Factory HU, which after market speakers will sound good

Polk audio are the cleanest and tightest speakers I have experienced. But I had 50W at 4 ohms to each (6x9 tri) (6.5 co) the highs are crazy
 
I replaced just the front speakers on an 2013 LX sedan. Cleaner sound though that's about it. I am adding an amp though just haven't gotten around to it yet. I noticed the driver side speaker connections was different from the 2012 I was using as a guide. The rear speakers looks to be a pita to take out since I have to remove the seat, side cushion, deck, etc... I'm thinking of just doing a 3-4 channel amp and power up the front speakers and ad a sub in the trunk. The 2013 HU is also configured a little different than the 12. The 12 is a two piece (vent, HU) while the 13 is just a one piece. Haven't pulled the HU yet to get to the ACC purple wire to power remote the amp.
 
hotshot said:
I dunno about that alpine powerpack. I think the best route to take if youre wanting to keep the factory headunit would be something like a JL cleansweep or a Rockford Fosgate 3sixty or something like that. a stand alone signal processor, and then sticking in a separate amp, but It's more time consuming, and more expensive, but its the best way.
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My installer put one in a 12 ex,he said it made a better sound with factory speakers,about 30 percent gain in power.i believe he pit it under dash in front driver side. Better than factory is all he said.
 
i know my way around car audio but im not in the know about signal processors could you inform me a little about them? hotshot
 
nat3d said:
i know my way around car audio but im not in the know about signal processors could you inform me a little about them? hotshot
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I used to be an installer a while back so its been a while...

Look up JL Cleansweep and RF 3Sixty series. There are others too. They're OEM integration devices. Basically what they do is more or less turn your factory unit into an aftermarket head unit. That's about the closest you're gonna get to swapping your head unit for a good one, without actually swapping it. This allows you to get a good clean signal to run aftermarket amps through RCAs, and it would give you much better EQ control

The drawback is installation time and difficulty, and introducing something in-between your source and your amps. Nothing is going to replace a really good source signal (swapping for a top of the line HU), but some members have noticed codes and errors and lost functionality of the car when switching (no more integrated Bluetooth for example). I'm gonna assume no one in here is looking to do any serious SQ/L competition, so that degree of signal quality degradation shouldn't really be an issue.

Something like this would probably get wired up after the OEM unit by the wires coming out of it, before your factory amplifier and probably replace that (don't quote me, here because I haven't really researched the functionality of the amplifier in the SI, and I installed at a time where extra factory amps outside of the head unit were rare).

Another issue with these would be speaker impedance wiring. Again I haven't researched much on the SI, but systems like Bose in Cadillacs for example ran very low impedance midrange speakers and subs. The standard for aftermarket door speakers is 4 I think, so if you're amping up, keep in mind you either have to match the amp to the speaker imp., or get new speakers.
 
I recently installed an amp/sub in my LX with a line out converter attached to the rear speakers and it's an amp/sub I've had installed before in a different car and I can tell right away that the signal to the rear speakers are weak as the sub does not function or have the same "thump" as it did in a different car although I did use a different LOC this time around though the one I used previously was a just a simple LOC attached to one speaker. I also noticed even if I transferred the fader to the rear, it's not as loud or sound as good as the front speakers. Thinking of attaching my LOC to front speakers.
 
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The only thing I didn't Ike about the signal processors are the volume switches that have to be used,I just find it kinda cheeseball. I got a lcq-1 and it works pretty well.
 
is these any good? http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777P65C/Sound-Ordnance-P-65C.html?tp=105
x777P65C-f.jpeg

x777P65C-o_crossover.jpeg
 
The original poster of this topic can replace the factory speakers with aftermarket speakers and improve the sound significantly. I would also recommend Polk Audio speakers. The original poster has an LX Civic which is not crippled by the horribly sounding premium audio external amp. Believe it or not, the standard audio 160w stereo in the Civic has better sound than the premium audio systems in the EX coupe and Si models.
 
Hillstones said:
The original poster of this topic can replace the factory speakers with aftermarket speakers and improve the sound significantly. I would also recommend Polk Audio speakers. The original poster has an LX Civic which is not crippled by the horribly sounding premium audio external amp. Believe it or not, the standard audio 160w stereo in the Civic has better sound than the premium audio systems in the EX coupe and Si models.
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I've not heard to compare. Is it the amp that is problematic or?
 
webby said:
I've not heard to compare. Is it the amp that is problematic or?
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It's not necessarily better sounding in stock form, it's just that the premium system includes an external amp that brings with it a custom sound processor which boosts and cuts certain frequencies depending on volume level. For any aftermarket set up you need a flat full range signal for the amps and speakers to work properly. So for someone who likes a custom sound system the base stereo on the civic would be a better choice. For someone keeping it stock or not picky about sound then the premium audio makes sense.

Perfect example is the setup I had with an aftermarket amp and sub in the trunk, it was connected for the factory sub output in the trunk, so post amp. So the signal it provided to my aftermarket amp was "shaped" by the stock amp. This caused any low bass to be just a hum instead of really moving the woofer as it should. This also indirectly cause my voice coil to overheat and my sub to fail due to the loud volume hum but non moving sub, it not moving means it also wasn't cooling the voice coil.
 
That's also why I always suggest using an aftermarket head unit if you are installing any amps and speakers, because they have full range, proper voltage, line outputs designed to work with the inputs of aftermarket amps.
 
Bulkybear said:
It's not necessarily better sounding in stock form
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Actually, it is. I was put into many LX loaner Civics while Honda tried and failed to repair the AC in my EX-L, so I was able to listen to direct comparisons between the premium and non-premium using the same music on my iPod. The standard 160w stereo sounds far better than the premium system because the stereo has it's own built-in amp and the head unit provides a full range output to the speakers. The premium system with external amp, as you stated, butchers the sound because the external amp boosts or cuts frequencies in a poor fashion. The premium head unit has the benefit of being unpowered with pre-amp outputs, as long as you remove the factory amp. But the standard 160w stereo can achieve better sound by replacing the speakers because the built-in amp in the head unit is powerful enough to drive a decent pair of Polk Audio speakers, and it will be a full range output, or at least one that is far better than going through the factory amp in the premium version. My Navi premium head unit sounded amazing once the factory amp was replaced with the JL audio amp, new speakers, and a new sub. No converter...the pre-amp outputs straight to the JL amp. The JL amp was specifically designed for differential balanced inputs, an aftermarket head unit is not always necessary. Those were the old days. Anyway, I recently ditched the Civic and replaced it with a new Nissan Altima, thanks to Honda's terrible service.
 
Driversound said:
I replaced just the front speakers on an 2013 LX sedan. Cleaner sound though that's about it. I am adding an amp though just haven't gotten around to it yet. I noticed the driver side speaker connections was different from the 2012 I was using as a guide. The rear speakers looks to be a pita to take out since I have to remove the seat, side cushion, deck, etc... I'm thinking of just doing a 3-4 channel amp and power up the front speakers and ad a sub in the trunk. The 2013 HU is also configured a little different than the 12. The 12 is a two piece (vent, HU) while the 13 is just a one piece. Haven't pulled the HU yet to get to the ACC purple wire to power remote the amp.
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Did you add new speakers with the factory head unit?
 
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