Hey Guys,

I have read through most of the threads, but haven't found what I am looking for. I am looking for a good set of components for my 04TSX that wouldn't require a ton of fab work to make them fit.

I know the Alpine Type-S fit but does anyone have any other recommendations?

Thanks!

 

Are you planning on using the OEM amp?

 

to begin with yes.....6months from now....no

 

Unfortunately there is no easy way to put in speakers to the TSX. You must use door spacers. I don't know what the Acura was thinking when they designed the door speaker set up. Why did they stray from standard mounting speakers? Dunno?

I have heard of people buying generic plastic speaker mounts from car audio stores and using them. They seemed to work ok.

as far as the speakers go....

I used Infinity 6012 for door speaker replacements. They were about $100ea. set. Just replacing the speakers without replacing the amp still makes the system sound so much better.

 

To get speakers to fit into the TSX doors, you need to get a speaker spacer (i used a half inch spacer) and drill 4 new holes into the inner door frame metal to mount the spacer. Then you screw the speakers into the spacer. You can either buy a plastic spacer from a number of stores, or you can build one out of MDF wood (there are threads on this if you search).

If you just want a simple snap in replacement, board member Elduderino has an audio store and has some simple snap in speaker replacements made for the TSX. You can find his site here: http://www.avincar.com

They don't require any drilling, or mounting new spacers, they're snap in and designed to work off the stock amp. I'm not sure how much power they can handle though, so if you plan to install a new amp, these might not be the best choice.

See the TSX audio FAQ (sticked at the top of the audio forum page) for more links about installing speakers in the car. Your options are basically the snap in replacements from avincar, or drilled in speaker spacers and mounting any number of 6.5" or 5.25"s speakers into those new spacers.

-vasu

 

sorry, forgot to post this

as far as what fits, I fit some CDT-CL61 components into my doors with a 1/2" spacer, and they fit just fine. They have a 2.63" mounting depth .. i think i remember hearing 3" was the max that could be fit if using a 1/2" spacer? there's some free space between the speaker and the grill, so i think you can use up to a 3/4" spacer to gain more space for mounting deeper speakers.

-vasu

 

I can vouch for Elduderino's avincar kit. They are an excellent replacement if you're going to keep the OEM amp. The tweeters and rear 6x9 are a direct replacement. The door speakers come with the spacer already pre-made and all the hardware to attach the speaker/spacers to the door through existing holes.
However, Elduderino hasn't been active on this board for quite a while now and I've seen several members post that they had ordered the kits and he has not responded. You may want to give his shop a call and speak to him directly.

If you're "eventually" going to add an amp then there are a number of possibilities. Just mind the mounting depth and you'll almost definitely need a spacer. From what I've read you need to find one that has a depth of less than 2-3/4 for it to fit. Alpine Type S, Polk db 650, Infinity 6002 & 6012 all have worked.
These will definitely clean up the sound although they will be somewhat underpowered with the OEM amp until you add your own amp.

 

I guess I should have been a little clearer. I haven't been on this board in quite some time, but back in the day there were some threads as to which speakers needed spacers and which needed serious work on the door panel due to depth problems. However, the site doesn't archive threads from very far back. (I wish they did, because I broke a lot of the news when the new TL came out and the Ridgeline too) Thanks to the guys above that posted the max depth dimension...that was kinda what I was looking for.

Ex: I think I recall that the Alpine Type R needed the door grill to be cut out in order to work.

I was just looking for a good set of components to install that

A- won't sound like total crap from the OEM amp
B- would not force me to go crazy with fab work---spacers and holes are fine....but I don't want to have to make a grill for the door, because someday I may want to keep the speakers and sell the car
C- would be good when I add a new amp to run everything.

There is a lot of knowledge on this board.....but not a lot of specifics as to what everyone has hooked up in their ride. I mean there are some great threads as how to turn the outputs from the deck into RCA outputs, but they say this only works with this and this amps.

Perhaps if we created a thread where everyone posted their system, so that people who wanted similar ones could ask questions.

My Long Term Goal....Over the next few months...If I can determine everything that I want now, I will buy it now, but I had surgery a couple weeks ago so my arm strength isn't good enough to install this stuff quite yet, but I can at least do some research and I am more then willing to try some creative things on my car if yall got some good ideas.

1- Replace Components (Looking at Polks and Alpine)
2- Replace 6x9's
3- Replace AMP
4- Add Subwoofer

Thanks for the help so far!!!

 

I'm runnign CDT CL-61a components in the front. They fit with a 1/2 spacer, and i didn't have to cut the door grill. They sounded great off the stock amp, and then when I hooked them up to my JL 300/4 amp (75w rms x 4) they sounded incredible.

-vasu

 

Alpine Type-R require cutting sheet metal. Accsuperstar also put in CDT CL-61a
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...light=speakers

Boston Acoustics Rally 6.5 components and MB Quart RCE 216 have also been used. See vitocorleone's post #12 here: https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/general-faqs-about-tsx-audio-system-289830/

Alpine SPX-F13M 5.25 mids and 1" tweeters were used by elduderino (see post 42 in the thread above)

 

i think eldude also mentioned putting some DLS speakers in some TSX's and was raving about them. I can't remember which model DLS he used though

http://www.dls.se/english/

 

Can't vouch for the R, but the S comps. did require a triming of the grill - but it's behind the door panel, you don't see it - the grill you see from inside the car, but behind it is a thin walled cylinder of the same diameter which extends to the metal part of the door - maybe ~1" (varies in places to the contour of the metal). That cylinder part I trimmed. Also, had to cut off the corners of the metal opening - it's not circular, more of a pentagon, but not really, to get the speakers to fit. The Type-S came with a plastic spacer for Honda/Acura, but the metal still needed trimming. BTW, the S series blows. I have Diamond S600s in there now with a 3/4" MDF spacer - no problems. That's what I did, you might encounter something different.

 

I also got the Avincar set, and I am extremely pleased. Very good quality.

Elduderino said that to switch from OEM to an amp, the front speakers would do better with a different crossover setup and the 6x9s really don't do that well with a big amp. So, while the kit works great with the factory amp, you might have to plan ahead as to what you want to amplify. You could go with the Avincar fronts, and use something else for the 6x9s, or if you're planning to get a sub eventually, just ignore the 6x9s. (What are you going to do with the 6x9s when you have a sub? Might not sound ideal, having multiple things putting out bass... seems like it'd be a waste to put money into them.)

 

Eldude had some system packages using DLS speakers for the folks in the northwest. Here is the thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/sponsored-sales-group-buys-10/tsx-audio-systems-installed-pacific-nw-forum-members-315011/

 

Thanks for all the advice guys.....

^^That is a good point about the 6x9's. Has anyone run the full signal to a good set of 6x9's I have heard opinions that this isn't a good idea because you want to keep the mids and the highs in front of you and running a full signal to the 6x9's is kind of a waste.

Another Question:

Has anyone ever used one of these 5 channel amps like

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gT6Cld0...0&I=500MRVF450

Seems like this is a good idea because you could run the 2 set of RCA's out of the deck and out put 2 full range signals and 1 sub-woofer signal. I was kinda confused as to how else that was going to work.

 

It really is about your preferences. If you care about staging then you would prefer to have the highs coming from the front to simulate the soundstage being in front of you. High frequencies are more directional (your brain can determine better from which direction they came). The lower the frequency the less directional the sound is. The 6x9 "woofers" in the back provide the thump without your brain telling you its coming from there. If you have full range speakers in the rear deck you would be "surrounded" by the sound. If you use good speakers then the sound quality will be good and the only difference with having full range 6x9s in the back is whether you want the soundstage in front or if you want to be surrounded by the music.

 

You say the Type-S sucks........but are the Diamond S600s 150 dollars better? Do you recommend anything a lil cheaper then those?? (Diamond=250 on ebay)

 

Actually, I said they blow. But in truth, they aren't that bad, it's just that after ~3 months I was quite disappointed with them. Big improvement over OEM, but the appeal wore off, tweeters a tad too harsh for me. $150 better? I don't know, what does $150 sound like? I like them, but I'm not going to give any recommendations, too much a matter of personal preference.

 

Ok...as long as they don't suck AND blow

I know Alpines can be overrated in a lot of instances...that is why I started this thread just to get some other ideas...thanks for your input

 

I've had two Alpine head units, a few amps, and no dislike of their products until I picked-up those speakers. But I don't want to dump on them too much, they are the bottom of the rung, so what should I really have been expecting? Anyway...

 

The more and more I read on this board, the more complicated it sounds to add an amp and avoid engine noise using the RCA out method that elduderino came up with. I am pretty sure that now I want to just try and do everything at once.

Components, AMP, and Sub....maybe 6x9's depending on how much money is left over.

Is it worth it to try and do the whole RCA out method or should I just use line-level inputs to give the amp signal???

 

Maybe you could setup one of those polls... I tapped the wires and have no problems. The next device in the chain needs to accept balanced/differential signals, or use a GLI. That seems to be all there is to it.

 

I did my entire car and ended up puttting in an Alpine deck. its not that difficult, it just takes alot of time and patients.


OnlineCarStereo has about the best prices and free shipping. If you are going to amp it, it will require more time as you have to run power to the trunk, most amps will not fit under the passanger seat

 

I am not worried about the installation.....that should be easy to do.

^^Spoon what kind of amp are you using?

 

Alpines, 2-3 year old models. They don't seem to correctly handle balanced inputs, if that's what you're getting at.