Just bought a 2001 Accord coupe and the CD player doesn't work. Before I look at aftermarket headunits, is there a factory Honda double DIN that will fit in its place? I prefer the look of a factory stereo (and its decreased probability of being stolen) and am hoping there is a newer, more powerful stock alternative out there that will be a direct replacement. I've read that the 2005 Civic SE is a good double DIN stereo, will it work? Any info would be appreciated.

 

all factory head units are low power. i have a 2001 Accord 6-disc changer for sale.

all of the Honda radios use the same wire harness. not all have the same mounting. After 2003 the radios started to become unique.

aftermarket is easy in our cars. a 70-1721 harness and a mounting kit and you're in business. aftermarket head units always sound better than stock head units. i recommend a decent aftermarket head unit, like Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer, JVC.

 

^^^ I read another thread you posted in about the Civic SE Double DIN and it seemed like it was very underpowered. I was hoping Honda had a high-powered factory deck (like Pioneer has a special Scion unit and Rockford Fosgate made a special unit for Nissan).

Back to the aftermarket drawing board then, thanks for the info.

 

i've replaced the "high power" Pioneer and Rockford Fosgate options - they aren't worth the money.

now, RF has a new amp that was developed for the OEM market that is impressive, but normally used for a factory sub. the largest factory amps i've seen were Bose (ironically).

usually, a factory "premium" sound system won't sound as good as a similarly priced aftermarket solution that is properly installed. the problem is that aftermarket sound systems are infrequently installed as good as OEM - so they lack midbass. try to mimic the factory seals and wire routing of OEM and you'll be good to go.

 

check out my build log (link in sig) for some ideas.