Honda Accord Forum - Honda Accord Enthusiast Forums - Trying to get a decent sound in my Accord 2012 LX

you can replace the stock head unit but the kit will look cheap and the radio will look out of place. you can get an OEM look by paying a competent shop to make a custom double din touch screen mount. but that could run you a grand with the head unit and labor.

note on replacing the stock headunit:
Installation Details for your 2012 Honda Accord Sedan without Navigation system; with 6 speakers; Without Dual zone climate controls

If the factory radio is replaced, the factory AUX input connection will be lost.

Once the factory radio is removed the compass and clock are lost. The heater display will continue to work.
You'll lose the factory clock if the radio is replaced.
You'll lose your factory XM capability if you replace your factory radio.

in order to get good sound from the stock head unit, you want an OEM interface processor. The JBL MS-8 is an excellent start ($640). It has a built-in amplifier to power factory speakers directly. For replacement speakers, the installation and amplification of the speaker determines the sound quality. The MS-8 will also tune the sound system for optimal sound quality without you having to hire a professional.

For speakers, you have 6.5" woofers in the front doors, 3/4" tweeters up in the dash, and 6.5" in the rear deck. The front and rear woofers require a mounting adapter because the factory speaker has a funky mount. If you buy through crutchfield, you get the mounts and instructions for free.

The following recommendations are available from Crutchfield (call and you may be able to work out a package discount):

You can start with the MS-8 powering factory speakers, then add a sub amp and sub. If you want even better sound, I recommend the following speakers, to be powered through an external amplifier:
Polk Momo MM6501 - $399 front doors/dash
Polk Audio DXi 650s - $99 rear deck (rear speakers are optional, not required for good sound)
Powered by a JBL MS-A1004 ($440)

The JBL MS-8 will feed a low level signal to two amplifiers. You could stick with JBL and run a compact JBL MS-A5001 ($450) to a single 10" sub such as Polk Momo MM1040D ($220)

You could contact this guy and see if you can get a forged fiberglass enclosure for the '12 Accord or get his standard sealed box:
Universal Sealed Enclosure Single Design 4

There are many other suggestions for these components. What i've recommended could sound very good in your car. The JBL amps are compact and easily located in any vehicle. Larger, cheaper amps are available. The MS-8 is the heart of the system and what allows you to get great sound out of the system while retaining the OEM dash appearance. There are some other OEM processors for less which don't include amplification but aren't as savvy. The MS-8 is a great processor. The Polk sub is just one of many suggestions, but is shallow and would work well with a shallow fiberglass enclosure. I like to have consistency in brands. It would be nice to have a fiberglass enclosure in the rear driver's corner of the trunk to minimize space impact. I prefer retaining the trunk space and not filling it with a box. The front component speakers could be cheaper, but you do have depth concerns, so they need to be less than 3" deep. Locating component tweeters in the dash locations will take some modification, but it's certainly possible.

If these recommendations are way above your budget, then we can start with a budget and work down from there. If you want to do this yourself, I do recommend buying from Crutchfield as they will provide you with more information/adapters/etc. than anyone else.

To install the amps, you'll need a dual amplifier installation kit. The Rockford RFK-4D is a nice all-inclusive kit. Note that with the MS-8 and two amps, you don't need 17' long RCA cables. You would want 3 shorter RCA's, length based on install locations.