Looking to upgrade my overall sound system from stock on my 2003 CL. After market HU (Alpine), front speakers (CDT Audio 5.25), Mids (Alpine S 6x9) and 12inch Kicker sub. In anyone's opinion is this a significant upgrade from stock? I am also thinking of just installing the Alpine HU along with the 12 inch sub and leave the factory Bose speakers in. Should I go ahead with the complete revamp, or just HU and Sub? Thanks in advance...

 

Here's what I would do:

Get a new headunit with new front speakers and a sub/amp. You can use the stock rear speakers.. the front stage is more important. Ì would also use dynamat in the trunk and front doors.

Then later you can get buy new rear speakers and also an amplifier to push all 4 speakers better.

Btw, if you want decent sound quality, I suggest you go with something else than a Kicker subwoofer... yes, they hit hard, but they're not precise. CDT speakers, from what I heard, are good/great quality (depending on what model you go for).

What kind of music do you usually listen to?

 

thanks cUr... I have already purchased the front CDT Audio speakers and I have the HU and Kicker Sub with a JBL amp to run it. I also have a 4 channel Rockford Fosgate amp I can use to run the 4 speakers, what I do not have now are the after-market 6x9s for the rear. I really like your suggestion to only hook up front after-market speakers, my question is don't I need an amp to run them, so then would I be able to hook up the stock Bose 6x9s to the 4 channel amp as well? Music I usually play is hip-hop, house, trance, reggae etc. Def need a nice low with serious mids... But I am curious to find out how you think the stock 6x9s would work with that after-market amp. Thanks again.

 

I didnt know you already had a 4-ch amplifier you could use...

I thought you were going to run the speakers right off the HU...

You shouldnt wire the rear speakers to your amplifier 'cuz you'll probably blow them up.. unless you turn the rear gain on the amplifier really low and then it would become kinda useless...

You can use the amplifier for the front speakers only, for now... and wire the rear 6x9s directly to the HU. Later on, when you decide to buy new (better) 6x9s, you can hook em up to the amplifier.

Btw, I wouldnt go with Alpine Type-S... go with the type-R if you really want alpine. Otherwise, try looking for something better. Not that Alpine speakers are not good, but there's much better out there

Also, what kind of subwoofer enclosure do you have? According to your musical taste, a nicely tuned ported box should work fine for hip-hop/reggae, while still being acceptable for house/trance... (a sealed enclosure would probably be better though... and kicker subs are known to boom a lot even in sealed applications)

 

I am in the market now for a solid paid of 6x9s. any suggestions? I totally agree with you, I had the Kicker sub in my 03 Maxima, and although it did the trick, I got a lot of boom and it drowned out my mids. but the mids I had were really low quality. that is why I decided to upgrade for the CL and went with the CDTs. My buddy is running the Infinity Kappa 6x9s they sounds pretty good but a little too much lows, I read that a fellow CL runner on here installed the Alpines and he was very satisfied. But I am open to suggestions.

 

Well you can stick with CDT if you want, they make good 6x9 speakers. This way you'd have all four CDT speakers.

If you want to go with another brand, there are a lot of choices out there.. Alpine Type-R are not bad... Eclipse, Hertz, ID, Soundstream, etc. are all good speakers...


Rear 6x9s are not as important as the front stage so you dont have to get a 400$ pair... just go to a few audio shops and listen to different speakers and choose the ones you like best. Just dont go with something of doubtful quality.

Also, do you plan on using sound deadening material in your car? 'cuz that makes a HUGE difference!

 

You are right, the rear 6x9s are used to supplement the continuity of sound and I am probably going to look around for something of descent quality, but not go overboard. I have not looked into deadening material (dynamat), from what I hear the big problem with the Cls is the rear noise and rattle, where are you suggesting I place the dynamat? Doors, trunk etc?

 

definitly dynamat the trunk lid and the rear deck. then do the doors... and then you can do the entire trunk (floor, sides, etc.)

It makes a world of difference!

 

I have the alpine type R's 6x9 over the last year, I had them to about 75wx4 RF I believe....and they sounded okay but not perfect, and they rattled a little. I thought I had blown them but at only one frequency....They are really gone now, especially after I hook them up to 125x4 alpine amp....I'm going for some JBL or maybe polk...I do know the alpine type R's are too deep for our doors atleast for the 2g cl..

 

In my 01 cl I have Jbl Alpine components up front and jbl 6x9 components in the rear and it sounds awesome. i have the fade pushed more towards the front to retain balance and clarity. In addition, Dynamat makes a huge difference in the back (i drove around in my car for a while with the car gutted and the sound of water on the wheelwells was realllly loud before putting deadening down). You can get dynamat cheap at onlinecarstereo.com. I got the jbls for a great deal at cardomain, I found them cheaper at a different site and had cardomain beat the price.

As for the Bose system, pull that crap out ASAP. It's just paper cone junk, and the sooner its no longer disgracing your Acura the better. The Bose "amplifier" is the size of a 3 stacked dvd cases and is located on the right side of the trunk. It drives me nuts that people brag about their "Superior Bose soundsystem" in their cars.

As for subs, Infinity Reference series subs sound fantastic, and are pretty damn cheap. The only thing that is crucial is to put them in a box with the correct sq. footage, or else they don't sound nearly as good. I have two of them in a sealed box in my dynamatted trunk and they can be as deafening as I want (I used to have them in bandpass, so you should be rest assured that I like loud music). The dynamat will not only help keep rattling down, but will also help push the bass into the cabin of the car.

A word for the wise though, if you go for a 4 channel amp (which you definitely should), you need to rewire the car as well, or else you'll lose clarity. It isn't too hard to route the wires to the back, except for one spot. Getting the cable from the passenger side door to the main chassis is a huge pain, as there is very little room to work behind the kickpanel, my advice is to buy a wire puller to help with that mess.

Lastly, and I can't stress this enough; get the Helm manual for your car. It is PRICELESS in the installation process, as it tells you how to take apart your entire car. I can't tell you how many times this book has helped me working on various projects in my cl.

Good luck with your system, it's always good to see a cl owner who cares about the music in their car.

 

Definately no Kicker sub. Even though they are probably the best known brand, they're sound quality is not great and you will need a POWERFUL amp to power them(they're very power hungry). If you are looking for sound quality, go with good 6.5's(look at focal polyglasses and diamond d6's, around 200$ a pair for components, even cheaper for coaxials) and decent 6x9's, possible JL's or RF Power series. If you really want a sub for the kick, go with someone known more for clarity, Jl's w1's or even RF p1s(sorry, I'm a Rockford and JL guy) and a decent amp to push them. You are going to want an amp if you want a sub and decent sound from your mids(mono for the sub, multi channel for the mids). Hope this could help in any way, sorry about my babbling