I have had my TSX about a year now and am ready to finally do something about the piss poor sound system that resides in the vehicle. I have been poking around on the threads for a few days now and see that most eveyone on the forum is in agreement with me.

I want to cut the factory amp completly out and run the stereo off some aftermarket amps. One of the questions I have is how many channels do I need to push the factory the 8 speakers in the cabin and the one sub I want to place in the trunk.

Another thing has anyone replaced the speaker wire or are you just splicing into the existing factory wire.

And last but not lease I have not purchased anything yet and am looking for kick ass sound at not an extravagant price but not cheap either because as with all things you get what you pay for especially with AV equipment.

All you help and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

welcome! first of all, what is your budget? also what exactly are you going for in your sound system? i got the feeling you want something, just better than stock. But if you are an audiophile and want nothing but the best, make that clear as well. what type of music do you listen to? and also, do you plan on doing the installation yourself, or having it installed at a shop? this completes the survey! I think if you answer these questions, some of these audio guru's here will help you build you a solid system tailored to your needs.

 

My budget is $1k. I am planning on doing the install myself. As for the music I listen to it is pretty broad the only thing I don't really listen to is heavy metal. I like my sound very crisp with no distortion.

 

from your first post, it looks like you were not intending on replacing your factory speakers. Also do you want Rear-Fill? From what ive read about the TSX setup, i would replace the fronts w/ components and use get some 6x9 components and use just the woofer for hte midbass. As far as exactly which audio components to get to fit your budget, you will have to wait for elduderino to respond

 

Welcome to AcuraZine. I think you might need to replace the speakers too. Elduderino is a probably the guy to ask when it comes to TSX upgrades. I think he knows the specifics of getting the preamp signal out of the OEM HU, as well as some recommendations about equipment.

 

PS - It's nice to see a newcomer looking for sound quality and not just asking about installing massive subwoofers!

 

indeed!!

 

Hi there and welcome.

The OEM amp is 8 channels, about 18 w x 8. Most people upgrading use a 3, 4, or 5-channel amp, or two amps, depending on which speaker locations that you decide to use. Remember that just because there are R door and R deck speaker locations does not mean that you need to use all of them.


I have just spliced into the factory wire. Derrick replaced his in the TL and heard a difference. It is a bit of work pulling wire into the doors. IMO it is not necessary in many systems, but I respect those who do it for maximum sound quality. Given that you seem interested in optaining maximum SQ, you may want to consider it.


OK, a 1K budget and self install (prebuiolt box or self-built?)

Have you read the post on sound quality here: https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/car-audio-basics-sq-noobs-289959/

This may help you decide on how many speakers you will be running. Those who are committed to the best stereo SQ possible often run 5 speaker drivers: F tweeters, F mids, and a woofer. Using this architecture allows you to get as good a speaker as possible. When you decide to fill all the speaker provisions AND get a sub, you spread your budget thin, and dilute how good a speaker you can use, and you mess up your stereo SQ, as that post describes.

You can get a good set of F components, a good sub, and a good amp for under $1K from a few different suppliers. For instance, I am a DLS dealer, and you can get a 3-channel amp, a 10" sub, and a great set of F mids and highs within that budget. (For more detainls, if you aren insterested, PM me and I'll give you the details).

Depending on the amp level and woofer size and what-not, you could decide to include a decent set of R coaxials in the R doors... but I personally don't think it's required, and as I said before, it reduces your available budget for your F speaks.

Any questions on any thing, feel free to contact me - I'm not just going to try to sell you my stuff...

 

Ok now. Please don't think I am slow or anything by any means but I have to ask this question even though I know it doesn't sound like it is the most educated thing to leave my mouth. On a component setup which I have never installed before where am I supposed to put the cross over and the tweeter?

Also I have never heard of DLS but that is not saying too much I used to have a 1999 Accord with infinity all around but that is all I was playing with.

When you say to only use the 5 component setup are you cutting out the rear doors or leaving them be.

If we have to up the budget to make the car sound better thats not a problem either it will just take a little longer to make it happen. Let me know what you think..

PS I still have my mind set on installing this myself it will keep me busy for a few days hopefully.

 

No such thing as stupid questions...stupid people asking questions, sure, but you don't seem to be in any danger of that : )

With the TSX, the tweeter is on top of the dash on the L and R sides. This can be a good location for a tweeter or a bad one, depending on the system you are using. Some systems use harder tweeters and higher xover points, and in my opinion are bright and harsh reflecting off of the glass, and don't play much in the way of vocals. Tweeters that are soft and play lower (have a lower xover point) sound smoother and less fatiguing, and vcan throw vocals into the windshield very convincingly.

The xover is a fun job. My personal fave is to put them under the carpet on the pass footwell against the firewall. Xovers have inductor coils in them and they pick up noise if they are in the center console (the noise is from the Airbag ECU). Some xovers get stashed in the door in TLs where the tweeter location is also in the door, but the TSX makes that a tough choice.

I had not heard of DLS until tipped by a forum member last year. Been in the US a couple of years, Europe for many years. Check www.dls.se. At the IASCA sound contest at Daytona Beach at Spring Break, there were 6 cars running DLS - 5 1sts and 1 2nd. Infinity is one of those companies who has been around for years and makes workmanlike product, but IMO it is a little too optimized for big chain stores. It's not in the DLS/Dynaudio/Focal/Morel/Rainbow/CDT bracket for SQ. I'd consider Alpine X over Infinity for a TSX, personally.

I leave the R doors out entirely, have done this in many. many cars over the last 2 decades. If you read that "SQ for noobs" post you'll see why. Another plus in the TSX is that if you use a tweeter in the dash locations that play voices convincingly, R passengers hear vocals just fine, no need to worry about R fill "for the rear seat passengers".

I don't think you need to up your budget neccesarily - I think you can get really good sound for $1K. You may want to learn more about install and audio to make sure your $1K worth of gear returns as much SQ as possible, because install is a LOT of the final result. Or you may want to spend some money on having a custom shop do your sub box, if you want a clean fiberglass custom box like sergeremi's.

 

The tweeter installation hss me boggled how do you go about getting them out from under the dash or do you simply mount them on top?

Does anyone have pictures of intalls they have done or have paid to have done?

 

As far as amp's go what do you think of Audiobahn??

 

Tweets come out the top.

Audiobahn is crap. Total crap. No, really.

I will be happy to design a whole system for you that is entirely, 100% from brands other than my own, if that's what it takes... but don't buy Audiobahn.

 

Elduderino if you could do that you will be the man.

 

the Audiobahn questions really make my day!

 

That would not be the defining condition... I AM the man : )

You still haven't made those decisions about sub size or R fill, as far as I can tell...

For under 1K, you can get a JL 300/4 300W amp, a JL 10w3v2 sub , and a set of SPX-137R components at onlinecarstereo.com (IF they are in stock - call before ordering). Like $850 with a low-end amp kit.

Order a sub box at edesignaudio.com for $100.

Under $1K, good gear, good brands, should sound good. I ran a 300/4 in or TSX for some time, worked great. The SPX-137R comps replaced the set I originally installed, the tweeter is not as good as the one I had but the mid is the same.

Or I would set you up with a DLS 3-channel amp - 50w x 2 and 170w x 1, a set of DLS mids and tweets (using the same chambered tweet as their most expensive speakers), and a DLS Magnesium series 10" (same one sergeremi has - read his comments) for the same price.

 

Seems like a lot of people who went with Eld's suggestions have really liked their system.

I would seriously consider the DLS package that he is offering you.

 

i wish we could hear DLS over here

Ken, if u get some, u better let me hear them!

 

For sure man!

I'm spending all of my money on Hondata right now though! I should have it by the end of the week!

 

what exactly is Hondata?

 

Dude, you gotta visit the othe4r forums sometimes : )

The ECU reflash for more peak HP in the TSX. I think I can get it now that my wife drove the TL loaner car and thought it was "zippier" : )

 

i know i know, i will get out of my lil TL bubble one of these days

ahh thats cool, i had a TSX loaner, it was nice for an I-4.

 

Awesome Eld. I'll let you know how mine turns out. I'm pretty sure, I'll be posting a thread about it later in the TSX forum.

Here's a link Harsheel:
http://www.hondata.com/reflash_tsx.html

Hondata gives you more torque & HP throughout the entire RPM range and also lowers the Vtec engagement point to 5000 rpms.

 

wow that looks impressive! but why does ur VTEC engage so high? our hits around 3800-4000RPM. You need a VAFC-II

 

How do you go about tying into the OEM HU. Ire you direct splicing into the wireharness comming out the rear of it??

 

At the top of the AV forum list, Jonesi has assembled links to the DIY posts about each car. The TSX section lists specifically a post that describes how to do this:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...90&postcount=3

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/instructions-install-shop-preamp-output-300209/

You don't need to get behind the HU... just get to the amp in the ctr console.

 

Hey what do you guys think about POLK Audio

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/speaker-sq-demo-boards-big-chain-stores-etc-302442/

 

alright, a dumb question...

component speakers are different from a regular speaker in what way?

could i still just take out one of the old speakers and replace it with a component speaker and not need to change any of the wiring?

 

Literally, a component speaker is a separate tweeter and woofer and a coaxial has both mounted one on top of the other.

As a general rule, the tweeters on a coaxial are physically smaller and thus less capable than a separate outboard tweeter. HOWEVER, manufacturers have been making some pretty cheap sets with some pretty low-end tweeters.

Also, the sound quality of any multi-speaker-driver system is dependent on the filters that keep the tweeters from playing bass or mids, and the mid from playing highs. Coaxes usually have a very basic and cheap filter (called a crossover or xover) on the tweeter, and none on the woofer. (A woofer is any cone-type speaker, even if it ends up playing midrange...lots of fuzzy terms, sorry). More expensive speakers use more expensive filters, but more expensive filters are more electrically complex, and that means they sap amplifier power (called insertion loss).

So better speakers are USUALLY available in component form, and the BEST speakers only exist in component form. But the better components are less efficient, laregly due to their included xover filters, and as a result, installing good-but-inefficient speakers on OEM amp power usually does not give you good results.

Also, the OEM amp usually has some kind of xover built in, which may not be correct for your new speakers - and xovers should never be connected in series. For instance the TSX has a tweeter xover inside the amp, so no new tweeter xover really should be attached to that amp tweeter wire without the amp having a mod performed first.

The TSX door speaker location plays mids and highs, so an coaxial can be installed there with no issues like that.