David Navonne is the Man!
 

I asked Dave about the options we have as TSX owners and here is an email that he returned that looks like it is a very worthy options considering it is under 40 dollars!!!

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Hello Jeff,
The absolute best product to get the signal from your factory Acura OEM system into your aftermarket amplifier is the Navone Engineering N-7V (N-774V for four channels). Richard Clark and I developed this interfacing device to convert OEM decks into competition quality decks. In fact, with the N-7V (or N-774V for four channels), you'll have a maximum signal level of 9.5 Volts rms, which is over four times more than 95% of the aftermarket decks. (In audio, signal level is at the top of the list for quality sound.)

The best place to tap into your factory system is NOT at the wiring harness, but directly at the + and - speaker terminals. (The OEM Honda factory speakers can later be removed if you so desire.) This is the optimal way to insure a high quality signal and the correct polarity. The optimal placement for the N-7V and N-774V is at the input of your power amplifier.

In situations where noise is not a consideration, the N-7V can be located anywhere; however, in audio we strive to run the "hottest" signal for as long as possible. This means that you can run small paired wires from the + and - terminals of your OEM system into the Left and Right input wires of your N-7V. The output of the N-7V and N-774V is RCA Phono and can be fed directly into your power amp.

Optimal level setting is recommended. Remember, the N-7V and N-774V should be adjusted for the maximum unclipped signal from your stock deck. The aftermarket power amp / speaker should be adjusted for 3:1 gain overlap. This means that if the amp clips at 2.0 Volts, you can feed it 6.0 Volts for optimal results. Get it?

Details on the 2-channel N-7V can be seen at:

http://www.davidnavone.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=N-7V

Details on the 4-channel N-774V can be seen at:

http://www.davidnavone.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=N-774V

We're now shipping the brand new NE-774V which is identical to the N-774V, but with Plug-and-Play wiring harnesses -- with each wire labelled.

BTW, you can sum the outputs of the NE-774V.... this means that you can ADD the high pass (tweeter) output to the mid-range output for a full range.. Just use a Y-Cord adapter and the signals will be summed....

I have led people to his products here many times...

I hate to sound like a broken record - just wanted to voice my enthusiasm for this because it was great news to me.

Sorry for the reposting guys :repost:

It's not bad to repost this, actually its nice to see someone as happy about his products as I am :D

OK I am kind of confused by this. I understand that I would get the four channel one if I wanted to get a four channel amp and replace all the door speakers. I however want to replace the door speakers and the rear decks and add subs. How would I do that with this.

I'm going to use the four channel to route to a 4 x 100 amp.

The front two channels would power a component set in the front doors and the back two channels will be bridged to a subwoofer in the trunk.

I am also going to disable the rear door speakers and remove the 6x9's in the rear deck.

Here is what I intend on getting soon...

http://www.speedsound.com/caraudio.a...ific=jndqosfqq

http://www.trutechnology.com/t_v2_series.htm

http://www.speedsound.com/caraudio.a...ific=jncpnnpok

:woot:

im gonna have to do an install next week, so i wanna get some stuff straight now. im gonna be getting an MTX Thunder405 5 channel amp, to power F components, and two 8" subs, leaving the the rear doors powered by the stock amp. would buying a thing off this website make the job any easier?
sorry if i highjacked the thread... but if you have any idea on how i would add a 5 channel amp to my system, please PM me or something

e_lectro. do you know if the output of the OEM amplifier has full range on all 4 channels? the only issue i see is that the factory tweets need an Xover if you disconnect them from the factory amp. or you can replace with components.

These are two different things in the TSX...I don't think Navone knows that the TSX has an outboard amplifier...so where does it go, David?

Just skimming the thread quickly, I have to call SHANAGANS! That's just a LOC (and whether good LOC or bad LOC, who knows?)...I would say that's a fairly general email that he sent out, advertising his products. Obviously you can hook it up to ANY car with an existing radio, but I don't think it's optimal for a TSX-style setup(depending on what your goals with your stereo are to begin with)..



interfacing device to convert OEM decks into competition quality decks.

:rofl:

who the heck is "David Navonne" ?

David Navonne is a highly regarded insider when it comes to car stereos. He was around when car stereo were in their infancy. He has probably forgotten more about car stereos than the rest of us will ever learn. He has been in the manufacturing side, the competition side, and the magazine side (Car Sound, and others before). The only thing I have ever heard bad about him is that he is more of a numbers guy as opposed to an ears kind of guy (all amplifiers sound the same if played within their limits etc.). Engineering wise, his reputation within the industry is phenomenol. BTW, I still prefer my Alpine CDA-9833 and its 4 Volt RCA's to any kind of LOC. Hey Accuratsa03, I believe the MTX 405 (now called 905?) has built in LOC, so you don't need another one. At the MTX site, there is a sub sit where you can leftovers, repaired units etc. cheaper.

regardless of navone's reputation, if you're playing with a signal post-amplifier, you're fighting a losing battle. the noise floor is lowest at the source and any additional processing will raise that floor.

we have the option of grabbing a signal previous to the amplifier. i say use it.

Uh, I agree he's a learned guy, but he is selling you a line driver, and he seems to know nothing about this car rxcept what you tell him.

Glad it's only $40 bucks..

Exactly. His LOC, with that kind of output power, would likely work there anyway.

are these LOCs the same as the ones from Soundgate? Also, concerning the LOC4.4, would that interfere with the SNHOND3 input plug on the headunit? Would the XR4 work the same, cause it looks like it wouldnt need the SNHOND3 to plug into and i could just take the wires going out of the stock amp and plug it into this LOC (XR4)...

nevermind, being a Type 1 LOC you'd plug the XR4 after the stock amp, so you don't have to find a way to share the LOC with the SNHOND3. ill probably order one of these, then again, those dave navonne ones might be cheaper. any worthwhile differences between the two?

I have to agree. Take the signal before the amplifier. You may need something to help drive a clean signal all the way to your trunk (if that's where you're heading), but this loc is not the right tool. Possibly an adjustable line driver? I say adjustable because I know some have not had good luck with these. :dunno:

I have to agree with elduderion.. I went through the whole process with the davnavone loc which introduced some weird static noises into my car.. when i removed the loc and used rca's straight voila, everything is fine.... why use a loc when you can spend 2 bucks to convert it to rca which work just fine?

arite, LOC is out of the picture, now how do i convert it to rca? :dunno:

use the stock amp as a paper weight.

Take a short RCA (12"? 3'?).

Cut in half.

Strip back all 4 channels for 2 inches. Separate the center conductor from the surrounding shield, and twist the last 1-1.5" of shield into a braided conductor (don't worry about having no shield for an inch or so).

The center conductor goes to the (+) on the chart. The shield goes to the (-) on the chart. Leave the shield on the chart either floating or grounded (made no diff in my two installs).

Then you have 2 stereo-wire-to-RCA adapters you can solder or crimp into place (I crimped - worked fine). THEN you can run them into a 4-channel line driver if you want. Since you have the same preamp OP voltage as a pre-4V Alpine 7903 deck, you may not need a line driver. (I don't).

Leave it to focalmatic to try one last futile attempt to throw something LOC related out there for the TSX folks :2cents:


http://www.audiocontrol.com/CompanyI...troduction.htm

Hey, foc... why?

I think your suggestion is the best bet, but I was just throwing that out there as one last option out there for anyone who still wants to go the LOC route. :whistle:

That's my point. If the output of the unit is pre-amp voltage, single-ended, full-range, standard Alpine non-4V output, what possible justification is there for using an LOC?

I don't see any. At all.

did you get any noise at all? i have heard several people getting engine noise after going direct to the amplifier with RCA's from the HU.

I got noise if I raised the front gain above a certain point (not unusual). Since I got enough volume without doing so, it wasn't an issue, I just put it where I liked it, and no noise - but I've suggested quality preamp line drivers for those in similar situations.

The biggest noise risk in that area, to me, is the Airbag ECU strapped to the front of the hump, under the radio. If your RCA splices or other devices (GLI's, etc.) are close to this thing, noise is audible. We've had three instances where moving the GLI or cable removed the noise. If you move the GLI towards and away while the engine is running, you can actually hear the noise increase and decrease.

I suspect this ECU emitter is why the factory harness has an extra ground shield.

My amp is under the Pass seat, grounded to a factory ground bolt. I ran a ground wire from the factory amp ground to the new amp ground, but it didn't end up being needed. JL 300/4.

im thinking about getting either the JL 6 channel amp or the DEI 6 channel amp and bypassing the stock. why didnt you just move the GLI to the end of the rca where it plugs into the amp. you could easily run the rca off to the side of the hump straight down from the HU location and under the carpet to the seat location. you wont come within probly 12 inches of any other wires.
so in your opinion the connection could be noise free depending on your install?
i wish i knoew where to get a harness to plug into the stock harness it would make the install so much cleaner and easily reversable.

I am working on one with somebody, but it's taking them forever because I'm low priority, and they're in the process of moving. Metra says, as of this AM, they are doing nothing.

The 20-pin is same as a recent Accord, so you have the speaker outs if you re-pin the plug with a second plug... it's just the signal from the HU that's in the 14-pin that's the problem. Metra didn't seem interested, but I've emailed their tech guy again. (This guy didn't think Hondas were noise-issue cars, through...: )

I only plugged in the GLI for test purposes on my car... I already knew I didn't need it. When the noise got louder I got curious.

Oh, almost forgot... with my JL the connection is noise free. The F input gain is set to minimum and the R (70 and down) is up a bit (too high, I have to lower it). I have great volume and no distortion at 40. If you want to be able to visit 40 with your volume knob and hear a little distortion (some people's preference) then a line driver is needed (I'd use the OE amp + and GND for noise rejection)