iHeartmyHonda

So i hate my stereo system.. end of story.. i am upgrading to double din this weekend.. was wondering if anyone here has ever bought this kit off ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Aftermarket-Radio-Installation-Double-Din-Dash-Kit-Fits-Acura-TL-2004-2008-/390868725396?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item5b01976e94
seems reasonable and looks like i will not have to replace any trim either.

anyone on here ever buy this ?

pohljm

no reason to hate a perfectly good HU. If you want to look at an unfinished looking centerstack then go for it.

iHeartmyHonda

centerstack ??

pohljm

That would be the equipment in the center of your car that is stacked

cdguy707

I believe pohljm is referring to the non-navi models where the radio display screen will always be a blank black screen when you swap to an aftermarket hu... he always has to come on any thread where someone wants to change their stock deck to put his 2 cents in on his favorite deck in the whole world. I personally have swapped out my hu for an aftermarket one. The kit i used is from Krank It Up. This kit looks very comparable to the kit I used from them. The stock head unit isn't all that though. If you have a good double din that has a real EQ, your system will sound (in my opinion and many others) much better. You will be happy and won't even notice the blank black screen. Good luck with your install though. It is a lot of work to swap out the deck in these cars. I feel it is worth it. 900 bucks to fix a stock stereo just seems insane to me which is why I went with an aftermarket HU.

iHeartmyHonda

Did you get the steering wheel pigtail that connects to the stereo to keep the hand controls? I am un sure how that would work still. And as for the "centerstack" (i always thought it was called the HU Display) wont bother me if its black cause i plan on change that whole thing out with a tablet in the next coming months.

It boggles my mind how incredibly tough it is to change a HU in this car and how terrible the original speakers and subwoofer are. Wouldnt be such an issue is OEM didnt suck.. My co workers 2012 Nissan Versa has a better sounding system ( more bass, clearer mid/high).

cdguy707

i opted out of paying the 70 bucks for the steering wheel controls because my HU has a remote... but i have installed a couple of them in other TL's... they work just fine. The install isn't very hard, just time consuming as there is a lot of stuff that has to be removed... if you have a plastic pry bar set, you should have no problems. Here is a link to my install. I have some detailed pics for you to see how it is done.

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

I hate cars

Most of this is false. It's not $900 to repair the stock unit. It's $300 for a brand new one from Acura off of eBay.

What exactly do you think is going to improve by replacing the stock unit? The noise floor is extremely low. The signal is nearly flat and full range. It's all you could want from a headunit stock or aftermarket.

Pohljm is trying to save people money by replacing something that will get you zero improvement in sound quality while making the car look worse than stock and in many cases losing several of the stock units features. Unless you're in that .001% of the SQ competition crowd you will never hear a difference.

I have $10k in equipment and my HU is still stock for good reason. Forget a little EQ from an aftermarket HU. It's nothing compared to what a processor will do paired with the stock HU. A sound stage is a must for decent SQ which requires individual speaker EQ and level matching and phase, along with TA which few if any HUs will give you.

For what you spend on an aftermarket HU and kit, you're most of the way there to a good processor which will give huge gains over just an aftermarket HU.

iHeartmyHonda

yeah but burning cds is sooo 2000.. i am using a fm transmitter at the moment and its much better having songs that dont skip when i go over a bump unlike the stock HU.. making those dvd-a cds take a long ass time too.

I dont know how people think the stock HU looks worse than a nice touch screen kenwood or pioneer.. it makes it look like a spaceship especially once the top has a navi or tablet integrated it looks like two screens honestly i think it makes it look like a newer car.

The only thing i am not a fan of with the aftermarket units is the plastic trim pieces that have the cut offs for the HU knobs normally are just filled in with the stereo backplate.. I am planning on jb welding and molding those pieces to make it look flush then wrap it in CF vinyl.

Thanks for all the help guys. I think i know where im gonna go with this. I will post up some pics soon.. car is coming along nicely... winter is coming soon so i will be taking the TL off the road and working on the suspension components and body+re paint change colours. and maybe some bigger wheels the 18's seem a bit small now but who knows once the car is slammed. CHEERS

pohljm

all you had to say was FM transmitter....................

NBP04TL4ME

iHeartmyHonda

you got a better suggestion?

pohljm

The source material should be your primary concern for fidelity. If FM modulator is anywhere in this conversation then we are speaking different languages. If your looking for connectivity then any hard wired interface would be superior

iHeartmyHonda

The stock HU does not have built in amp that is as strong as aftermarket HU. So it will sound better with the new speakers. Ive had different cars ranging from pickups, civics, altimas, maximas, all with after market units installed by myself and they always sounded better.



Cause of a processor? like a carputer? Not sure i understand why you have a processor and stock head unit

iHeartmyHonda

Its just a temporary solution. I need to take out the rear sub and still figure out why it rattles so much. and my passenger door bottom speaker is rattling now too. So fidelity is not really an issue.

Most of my music is in .flac lossless so even when burning a DVD-A i cant fit that many songs on one disc.

pohljm

my work here is done! an aftermarket HU could be comparable if your using it for pre amp functions only. any amplification should be done outboard from the HU. processing independent of that. like I said we are speaking different languages

cdguy707

Most of it was false? What is most of it? lol you crack me up. Honda dealer did quote me 900 dollars to fix my head unit. Why would i spend 300 bucks on eBay for the same stock head unit when i could get a double din for a little more and have Navi and be able to play movies when my kids are in the car?

Everyone has their own opinion. You stand by the stock deck and i feel there are much better aftermarket options especially if you have the non-navi TL. But, beyond that, this guy started a thread based on the fact he already had decided to swap out his stock hu. So you defending the stock hu was not necessary. You come on to almost every thread where people want to change or are already changing their stock hu and say something about it.

I'm sure your TL sounds loads better than mine. Which is fine because you have over 10K of equipment in it per your own words. I have an aftermarket double din, a Rockford Fosgate T20001BD and a 12" MTX 9512-44 in a 3.2 cu/ft box. My amp and sub, i got used and my double din was an open box item that had a small scratch on the screen... only thing i bought brand new was my wiring for my amp. I bought 0/1 gauge OFC Rockford Fosgate wire... my system hasn't even broke 1,000 bucks and sounds way better than the stock system.

I'm not stating this to start you on another rant. I'm just saying, not everyone has 10K to dump into their sound system to compliment the stock hu. I'm a single dad with 3 kids and mine is a budget build with pretty decent parts. I plan to do a little at a time and be patient waiting for more good deals to come my way. My next step is to get a good highs amp so i can hook up my Image Dynamics components.

iHeartmyHonda... as for your question on the processor. He is referring to an Audio Processor. This a a module that you can hook up to a stock or aftermarket system which enhances your audio quality. Read up about it. Even though pohljm is cocky, he does know his car audio.

As for the half moon cutouts... i don't care for them either. I also plan on adding some bondo and then wrapping the trim in a carbon fiber. Good luck with your build bro. Sorry if I came off like i was tryin to argue with you pohljm, I was just speaking my mind that i always see you coming on these threads defending the stock HU...

pohljm

My system is $1K including ipod integration. I am after the best bang for the buck. Replacing the HU does not play into that. Many people assume that replacing the HU is the normal process in an audio upgrade. I ask questions and raise issues that many do not consider until they are already commited.

cdguy707

Not to start an argument but you said you had 10K in your system...

cdguy707

also i would agree with you that the average consumer does think the HU is the first thing to replace in a car. With some head units they may be correct but with newer cars, some of these head units (yes the TL included) have some pretty nice quality. When i have money, the first thing i like to upgrade in car audio are my highs and mids... you should hear my Tahoe... when i had money, i had did a pretty nice setup in there. I'm running Hybrid Audio Legatia components and 2 15's in a 7.25 cu ft box with ports tuned to 34 hz and man it sounds killer... i've won a few competitions with already

pohljm

IHC has the 10k

cdguy707

yea i just realized that... lol sorry pohljm... for some reason i thought you posted that... lol

iHeartmyHonda

Thanks for the clarification on the processor. Ive heard of these before.. not really something I would do but to each their own.

The trim is a must tho, its gotta look flush and practically oem. The guy that had the car before me used the 3m stuff and didnt pry the pieces off before applying the vinyl and it looks under-stretched by the knobs.

Thanks for the all help.