well, after some mistakes, regrets, decisions, and cash, my sound system is done (for now at least).

History:

Years ago, I replaced all my dash components with an Infinity Kappa center (see below) and Infinity Reference 1011T Tweeters

Link to Post about center speaker

Not so distant history:

I always had it in my head that I would ultimately replace the rest of my speakers. Being a fan of Boston Acoustics speakers and largely indifferent about subwoofers, I purchased some BA S65rc coaxials for all four corners and a JL Audio ZR800-CW sub to replace the rest of the OEM (JDM?) speakers.

I installed all of them myself. The results were awful. Part of the problem is that all were driven by the factory amp. This was particularly an issue for the sub. The coaxial speakers are good speakers, but they lack any real punch. in hindsight, I should have realized they were essentially OEM-type replacements. They sounded better than the factory 6 1/2" speakers, but the highs were a mess since they were competing with my dash tweeters. The lows were ok at best.

Installing just an amp at this point was worthless since the BA speakers were only rated at 35W. Also a note on the JL Sub. It's about the only sub I've seen with a Qts value high enough to work in a free-air application. You just need to feed it a little more power than the factory amp can provide.

Recent History:

And so the commitment to spend some cash comes in. I should know better than to think you can run a good sub without some good power. I also wanted to put in some quality, matched speakers all around. Ultimately, here's what I put in:

Hertz ESK 165 components in front
Hertz ECX 165 coaxials in the rear
JL Audio XD 600/6 amp with channels 1-2 driving the front components, 3-4 the rear coaxials, and bridged channels 5-6 driving the JL Audio sub.

The sub is wired with pre-amp signals from the head-unit (by-passing the factory amp).

All I can say is wow. The clarity, fidelity, staging, and low end are all present. Let's be clear, the 8" JL audio is never going to thump like a 10 or 12 or multiple subs. But it fills the bottom end in a way that the factory sub never could. And the cabin certainly shakes on certain songs. Bottom line, this is what I hoped the system would sound like. (Caveat: i need to solve the center seat belt rattle problem now)

Here are some pix:

The BA speakers actually look a little smaller than the factory 6 1/2 speakers.


On the other hand, the JL Audio looks much more potent


The front components installed in the OEM locations:





Rear Sub



Rear Coaxial



Rear Deck



Sub installed right behind the rear seat at center opening



Wiring under rear seat: power, RCA preamp, & speaker wires bundled in order from top to bottom

 

Looks great, similar to what I wanted at first. Does the rear speaker cover fit with the JL sub?

 

yeah, lots of clearance

 

Wow great job, can I pay U to do mine?

 

so how did yu get the signal, before or after the factory amp?

 

Did the Hertz speakers just drop in? What about the sub? Are they in baffles or free air? Do you have pics of where the amps are mounted? Are you able to hook up your Ipod to the stock head unit?

Hertz speakers are awesome...best out there for the money.IMHO

 

I spliced into the harness between the head unit and the factory amp for FL, FR, RL, RR, and Sub signals.

 

Everything is drop-in from the sense that I didn't have to enlarge any holes. But I did have to drill mounting holes in sheet metal for all speaker locations.

The sub is free air. See my comments above about this particular model. It is actually designed to work in a free air application. Not the most ideal way to run a sub, but at least I was able to use the factory location.

 

What problems would you have run into if you tried to put in a 10 or 12" sub?

 

Not problems, just a different type of installation. You would not be able to install the sub in the rear deck. It would have to go in an enclosure in the trunk.

 

nice simple system with good components. i bet its a huge improvement over stock, nice work.

 

I decided to follow up after a few days. The thing that impresses me most about having quality components is that I don't have to blast the stereo to hear the music any more. Since these speakers are so efficient and have a flat response, you can hear the music without cranking the volume. It's really nice.

And I really need to figure out the seat belt rattle issue. Why did Acura put that right next to a subwoofer?

 

how does the hook up sound?