Acura Car Audio Systems

[LESSriceMOREclass]

Planning to upgrade my factory system in my RSX but kinda budgeted.

I'm thinking of using a Rockford Fosgate Power 400.a4 amp that i can get for cheap, but im not sure what or how big an affect it will have on the factory speakers( 2 tweeters on dash, 4 6.5"s, 2 on doors, 2 in back)

Does anyone know what brand Acura uses for its factory car audio systems and what are the specifications for the audio system's components of the 2002 RSX?(The manual or acura website doesn't say.)

[sparq]

Adding an amp to the stock speakers will most likely result in you blowing the speakers. Upgrading your speakers first (or better yet getting speakers & amp) at t he same time is best and will yield better results. How much of a budget do you have?? What exactly are you looking for ~ as far as sound??

[ExExGuy]

Stock honda headunits put out like ~10-12 watts per channel, and that's about what those speakers are made to handle...

If you upgrade your speakers, without upgrading the headunit, they won't get enough power and sound worse than the stock speakers.

If you upgrade your power through an amp without upgrading your speakers, you will most likely give them too much power...

If you upgrade your headunit to an aftermarket one, you'll get ~30-45 watts per channel to the stock speakers and they'll sound a bit better and distort less at higher volumes. They'll still suck though.

If you upgrade your headunit to an aftermarket one and replace the speakers, they'll sound a lot better.

Best choice: Get new speakers and a decent headunit, if you're on a budget. You can always add an amp to power the speakers later. Just don't crank the bass up on the 6.5" speakers because they'll probably distort and that wrecks speakers baaad. When powered by an amp though, 6.5" speakers can thump pretty nice...

Start small, and work your way up. Oh and if you have an aftermarket headunit, the best improvement you'll see in sound quality is probably by replacing the factory speakers.

[xivera]

Originally posted by LESSriceMOREclass
Does anyone know what brand Acura uses for its factory car audio systems and what are the specifications for the audio system's components of the 2002 RSX?(The manual or acura website doesn't say.)

Most likely, Acura/Honda employs Alpine to manufacture audio systems for them here in the U.S. In Japan, they employ Gather's to manufacture audio systems.

[sparq]

Originally posted by xivera

Most likely, Acura/Honda employs Alpine to manufacture audio systems for them here in the U.S. In Japan, they employ Gather's to manufacture audio systems.

Not true, I pulled dads speakers out they were actually stamped w/ a pioneer model number ~ and no he didnt buy it used It honestly depends, I think Honda does what alot of other places does and when they need a bunch of speakers they just order ~ I dont think they have a contract with anyone. So when they need an order for 10,000 pairs of speakers... it comes down to who has em in stock

[xivera]

Thanks for that Nick.
Honda/Acura speakers (like mine) are usually made by Pioneer. Everything else would be Alpine. (At least, for the current generations.)

[LESSriceMOREclass]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm new to car audio.

Can anybody help me put this system into picture?

I want a system that goes well with alternative/rock music because that's what I listen to a lot. But I also listen to some Hip-Hop/R&B so I want some thumping bass.

After talking about this with a friend who know's some stuff on car audio I came up with a plan for upgrading my system. Tell me what u guys think about it and give suggestions if you want.

Get a decent HU and good component speakers. I'm going to run the amp in the HU on 2 channels to the tweeters. For the mids i'm planning to use a Rockford Fosgate power 400.a4 amp that I can get for cheap from a friend, run those to mids at 100x 2 channels. I was wondering if that is enough of a power supply for the mids. Is that good enough power for most above average speakers? I plan to add 10" or 12" subs later on in my trunk running on a class D amp.

What brands do you guys recommend I look into for component speakers(nothing cheap, but nothing too expensive). And what good Head Units are there that are decent and match the color and lighting of the RSX interior(Silver,Black w/red lights).

And also about the wiring. What's a good reliable brand that lasts long?

[ExExGuy]

Technically, you could power speakers inside your car off the headunit and they'd probably sound decent. It depends on the headunit. If you go to any car audio shop, they'll have a few walls of head units and speakers, and they can reroute the speakers through any headunit they so choose. It's AMAZING how different the same speakers can same through various headunits.

The most noticable difference I saw was between the Pioneer and Alpine headunits. Both were roughly in the $450 range (CAD$ mind you). When the speakers were on the pioneer headunit, they sounded alright. Pioneer headunits are notorious for maxing out on the volume. They're usually limited to 30, or 40 or so (arbitrary number really)... but then you can't get any higher. When the speakers were put through the Alpine on the same song, they were louder, had a lot more solid sound (ie: bass), and the vocals were SO MUCH CLEARER.

If you can, go to a store and bring a NON-BURNED CD with you that has some very crisp vocals or accoustic guitar or something along those lines. Get them to play that CD on as many of their head units are you are interested in... and listen carefully... They're there to sell this stuff to you and you want to make the right decision, so it doesn't matter if it takes all day...

Even if you're powering the mids through a fosgate, you want a headunit that is putting out high quality sound... It's at the very heart of your audio system and can make or break it... Fosgate amps are great though, and if the price is right, go for it.

As for color matching your head unit to your car, I seriously think that should be the least of your concerns... Who cares what it looks like, it's a STEREO SYSTEM you're building, not.. well.. I don't even know why color should matter... Most head units are kinda universal in their colors anyway. I find fosgate head units to be kinda ugly, but they're supposedly pretty good, despite their appearance...

And if you listen to a lot of rock and such, you'd probably be best off with two good quality 10" subs in a sealed enclosure... preferably a custom box, they tend to sound a lot better when built properly to specs for the subs... Again, go to shops and listen to what they've got... call around and find who carries what brands and go hear them... Keep in mind, subs in a store have a lot more airspace and wont sound as loud or as good as they would when tossed into your trunk.. (RSX has a trunk or hatch like Integra? I don't know..)

Sorry for the essay, but I really screwed up my first stereo (Way too much $$ and sounded like CRAP...).. I hate it when people do the same

Any questions, you can catch me on ICQ lots (14329828)

[igo4bmx]

i must say i am running 55 watts to each speaker and i run stock rears. i play them pretty loud and have yet to blow them. I think if you get a good clean four channel you shouldn't have problems. I bought headunit and amp together and that made a world of a difference. bass was much more defined with better highes.

[LjasonL]

id recommend using infinitys for your full range as they are clear as hell as long as u dont try to play any bass through them, but thats what your subs are for anyway right? a sealed box will definately have the best sound quality, ported is more for like an spl competition hits hard but dont sound quite as good. 15s arent a good choice for sound quality, they rumble like hell but arent quick enough to give a good clear thumo. for your type of music your best off with either a single or dual 10s or 12s. a rockford amp will be more than enough power for ya, if its a good deal go for it.

[cvp0917]

you sould like your on your way and you have lots of input but i thought id throw my 2 cents in:

really if you can spare the extra money (i couldnt but i said what the hell) i put infinity perfect 6.5" component speakers front and back on my car and a pair of infinity perfect 1" tweeters (same as the component sets so they sound the same) on the dash to raise the sound stage. i also have a fosgate power 400.4 (the 2001 model of the amp you want) running the whole thing. it really depends on how you wire it. a normal car speaker runs at 4 ohm resistance and the 50x4 watt rating on my amp is at 4 ohms. well i wired my tweeters on the dash and the front component speakers to run at a 2 ohm resistance, therefore doubling the power output of the amp so the tweeters and the components are each getting 50 watts while the the back speakers are getting 50 watts still running at 4 ohms. running at 50 watts is loud enough for me and they hit pretty hard.

headunit wise you really should look ahead to what your gonna want to do in the future and buy accordingly. i bought clarion's top of the line drx9575rz because i knew i wanted to run external amps. the headunit has no built in power (only has amp hook ups) so it runs a lot cooler, sound A LOT better (due to the isolation board) and they can fit a lot more stuff in there. it just depends on what you want. i also bought my whole system at the same time so i didnt have to worry about what im gonna need at each buying step. also wire wise, you going to be looking at about $100 just in wires. thats what mine cost anyway and i used the second level of the stinger brand of wires and they are nice. hyper series i think it was.

if you got anymore questions feel free to email me and ask away. i can also get you some cheap stuff (fosgate, infinity, clarion, alpine (maybe).

[igo4bmx]

i had the clarion 9575 but now the 9675 and imust say the clarity is great. i had a pioneer 9000 and it produced such bad distortion.

[cvp0917]

ya those hu's are great. they have so many things to play with (more if you get the offboard eq) i just wish i would of had the extra $250 for the 9675 or i would have gotten that but oh well, im happy.

[cowgod]

I have clairion 6X9's ...
they are the clearest sounding 6X9's i've ever heard ..
I also had a Clarion Deck before ... but sold it ...
The Awia Deck I have now ... CTFX729M is really clear as well

but Clarion is Clear sound all the way ... the best decks by far ... for the prices thet sell at ...
Awia 150$-350$ (CDN) 92% clarity
8% distortion at heavy levels ...

Clarion 200$-400$ (CDN) 96% clarity
4% distortion at high ...
CoWgOd