98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

Hey Guys,

I've been reading as much as I can on this website and have found some incredibly useful information, especially on the EGR and iAC issues (both of which my car came with). I am having trouble finding out information about the sound system in my car and compatibility with other equipment. I am also unsure if I currently have a "stock" system.

The car has a Kenwood amplifer in the trunk which appears to be poweringa front channel and a rear channel. The previous owner says it is stock equipment, and I don't believe him. I have attached a picture of the amplifier in my car to this post.

I am looking to install a new head unit. The current head unit is what I understand to be the stock AM/FM/CD double height Honda head unit. It is not a Bose and is only labeled, I think, as a Honda. I see these in hundreds of Accord, but I have never heard of them having a Kenwood factory amp. I am looking to put one of these ( Clarion DUZ385SAT ) in:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Xt6ekHE...amp;tab=review

So I have a couple of questions:

Is the Kenwood Amplifer in my trunk actually stock equipment? Does anyone have any information?

Are my speakers and my amplifer compatible with the above linked head unit (said to fit my Accord according to Crutchfield)? Can I justjoin somewires and go on with my life?

I am not getting much sound out of my left rear speaker, it is very weak, as if it is not amplified. Other than wiring, is there anything else I might check?

Any information anyone can provide on my setup, the factory setup, and compatibility, would be GREATLY appreciated. The reason I am posting in this forum is thatI simply cannot get to the Audi/Visual forum. I get an error everytime I try to get there, so I also haven't been able to do any searching in that forum.

Thanks!!

[IMG]local://upfiles/19530/A8608A8C02824551B6BF9B31088F5133.jpg[/IMG]

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

1. Not stock. Honda has really only ever used Bose as their "premium" audio package.

2. As long as that HU has preouts (2V or 4V), it will work with any amp just by plugging it in. But, seeing as this system is wired with the OEM unit in the dash, line-out converters must have been used. Youll have to do some digging to find them, just follow the RCA cords coming from the amp. To get that HU to work youll need to buy a wiring harness (Scosche or the like) and connect all the wires to the wire harness that comes with the HU. Fairly simple if you can read and crimp connectors with a wire stripper. Then just plug the RCAs from the amp into the back and you should be good to go.

3. The speaker may have a lose connection somewhere... not completely sure.

4. The forum has a lot of issues so we do our best to work around them.

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

I cant get to the A/V board either. I was going to make a thread over there, pointing to this thread.

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

As already said, definitely NOT a stock amp. It looks to me like the Kenwood is using speaker level inputs rather than RCA/Line level. The Clarion you are considering is a good entry level double DIN and does have 2V line outs which will give you much cleaner sound to the the amp.

Do you plan to do the install yourself? If you have a shop do it, have them test the amp to ensure it is in good condition. The speaker problem could be a loose connection, a bad wire, a problem with the amp, etc.

I would highly suggest getting a new headunit, buying and running all new wires and cables, and checking out your speakers. I am guessing the speakers have been upgraded if an amp was added. You may want to consider new speakers depending on what you find.

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

Thanks guys for all your responses! I had written out a fairly length response last night about my discoveries, but got an error when I clicked post, and lost everything - multiple times.

I manned up in the 5 degree weather and got in there and lookd. It appears to be what was once considered a fairly decent 1200 Watt amp from '98 or '99. Also noticed that the rear speakers were replaced and there are some Eclipse 6X9's there. I have not looked at the front speakers. I am hoping that the previous previous owner took his head unit and left the crap factory unit, and that is why sound quality isn't that great.

I am going to do the install myself. What is method for checking for proper operation of amplifier?

I figure if front works on Amp, I can just bridge front and rear? Lets home amp works and wires are messed up. I did order a new head unit.... Depending on what works and what doesn't after the install, I may replace amplifer, and might replace speakers. I am hoping these speakers are decent and are being brought down by a bad stock head unit. I will do some research on the speakers in there and check out what is in the front doors.

Thank you both for the replies! Any more more comments/information would be appreciated.

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

If you are going to use any new wiring/cabling, check out KnuKonceptz. I have bought amp install kits and speaker wire from them. There stuff is very high quality and VERY reasonably priced. It is probably about the same price as Scoshe and better quality than Monster Cable.
**And no, I am not affiliated with them, just love their stuff.

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

After some simple troublshooting, I found that one of the aftermarket Eclipse speakers is in fact blown (broken). Nothing is physically broken/ripped/torn on the outside, but the main part of the speakerisn't producing any sound. I've got the speaker on my desk next to me, and I can't figure out why it doesn't work. Everything seems to be wired and speakers are simple, so, If I get real bored, I may do some more testing.

Either way, I put in some new 6X9's and everything works great (other than exposing the quality of my front speakers). Now I am patiently awaiting my new head unit in the mail from Crutchfield... Then I expect new problems.

RE: 98 Accord EX - Stock Amp a Kenwood? New Head Unit?
 

OK. Got a new head unit and took a thorough look at the current setup. This amplifer is setup RIGHT NOW using speaker level inputs, as noted by TahoeTexan. This amplifier also has RCA cable connections on the opposite side, as well as some other adjustments. Only after I unbolted the amp and flipped it over did I find all the other good stuff.

Right now, it is setup for all 4 speakers using the spaker level input connections.

If I want to add a small subwoofer to my system with amplification, without changing any connections on the end of the head unit, what can I do? I am having a hard time fully wrapping my head around all of this. I would re-work the wires using RCA wires as this is a setup I am familiar with, but the current setup was professionally isntalled and would take some sort of professionals to undo...Should have taken pictures when I was trying to deal with the wiring harness.

ANYWAY, Can I splice the front and rear spaker level inputs together to only use 2 channels (right and left) and then use the remaining two channels to go directly to an amplifer? There are high pass and low pass filter adjustments built into this amplifer, so it seems that might work? Am I nuts? What is the proper way to do this?

Could I use a line-out converter near the amplifier to convert all of the speaker level inputs into RCA inputs, then use RCA cables with the amplifer? Am I missing something here?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.