My son owns a 2005 Accord and he is wanting to upgrade his sound system and add a sub. He would register on the forum but not only is he not the most mechanically inclined, he is military and, at this time, doesn't have internet access.

Can a decent system be utilized using his current head unit?
If I remember correctly the head unit was a large screen that may, or may not, have other uses besides the stereo. I'm unsure about this because we will have to retrieve the car from the military base before we start and I don't have access to it at the moment - I would like to get my ducks in a row before I travel to get it.

I know speakers and a sub is in his plans but not knowing what works best in an Accord is another reason why I'm here. Several years ago I decked out his former car (Mazda MX6) with after-market speakers, tweeters and a 15" sub that he later had to swap for dual 12's because of repeated issues with the amp and the sub itself.

I've been looking at keep_hope_alive's install and the sub location is nice but, again, I'm not sure if his Accord is similar.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks

 

Welcome. We're glad to help and share in our experiences.

There are many differences between my 2001 and your son's 2005. The largest difference is the head unit. The 2005 must remain, but there are dozens of products to help you interface with it.

Pacific Accessory Corporation (pac-audio.com) has a selection of factory interface products for a host of additions/interfaces.

There are also some good quality OEM interface products by JL Audio (Cleansweep), MTX (reQ), Alpine, Kenwood, Audio Control, etc. Crutchfield has a good selection of these products and can help you with the installation of them (good wiring skills are required).

Front speakers are the most important, and a good quality component set is crucial to making the whole thing sound good. Those doors are fed from a molex plug, making wiring upgrades more difficult (but not impossible). Some decide to just use the factory wiring, others drill through the plug to run new wires (several hours of effort).

Sub selection and enclosure design is crucial. Having a sub in the center of the rear trunk opening - in an Infinite Baffle configuration, can save you a lot of cargo space. It also has a unique sound, requires a unique sub, and requires a lot of fabrication to seal off the trunk (including sealing off any rear speakers). The driver rear corner is the perfect place for a single 12" sub. The corner loading effect is great, and you get the most out of the location. Also, that single sub and location typically limits output to 130dB - which is good because you don't want to encourage too much hearing loss.

Speaker installation requires some very specific effort - most of which is not pictured in my build log since I moved my speakers out of factory locations. I can provide a link to a recent install in a 2008 Scion xB where I can demonstrate new door speaker installation, and in the coming weeks i'm doing a very awesome build on a 2005 Scion tC (with over $4k in SQ gear).

Keep the questions coming, one item at a time, and we'll do what we can to help you and your son out. Be sure to share your budget, that narrows down the field.