keeping my wires intact, so I was ok with that. He did drain my battery so I'll have to get that charged somehow and my components are 4ohms, stock was 2ohms. Could the speakers have been damaged because the output of those were very low that day.

I think I'm just going to complete the rest myself. He said if I want them to splice into the wires feeding the stock amp, it'd take longer and it's something that they don't do. I donno why they don't, when audio is one of their main things.

So now, I'm left with no audio until I fix this . I don't have access to a solder so I may have to resort to butt connectors, I know it isn't the same but we'll see how that works out. It wouldn't be too hard to solder them later since they're right at the kick panel.

Now onto more research of what cabling I need and how to shove the wires into the trunk via the passenger side. I thought removing the seats are mandatory but these guys got it in without that. Is there a trick that I don't know about?

I'm going to try to follow https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...=580314&page=1

Anyone know a specific brand or shop/online to get the rcas? I have the rcas that go from the amp to the matrix so I need some short ones that go from the matrix to the HU. I'm thinking I need a custom harness as well to prevent the signals to feed into the amp. Anyone know where to get this online?

 

Ok I have the most simple solution for your audio needs!!!!

1. You do not need the audio matrix if you have an amp which excepts speaker inputs and can process stock audio inputs just like the matrix, thus making installing the matrix pointless. I have the JL XD700/5. Yes its a little expensive but it is the only thing you need to power everyone of your speakers.

Now if you want people to hear your music for miles when you drive down the road that is a whole other issue. But if you are looking to just make your sound system a lot nicer then stock, and only lose your own hearing, this amp will do it.

2. Remove the stock amp, you do not need it. And yes you still will have the center speaker option and navi voice even without the stock amp.

3. Get a Stinger RCA audio cable for 6 channels depending on where you put your amp there are 3 different lengths here is a link to what I am talking about.

http://stingerelectronics.com/produc...nt=Audio%206ch

4. Using a wiring diagram that I will post in this later, use the wires going to the and from the amp behind the passenger side kick panel, you can make the factory wires into RCAs easily. You will have to cut the plugs the gray and black one that go into the stock amp. And like I said remove it while you are at it. Below is the stereo wiring diagram.

http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldatadiy...3741/141963742


5. Cut the RCA ends of one side of the stinger cable. Solder the positive and negative wires of each RCA plug to each speaker positive and negative wire coming from the audio unit that was once going to the stock amp. It will be the black plug with the smaller wires. Acura has done something clever and twisted the positive and negative wires for each speaker together.

When you get to the center speaker wires you will want to bridge it with the drivers side speaker, so save those for last when soldering everything together. That way you do not lose the navi voice and you will have a true center speaker sound. You can either wrap each connection with electrical tape or use shrink wrap.

6. Run the stinger cable to your amp. Mke sure you label everything on both ends of the cable that way you dont get confused. Now you have 2 choices, depending on how you did your speakers.

Now run your speaker wires from the amp to your speakers. You can either use the existing factory speaker wiring if your speaker are connected to the factory harness still, this makes things a lot more simple. Run the speaker wires from the aftermarket amp to the factory speaker wires by the passenger side kick panel, solder the matching positive and negative wires for each speaker. If you have crossovers you have to go from the amp to the cross over first then to the factory speaker wire, and one to the aftermarket tweeter. For the center speaker wire, bridge it between the front right and front left speaker outputs on the amp.

Use the factory amp 12v remote wire for the aftermarket amp. You will have to extend it but it works perfectly.


I am going to assume that the place you took your car to has already ran the power wire on the drivers side of the car back to the amp. So all you would need to do is find a good grounding point for your amp.

7. Behind the center speaker there is a little gray box, remove it. It is for the ANC and will not be needed plus it will only give you problems. Don't worry HFL and everything else will work perfectly without this little box. Its easier then unplugging the mics in the front and the back.

8. Before doing anything make sure you turn all the gains down on your new amp and center everything on your stock audio unit, speakers, treble, bass, etc.. Use something you know has good audio quality and then adjust your speakers the way you want them to sound. Afterwards you can still use the factory audio unit to make small adjustments depending on the type of song you are listening to.


My setup in my 07 Acura TL Type S is

A. 1 JL Audio XD 700/5 amp
B. 2 JL Audio 6.5 components for the rear at 75 RMS
C. 2 JL Audio 6.5 components for the front, I have polk tweeters and 85 RMS crossovers for the front only because whoever owned the car before me removed them but left the speakers...... IDK
D. 1 Center 3.5 Memphis audio speaker 15 RMS
E. 1 JL Audio 8" sub 150 RMS

All speakers are in the stock locations, and the stock head unit works just fine with this setup. Plus there is minimal teardown of the vehicle interior. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Correction to this I didn't see this in my proof read....


4. Using a wiring diagram that I will post in this later, use the wires going from the stock audio unit to what used to be the stock amp behind the passenger side kick panel, you can make the factory wires into RCAs easily. You will have to cut the plugs the gray connector (amp output to speakers) and black connector (audio unit output to amp). And like I said remove it while you are at it. It makes a great place to store your front speaker crossovers. Below is the stereo wiring diagram.

 

^oh wow, that's a lot of information!

Yea, the power and ground is setup for the amp along the driver's side so I won't need have to run anything on that side.

The links you posted don't work so I can't fully understand what you mean.

My amp doesn't accept speaker level inputs so I'll need that matrix. I can't find harnesses for the stock amp anywhere! I need them because I'm only using certain signals so I need the rears and center to still be going through the stock amp right? I should draw out a diagram of what I think I understand maybe to see if I'm in the ballpark of all of this.

 

Somethings you just don't shop around for !!!

You look for the most reputable you can afford.
(you can apply these skills to anything)

Another thing don't shop around for a tit job for the GF or eye surgery !