Crzy Acura

OK i have a sub/amp already... but i want to change out the stock bose speakers.. i wanna keep the headunit, SO how many of you guys changed out the speakers and kept the headunit? Which speakers did you put it?


If you guys can help me.. whats the BEST Speakers I can get to hook up the stock headunit... I have about 700 TOTAL to spend on this. ANY IDEAS?

Crzy Acura

ok also... I was thinking about changing the front speakers out and adding new ones and add tweeters.... OK now can i amp the front two speakers and the tweeters and keep the rear speakers on the stock amp?

Does anyone know a good combo for front speakers and tweeters?
And our front speakers are 5.25".... rite?

TL Daddy

The Bose spkrs are 6" in diameter. I put 6.5" 3-way Infinity Kappa spkrs in the front doors and 5.25" 2-Ways in the rears. You'll have to make new adapter rings for your new spkrs to mount to the door. The stock spkrs have a plastic basket that will not hold better spkrs.

I'll post some pics shortly of my new spkrs in the doors and compared to the Bose spkrs.

allanc45

The door speakers, the sub, and the EQ unit are Bose, the HU is Pioneer, at least on my 2002 TL-S w/Nav.

If you look at the bottom of the Bose 6" door speakers, on the bottom of the magnet assembly, there is the Bose logo and a "Made in Thailand" sticker.

allanC

Brewboy

I don't think they're stamped with a mfg. Just some part numbers and a "Made in Thailand" stamp

pianoman41

I thought Alpine made both the HU and the nav unit on the '02 TL-Ss. That's the info I got from my dealer.

djsteve

I just replaced all 4 door speakers with Infinity components and bypassed the BOSE EQ unit on my '02 TL-S this weekend, and I can tell you with certainty that the original speakers are all BOSE, while the headunit is manufactured by Pioneer.

BTW, for anyone thinking of replacing the stock speakers with high quality components, bypassing the BOSE EQ is necessary to avoid extremely exaggerated high end. The EQ is in a line-level "loop" with the headunit, making a pronounced frequency adjustment (mostly in the upper frequency range) in an attempt to make the existing BOSE one-way paper cones sound decent. Of course this means that you get to hear this EQ curve in all of its ugly glory once you put some decent drivers in the doors. There is one downside to doing the bypass - the EQ also adds a tiny bit of gain to the signal which you lose, but (at least for me) there is still plenty of power in the stock HU. The overall improvement is night and day - I can't believe how much better it sounds

Brewboy

Has anybody used the low level signals directly from the HU before the EQ for input to their amp? If so, what do you think and what type of splice/connection are you using to pick the signal? I would like to use these to go directly to my amps and get rid of the LOC.

Allen, so did you finish your big upgrade? I know you gave me these wire colors a couple of weeks ago, but the wires from HU out to the EQ were pin 1 -white, pin 7-red, but what was the common-out pin and color?

DJSteve, Your right about being bright, some CD's I have to turn down because the highs get a little abrasive. Anyways, after bypassing the EQ, where are you getting your signal for your amp? As I'm trying to do or are you using a LOC from the HU speaker outputs?
thanks

djsteve

I am actually using the amps built into the original HU. The HU has 3 line-level audio signals going to the EQ (left, right, and sum, plus one common) and two return lines (left and right, plus one common). The "sum" output is EQ'd then sent directly to the subwoofer amp behind the rear seat, which is why it is not returned to the HU. What I did (and credit for the original idea goes to Allen on this list, I believe) was to "loop" the left and right outputs immediately back into the left and right inputs on the HU. I got the wire colors, harness, etc. from the Helms service manual - I am on vacation right now and don't have it with me, but I will post the details when I get back. What this does is bypass the EQ, and sends the line-level signals back into the HU where they are amplified and sent to the speakers.

In order to easily switch between having the EQ inline and bypassing it (which is how I was able to perform an "A-B" listening test to determine the differences), I cut the left and right send and return lines, then terminated each cut end with a mating connector (spade and lug connectors) such that they could be re-attached as they were originally or with the inputs connected directly to the outputs. I found that, as I expected, I did not have to return the common output, which was good because it is still needed for the sum output which goes to the subwoofer. You would need to tap this connection to utilize the line-level signals with an outboard amp, though.

djsteve

Forgot to mention one other caveat - after bypassing the EQ for the left and right channels (while leaving the "sum" signal intact) I found two small but odd behaviors:

(1) The subwoofer feed now follows the fade control on the HU. In stock configuration, the subwoofer is active whether faded fully forward or rearward, but after bypassing it fades with the rear speakers. When faded fully forward, the subwoofer is off. I found this to actually be an advantage in my case, in that now I have a convenient sub output control (as I fade from rear or all speakers to front, the subwoofer output decreases).

(2) I found that the sub output was greatly exaggerated if the left/right EQ inputs were left floating after the bypass. By grounding the open inputs to the EQ, the sub output returned to a normal level in comparison with that of the HU. The EQ appears to have some sort of active processing of output level (perhaps for distortion control?) which is confused by the open inputs.

Allanc45, can you confirm either of these behaviors with your setup? Also, great pictures in the referrenced post! I happen to have chosen a very similar setup, with my tweeters and xovers mounted in the exact same spots!

allanc45

Djsteve, you sure you aren't my long lost illegitimate brother?

I believe you are right on both counts. On the subwoofer fading: I had never really checked how the subwoofer was faded prior to my install, but yes, it is now "slaved" to the rear speakers level, and yes, I too also use this now as a sub-level control.

On grounding the open inputs on the EQ: This you're going to have to clarify to me so I'm sure what you mean. Yes, I have noticed that the sub output is somewhat hot with the EQ bypass, but it wasn't so much that I thought it was because of the bypass, though I could be totally wrong. Apparently, you've proven it. Tell me what you did to "ground" the EQ inputs back to the EQ (just connected the EQ ins to the EQ outs??)

Thanks for the assist, now THIS is what forums are for

AllanC

djsteve

Great minds think alike, or something like that

I found that the EQ open input problem was alleviated either by grounding the inputs (connecting them to audio common) or by doing as you suggest - simply connecting the EQ inputs to the EQ outputs. In fact, that is the method I used since I had already attached mating connectors on each to allow switching between bypassed and non-bypassed configurations. If you make the connection "live" while music is playing, you'll notice a strange result - the sub output level will slowly over about 5 seconds (i.e., not instantaneously as you might expect) return to a level which is consistent with the HU. This is what leads me to believe that there is some active processing in the EQ unit which is artificially raising the sub output while the left/right inputs are left open. The system now sounds fantastic, and I have my HU bass/treble controls completely flat! It is amazing what a difference replacing the stock speakers with Infinity components and bypassing the EQ has made, especially considering that I am using only the stock HU (no outboard amps).

-djsteve
(hey, look at that - I made "Silver" posting level )

JSuppi

OK really, really dumb question. Does anyone know if these schematics will work for the 01' CL, I figure we pretty much have the same HU, and set up, except for the lack of a Sub.

Heck for that matter I didn't know if we even had an EQ. I plan on redoing my whole system, and have the current configuration. I've got some MB Quartz up front, stock 6x9's in the back, and EQ (Eclipse) that is wired into the Stock HU (somehow or someway, damnit I hate it when other people do your stuff, you never know how it's done..but I guess convenience sacrifices somethings). The speakers are being driven by a Zapco AG360, and my Sub (A 12" IDQ) is being driven by a Zapco AG350.

Thanks for any help.

allanc45

I would think they are the same, but I'm not going to even begin to claim that to be totally true. Best way to be sure, is goto your Acura dealer and ask to see the Electrical Service manual.

AllanC

djsteve

I have the Helms service manuals for 2000/01, with a supplement for the '02 TL-S. The wiring and pinouts for the stereo are the same for all model years. Since the same HU was used in the CL/TL in 2001 models, I'd say that it is safe to assume that the wiring diagrams allanc45 uploaded are applicable for your car.

-djsteve

Acurastunna

does anyone one has the diagram for 03 tl hu/eq/ amp/ steering wheel audio control?

inSPECtah deck

yeah members from 11 years ago, please tell us more.