Reach

...and boy am I happy with it.

Big thanks to everyone who helped, but especially mercman, elduderino, and uncald4 for various advice, products, and craft in the 15 month evolution that is my now-completed system. It bumps!

Amp: Phoenix Gold XS6600 utilized @ 90watts rms @ 2ohm x 4 cabin channels + 300watts rms x 1 sub channel @ 4ohm
Components (Up Front): Infinity Kappa 60.7
3-Ways (Rear Doors): Infinity Kappa 63.7s
6x9s: Deleted (but grilles left in place)
Sub: DLS Magnesium Reference 10" in fiberglass 'stealth' enclosure by Ken Ward, with bass knob by steering wheel
Matting: Cascade V-Blok
Magic: Prototype balun hand crafted by Mercman

As some of you TSX guys and other observers know, this was a very piecemeal setup I put together, and hardly planned from the outset as a proper setup should be. However, on a limited budget, with lots of time, I have completed what I feel really is a quality audio system fully integrated with all OEM features.

The key to integrating this system, which utilizes a legacy amplifier (with non-differential inputs) was the balun which mercman provided. For a 1st run prototype, it is peforming flawlessly. I have been running it extensively for 4 days now, and I no longer have the noise problems which have plagued many installs. I am snap, crackle, and pop free!

The balun is a passive device (ie: not powered) which converts the balanced line signal from the TSX's head unit to an unbalanced signal, which can be natively accepted by just about every amp ever made. Now, the proper way to do this without a balun would be to utilize an amplifier with balanced differential inputs, but I have saved over $250 by utilizing the balun converter and an older model amplifier which does not support this input type.

A few pics of the balun:









Now, although he has labelled it as "TSX Balun" it really is a universal adapter. Depending on the level of interest, mercman may offer these for sale, and he informs me with a slightly different (nicer) design and better connectors. For my money, this product is spot on. There is even a hollow spot underneath the rear center seat where it fit perfectly, allowing an extremely short 2ft unbalanced cable run to the amp, thus picking up a negligable amount of interference along the way. I used high quality shielded directional interconnect cables to aid the short run as much as possible.

Also, if you notice I have nice labelled inputs, thats because I used another mercman supplied product, the no-splice harness adaptor. This was an extreme time & headache saver, and I highly recommend his products to anyone doing these upgrades.




The finished, mounted, wired amp and trunk:








(I pulled those looms a little neater & tighter later)



Some sub / trunk pics:








(bass knob up front is crucial! )

Anyway, I hope all these efforts and my other threads continue to answer questions people have about the TSX audio system, and boost further discussion. As always, I am available for questions, just ask them in a thread.

And in case anyone wants to ask the obvious question: it sounds fantastic!

shakol88

Nice install! I also have a Phoenix Gold amp for my TSX. Nice sub integration
for the TSX in the trunk.

Castles_Saloon

Great job Reach! nice clean install I'm glad Mercman's balun worked!

Your bass knob up front was a nice touch. I might have to copy that idea

mercman

Yes, very nice install. I like the sub location; I’m almost tempted to put one in my ride!

Mercman is a better engineer the label maker I see!!
I’m glad you are happy and running clean. I’m still working on some details but I should have a “production” ready design soon.

Thanks for the Beta test, when does the support group meet!

jeff

seanberry

I too will be completing my install with mercman's prototype BALUN this weekend as long as I get all my orders delivered by then!

I have two IDQ10V2.D4 - Image Dynamics 10" subs being delivered today, and two 1'4'' patch cables and a alipne bass knob coming tomorrow (or at least schedules to).

Here is how my setup will go
Amps: Alpine MRV-F450 40 W x 4 + 150 W x 1
Alpine MRV-F545 75 W x 2 + 500W x 1
Components (Up Front): Infinity Kappa 60.7
3-Ways (Rear Doors): Infinity Kappa 63.7s
6x9s: Infinity Kappa 693.7i
Sub: Image Dynamics subs with fiberglass 'stealth' dual 10'' enclosure by ME with bass knob by steering wheel
Magic: Prototype balun hand crafted by mercman

I have been driving the last week (since I received the balun from mercman) and have been letting the whine in my system really burn into my brain - I guess I am a masochist.

I can't wait until I get it all finished. I will be sure to post pics as well.

Reach

So you went with the same infinity speakers I did? Just curious why. I didn't have a strong reason when I purchased them, other than that they would work well with both the stock amp and the eventual aftermarket upgrade.

Oh, and pics of your sub enclosure please!

seanberry

Reach...

I got the infinitys about 3 years ago. I had a buddy who had infinitys and I really liked how they sounded... so I copied him. Except he had reference I got kappa.

The woofers are sitting on my door step (according to the UPS site) so if I get them installed tonight I will snap a quick shot... otherwise I will post one after the weekend.

jiggaman

nice work reach! does that sub put out much bass?

Jeff_B

Looks good! How did you end up running the speaker wires to the front?

Reach

The sub is great. I don't ask it to bump like a competition system, but it does wonders in my trunk. 1 10" sub, at least, a good one with enough power, is more than plenty for a good sounding passenger system.

Also, I ran the speaker wires through the passenger side channels and tapped them into the stock wiring.

russianmilf69

hey guys i was just wondering if mercmans harness is for the front and rear speakers...did u guys have to splice to get the rear door speakers to work?

Reach

The harness provides front and rear, left and right level outputs. No splicing.

sonnyg80

love the setup reach - is the sub-enclosure offered by anyone on here? I'd love to have that!

Reach

uncald4 may be able to make you something similar. PM him.

sonnyg80

thanks man, will do

sonnyg80

how's it secured btw?

Reach

Uber velcro stuff. I forget what the product name was, its some 3M product that uses hard hook and loop pads. I think I got it at radio shack.

sonnyg80

lol uber velcro - nice...will look that up

vthree

iTrader: (1)

reach.. whered ur pix go?

Reach

pix work fine for me. they are hosted on imageshack which may occasionally be down.

sonnyg80

I forget - which model amps have the balanced differential inputs?

Saw it in one of these threads but can't find it..

trumpet

@mercman:

I would like to order the balun and no-splice harness adapter for Acura TSX from you. I live in Germany and I own a Honda Accord Tourer, which is equal to the Acura TSX.

You can reach me under the following address: trum03@tiscali.de

Jeff_B

I just ordered the amp bypass harness from Jeff, and will be getting a JL 300/4 amp and DLS UP6 Components this week. I'm going to be running a JL 10" sub I have as well (using the bridged rear channels of the 300/4).

Reach - You said that tapped into the stock wiring... so are you running the crossovers for the front components off the stock wires and mounting them near the front of the car? I would prefer to mount them in the back near the amp, but I guess that would make it impossible to use the stock wiring.

Reach

Jeff_B, what I did for now was put both crossovers where the stock amp was, and then run short cables from the x-over output into the stock wiring. I think what I'm going to do next is upgrade my front component speakers, and when I do that I'll run new dedicated wiring for them, so the only thing I'll use stock wiring for is the rear doors. If you look at my bungled install thread, you can see how hard it is to run new wires to there. You have to remove the seat belt pre-tensioners, mounting brackets, and disconnect the side SRS. I'm not thrilled about the idea of screwing with any of that just to run new wires.

mercman

I also installed my xovers up front, one at the factory amp location and the other in the passenger side kick panel. Both could have been installed at the factory amp location (lots of room).
I only used the factory speaker wires for the driver’s door since there was no access without drilling. For the passenger door I ran a new wire. The dash tweeters are easy; just snake a new wire down and you’re good to go. I ran my speaker and line level wires down the center console and ran the power line up the passenger side and through the factory grommet near the center of the firewall. If you do this do a search, I posted some photos back a few months ago on what the grommet assembly looks like removed from the firewall. It was a PIA until I found the easy way.

I also mounted my amp to a board cut to fit behind the small fold down seat. Since it’s a lease I didn’t want to drill any holes. If I have some time I’ll post a few pics.

jeff

mercman

bullyx2

Hi Merc. How is that board attached to the car exactly? I am still trying to come up with a mounting solution for my 300/4 as well as my 250/1. Might want to do something similar but behind the larger fold down section. Thanks!

Jeff_B

I'm also interested in how the board is mounted because I don't want to have to drill into my rear seats either. Also, where did you get the material for the board to match the interior of the TSX.

mercman

The pictures are worth a thousand words. Please excuse the crappy write up.









It’s a ½ inch piece of ply wood (3/4 would also work) that is cut to fit sung in the opening. It is designed so that you mount the amp and make all the connections first. Then with the amp mounted you lift it up (towards the center of the opening) and position the “Z” bracket (just a flat piece of metal with a ‘whoop de do” in it) under the top plastic deck lid trim. Behind the trim is the metal brace that runs under the deck lid. The “Z” brace fits in front of the metal so that the top of board is held in place. The lip of the metal brace fits between the plywood and the “Z” brace; this keeps the board from falling forward or backward. The whole assembly is slid into position so that the 1 inch spacer butts up against the side of the opening and the “L” bracket hooks the trunk brace. Then I run two screws into the top “L” bracket (amp side) to hold the board in place.

The carpet stuff I got at parts express. It matches very well and it was cheap.


jeff

Reach

I did mine without drilling into the back seat. I went to home depot and had them cut me a 19" x 12" piece of 1" thick board, then unzipped the rear seat's back cover and secured the amp to the board through the carpet with 1" screws. Stays in place nicely, and is totally removable.

Jeff_B

That sounds like a good solution with less work... I think I'll try that. Thanks for the tip!

bullyx2

Thanks for the write up. I need to come up with a way to mount both amps and keep part of the fold down seats as we occasionally need to fold one side down for my son's hockey sticks. I'd be happy to give up the larger side and be able to fold the smaller side. I also would like to be able to access the controls on the amp. May incorporate your mounting into it somehow or another. Thanks Again!

Reach

I can still fold down both partitions. Just this weekend I bought a new deck furniture umbrella that I transported home in the TSX. 9' box, had to lower the large side and run it from the trunk, over the amp, up thru the center armrest area. No problems.

Side note: Its amazing how versatile the TSX is for such a little car!

bullyx2

Right now, my 250/1 for my sub is where yours is, on the back of the larger portion. Just not sure now where to put the 300/4. Car is going in for a little work next week that I want done before I start installing everything else. Will figure something out once I get it back.

dailo

How much cascade did you use for your install? I am thinking about getting some to do just my front doors. Did you put any behind the speakers? Thanks.

dragon084

i wish you took pics of the deadening.

Castles_Saloon

what areas did you want to see sound deadened? Project in mind?

feuss2

iTrader: (1)

were you able to get information on what the source impedance of the stock tsx head unit is? if so, where did you find the info? what is your balun designed for?

markm929

Reach,

Where did you get your rear door (infinity 63.7s) speakers, all I find now are 63.7i and crutchfield at least states that they will not fit the TSX.

Thanks,
Mark

harg311

Has anyone had any experience with Alpine Type R (SPR-176A)? In the front? What i need to know is, do they fit?