Rocketsfan

This has been posted in multiple threads and has been stated in those threads and this one, ANC comes back on after you restart the car. The end effect is that everytime you start your car you will have to turn ANC off. It doesn't stay off. I still don't think turning ANC off makes that big a difference to begin with.

murtezahu

2016 tlx w/tech here. I too noticed the lack of low end bass. I am coming from a 2011 tl w/tech. The difference is pretty significant. Tried disabling the ANC thru the MID, and two things:

1. It turns back on as soon as you restart the car.
2. Did a few tests with different music with lots of low end bass, (the same part of the song with ANC on and off) and turning it off makes very little to zero difference (imho). Most of what we are feeling is placebo.

Quandry

The ELS in the Acura does not provide a lot of bass boost, likely by design to match the audio purist, but it can pump out good base when the source contains it.

Go to youtube and search for "bass cover" and search for a track with your favorite song. Then play this through the car system. It rocks.

lim_ah

I've had my TLX since just after Christmas 2014 and I can confirm that disabling ANC through the MID definitely stays off, even after restarting the car. I recently went back in and tried turning it on again to see if I'd notice the noise reduction and after a year of having it off I can definitely notice the lack of bass - I kept feeling like I needed to 'pop' my ears after turning ANC back on. When you do the on/off comparison you need to have the volume up at least to 9 or 10 to really notice the difference - any lower than 7 or so and the volume is too low for the bass to kick in enough to notice...

Masta120

I recently got a 2016 RDX AWD Advance and have definitely noticed the sound quality is definitely inferior to my 2005 TL with Navi.

I tried to the steps recommended in the start of this thread to disable the ANC (hold down NAV then BACK then MENU), and it DEFINITELY makes a significant improvement in the sound quality. However, just like others, as soon as I turn off the engine and turn it on again, the setting resets itself and the ANC becomes enabled again.

Anyone know how to permanently disable the ANC (without having to mess with the mic or having to open up my dash to unplug the unit)?

smalltime

i found a second "hidden" menu in my 16 rdx tech after going through the "navi+back+menu" buttons you release all buttons then press and hold the "menu" button until the lower screen menu will change again showing a different menu which includes "neural settings" i have been playing with it for only a day but the changes dont seem to save if someone can figure out how to save the changes please lmk

noclue02

[QUOTE= You may hear a loud humming noise (sounds like bass) for about 30 seconds.
Once it stops, enjoy your ELS audio system as it was meant to be in all it's glory and lack of SUCK. If you experience heavy road noise and believe it isn't worth it (i didnt notice a single difference) then repeat the steps to turn back on.[/QUOTE]

I tried this but the humming noise on my car just stay on. I couldn't stand for more than little over a minute so I had to turn the ANC back on. I tried this both with the car running and off, still the same. What else am I missing here???

noclue02

aahh nvm, I finally got it to work. Had to put my car in gear for the humming noise to go away after a minute =\. Make no different in sound, at least some of the music I had tried it on.

wagsrules

It takes about 10 minutes tops to pop the passenger side under dash trim off and unplug the ANC module. There are no screws holding the panel to the dash. It simply pops off. The ANC module is the silver box on the right hand side. Unplug it and pop the trim back one.

MrCar117

This worked on my 2016 AWS 6 cylinder Tech. Now the stereo sounds more like the one I had in my 2008 TL. It seems to hold the setting even when I turn off the ignition. So far interior noise (since ANC is OFF) is not bad.

Masta120

So, if you pop off the passenger dash and disconnect the ANC module, do all the other car functions work properly (other than a little engine noise possibly)?

MrCar117

I just used the menus to do it, but I read somewhere that everything functions.

RDXSUB

Can someone please tell me where the ANC module is in the RDX? Constantly turning it off at the headunt is very annoying. I puleld down the glove box and did not find the ANC Module there.

sheltbt

Is this the area between the top of the dash and the glovebox?

Thx in advance

sheltbt

Found it. Was too easy and sounds much better.

aggybong

Just pulled the cable on my 2016 TLX tech. Attached are some pictures if someone else needs a little guide, but it's seriously a 5 minute process.The cover on the passenger side just pulls down, and then you yank the cable after pushing up the clip.

sheltbt

After having it unplugged for a couple of weeks I plugged it back up. I guess I wasjust too excited and was lulled into a false sense of more base. Plugged it back up and can't tell any difference. This is just my experience.

Masta120

RDXSUB, were you able to successfully disconnect the ANC in your RDX?

aggybong

Do you drive in Sport mode? Eco\Normal use the ANS feature more than sport mode does.

sheltbt

Normal Mode

know610

I tried on 2017 TLX Base model and confirm ANC stay off (Back+Audio+Menu until then you see Develop screen - now hold and push Enter)
I see ANC-->ON-->ON-->OFF This was default

ANC off will look like this ANC-->OFF-->ON-->OFF

Now that I want to have ANC as default from factory, it won't stay ON when I re-start my car. Not sure why or maybe I did wrong?
I press one on the Push Start/Engine, then did Back+Audio+Menu until then you see Develop screen - now hold and push Enter and Press ON. Now it look like as before the hack. (ANC-->ON-->ON-->OFF). When I turn off engine and start engine, if show as OFF ( ANC-->OFF-->ON-->OFF)

know610

Some how I can't edit my post after submitted.

Anyway, driving mode is Normal

Paul Kim

Omg this fixed my issue! I was wondering why my Bluetooth audio was sucking so bad. There literally was zero bass when playing from BT but all other inputs sounded fine. After I did this, I have full bass again. Now I just have to test whether it stays when I stop and start the car. Thanks a bunch!

mapleloaf

Just curious, what year and trim is your TLX?

skylineblue

I haven't tried this on the TLX but I have on my 2016 ILX Tech Aspec and even disconnected the ANC unit. It did absolutely nothing to the subwoofer output in terms of volume. I even verified it with test tones between 40Hz and 120Hz and a decibel meter. Turning on the flat DSP made a small noticeable difference, 2dB or less in the lower frequencies, with the volume at 10. That also created this booming sound at highway speeds that muddies the sound a bit. I've also verified this by measuring the subwoofer amp output and there was no change with turning off or disconnecting the ANC. These are the results I got with both ANC on and off at various volume and with/without DTS using a 2 ohm load with a 50Hz track at 0dB:

DTS Neural On
Volume 10 Sub 0
Voltage 0.5v
72dB

Volume 10 Sub 6
Voltage 0.9v
75dB

Volume 20 Sub 0
Voltage 2.1v

Volume 20 Sub 6
Voltage 2.75v

DTS Neural Off
Volume 10 Sub 0
Voltage 0.7v
73dB

Volume 10 Sub 6
Voltage 1.3v
76dB

Volume 15 Sub 0
Voltage 1.4v
79dB

Volume 11 Sub 6
Voltage 1.4v
79dB

As you can see from above, DTS actually gives less output to the subwoofer. I can also hear the difference, which made me question alot of people on hear who claimed that with DTS on it created more bass. The main problem with the TLX and ILX vs the gen 4 TL is that Acura has changed the AMP settings. They actually still use the same speakers in the TLX as the gen 4 TL. I think they just reduced the output to the subwoofer to prevent the rear deck cracking that some gen 4 TL owners had in the past. I mean with DTS off, volume at 10, and sub setting at +6, the amp is outputting less than ONE Watt to the subwoofer. Also notice that going from 0 to +6 on the sub setting doesn't even double the output so you will hear an increase of less than 3dB. They should at least make each increase of the sub setting correspond to 1dB when listening at a reasonable volume, like 10, to allow people to actually adjust the sound to how they like. I also want to note that the system is slightly bass heavy based on my measurements by about 3dB with everything centered and DTS off in the sound settings.

I've done a lot of tests with the sound settings and did some short listening test in my 2019 TLX 2.4L Aspec that I just got got today. Both systems sound very similar except the ILX actually sounds better in the back seat since the TLX has the 6.7in in the rear deck instead of the rear doors so vocals and most of the music is coming from behind you even with DTS off, which sounds weird for most people. I've hooked up a battery charger and tried to get the ILX to sound as close to reference sound as I could with the engine off, since I can't hear a difference with the engine on. I use the Adam A5X for speakers and the Fischer Audio DBA-02 for my IEM.

Most people are just used to extremely boosted bass, around 10-20dB. I actually don't mind the option to increase the bass another 10dB but Acura limits that at less than 3dB, which is useless. The ELS system at default settings sounds so bad to most people, myself included, because there seems to be a massive dip around 440Hz. I used an EQ to lower frequencies around 440Hz by 10-15dB and my reference speakers and IEM sounds pretty much like the ELS system, although a little less bright. Lets just say the the ELS system at default settings make Grado headphones sound smooth. The best settings I've found are DTS off with everything centered except treble at -2 or treble -1 and bass +1. You can increase the sub all you want but that won't do much. The settings with treble at -2 is more laid back and sounds more natural. The settings with treble at -1 and bass at +1 has more detailed but can sound bright for some people. Increasing the bass to +2 will make vocals sound less thin but you will lose out on some air and details.

someguy11

mapleloaf

I've always used the mid setting for SVC and found my system works well while driving. I have always enjoyed the system in the 4 Acuras I've had with ELS, but I do notice that the increased wattage of my 2018 is noticeable in comparison to my 2016 and 2015 TLXs, particularly in terms of the bass. However, I am not a pulsating bass kind of guy, so I am perhaps more satisfied than some with the the excellent clarity of the system.