tidus888

Hey guys.. do you think its possible to install the active noise control unit on the 04-06 TL?

pnoi521

Do you guys think it would be possible to get our CD players to play mp3s?

ubnpast

Noise control unit for what?
pnoi: you shouldnt be a thread whore.

pnoi521

heyyy I'm not a thread whore! lol

I just have hella questions about my new car!

ubnpast

congrats

J.Edward

jzacuto

I'm not 100% certain, but I think the active noise cancellation feature is a standard function of the radio head unit only on the 2007 TL Type-S. You'd have to check the part numbers to see if the head units on the 2007 TL and TL-S are different, but my guess is that they are. In any case, it might be more of a pain than it's really worth.

They used it in the TL-S to reduce the noise from the engine/exhaust which to me is really silly. If you buy a TL-S, you WANT to hear the noise!!!

jzacuto

I'm not 100% certain, but I think the active noise cancellation feature is a standard function of the radio head unit only on the 2007 TL Type-S. You'd have to check the part numbers to see if the head units on the 2007 TL and TL-S are different, but my guess is that they are. In any case, it might be more of a pain than it's really worth.

They used it in the TL-S to reduce the noise from the engine/exhaust which to me is really silly. If you buy a TL-S, you WANT to hear the noise!!!

CanopyFlyer

WARNING--- This is not a simple subject and in the following paragraphs I have attempted to reduce it down to something easy to understand, but read at your own risk.

The answer to your question is: It depends.

Active Noise Cancellation really does not work that well in a large area and your TL's interior qualifies as a large area. Where it works the best is when the noise can be canceled either directly at the source, like an active muffler for your car or right at your ears as in a set of active headphones (which are illegal to wear while driving.) These are areas where the sound wave has either not experienced a change in phase yet, or will not change phase before reaching your ear drum. In other words you have to get it where it comes from or where it's going. To try to cancel a sound wave and all of its possible phase variances as it propagates is next to impossible. A loudspeaker based noise cancellation system could not possibly hope to combat such an environment. Remember the noise you want to cancel is coming from everywhere, but you only have a couple of loudspeakers with which to cancel it all. Equate that to trying to boil the ocean with a match.


However, if you wanted to add active canceling to your muffler to cancel engine noise, yes it can be extremely effective because you are dealing with a single source of noise. As a matter of fact I believe there are mufflers on the road now that include an active element. Back in the 70's (maybe 60's) tire manufacturers realized that certain tread patterns were noticeably quieter than others. They realized by careful manipulation of the tread it would cancel road noise. The first tires noticed doing this were very knobby snow tires that were expected to be extremely loud, but were not, it took them a while to figure out why. That is one of the reasons why tires of today are much quieter, yet longer wearing that those 30 or 40 years ago. Michelin uses this technology extensively, so if you still have the OEM tires your TL is already using active noise cancellation.

Acoustics is a very confusing and complex subject and not easy for the uninitiated. I do NOT claim to know any more than a smattering. My knowledge comes from 20 years of designing and building loudspeakers and home audio equipment as a hobby.



As far as the MP3 question, yes your TL's stereo can play MP3's if you have an MP3 player and one of the following:

1. Cassette adapter (I found out tonight that it works, good thing since the changer died)

2. An MP3 player FM Transmitter.

3. There is a DIY in the audio section for adding an adapter to directly connect your MP3 player to the back of the OEM head unit. Sorry I do not have the link for it handy. I am positive that another forum member will provide a link shortly (along with an admonition to use the search function)


Blue Skies,
CanopyFlyer

The author of this message is trained and licensed in the practical application of aerodynamic decelerators.

CanopyFlyer

Well, I can be corrected. There are systems out now that can do this. 4 years ago it was largely agreed to be impossible, guess that is what technology is for.

So just ignore a large part of my post above, that information was correct about 4 years ago, but not now.

tidus888

if you look at the parts... 39200-SEP-A61 Active Noise Control Module

and from an engineering point of view.. i personally don't think Acura would be stupid enough to custom built 2 different head unit just for the added feature.. why? it adds to cost and hard to control supply..

hopefully itz a simple addition that you tap into the stereo system..

oh yea.. and i test drove the TL-S today... it seems like active noise cancellation kills road noise... not much of the engine sound is killed =) so thats a good thing

ding069

i'd like to look into this.......
how does this attach to the stero system? this could be nice

FLBusa

I too am interested in Active Noise Cancelling for my TL.

Obviously it's not going to be an Acura Accessory that you can just buy and plug in. Someone (with audio system experience) just has to order one and start hacking to see if it works. It may be a black box or it may also require a new head unit as well.

CanopyFlyer... Thanks for the write-up. It's good to hear what someone in the industry has to say.

On the other hand... I'm looking at this kind of like CD's compared to MP3's. A sound engineer will stop at nothing short of perfection, like CD and/or DVD audio quality when in reality... the majority of people are happy with (or can't even distinguish) the quality of MP3 audio.

As for how well it works... If it reduced road noise in my car by 60% I'd say it's a worthwhile mod.

flipper2001

Honestly I didnt hear the difference. I was in a TL07 (which I bought) and Type S that i tried, i couldnt hear any difference. Both cars seem quieter when driving then my TL05 (also seem lots heavier then my 05). But its hard to say Noice Cancellation really worked, i know it was on and it nearly the same sound.

tidus888

only TL-S has ANC.... when you think the car is heavier. it might be the difference in suspension.

CanopyFlyer

Ok I did a little more research.

I thought that my previous post ended up being way off base after doing some initial reading on the TL-S's ANC, turns out I was not. What I found out is that you can target specific frequency ranges in large areas with loudspeakers, just not every frequency occurring in the environment. That is what I assumed in my initial post and indeed it is next to impossible.

However if you wanted to target sounds that occur in a very narrow frequency range, such as tire noise, then it is possible to cancel these sounds out over a wide area if the noise is propagating from the same general direction (IE from under the car.) What you will hear is less road noise, but wind, engine and any other sounds will be unaffected.

Acura's website claims a -10dB reduction in "noise." That is a pure marketing gibberish, there isn't an acoustic engineer anywhere that would legitimately back up that claim. I imagine they are getting their -10dB reduction in the very narrow frequency range I mentioned above. The over all reduction is probably closer to -2dB to -5dB at the absolute best. You might say that's great, -5dB is half the reduction right..Uhh no because decibels use a logarithmic scale, not a linear scale. Subjectively you probably should expect a 2 to 5% (at the ABSOLUTE best) decrease in ambient noise with the ANC on.

Noticeable? Yes. Worth it? Go to the Parts Express website and buy some sound deadening material, it is a lot cheaper and very effective. (Personal testament, Part Express sells some great stuff and it's cheaper than Dynomat. Just do a Google search for them, they are located in Springboro OH.)


As far as the MP3 vs CD quality debate. If you have good equipment (car stereos need not apply PERIOD THE END) and are listening critically to the material then yes, (High bitrate) MP3's are somewhat inferior to compact discs. With that said traveling 70mph down the highway in your 3.2 TL you will NEVER be able to tell the difference between the two formats. When I say "NEVER" I mean it, if someone claims different it is because they are trying to sell something you don't need. Automobiles are absolutely the worst environment for listening to music. Some of the claims I read from car stereo manufactures are ludicrous. Even if their equipment did perform to that level (which is doesn't) you would never be able to tell due to the poor acoustics of the cabin and operational noises of the car. I just sold a car with an Alpine CDA-9811 and I never played a conventional CD through it. It was great having 700 minutes of MP3 and WMA files at my fingertips and I was very happy with the sound quality. The changer died in my TL two days ago, I have an Alpine head unit (with MP3 and WMA capablilty) coming as a replacement. I hope to install it on Saturday as Mrs CanopyFlyer and I are going on a 1000 mile trip to see our parents next week (yes both sets of parents in one week )


Blue Skies,
CanopyFlyer

Converted

Is there ANY way to disable this feature? I wonder where that module is... It's playing HELL on my new sub set-up. Feedback like you wouldn't believe...

SQAcuraTL04

I just found this post after I was contemplating researching on how it is wired and maybe doing this myself with a nav install. You could disconnect it I guess if you wanted but unplugging the box that is located under your dash. Where it is located I couldn't tell you. Take a look at the part number that is for this unit and just look for that number under your dash.


39200-SEP-A61 Active Noise Control Module

flydog

I dont know why you would want to waste your time or money on this. I drove a loaner last week and I didnt notice any difference in interior noise level between my 07 Type S and the Base TL loaner. You would be better off spending a a few hundred bucks on Dynamat.

TeknoKing

There is a thread on this.... you need to disconnect the the mic, which is located at the rear map light.... and your problem will be solved.

Joe Foe from Buffalo

I wan to disable this in my 05 non navi TL and can not find it behind the rear or front lights. I know my car has it cause now that I have a after market sub it is playing havoc with the sound.

I hate cars

Yours would be the first and only '05 with ANC.

Joe Foe from Buffalo

Can some one please give me a better idea of it's location. Pictures say a thousand words and would make it easier to locate. I had the entire hands free/front dome light/home link off looking for it.