tycr

Hello guys,

Thanks again for all of your help with setting up the system. I finally decided to go with the following:

MB Quartz speakers - front/rear doors
JL Audio 500/1 amp - running sub
JL Audio 300/4 amp - running speakers
Boston Acoustics Pro Series 12.5LF subwoofer
Kole 3 farrad capacitor
Terk XM Commander Satellite radio unit

I had everything installed by a professional installer, and it sounds great...except for a little alternator whine, which is to be figured out on Monday... I also plan on having him turn up the gain somewhat on the 500/1 - how much should I be able to go before I have to worry about blowing anything?

For anyone interested, I was able to get a good price on some of the Honda cables, p/n 08A31-0E1-010. I have four available. If you would like them, I'd offer at $34 each, to include postage.

Steve

xaznperswaesonx

turn the 500/1 up all the way if you want. the boston pro sub are very good. they handle up to 1200 watts. Boston's web page doesnt say that 1200watt max or rms. But either way .. still good b/c 1200 watt rms is more than 500watt rms and if it's 1200watt max, it's probably 500w rms .. like i said .. either way it's ok to turn it all up. Alternator whine: check your grounding points. Make sure all your equipment is grounded to one point in the car. upgrade your ground cable in the engine bay to a bigger wire, say 4 gauge or lower. Lowere the gauge, the bigger the wire. Should help with the alternator whine.

elduderino

I found that putting signal cables or Ground Loop Isolators near the Air Bag ECU (forward of the factory amp location, with yellow harnesses coming ouot of it) created engine noise. I moved the cables away from the ECU and the noise went away.

Also, have the installer see if the noise is there with the 300/4 gain set to Low Voltage and set to the minimum...

I would NOT "turn up the 500/1 all the way" ... that's not a power setting.

accsuperstar

what cables are those?

elduderino

Oh, BTW, because you bought fully-regulated amplifiers, your capacitor is almost useless. It is certainly not helping your amps. I suggest asking your installer to disconnect it and see if there is any difference... but I strongly suspect NOT...

elduderino

See http://acura-tsx.com/forums/showthre...=08A31-0E1-010 (which is what I found by pasting the PN into the Search field...: )

elduderino

Seems like a first-class system. So, if you don't mind my asking, what was your total parts cost and what did your installer charge?

tycr

El, well, this one definitely went over the expected budget. Here's a rough breakdown of the costs...

Two sets PCE-216s $500 delivered
JL amps 300/4 & 500/1 $890 delivered
Bass Control Unit $40
XM Commander Unit $120
Kole Capacitor $140
BA Pro Subwoofer $270
SHOND3 Adapter/Honda Harness $130
Wiring/etc $150
Installation $550
=====================
TOTAL COST ~$2800

I went back to the installer today (Safe and Sound in Chicopee) and they eliminated the noise by making a few adjustments on the 300/4 amp and making some minor modifications to the grounding. They also knocked up the gains on the 500/1 quite a bit.

The system does sound amazing, and I am *VERY* satisfied with the BA sub. It can definitely pound, but offers very high sound quality as well! Now the new problem is that I should be working MORE to pay off all of this stuff, but instead I'm more interested in driving around...Uh oh...

Thanks again to everyone for your help with setting this up!

Steve