Hi,

First off I've to clearly say I'm a noob at car-audio. Its the first time I've signed up on a acar-audio forum of any sort. You guys seems to know quite a lot abt the accord. I got kicked up with the whole idea of upgrading after listening in to alpine demo at a carshow. lolz. I've tried my hand at reading up stuff for a few days regarding this.

I've an Accord 2007 vti-l. The HeadUnit is the factory provided 6-cd changer with integrated climate control. Now before I go further researching into Head Units , Amps, Speakers & Filters .. I need to clear of a few questions - which if go around reading will take quite a long time.
(Btw my accord vendor promised I'd loose my warranty on car-electronics if I upgrade or re-wire the electronics...lol)

1) Is it practial to replace the climate control integrated headunit?
I need the original panels to remain the same & displays maintained .. .. (I did come across those 150$kits but they looked ugly & doesnt have anything for the climate control display)

2) If option 1 is not feasible - is there a pre-out from the factory HU to connect with the amp? If not is it practical to use adapters\filters from the powered audio out of the HU to after market power amps?

3) Recommended amp config that I understood - I would need a 4 channel amp for my 4 speakers & a mono amp for the subwoofer. I also do realise the amps should be rated above the speakers wattage - or now is the other way around - im a lil confused. . Is this correct?

4)And I did find the AUX in connector in the trunk - is there a similiar connector available directly from the HU?

5)If replacing HU is not an option - What are the recommended amp,speaker ,sub & accessory pairs to use? Alpine, Infinity or JBL? I dont have splashy budget - but I'd like something that has the punch and dont mind spending if it makes sense & gives the sound quality. (I did come across the 250WATT powered Infinity 10" 3 sub-box - is this kind of setup a good option as I could save on another mono amp for the sub?)

I do realise I might be repeating the questions & some of them may not make sense - If I dont ask I'll take some time understanding the stuff. I tried the nearest YellowHat - and trust me - they hired dumb guys for the MiddleEast outlet. So I'm out of luck here as well.

Any & all advice is appreciated from all you guys here.

 

The only way to get an aftermarket HU in the stock location is to use the install kit you saw. I've had mine for over 2 years with no problems. I agree it isn't the best looking, but unless you want to custom fab your own you've got no other choice. The stock HU has no preouts, so to hook up an amp that only has low level inputs you would need to use a line out converter (LOC). Yes having a amp dedicated to your speakers, and another for the sub is really the best way. Those 5ch amps really don't supply much power to your sub. Not only that digital mono blocks are more efficient and produce less heat than regular A/B amps. If you have the money you can even get a digital full range amp for your speakers, but they are pricey.

As for what gear to use, that's really all about taste, long as your looking at quality gear. You said you liked the alpine set up, so I would go with alpine speakers. Alpine is really the only company that everything they make is good, usually companies specialize in subs, amps, speakers or HUs. If your on a tight budget and want the best sound, forget about the rear speakers, and invest the absolute most you can upfront. The front speakers is what really matters, the rears are really for the back seat and to sort of "fill" in the sound stage. But you want your sound stage up front, you don;t want the music to sound like it's coming from everywhere. That give's you really bag imaging.

Personally I would stay away from anything infinity, especially their subs. Some like their speakers, but I find them way to harsh and not all that great. Not only that their quality has really gone down in the recent years. If you don't want super loud bass, but nice clean tight accurate bass, I would even go for a 12" alpine type-R. Now if your really want the best sounding sub, look no further than a JL W6 or W7.

 

ok i decided on the following atleast -
FS: 6" Alpine Type R
RS: Maintain Stock Speakers
SubWoofer: Alpine Type R 12"

As for the Amps & LOC I'm confused ... I'm not into scaring people on the road every day .. i would like some quality sound, rich bass & the occasional scare people ..
(the local audio guys keep telling me to go for Type S speakers & an amp like MRV F345)

With that in mind should i go for a seperate 4 channel amp & another mono amp in alpine or go for something like the JBLGTO5356 (5 Channels). The point is I dont want to it go waste if end up not using all the wattage. Give me some RMS wattage approximations I need to look for considering I'm using Type R speakers.

do recommend me a quality LOC. I know its not the best idea to woth the factory unit - but I really dont want to add another headunit onto my system. I'll go for it only if this whole setup doesnt go well.

Another thing I'm not clear abt is the OHM matching - is this something I've to look into? Like I need to a get a 2OHM speakers & match it with equivalent amps? the 4OHM & 2OHM & different rms wattage is driving me nuts ...

 

Sounds like you have a good plan. The line out converter you won't need if you go with the Alpine MRV-F345 you mentioned. That amp has high-level inputs (direct speaker output from the stock head unit) so you won't loose the quality change of converting to low-level. That amp too is a good match with the speakers you have chosen. I believe the RMS handling on the speakers are about 100watts RMS. You could go with a 5 channel, however the type R sub that you are looking at can handle 500w RMS. I'm not sure on the output of that GTO5356. From what it sounds for the audio you are looking for, the seperate 4-channel and the mono amps would be the best plan. Ohm matching you don't have to worry about except for the sub. Wiring the sub at 2 ohms in a parallel form, assuming that the sub you get will have dual 4ohm coils (two sets of terminals at 4ohms resistance each set). The mono amp for the sub wired at 2 ohms will sound real nice and punchy. You won't be wasting any power for either the speakers or sub. If you want to top it all off with some sound equaliztion ability you could add a sound processor by Alpine the Imprint, or the JL clean sweep, or the RF 360. All are made to work with stock head units and change the quality of the sound for a richer fuller sound by adding more tuning capabilities you would be missing with the stock headunit alone.

 

Thanks My03Accord. now things have altered slightly after listening to RockFord Fosgate Subs & reading up on PDX5.

How do Type R & RockFord compete in the subwoofer arena? Which component would deliver a better punch for 150$ .. type R or an equivalent rockford (do suggest a good rockford to go with the pdx5 for 150$)

And it looks like the PDX5 doesnt seem to have a speaker in (only preamp in) .. can someone suggest a good loc\filter .. which doesnt blow a hole on my budget..

Another thought for the PDX5 - is coz im caped out in dubai .. the summer gets damn hot & humid here .. i dont want 2 amps(4chan+mono) burning up or the sucking the life out of my batt ..

 

Rockford subs don't get good till the T series but kind of spendy especially on a budget. I've heard the Type R components from Alpine (i'm an auto electronics installer i've seen alot) and i like them, used to have a set from a few years ago. Not sure about the new Rockfords since i haven't heard them. Used to have an older pair from about 6 years ago. Really liked those too. The new PDX5 is a sick amp. They are very efficient being that they are class D amp and not AB which will gerate a lot of heat. Since the climate in your area is hot and humid like that the PDX would be the best choice. Line out converter the Peripheral ISVE61 is a good one. Has individual gains for the 4 channels and won't take up a lot of dash space. Probably find one on the web for cheap. As far as the battery get a good one like a Optima Yellowtop or equivelant and do the BIG 3 upgrade with thicker gauge wire (alternator to battery, battery to ground, and engine to ground).

 

Thanks for the great advice my03accord, glad I'm not the only one around here to answer questions. And you seem to know quite a bit more than me as well.

If you can afford the PDX go for it. I installed a marine PDX amp in my boat not too long ago and I'm in love with it. Never gets hot and has plenty of clean power. But I wouldn't go for the 5 channel PDX. I would go for a PDX 4.100, same amp I have on my boat just not marinised. Then have a nice mono block for your sub. The 5 channel will only supply your sub with 300w, which is ok for some filler bass but you may be left disappointed with the bass. If you like a little exaggerated bass, I would go with at least 500w. Now this is still not a lot of bass.

As for subs I'm not a fan of RF, their top of line gear isn't bad but I feel that money could be better spent elsewhere. The alpine type-r is a great sub for the money. Not terribly loud, but very clean and accurate. My favorite subs are the JL W6 and W7, but they are not cheap. They are arguably the best sounding mass produced subs on the market, but they are definitely not the loudest.

Another thing is, you seem to think that running two separate amps will draw more power, that is not really the case. Running the PDX5 versus a 75w x4 amp with a 300x1 amp will draw nearly the same power, if there is a difference it would only be a couple of watts which is insignificant. How much power you draw, really comes down to how many watts your amps are combined, not how many amps you have. But also remember your never going to be constantly drawing their rated power, at musical levels you won't even get close. Only when you really crank it up will it occasionally hit the max RMS rating, and not for very long at all.

 

it looks like it'll come down to 2 options

option1
Alpine Type R - Front & Rear - 145$ + 125$
Alpine MRV-F352 (4Channel Amp) - 265$
JVC CS-BGS5120 12" Powered Subwoofer - 200$

Option2
Alpine Type R - Front & Rear - 145$ + 125$
Alpine PDX5 - 540$
Alpine Type R 12" Sub + Enclosure - 240$
OR
RockFord Fosgate P1L-1X12 - 290$

Will option 1 & 2 differ so much in quality of sound and punch? considering i dont plan to terrify pedestrians.

 

Option 2 with Type R. The P1's are terrible. Like t00fatt said you'll have the low end bass, it just won't be crushing. The 300watt rating is under rated to what the actual cirtificate will say that comes in the box. I've seen the PDX mono's say 1200watts RMS with a 1000watt ratng and the respectable 4 channels say 150 RMS on 100 watt rating. So you could get anywhere from 350-400 RMS on that sub output.(just a guess) But either way with 300watts minimum RMS from the PDX5 you'll get a nice blend for the overall sound. Just don't be expecting that heavy thump you would from more wattage.

 

Well most quality amps are slightly "underrated", my zx750.1 came tested at over 900w. I'm just not so sure how clean that signal was, I think those tests are more about thermal ability, than acoustical.