When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So even after replacing the stock sub with an 8" FreeAir Kicker. It was a great improvement but wanted more. My Pro Audio shop ABC Electronics in Elk Grove Village IL suggested I go with Hertz component speakers upfront. My build was in a couple of stages.
Stage 1
First Hertz components upfront and Kicker 8" woofer replacement. This alone was really satisfying. The Hertz speakers played a wider range of frequencies I couldnt hear with the stock setup. Very impressive. The bass now tighter. Still lacked volume.
Stage 2
I already had a 4 channel RF amp and 12" enclosed Blaupunkt from my previous 05' TSX along with some KS series 6.5 Kicker speakers for the rear doors. So I had them install said equipment with an Audison 10bit Audio Processor. Holy Shit what a sound system now. I can also attach a laptop and fine tune from there. Like a recordind studio in my car now. Please be advised you must unplug ANC module for an aftermarket amp and sub setup.
Last edited by richard gunman; 06-22-2016 at 06:03 AM.
Signal Processor bought for $389.00 from ABC Electronics
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/172234906025?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
Add another $650 in labor thats what I paid. Sometimes you have to pay for quality work and products. Cheaper is not always better. I had the exact same amp wired into my TSX and those fukers butchered the hell out of the wiring. It had knarly engine noise and sounded like shit. He of course blamed the cause of noise from a faulty amp. This same faulty amp is now in mt ILX. No Engine Noise at all. I could have probablt put in Kicker Components and still be happy but I'm really happy with the wide range that Hertz provides.
Thanks for sharing the components. I was thinking about replacing my front and rear speakers along with the tweeters, but I wasn't sure about the size and all that. I currently have a RE Audio 600W RMS 12" sub in the trunk, but the woofer box takes up a lot of space. I'm using a 900W RMS amp for that sub. Where did they install your amp(s)? Do you have two? One for the sub and the other for the speakers? Or are you feeding off of the stereo amp for the speakers. Sorry if I misunderstood something in your post. When they did the installation for my current amp, I was somewhat pissed off cause they butchered the rear seat cup holder part. They put long screws in and it drilled through the leather of the cup holder part (sigh).... I haven't used that since I got the car though, so I just have it folded up.
I'm curious how everything is wired up. You say you have a 4 channel amp. So you removed the 8" sub in the back, and just went with the Hertz components in the front, and the kicker in the rear doors? That means that now you have 3 different speakers. Stock in the rear deck with no sub, front dash, and then you have Hertz front doors, and Kicker in rear doors. So the 4 channel amp poweres the Hertz and Kicker, and the head unit still powers the existing speakers?
I'm running the 4 channel Rockford amp with the Hertz Components in the front doors and the Kickers in the rear doors on the 1 and 2 channels. Then the 12" sub on the 3-4 channels bridged. The center speaker and rear deck surround sound speakers along with the 8" Kicker woofer are running off the stock amp system.
Last edited by richard gunman; 06-23-2016 at 06:43 PM.
No offense, but I would think that for that installation price they would hide the cabling a bit nicer. Depends on the installation, some will tuck it nicely under the lining of the trunk right where the cables come out of the boxes. This gives it a cleaner look, but also makes holes on your lining. I have my cables laying around too, but it's a bit tidier. I only paid $100 for my installation.
No offense taken. Perhaps you didn't read the part where I kinda undid their wiring and didn't have time, and still don't, to re-tuck the wires as before. They also had my car for 2 days and did a lot more than run a hi/lo converter. The end result is a very clear and vibrant sound. Much better than stock.
Oh, sorry about that. Yeah, I did miss that. I am thinking about switching out the door speakers as well. But going to be dropping a good $30K on home remodeling next month so I can't think of upgrading my car right now.
06-22-2016, 05:52 AM
