professey

From what I've read so far, it seems like the most popular upgrade to the TSX sound system is to upgrade the speakers. I'm wondering if anybody has replaced/upgraded the factory amplifier. I realize there just isn't much room up there, so I'd also be interested in *how* the upgrade has been/would be accomplished (I imagine the amplifier would have to go in the trunk).

First hand knowledge here would be great, but any guidance would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

elduderino

As you would have found in the FAQ list for your car, many, many amp upgrades have been performed.

To digest the answers, the TSX has full-range, un-processed front and rear outputs to the OEM amp.

These are BALANCED signals, NOT RCA-type common-grounded signals.

To use them properly, without engine noise or whine or hiss, you need:

1) An amplifier with a "balanced-compatible" input. This means that JL works, and at my shop we get great results with DLS and Zapco. Best results would probably be with a Zapco with Symbilink and a hacked Symbilink cable, in that you would have more gain since that is a TRUE balanced input, not a quasi type. I replaced a JL 300/4 with a DLS CA41 and it was louder and I could turn the gain way up without any whine (the 300/4 worked, but if I raised the gain too far I had a bit of whine - which was louder than I really needed, but I digress). This means Alpines and Kickers and Rockford are OUT (based on forum member experience), UNLESS you use some kind of device that works on the balanced signal from the HU (see more below).

OR

2) Some kind of balanced to single-ended common-grounded adapter. This is really different than a speaker-level-to-RCA adapter, often called a line-output-converter, or LOC. A regular LOC does not provide great sound on the TSX, and often filters the bass a bit.

If you have to use an amp with a common-ground input, you can use a device like the Soundgate LOCB. You can also use a device like the JL CleanSweep or the RF 360, but these are NOT required and are gross overkill unless you just have to have the EQ function of the 360.1 or .2.

With an 06 TSX, your best bet for stealth amp location is to hide it under the rear deck after removing the R deck seat-release lock syminder and linkage and plugging the hole with a plastic plug. We did this for a forum member and I thought he posted pics but I can't find them...

elduderino

I should note that the way balanced signals work is that there are two wires, one + and one -, and they carry mirror-image signals.

In a true balanced input, one of the signals is inverted, then the two are summed together.

The signal gets much higher in voltage, but any small voltage fluctuations ("noise") which were added to the signal on the way to the amp, get cancelled out after the inversion.

So you get more signal and less noise.

This is how pro sound works.

So the Zapco amps with SYmbilink have a true balanced input with the summing and everything. Symbilink uses a small DIN connector.

The quasi inputs - which use regular RCAs - are not doing the inversion-and-summing thing. They can work, and work well (see DLS - they work for us great EVERY TIME), but half the signal is thrown out.

We did a Zapco install on a G35 yesterday - a HU that doesn't sound NEARLY as good as the TSX HU - and it was clearer and stronger than usual (we've done a good number of those).

The Zapco balanced input definitely helped. I am considering upgrading our car...