Yui

I have a 20% off circuit city coupon that expires at the end of this month... it's good for car audio components... would like to get a few suggestions from the audiophiles on what speakers would be a nice upgrade for the car... or maybe amp suggestions as well... thanks!

miner

I put Polk 6.5" coax in the doors (all 4). Made a huge difference in sound quality. As for amps at CC, I suppose the alpine brand. There do have a nice 5 channel alpine but I think it is in the neighborhood of $500.

RandyL100

Which models? And was much "adapting" required?

miner

6.5" = GXR65 & EX602s
6X9 = GXR69

A spacer was required for the 6.5" to keep magnet from interfering with the window.

mojo_RENAMED

What are these "spacers" you guys keep talking about? I assume just a ring the same size as the speaker, maybe 1/4" thick? Can I get this as Circuit City, Best Buy or somewhere else locally?

miner

You are correct about it being a ring the size of the speaker. I suppose you can purchase those at any car audio shop.

fdl

Whats the best bang-for-your buck upgrade? The 6x9s? Or the 6.5s in the front? Something that can be done easily , and cheaply but will make a noticible different. or am i dreaming.

Lung Fu Mo Shi

I agree, I have a friend that works for Circuit City that can get decent discounts. I'm not looking to do an amp replacement, but maybe speakers.

On that topic, anything I can do for the FM reception?

miner

The 6.5" in the doors since they get full range of freq. The 6x9 in the rear deck only get low freq. I put Polk GXR69 in the rear before realizing they only get low freq. Made an improvement but not as much as the 6.5" in the doors did.

Yui

OK, so here's what I meant... I guess I need to know what kind of speakers to get for my car... I'm new to this stuff and so seeing product listings sorted into categories like component, 2-way, etc, I don't know what all that means, and I don't know what I need to be looking for in terms of replacing my speakers. Also, if I'm eventually going to replace the amp as well, do I have to take that into consideration? Etc... if someone could just point me to a website that provided this kind of basic info, thanks =)

vasu

I hope you put the Polk EX in the front doors, as that is a better speaker than the GX, and what you'll be hearing the most from

-vasu

luthier

I am in the same boat. I have a lot of nice gear coming out of an RSX lease turn-in and would like to use it in a TSX I am getting next week. Until I can get my hands on the service manual I am musing about how to use an after-market DIN head unit in place of the custom-shaped one. Having the six disk changer in the dash is nice but I haven't heard great things about either the clarity of the HU or the power of the amp. Since I already have the replacement parts anyway, it would be nice to put them in.

I have similar posts up in clubtxs and sound domain but so far the lurkers haven't taken the bait. Next week is my last as an Acura salesman so I have lots of technical expertise to pull from in the shop.

BTW, for the posters asking about 6.5" woofer compatability, there is a wealth of info at clubrsx.com. There are 10s of thousands of posts on custom installs for that car - many by pro installers. The deal with rings is that Acura OEM speakers, like everyone elses', are fairly shallow front-to-back. Generally on the order of 1.75". Your serious replacements are more like 2.25 to 2.5". Often you will need to fabricate a spacer of plastic or whatever else you have lying around to keep the deeper basket from interfering with the window, hitting the door guts or generally messing up the program. Also, these speakers often have deeper baskets so some sheet metal cutting may be in order to get them in. I haven't done a TSX install or seen a disassembled door yet so I am speculating here but there is usually a gap between the door panel and the rim of the speaker that is padded to minimize vibration. Depending on the depth of the speaker in front of the mounting flanges, along with the spacer, you may need to remove some of this padding to fit the door panel snugly.

Some of the issues I am wrestling with include getting a pin-out on the HU and amp, 4 gauge power wire rout, crossover frequencies on the 6 x 9's (and is it a non-fading control), 12 volt remote turn-on for power amps, potential locations for the above amp(s), auxillary input device interface on the existing HU (ie Sirius, MP3, additional changers, etc), creative use of the center console storage bins, FM modulation devices, alternative tweeter locations and the DIN HU mentioned above.

Another idea I had would be to remove the 6 x 9's completely and point my sub up through the holes. If the wires back there are hot enough to remote power the sub amp and are the right frequencies to start with, it would save a whole lot of work to just tie them into the amp. I'd prefer RCAs for sound quality but it could save a lot of work and might be fine.


If and after I do this particular install I will probably post a DYI thread with pics at clubtsx.com and here. Let's keep these threads kicking and see if we can't create a body of knowledge on audio mods for this car.

Thanks, Skip

darth62

I have to say that I am not thrilled by the idea of taking those doors apart. In my experience, once you take a door apart, it is never the same. My old Honda had to have the door opened to fix the power window motor. It was never as solid after that, with a persistent squeak that came from the door.

e_lectro

I have torn the entire car apart except for the front doors, so I can help with a bit of info...

I hope you are getting the non-navi. The navi version is to intigrated to replace.

AMP inputs and outputs: http://www.cifrancis.com/acuratsx_sm...udiosystem.jpg

Radio 20 pin connector, back of 6 disk changer (sorry no pic):
A1-YEL/GRN-Radio switch (Amp.)
A2-YEL/RED-ACC (main stereo power supply)
A3-GRN/RED-Radio remote switch
A4-RED/WHT-(security input)
A5-LT GRN-Stereo amplifier (Right rear apeaker(+))
A6-BLU-Stereo amplifier (Left rear apeaker(+))
A7-BLU-Stereo amplifier (Front passenger's door speaker (+), Right tweeter (+))
A8-RED/BLU-Stereo amplifier (Driver's door speaker (+), Left tweeter(+))
A9-RED/BLK-Lights-on signal
A10-WHT/BLU-Constant power
A11-BRN-Radio remote switch ground
A12-BLU/RED-Navigation unit (RG GND)
A13-WHT-Navigation unit (RG L+)
A14--Not used
A15-PUR-Stereo amplifier (Right rear speaker(-))
A16-PNK-Stereo amplifier (Left rear speaker(-))
A17-RED-Stereo amplifier (Front passenger's door speaker (-), Right tweeter (-))
A18-YEL-Stereo amplifier (Driver's door speaker (-), Left tweeter(-))
A19-RED-Dash lights brightness controller
A20-BLK-Ground(G504)

Radio 14 pin connector on bottom of unit (AUX):
B1--Not used
B2--Not used
B3-BLK-Ground (BUS)
B4--Not used
B5--Not used
B6--Not used
B7--Not used
B8--Not used
B9-BLU/RED-BUS (+)
B10-WHT-BUS (-)
B11--Not used
B12--Not used
B13--Not used
B14--Not used

If you are not willing to drill your own hole, the best option is in the center of the firewall directly behind the engine. It is the main route used by the TSX. The power wire will come out into the passenger footwell area near the center of the car.

I took the input for my amp as the 6x9 leads (and removed the 6x9s). With the new amp and sub, I can tell a cut off at 60Hz from teh factory deck. So that is my best guess reguarding the stock x/o. As a note, there is also a huge 40-50Hz bass bost from the stock deck. And as always, the stock deck attenutates the bass when you turn the volume up....

If you have the navi, pin 2 (YEL/RED) of the 8 pin connector in the back of the DVD-ROM is goo dto use. If not, the closest place is the turn on lead for the antenna amplifier (located behind the drivers rear airbag cover. If you dont like messing with the airbags, go for one of the cig lighters.

If you want more room in the trunk, there is a TON behind the left and right trunk carpets.

Soundgate has the only option right now, and its only gets you a set of AUX RCA plugs, no changer controlls.

The bin is a great place to hide a DVD player, just mount it behind the door. True you would have to cut the back of the pocket out, but it would be nice and stealth. For tweeters, I'm thinking about leaving them where they are, but making little pods so the can sit clser to upright and play towards the oposite person. It should help with staging. Other options are the door, kicks, or sailpods. The A-pillars are out because they would mess with the airbags, and I would hate to have a tweeter shooting at my head during a collision.

Removing the 6x9 made the bass from my 12 sound much cleaner. If you are not going to use the 6x9s, I highly reccomend taking them out.


OH no, not THERE!

Hope that saves you some time Skip and good luck with your install!

e_lectro

Then why not take the door back apart and fix the squeak? Or take it back to the dealer, if they are the ones that took it apart, and complain until they fixed it?

luthier

Thanks e_lectro for the information. The car on order is a Black/Parchment non-Navi. I got a 5sp RSX a few months ago and then got the following things to put in it:

MP-522 Head unit (MP3 and Sirius ready),
Kenwood coax rear speakers,
US Acoustics 2100 component amp,
Kicker RS6 component set,
Kenwood 6 disc changer,
Kenwood Sirius tuner and antenna,
Basslink powered sub and
all the wiring, connectors to make it work.

I got the HU and rear speakers in when a new gig started percolating and I wasn't sure I wanted to keep or modify the RSX. The new job is a third the commute so satellite radio is not as necessary as it was but it would still be cool.

Based on your comments and what I have picked up at the various forums, I think I will try to keep the stock HU and run the full frequency output to an Audiocontrol EQ/Crossover in one of the storage bins. From there I can supply the amps for the crossovers, fills and Basslink at the same location. I'll bet the stock amp is adequate to drive the rear woofers and I wouldn't have to rewire them. Since the Basslink can take a speaker or line level signal It may be less work to use the existing wires but I still need to get the hot and remote back there. That device also has a pot for adjustments but the Audiocontrol unit would eliminate the need for that.

I guess the next thing I need to figure out is whether the Sirius rig is viable in its current state. The Kenwood HU is designed to take a 13 pin plug from either a remote changer or the Sirius tuner but I don't know about the compatability with the Soundgate or stock HU. Even then I may need to get an FM modulator to get the signal into the HU. One of the Audiocontrol units seems to be able to take aux inputs but it doesn't have the sub controls and I'll still need a controller.

Tomorrow I'll wander into the shop and and make copies of the install manual. We have some serious tuners back there who know a lot about tearing one of these cars up.

Thanks again for the responses. Let's keep this one going!

Skip