After market speakers vs. Factory upgrade

[stevo1210]

Just curious to know a bit more info for my FD Civic. I have the expensive ($600) Honda bass works upgrade kit in my FD which was a large step ahead of the stock speakers... but how would this compare to say... high end after market stuff?

What I'm talking about is like say replace all the speakers with high end stuff from the likes of Morel, JL Audio, Alpine etc. and also replace the head unit with something really high end, like Nakamichi, Denon, Pioneer etc.

But at the same time not having a subwoofer at all and just rely on the 4 speakers to create some form of bass? Say... quality comparative to my parents 2007 Accord (non euro) which has no sub but just 6 speakers but the audio is fantastic... even blows bass works out of the water!

Thanks.

[curtis265]

What does the 'bass works' kit include exactly?

[amant02]

For $600 should be a descent upgrade.

Wouldn't even think of top end Audio gear if you are talkn $600 only.

[stevo1210]

What does the 'bass works' kit include exactly?

Two beefier rear speakers that use neodymium magnets and a crossover amp unit in the boot, powered by the 3rd brake light.


For $600 should be a descent upgrade.

Wouldn't even think of top end Audio gear if you are talkn $600 only.

lol yeah I know. $600 was the cost of my Bass Works kit from the dealer. If I were to spend $$$ on audio, I'd talk $1000 and over. But seriously, with really high end speakers in those 4 positions of the car (no sub) and a high end head unit... what would the quality be like?

[sensei_]

hard to give you any quantitive measures on quality.

quality of sound is based on many factors:

sound proofing
enclosure of speakers
quality of outputs, interconnects, and recording

there is no one system for all. every car is different, everyone has different taste in music, and every system sounds different based on operating perimeters. heck, even the same setup can sound different to two different people playing the same music.

[curtis265]

an amp powered by the 3rd brake light doesn't sound great....

[amant02]

So what, you use brake pedal to on and off your amp?

[sensei_]

So what, you use brake pedal to on and off your amp?

only gets bass when you slow down.

[amant02]

And we aren't even trolling.

[sensei_]

On a serious note, I have never heard of a Honda factory upgrade to the sound system. I was under the understanding that all "upgrades" were done by the owners (ie. honda wont have anything to do with it, and the install is purely between the owner, and whoever is doing the work)

[stevo1210]

On a serious note, I have never heard of a Honda factory upgrade to the sound system. I was under the understanding that all "upgrades" were done by the owners (ie. honda wont have anything to do with it, and the install is purely between the owner, and whoever is doing the work)

Well for the FD Civic here, they definitely had an upgrade to complement the crap speakers they sold with the car.

http://hondapartspeople.com/images/Honda/CRV0008068_mid.jpg

As you can see, it's two speakers and an amp thing. I paid $550 for this at Scott's Honda last year. Page 8 of the 2009 Accesory catalogue if I am correct... same page as the bluetooth add-on in the brochure.

Also a thread here on ozhonda about it from the stone ages...

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-42411.html

and alas, the install guide on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5DGos5GqiU

Definitely powered off the 3rd brake light and the trunk light connection. I'm guessing there's constant 12V or something in there.