I am very noobious when it comes to stereo equipment. I went to bestbuy to see what speakers they had to upgrade my TSX stock speakers. They told me not to do this because it would be a waste of money and I wouldn't hear a difference. They said I would have to change everything to hear an improvment. Are they speaking the truth? Is it not worth it to change the speakers alone? Is leaving the car stock the best thing to do if your are not willing to change out the entire system? Thanks for any advice.

 

I don't agree with that.....Many users have just changed the speakers and left the factory amp. I think they want you to spend extra $$ on an amp or something. That's the only thing I can think of.

What type of speaker upgrade did you ask for? Where you looking to put a sub in there too?

 

Not looking to put in a sub. As far as the upgrade, I am interested in sound quality, not loudness or really heavy bass. I am coming out of a car that had a Bose system and the tsx system is killing me in comparison. I want speakers that will give a full, rich, crisp sound. Please excuse the n00bness.

 

They're just trying to get you to spend more money than you want. By telling you that just changing the speakers won't do any good, they're hoping you'll be convinced to drop the extra money to buy everything else.

The speakers in the TSX aren't great, though decent for an OEM system. Upgrading the speakers should greatly improve sound reproduction.

 

Bose

 

Thanks guys

Any recomendations for the sound I am looking for?

 

I didn't know elduderino worked at Best Buy.

If you search around you'll find several people swapped out their speakers only and reported liking the results. Among the brands I recall Polk, Alpine, and Infinity have been used. Note that some reported a decrease in volume (i.e. have to turn it up a little higher to get the same output as stock).

 

well.. its relative to your expectations i would think. If you are a hard-core audiophile you won't like the stock system at all, but if you just want some decent improvement, overhauling your system may be sufficient with just a mere speaker change. Consider how much you want to spend and what quality you want (sub being boomy or what not).

Personally I'm into the tight bass and crisp music so I swapped out all of the speakers with two amps put in. But remember it is relative to what YOU like.

 

LMAO : ) !

You might want to read the SQ for noobs and TSX FAQ sticky posts in this section...

 

Yikes, that is going to kill your stereo credibility. Personally, I don't see how the TSX system is all that bad, as long as you keep the bass and treble levels around 0. Unless you listen to bass-heavy music a lot, and crank it, but I listen to mostly classic rock, and the system sounds pretty great to me, at least good enough that I don't want to tear apart the car for new speakers, amps, subs, etc. It takes too much $$$ and space to have it installed cleanly (flushed in, etc) and the TSX is too nice to just bolt an amp to the back of the seat in the trunk like in my last car. I'll settle for stock, thanks.

How's it go again, "No highs, no lows, must be Bose"?

 

agree on Bose, but to each his own. Go to as many stereo stores, listen to as many speakers in your price range, and find what you like best. best of luck in your search.

 

The Bose was in an 01' Audi A6, if you compare it to the TSX system there is clearly better sound quality. I have heard bad things about Bose as well, but it sounded better than this system, that I know. I really don't have any stereo credibility to kill I just know what sounds better than something else. Thanks for the input.

 

Personally I went to Bestbuy myself went w/ Pioneer all around...ended up spending a couple hundred $...but made a huge difference, i dont realise it as much anymore im used to it now...but ifs defenutly better then the TSXes stock system...once i pulled out those speakers i realised how much they sucked... magnet was so tiny it was funny

 

Which Pioneer model did you go with?

 

TS-AP940P 6x9's in the rear


TS-AP640P 6.5's all 4 doors


TS-T110's Tweeters
(those were a pain to install myself)

 

Bose as a car stereo brand isn't terrible... but their main goal is to be profitable for the OE and sound good on day one - not to make good gear for the consumer. Their speaks use poor materials and sound very different after not very long. They rely on EQ to force a speaker to try to play sounds that it just can't play...

That tiny magnet on the F door speaker was neodymium-iron-boron, and so was pretty damn powerful, FYI. The magnets and IMG cones on all the OE speakers are not bad, but they use flimsy suspensions and you can do lots better in the aftermarket.

 

Let us remember, there are no "BOSE" car stereos... There are only Bose designed car stereos. Some are good, some suck. I had a bose system in my 96 STS and it was pretty good but i still installed a sub, but was okay with the sound quality otherwise.

The stock TSX's system is very listenable esp if you add a sub.

 

Im guessing the boys at Bust Buy you went to already attempted an install on a TSX and dont want to go through it again for 10 bux an hour (or whatever they make).

 

if you are gonna replace your speakers i think you might as well toss the paperwieght amp stock amp while you're at it!

 

 

I don't think Bose is a horrible brand, just overpriced - at least for home audio. For the money, there are many better brands in the markets in which they offer products. I only learned this after buying a Bose center channel speaker that is unimpressive, other than the badge that random people still wow over and talk about their love of audio.

 

 

My Velodyne Deco surround system rules. And at $1k, It was a steal. The 1200w bass unit alone is worth as much...

 

I have a piecemeal speaker system... expecting to move the whole outfit to another room when we buy a house this year and start anew. My subwoofer is a Velodyne , and we've got Polk Monitor 40s for the L and R surround channels - very impressed with them They blow about that damn Bose VCS-10 that everyone's so impressed with


jcg, who's slowly learning his lesson

 

I first replaced the rear 6x9s.

A few days later I replaced the Front Door 6.5s.

A week later I replaced the Rear Door 6.5s.

I held off the rear door replacement to see if the sound was vastly improved, but decided to go ahead a replace the rear doors.

A world of difference.

So it's all or notihng IMO.

 

lol. i just bought the same deco set during boxing day sales for CAD$800 (at current exchange rate, ~US$655) i agree. the sub on that thing just plain rocks. 600W RMS Class D amp, can't go wrong with that.

the sats on the other hand, i found to be a bit muffled. guess i'm kinda used to brighter sounding speakers, and my yamaha rxv-1500 receiver (also from boxing day sales) probably isn't the best match for them when it comes to music. it's a lot warmer sounding than older yamaha's and really need brighter speakers. it got to the point where i'm using my old audiosphere mystere bookshelves ($150/pr from 10 yrs ago - still beats the crap out of any sub $300 bookshelves I've heard today) as my mains, and the deco sats for surround. i'm quite happy with the result, but need to shop for a brighter sounding center channel.

ok, enough with the thread hijacking. Until I heard the deco sub at work (it's pretty much the same sub as the US$1500 Velodyne SPL800), I've never appreciated what a good sub can do. But now, I'm a convert. Gibson, if you can spring for a good amp and sub, I would highly recommend it.

used to have a pair of bose bookshelves (shudder) myself, so I think I know what you mean by the "crisp, clear sound". i'm no audio expert, but i believe bose's problem is that their sweet spot is really tiny, and they do sound pretty good when at said spot. Unfortunately, everywhere else sounds like crap.

compared to your old bose setup, chances are you find the dash tweeters in the tsx to be a bit harsh, and the full-range in the doors trying too hard to do everything and not achieving much. Getting a good set of tweeters to replace the in-dash ones (preferably something that you can swivel towards you) would do wonders to the perceived sq, esp since you're used to having the tweets right by your ear in the audi. replacing the door speakers with proper 2 or 3 way speakers would definitely help; although I was shocked by how bad some of the speakers they were selling at best buy sounded when i was there a few weeks ago. JBL, Kenwood, even the infinity 6002's didn't impress me all that much. Maybe the guys at your bestbuy didn't have any good speakers that would fit in your tsx? Who knows.

 

Thanks for the help everyone, I will look more into it now

 

The stuff at BB is generally pretty low-end as far as car stereo goes. Try going to a small local place...audition a few, ask to see some of their installs (they will probably have a portfolio or binder of pictures of their work), and buy some higher level speakers. Look for brands like JL, Boston, MBQ, Focal, A/D/S, etc etc. The lower models of some of those speakers are often much better than the top of the line BB stuff. An added bonus is that you will get a $12/hr monkey tearing your car apart, rather than a $8/hr one.

 

Diamond Audio, they sound great but you got to cut some metal. You will hear the most difference with a new HU as this changes modulation of the stereo waves. I have an alpine and the difference is very noticible however i am still chasing reception gremlins.

 

WOW, thats an awesome price. I know what you mean about the highs. I listened to several different surround "sets". It came down to the Velodynes and the Klipsch. The Velo's had a nicer tone compared to the Klip's, and if I remember they were a bit cheaper.

 

did you check out the Energy Take 5.2's? i was hell bent on buying that after hearing my friend's older Take 5 set, but the store didn't have any in stock, and another friend who works at the store recommended the velo's highly. the klipschs on boxing day was still about $400 more, so that made my decision a bit easier.

 

which head unit did oyu put in? was it the 9835? i just put in the 9827 in my car. post some pics of your install!!

 

I bought the 9830 as the 35 did not seem worth the cash upgrade. (buddy has it). I dont actualy have a camera but I can use my camera phone. I also gutted my interior and installed brownbread on the floor pan, doors and trunk