chiTSX

i have been looking at JL vr650's for components. does anyone know if these are decent or if they will fit =D

chuckscarstereo

hey eldude, is your information on the output of the factory tsx deck supposed to be accurate for a 2004 model tsx also? i just got through doing an install on a 2004 and the output of the deck is definintly not a normal, single-ended low level output. it is differential. you are telling everyone to just plug them into their amp with no isolation which shorts the (-) output to ground and is why people are getting weird high pitched noises and really bad engine noise. the jl amps that people have used are designed to be able to accept a balanced or differential input, so they work much better than an amp that is not designed to have that kind of input. Although the output of this deck is good (having a flat response and being undistored at max volume, i measured the output at 2.5V at 1KHz), this has got to be the noisyest factory radio i have ever heard. it has a slight amount of engine noise on all sources, but the noise on the cd player is ridiculous and there is nothing you can do about it. i don't know if this particular one has an internal problem or not, but by reading other peoples posts about engine noise, i would say that it is a normal problem with all of them.

The way that i got it to sound the best was to connect rcas on the output of the deck, like eldude says, then i had to run them through a transformer, which isolated the (-) output of the deck from the rca shield (because it basically goes to ground in the amp.) it sounds really good, much better than the factory amp, but the engine noise is the same as it was with the factory system. i found nothing that would fix the engine noise, a line driver boosts the noise also and a GLI didn't help because it doesn't have a ground loop, the noise is coming form the head unit. I verifed this by using a self powered speaker.

eldude, this post is NOT intended to discredit you in any way or to make you mad, simply to correct and clarify some information to help other people add an amp (other than a jl) to this factory deck. i will be glad to help anyone that has any specific questions about this install.

I'm Batman

Ranch

elduderino

Your problems in diagnosing this radio don't make me mad, mostly 'cause they're not my problems.

Don't get mad when I tell you that you're wrong, though. No transformer is needed. Sorry.

It sounds as if I've done more of these than you have, and I've also talked a few noobs and install shops though doing this themselves (something that isn't a whole lot of fun, but I've done it). I'm VERY confident that this works with 2004 and 2005 radios, and I expect it to work with the 2006 as well.

I've seen people on this board do this with Alpine amps, JL "e" and "slash" amps, DLS amps, xtant, and MTX. I've done it with JL "slash", Kicker, and DLS. Not all those have quasi-"differential" inputs. (True differential signals require a three-pin connection per channel, like the bottom XLR connector on a pro mic).

And if you closely examine the wiring diagram for the HU-amp connection, you'll find that the shield ground is only grounded at the amp end - it's a noise shield, nothing more. If it were a true "differential" balanced system you would need a (+), a (-), and a signal ground at both ends , not a shield-ground floating at one end (which of course would be useless in a true differential balanced system).
As far as your assumption - erroneous, as it turns out - that this is a differential signal, would you care to support that statement? What test gear did you use? What was your test method? (BTW, if you don't say how many dB down your 1k test tone was recorded at, the comparisons are not helpful).

So, no offense meant, chuckscarstereo, but I don't have any faith in your data and I don't have any faith in your conclusions. You sound like a nice guy, but you haven't demonstrated any electrical audio knowledge over and above the standard going rate installer (or you'd know that inserting a transformer essentially isolated your ground loop). Until you trot out some pretty specific measurements and tests with an o-scope, I'm assigning your noise problems in this case to the gear or the install - NOT to any error in that sheet (other than the RTO wire mis-cue which was corrected later on in the thread: )

Maybe the people without engine noise don't post complaining about the engine noise they don't have.

elduderino

Ranch?

sergeremi

LOL! I believe it's his ranch tooth talking. You could ignore it but it'll get more annoying. Probably better just to get him some ranch dressing... preferably on a burger or some sort of chicken sandwich.

I'm Batman

Ranch

spatel600

I was expecting an essay from Ken! haha

El Duderino wins!

P.S. I don't have any engine noise and I followed Ken's write-up CAREFULLY! Just becareful how you tap the wires (Solder them! or use the Honda Accord Harness) and how you place them behind the dash. There is a lot of things that could bleed into the speaker cables causing noise (I had this issue but it will be resolved as soon as I get more time to rewire).

Shaun

chuckscarstereo

first off, just because there is not a seperate signal ground doesn't mean that they are not differential, most likely, they are using the chassis ground as the signal ground reference. a signle ended preamp output has one (+) output which carries an audio signal and the shield is connected to ground. a differential output has two outputs which both carry an audio signal but are 180 degrees out of phase from each other, referred to as (+) and (-) but the (-) doesn't mean that it is ground. if you play a 1kHz tone at 0dB (and 0db is the only way you should check the output of a head unit) with the tsx headunit turned all the way up, your voltmeter will read ~2.5 volts connected between the (+) and (-) output. now, if you ground one lead of your meter and connect the other lead to either one of the outputs, your meter will read ~1.25 volts ac, about half of you first measurement. and now with the deck tured off, measure the resistance from ground to either one of the outputs, you will see that neither one of them is connected to ground. you have just determined that the outputs are differential not single ended. at this time, feel free to call a tech at soundgate, and they will confirm that the output is differential)

although, if you connected the center of your rca to the (+) output and the shield to chassis ground you would have a single ended output, the engine noise is horrific. so like i said, if you connect the (-) output of the deck to the shield of a normal amplier (diamond, eclipse, rockford, etc.) you are shorting the (-) audio output (not ground reference) to ground through the amp, which does cause the strange static and high pitched noises that kind of sounds like radio interference. but this doesn't cause the engine noise, that is just coming from a deck with poor isolation. so connecting a good quality GLI (which is just two 1:1 coupling transformers) before your amp will fix this problem, not because of a ground loop, but because the ouputs of the deck are now phyiscally isolated from the ground at the amp input.

i am willing to bet that there are people driving around, listening to some strange noises, because they have been told the noise is being induced from the air bag module or whatever, that if they connected a GLI, the noise would go away.

elduderino

I think that you did ONE install and had noise, and are now arguing that other people must have it too. So far we only know that you have noise.

What equipment did you actually install here? Not theoretically, but actually?

The comment about "normal" amplifiers is BS, I gave you a list of MTX, xtant, DLS, Alpine, and Kicker - aren't these "normal" amplifiers? I have also had forum members go to an install shop, get an LOC with transformers installed, have engine noise, have the LOC removed and these instructions followed, and the noise went away. So shouldn't the transformer based LOC have solved this noise problem?

Look, Wile E Coyote, if you move the GLI towards the Airbag module the noise gets louder and when you move it away, it gets quieter, WTF would you think was causing it? It sounds like you are trying to cast doubt on the Airbag module being a source of noise because you want to pick a fight.

Sounds like you don't have an o-scope. I don't think that we're dealing with a differential output. As I recall, a year ago when I tested this with an o-scope, I looked for this. But now, since you asked so nicely, tomorrow I'll check it again.

chuckscarstereo

i used a diamond d3400.4 in this install. it looks like the jl and xtant are both designed to accept a balanced signal, on the other amps, it really just depends on what their input impedence is. if the impedence is high enough, then you may not see the problem.

i wouldn't expect the loc to fix it because it has added resistance to the input side since it is designed to be connected to the speaker outputs of a deck, not the low level outputs, this resistance can cause problems when connecting to a low level output, the low level output is not expecting to see much resistance at all.

look, jackie, i don't care about the air bag module, if you are that worried about it, cover it with some aluminum foil or a lead sheet and that should take care of any radiated noise. i didn't hear any noise that changed by moving stuff around by the air bag module.

sounds like you don't know how to use your o-scope. no i don't have one, but i do access to one, there was no need to use it in this case. it doesn't do much good for you to use one when you don't know how to use it. yeah if you just connect the leads to the (+) and (-) output, it is going to show you a sinewave that would look just like a single ended output, but if you didn't compare that to a signal between the outputs and chassis ground, then you didn't check it correctly.

like i said from the beginning, i wasn't trying to step on anyones toes, but before you go and say "look everyone this is how you connect an amp and here is the instructions for you to give to an install shop" you need to make sure that you are 100% right. besides if you are absolutely sure you are right, why are you going to double check it?

elduderino

I went back to check it because in the second post, you related test results, and that got my attention.

I did my test a year ago... and in the original post I wrote at the time, I admitted that I am not great shakes with the o-scope I have.

I was wrong - two ways.

First, the output of the TSX HU IS balanced differential with chassis ground as the reference. I don't know what I screwed up a year ago, but I saw it clearly today.

My o-scope doesn't have two probes at present, so I couldn't look at the two lines at the same time, but I could clearly see that the wave was double the amplitude when measured from one line to the other, and 1/2 that when measured from either line to chassis ground.

For those who have missed an episode, single-ended signals need two lines - a (+) that varies and the signal reference ground. Balanced uses three lines - signal (+), an inverted version of that called signal (-), and a reference ground (in this case chassis ground). The + and - are always out of phase with each other. This is much better at rejecting noise when it is received by a true balanced recieiver which causes any noise that's added to both signals to be rejected, because at the balanced receiver one signal is inverted, the two signals are summed together, and then the noise cancels itself out.

I spoke to the 12V EE friend of mine that helped me on the original analysis. Since there is no DC content in the signal, many amps would work fine with this setup - not just those that say that they take "balanced" inputs. For instance, DLS says that the Classic amps do NOT have balanced inputs, but the Reference amps and the Ultimate amps do have balanced inputs.

But there are amps that might demonstrate noise this way. I bet you could take the signal (-) and float it, and chassis ground the RCA signal ground, and it would work on those amps. But I haven't tried it.

The Classic amp in my car at present is more resistant to noise at various gain settings than the JL 300/4 I had before. So I am not willing to simply say "amp must have balanced inputs".

Second, I was wrong because I was a cranky, defensive asshole. I will probably tend to be cranky fairly often - but I don't need to be defensive or an asshole. Even if I had been right (and I wasn't), I would have still been wrong on this count.

As far as the Airbag ECU, I've seen in multiple cars that GLIs - whether the GLIs are used on SHOND aux in adapters or on amp outputs - can pick up noise as they get physically closer to the ECU. Me having effed up my preamp-output test in the first place doesn't change that fact.

Mod: Please insert into original article that NOT ALL AMPS WILL WORK WITH THIS METHOD. It is best with amps with "balanced" inputs or where the RCA shield input does not test common with the amp ground terminal.

chuckscarstereo

thank you! i'm glad we can all agree. actually i did try just connecting the positive output to the center of the rca and chassis grounding the shield, but what you end up with is good quality sound with major engine noise. i can confirm that if you end up with a high pitched tone that won't go away or some static noise, you can connect the rcas like eldude says, then run that through a ground loop isolator to fix your problem. my customer says that his car now sounds 100 times better than it did factory with the diamond d3 6.5's in front and the d3400.4 amp. although the slight engine noise is still there, it is really only noticeable when you change tracks on the cd, you can't hear it on the xm connected to the aux or the radio.

Solaris94

Wow,

No wonder. I got huge engine noise on the JL "slash" amps while I got nothing on my old school PPI.

Thank you both.

elduderino

I still had ZERO engine noise with my "slash" amp.

dizzy1

Okay, so there is 2 ways to hook up the RCA's depending on the type of amp. I understand the first, just connect the (-) to the outside of the RCA and the (+) to the pin of the RCA. The new way would mean doing the same but connecting the signal(-) to the chassis?????????????? Or are you connecting both (-) and signal (-) to the outside of the RCA????????????? I am officially lost now!!!

chuckscarstereo

your connections to the factory headunit will be them same either way, (+) to pin of rca and (-) to shield, the only difference is that if your amp needs to be isolated because is has noise, you would just plug in a good quality ground loop isolator into the rcas the you attached to the headunit then plug your amp into the GLI

CJams

I knew the HU was noisy! I never thought of checking for AC voltage though. And I did try the aluminum foil to isolate the Air bag ECU and it did nothing.

Now that we have figured out that there is AC noise, can we install a little cap on all 4 outputs to help filter it? When I calibrate/repair DC power supplies that have AC noise on the output, I usually replace the last capacitor before the output and the noise is usually gone. Wouldn't this technique work for this?

elduderino

Uh, ccs, if they connect the (-) to the HU signal shield, it's just floating. I think you mean connect the (-) to the signal (-).

And if the GLI just picks up noise in the transformers it won'thelp.

I've seen many times with this car - in person and with forum members - where GLI's added left the noise alone or made it worse.

chuckscarstereo

i was not very clear

i meant to say that IF you have noises other than engine noise, then you would add the gli to fix the high pitched or interference like noise, this will not do anything for the whining engine noise.

add yes i meant for you to connect the (-) audio output of the deck to the shield of the rca going to the amp. there is no need to do anything with the factory shield wire since it is not connected to anything once the amp is unplugged.

and i don't think the capacitor trick would do anything in this case, cjams, you are filtering ac noise, probably 60Hz from the wall, from the dc output of your power supply, so it is a little different here. i have a small repair shop next door to me, the tech has been fixing 12v electronics since the late 70's, i asked him if he thought there was any way to filter the engine noise that is picked up in the deck and he said, not really. so i guess the only way to fix that would be to change the radio wth an aftermarket. like i said before, i didn't notice any noise at all being induced from the air bag module, especially after i covered with about 10 layers of aluminum foil, over the top and around the back and sides.

relik2004

Great information, thanks all. Is there a certain possition that you installed the wires to reduce noise (engine or other). Such as down the center console or place the GLI inline at the possition of the factory amp or in the rear by the aftermarket amps. i am looking to totally reduce noise. Are there any other devices that can filter noise in this situation ?? I have an ipod set-up I installed with the belkin charger hardwired to the storage compartments Cig lighter and that plugged into a home docking kit with the line out leading to a GLI and then into the NAV blitzsafe aux input. Run on... Anyway this reduced the normal engine wine dramatically to almost nothing at all. I was wondering if you could think of any reason why this would cut out almost all noise and if you could answer that maybe it could be applied to adding an amp. Rob

Spoon

I don't follow you entirely. Are you saying that you had alternator whine when you hooked up an iPod without a GLI? I do not hear alternator whine with my current setup. As I was piecing it together though, I did. A GLI helped, but for reasons stated in this thread, i.e. not by eliminating a ground loop, but by acting as a balanced output buffer for a single ended input amp. Don't ground any of the HU outputs and you shouldn't have any whine, at least not from the HU.

relik2004

yeah, i dont have any whine but I was wondering if anyone has any other tactics on lowering ambient noise when the volume is turned really low. Such as installing the wires in certain places for less interference. Just looking to better the sound quality.

relik2004

I was just thinking, remember how you were talking about the amp not turning on in time and missing some of the nav commands when the HU is shut off. Well I think if you were to connect the remote wire to the positive cig lighter wire wouldnt that turn the amps on with the car startup and not only the HU. This would let them work while the HU is off right ? I am not sure if the remote line would blow the fuse on the cig lighter though. I mean the best thing to do would be run it to the accessory in the ignition harness but the Cig lighter would be easier if it could hold the amps draw. I am not an expert at this but this is just a guess. Would the remote line from the factory amp be able to run 3 amps or should you just use the accessory in the ignition harness.

Does the remote line pull alot of power and if it it connected to more than one amp would it pull more? What im trying to find out is what variable changes when the remote is connected to multiple amps and if its safe to run off the oem amps remote line or should it just be ran to the cars accessory. Sorry if im all over the place but its 2 am... Thanks for all the help.

Spoon

I don't have a Nav, but, yes if you connected the amp turn-on lead to a different switched source, it would power-on independent of the HU. I'm not sure, but I think the cigarette lighter would be hot at all times. Wait, no, maybe not, it's not really a cigarette lighter, it's a power port, it could be ignition switched... So long as the amp is switched, it would be okay, otherwise it would drain the battery. As to whether or not that remedies the Nav voice issue, I don't know, I don't know the issue, I've never even used the Nav unit, I didn't know you could shut different parts off. Anyway, it wouldn't blow the fuse (unless something else is wrong) the current draw is tiny, enough to turn the relay, milliamps, not amps. The maximum draw on the remote lead I don't know. Could it turn-on three amps? Maybe, but it depends on the current draw of each amps relay and if you overdraw, you could damage the HU and then you'd be screwed. People might chime in on how many amps they feed with their remote lead and that could give you an idea. Myself, I opted for peace of mind, the remote lead is connected to a relay, the relay to two amps - necessary, no, but I can hook-up other shit and turn it all on at once.

What do you mean ambient noise with the volume low? You saying that your system has noise issues at low volumes that it doesn't at higher (or you're drowning them out) or do you mean noise from outside the car?

relik2004

by Noise I mean engine whine when you hit the gas or are just cruzing.

Spoon

Okay - do have a thread where you describe you setup? If not could you describe it and indicate where and/or under what circumstances you encounter alternator whine.

gthrow8awayr

El Duderino and ChucksCarStereo, I give you kudos for starting, maintaining, and contrbuting to this thread.

But can someone update the initial directions that I can take to the INSTALL SHOP?

Since it is in fact differential and with the new added discrepancies on the Grounding and GLIs and such ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED.

(While I use these terms I don't know the difference between the what a Ground or a GLI or for that matter speaker)

PLEASE HELP, TIA. Also can CCS or ElDude reccomend "reputable and aware" installed in central florida (tampa/orlando) or gainesville/jacksonville area?

I'm Batman

Orlando - Ultimate Audio

Tampa - Divine Sounds

CJams

This is what happens when you use the initial instructions provided in this thread!!!!!!

Issues ...
1. Motor Noise/whine
2. When you turn the car on you get a huge pop.
3. You get bleed through when you fade...
ex: if you hook your subs to the rear channels you can fade the HU controls all the way to the front and you still hear your subs. Or you can fade all the way to the front and then fade all the way to the left speaker and you can still hear all of the other speakers in the car. You can't fade to any certain side without completely eliminating the rest of the speakers......not good! Defeats the purpose of the fader.
4. You have to buy "special" amps to deal with most of the issues, so your amp selection is limited. But it still doesn't eliminate all the issues. (I like Alpine, but Alpines prefer a "clean" input signal, so they wouldn't be on this suggested "list")
5. But most importantly you have to butcher your factory wiring harness to do this to yourself!!!!!

I plan on unfcuking my sytem by reconnecting the OEM amp and adding LOC's to the four door speaker outputs from the OEM amp. This should eliminate the noise, pops, and fading issues. Haven't done it yet, just waiting for the time.

Jonesi

If someone can give me a copy and paste and I will update the sticky.. I have no clue what is right or wrong in this or that thread.. Thanks..

CJams

Tiguron replaced his OEM amp after using the initial instructions in this thread and it resolved most of the issues. He replaced the OEM amp and used the 4 door speaker outputs connected to LOCs for his amp inputs. He said it resolved the motor noise and the turn on pop problem. I am sure it resolved the fading problem as well.

The best known way to add an amp so far is to use the 4 door speaker wires connected to LOC's.

This thread should be closed since not one person has been able to resolve all of the issues it produces. Unfortunately there hasn't been a DIY for adding LOC's yet.

Spoon

I can't help but disagree in part. If you want the DIY section to be accurate a big, big disclaimer should be put in indicating that the OEM amp bypass method can result in problems, which are essentially equipment incompatabilities. However, the method can and does work without issue.

gthrow8awayr

Spoon, it seems you and CJAMS and Zasker are the only active ones on the forum so can you guys answer my question.

I wouldn't mind a slight engine whine at 0 volume that I wouldn't even notice at 1 volume if it would save me 100 bucks on 4 LOCs.

Also, with the question of amps. Will the Phoenix Gold XS6600 listed as having "differential speaker level inputs for Lease installs" according to onlinecarstreo.com be compatible with the initial method that Spoon advocates?
....if not can you guys reccomend amps that are ensured to work with the "spoon method"

And if the engine noise is really THAT THAT bad and noticable, can CJAMS advocater of CCS SECOND method give me more insight on the issue?

I'm a complete nub, and the car audio shop that I'm going to seems to recognize this and is looking to take advantage of me (methinks). I want COMPLETELY COST EFFECTIVE solutions

So who will win the war?

CJAMS+CCS or Spoon+ElDude

CJams

^^^^Just FYI! Spoon isn't even using the TSX HU. He has a secondary/aftermarket head unit that he uses in place of it. So as far as i'm concerned his comments are just put to the side on this one. He's arguing an issue he is unfamiliar with!

99% of the people using the "eldude" method have problems! The 1% that aren't most likely won't fess up to the issues at hand.

The noise isn't a major problem, but it grows old after a while. And with a $30K car, there should be zero flaws with the stereo!

Spoon- I challenge you to find someone that uses the "eldude" method and has no problems. Then PM them and ask if there is still no problems. Try not posting on this subject till you do find someone.

Until then, add LOCs!!

And you can hear the motor noise when the volume is on 1, 2 ,3 etc. with the eldude way I was just in denial when I posted that.

There are problems with this method!!!!!!! If there weren't, eldudly would still be on this forum! He has been hiding out since his method was proven faulty. If anyone should be defending this thread it should be the person who wrote it!!!

Eldude, you out there to defend this thread????? Spoons getting tired!

Hello hello hello hello

chuckscarstereo

ok, here are the instructions from eldude with the extra information at the bottom.


Instructions:

Pull pocket and console around shifter. The OEM amp is a black box with a 20-pin harness and a 14-pin harness (it has "Made By Pioneer" on the bottom.) The 14-pin has a usable Remote Turn-On wire and the wires you need for RCAs. The 20-pin has speaker wires.

Take 2 1M to 2F RCA "Y" adapters. Chop the Male ends off. Strip back the outer insulation 1". Wrap the shield into a strand away from the center dielectric. Strip back the center dielectric 1/2". Now connect these directly to the wires below:

(Note: Each - is across form each + in the plug)

Right Front:
B4, Blue + (center of RCA)
B11 Red - (shield of RCA)

Left Front:
B1 Red/Blue + (center of RCA)
B8 Yellow - (shield of RCA)

Right Rear:
B6 Lt Green + (center of RCA)
B13 Purple - (shield of RCA)

Left Rear:
B3 Blue + (center of RCA)
B10 Pink - (shield of RCA)

B7 Yellow/Green is the 12V Remote Turn On wire. It can safely run two amps. Do not short it out, it also powers the FM amp in the C pllar (but it is powered with sources other than FM, don't worry).

Now, if it has strange noises like a hiss that fades in and out, then plug a ground loop isolator into the rcas that you just added, then connect the other end of the GLI to the rcas going to your amp. if you are adding a 4 channel amp then you need 2 GLI's. this will isolate the grounded shield of the input on the amp from the outputs of the deck.

You shouldn't need the GLI's if you have an amp like JL that accepts a balanced input.

End of instructions.

the customer with an 04 tsx that i worked on complained of engine noise on the CD player with the stock system, and it still has noise after the amp install. I also verifed that the noise was coming directly from the radio. I have another friend that has a stock 04 tsx and his does not have any noise at all. so i am going to send my customers radio to a repair center and see if they can find a problem. hopefully they can. in light of this info, i would say some of you may have engine noise and some may not, i am guessing some of the factory decks have a filtering problem of some kind. so i will post again if they find a problem with my customers radio. hope this info helps.

Spoon

Come on, bro. Do you even read what I write? First, I am using the OEM HU. I do have an Alpine unit, but I use it mainly as a processor and as a bonus it plays mp3s. The OEM HU has RCAs attached and the factory amp removed from the car. The OEM HU outputs feed into the AUX input of the Alpine deck. I retain the six disc indash and a damn near stock apperance, and essentially added to it a decent EQ, TA, and a three way active crossover (a la the Alpine unit). So, if it's not clear, I'm not using a 2nd HU in place of, but in addition to and in conjunction with, the OEM unit. I do not experience any of the issues you describe. If the method were inherently flawed, I would experience problems too. Also, as I've stated before, prior to the addition of the Alpine unit I resolved the noise issues that I did experience initially using the HU splice method, by using a PG line driver/crossover which obviously didn't have a problem with balanced signals. I realize you're pissed at El Dude because of bad advice but please do not misrepresent what I've said. I'm not defending the guy, I don't know him, I don't care. However, if properly employed, the method will work.

gthrow8awayr

Wow, ChucksCarStereo, you are the new "Guru" of the forum. It takes class and a balls to come onto this forum prove the previous "shmuru" wrong take a lot of flaming and name-calling--all to prove him wrong and get a half-ass apology.

I thought you were long gone with your post count of 7 (now 8) lol. THANKS A LOT FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS.

Just one more question, I'm considering an amp with BALANCED inputs does the PG XS6600 have balanced inputs can you point me towards some cheap quality amps that do?

Thanks again.

Chuck,Chuck he's our man if he can't do it NOBODY CAN

CJams

Spoon- Ah hah! Now I see why you don't have any of the said issues! You HU signal is being filtered not only by your aftermarket Alpine HU, but then once it's filtered by that, it gets filtered by an additional EQ! I see now! That would have been my next step, adding an EQ between my HU and my amps in hopes of a better pre-amp filtering device. Basically, your Alpine HU is taking the brunt of the dirty signal.

Try this with your set up and tell me what happens. Using your TSX HU (CD or radio and assuming you use all 4 channels of it), turn your TSX HU volume up and fade all the way to the front and then balance it to the left. Then listen to the other (cut-off) speakers and tell me if you get bleed through sound from them. The noise can be filtered, but I bet the bleed through to other speakers can't be stopped.

CJams

So does your friend without the noise issue have the same exact set up? Is he using GLI's? JL amp? LOC's?