Went to the local high-end Audio shop. He said that I could keep the stock head unit for my 2002 TL if I used an LOC, but that the sound quality would not be good and that it would limit the amount of play I would have on the stock volume control.

He looked in his book and only found a Honda/Acura wiring harness, but not some sort of harness to connect directly to the head unit signal (line driver?), so he said that he could not use the stocks cleaner line out. Is there a difference between a line driver and LOC?

So, he told me that the best route was to replace the stock head unit and offered me the following system:

Eclipse head unit-only cd and preamp with 8 volt signal plus an Eclipse 6 disc in dash cd. He said that his installer would custom the plexi and make it look nice.

He would shift the Polk DX6 speakers to the rear and replace the fronts with JL components with the silk tweeters.

The sub would be kept, but he would amplify everything with a new JL 500/1 (???) 100x2 in the front, 25x2 in the rear and 250 to the stock sub.

He would install the amp wires facing down vertically against the inside of the outer trunk wall where the latch is. I was afraid that the closing of the trunk would cause damage to the amp.

He told me the install would take at least 10 hours and they would keep my car for 2 days.

Total cost: $2,000.

I don't know if this is a fair price. I don't know if what he says is true that I could not get a clean enough signal from the stock head unit and that there is no harness sold or line driver or whatever. Any professional installers or those of you who know this stuff? Please help. I don't have many options in this small Wisconsin town and not many TL owners here to check in with.

Thanks

 

Ron (StreetEffectz) could give you a perfect answer to your question. Check out his site for phone number/E-mail address.

http://www.streeteffectz.com

 

250 watts to the stock sub, bwuahhaaaaaaaahaaahahahaa
Talk to Ron, he could get you way better stuff for that price. Please talk to ron. www.streeteffectz.com

 

actually .. if it is the "close to 2 foot long" JL amp that I think he's talking about, it'd be a beautiful clean 250 watts. that amp alone is 900 at retail.

 

500.1 is only like a foot long... i think you're thinking of the 1000.1

 

the quoted stats match the 500/5 actually. He mentioned the 5 channels of output power.

http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/5005.html

dimensions are 19 in long .. so close to 2 ft. was right

I was interested in that very amplifier before and I guess its a little too costly for my blood.

 

oh but sheeit.. I just reread it .. the installer wanted to pump 250RMS to the stock sub? damn .. is he not knowing?!

 

Yes the JL amp is about 2 feet long. So, the concensus is that 250 watts will blow the stock sub or perhaps be a waste on the stock sub.

All I truly wanted was to have four aftermarket door speakers amplified well and to keep the stock sub with the stock sub amp, but the installer said that if I did that I'd have to introduce an LOC to the stock sub amp???

I will call Ron and ask him for his advice.

 

Yes,
I'm sure that you could achieve what you originally wished for for a lot less money. While there may not be an aftermarket harness to make the install simple for the installer's $2K, A pro installer could tap and splice into the existing harness and grab the leads necessary to do what you are asking. Bypass the stock EQ and use LOCs to an aftermarket amp for the door speakers should be do-able. He doesn't know what he is saying when he tells you that you wouldn't have enough play on your stock head unit...

NOW, would an aftermarket head unit sound better than the stock one? Probably, but do you really want to pay for it and do you want to mess up your stock console look? Are there better suitable aftermarket amps out there to accomplish what you are asking for, OF course there are. BUT, You could definitely leave the stock sub amp and subwoofer alone if you are happy enough with it. You wouldn't need to install LOCS in line with the subamp just because you add an aftermarket amp to the door speakers. They are ALL separate outputs from the STOCK head unit... so you can do whatever you really want. Would it sound better with another sub amp and another subwoofer? Again, I'm sure it would... but your $100 mod sure ran up to $2K in a hurry...

ANYTHING is possible, it just takes someone who knows what they are doing OR is willing to do what it takes. Sorry for your dilemma and lack of local shop options. I agree with others, talk to StreeEffectz or at least somebody else. It is a can of worms that you have just opened up for yourself...

GOOD LUCK!

 

I reccomend this for a cheaper route. I have a friend with an 01 TL. He changed all 4 door speakers to 6.5 3 way pioneers. He took out his stock sub and used a LOC to grab the signal from the sub wires and hooked up 2 jl's and ported them right to the open hole where the stock sub was. He paid about a 1000 for all this, maybe a lil more or less.

 

Thanks for all the help.

I called Ron the man who has a great East coast accent. He was very helpful and generous with his time. If I were closer to his location, I'd have him install in my car in a heartbeat. He said that he has never had trouble with LOCs.

I went back to the audio shop and told them what Ron had suggested.

Came up with this:

JL components with silk tweeter up front
My Polk DX6s moved to the rear
LOC from speaker wires to
JL 4 channel 75 watt amp

And the guy wanted $1,150

I thought that this was still high and have decided to walk away.

Ron had mentioned that he has used the high end pioneer amps in a few of his installs ( I asked Ron how I could save some money on the install) and that he has had good results with them.
I mentioned this to the guy at the audio shop and he really was condescending. He asked me whether I would consider buyying a Kmart amp for high end speakers and a $30,000 car.

Anyway, I've decided that I'm not willling to spend $1,000+ for an upgrade and will live with my amateur Polk upgrade in the front. I have a feeling I'll sell or trade in the car in two years anyway. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a quieter car at that time.

Ian

 

That guy was just mad because Ron knows his stuff and that guy was losing out on a potential sale...probably works on commission.

 

obviously the man has never encountered pioneer premier amps nor has he seen the ODR (Optical Digital Reference) line.

I hope you encounter someone better to do your system for you. I mean it seems like you're not too concerned about top notch sound quality if you dont mind leaving it as it is. For that, I suggest maybe you look into some cheaper components. Even regular polk components (not momo series) to go along with your current polks would probably end up costing less than the JLs that you are getting quoted for. and they sound pretty darn good for the price. est. ~150-200

You could also do with a less costly amplifier. something like alpine, kenwood, pioneer, or rockford fosgate comes to mind. Stuff that is on the upper end of what crutchfield sells. est. ~300-500.

that'd still come up to 400 less than your 1100 pricing.

 

Guys, I share the same feelings. I still think the guy was pricing me too high for what I wanted. He would not give me chance to get what I wanted. I trust what Ron said and Ron and I had the same conversation about the high end Pioneer, which he endorsed highly.

I think part of the problem is that when some installers or sales people see people with an upscale car, the "kaching" effect takes place and they think "This guys has cash to burn." He kept telling me that I would not be satisfied with the lesser stuff, knowing my taste in car and in sound quality.

I'll sit tight until I can find someone I can trust, who will do what I want. Maybe I'll drive to New Jersey and let Ron do the install.

Ian

 

LOC?

 

Line output converter. It's what you use when you don't have RCA pre-amp outputs in your Head Unit.

 

Sounds like the local guy couldn't cut it as a greasy used car salesman, and had to take the pay cut to sell car stereos instead.

Not much grates me more than weasel salesmen that talk down to customers and try to force their opinions on us. I really feel for people who don't know a lot about audio and just want to spend a few bucks to improve their sound. These a-holes see a shiny new acura and automatically think we've got money to burn.

We've got a similar shop here in Saskatoon - Krazy Kileys (they all seem to have the word Krazy in their names, don't they?). From the moment you walk in the door, there's a salesman attached to your hip. Their favorite end to every sentence is "What do I have to do to get you to take it home now?". As soon as they find out that you're not buying today, you're doing some research into what's available, they treat you like a leper with AIDS. You get the old "Well, when you ARE serious, come and see me...by the way, Tuesday's my day off, so don't come in that day, OK?"...and he's gone. Some quick sign language to the other salesmen, and you couldn't get attention if you stripped off all your clothes and lit your head on fire.

They also assume that everybody wants to buy a 5 kilowatt system with eight 15" subs. I'm sorry, but the BOOM BOOM phase is in the distant past for a lot of us (it was fun, though ). All I want is clean, accurate reproduction of sound with the fewest hot spots and dead spots.

I don't want my rear seat passenger's ears to bleed. I don't want to rip out my rear seat to make room for the eight 15" subs. I don't want to give up 90% of my trunk space to amplifiers and bandpass boxes. I have a family, and the reason I traded my integra for the TL was to get more interior and trunk space.

As you can see, I get a little choked when I have to go speaker shopping....

I realize that the "Sound-Off Competition" end of car audio has made the manufacturers and stereo shops a lot of money, but they seem to be abandoning the average user and shifting way too much of their inventory and resources to the "stoopid loud" buyer (it was fun, though )

Can I get an AMEN?

OK... I'm done with my rant, and I feel much better....

 

Amen bro