CU2 Audio upgrade desperately needed for Accord Euro CU2 Luxury

[JustRight]

Hi Warren,

That sounds like the go. There is nothing wrong with the JL Audio products. As you have seen from my thread, you really will need something to help sort out the EQ of the system.

I have used a number of free air subs over the years from manufacturers like Soundstream and Focal. An 8" in the parcel shelf should work just fine. Try to sound deaden and seal the parcel shelf as best you can.

Cheers.

[WarrenM]

Hi Warren,

That sounds like the go. There is nothing wrong with the JL Audio products. As you have seen from my thread, you really will need something to help sort out the EQ of the system.

I have used a number of free air subs over the years from manufacturers like Sondstream and Focal. An 8" in the parcel shelf should work just fine. Try to sound deaden and seal the parcel shelf as best you can.

Cheers.

I've been going over the JL product and I can't fathom how it is going to work. It will only work on the front and rear door speakers, and will eliminate the 5.1 environment - that looks messy. I'm looking at the Soundstream offering, which is 5.1 compatible, but does not seem to have the sort of radical equalisation needed. Oh me, oh my!

[WarrenM]

I've been going over the JL product and I can't fathom how it is going to work. It will only work on the front and rear door speakers, and will eliminate the 5.1 environment - that looks messy. I'm looking at the Soundstream offering, which is 5.1 compatible, but does not seem to have the sort of radical equalisation needed. Oh me, oh my!

The Fosgate Rockford units have been pulled from the market, pending release of the replacement 8-channel version in July for an expected US $700. The cheaper 5.1 version would have met my requirements I think, but it was still a lot more expensive than I wanted to go, and the more expensive version is being discounted in the one online shop I've found it available at about US$550 delivered which is definitely way more than I want to spend.

[GaDgeT-CRX]

Hey Warren, Ive got a brand new JBL MS-8 up for sale at the moment, not quite a 'poor mans' DSP, but has auto EQ, time alignment and 8 x 20W amp included. is on MEA at the mo http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/...-vic-jbl-ms-8/ PM Me if interested

[WarrenM]

Hey Warren, Ive got a brand new JBL MS-8 up for sale at the moment, not quite a 'poor mans' DSP, but has auto EQ, time alignment and 8 x 20W amp included. is on MEA at the mo http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/...-vic-jbl-ms-8/ PM Me if interested

Thanks. Price is too high for me, but hopefully someone will see this and snap it up for the bargain it is.

[WarrenM]

How things change from day to day! Last night I won a spectacular mono block amplifier on eBay for $123 to use with whatever sub I'm going to buy. I really didn't expect anything like this, but I now have a Schneider SPA 6000A class-X amp which is stable to less than 1 Ohm and, even at 4 Ohms, is over 500W RMS (1350W RMS at 1 Ohm). I'm not sure what its original purchase price was, but I have seen some ads from a couple of years ago, asking $450 and $600 2nd-hand. I guess I don't need to concern myself about how efficient my prospective sub is - just how good it sounds and how deep it goes.

[WarrenM]

Warren have you received the HSK 165's yet? Can you send me the link to the seller? Thanks man! That's an awesome price! I was looking for some last year and was prepared to pay the $300+ everyone was asking for them!

I received my first pair of HSK 165s today (I've ordered a 2nd pair for the rear doors). They look real enough - finished very well - crossovers have all Hertz-designated components etc. I have emailed Elettromedia in Italy with my serial number, to hopefully verify that they are legitimate. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get confirmation, at which point I'll let you know where you can get them.

[JustRight]

Hi Warren,

Great win on the Schneider amp, that's awesome at that price. All you need to do is figure out where to mount it

I also read your comments on the CU2's audio system in the thread on the new facelift CU2.

On the other hand, its sound system is appalling! Do they really expect people to go on long rides being tormented by gritty treble-heavy, bass-light pseudo-music?

Absolutely spot on. Honda have the nerve to call it a 'Premium' sound system, but when I got to listen to mine properly after taking delivery of the car I could not believe what a harsh sound it produced. Just dreadful.

All fixed now though, and you are well on the way to 'fixing' yours as well.

Cheers.

[WarrenM]

Hi there WarrenM,

You might find these threads of mine from last year of interest:
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthr...peaker-upgrade

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthr...cessor-upgrade

This may be overkill for what you are wanting to spend, but if you are looking for a system to play largely Classical or Orchestral music styles then the standard Panasonic based system in the Accord CU2 leaves a LOT to be desired. I personally found the standard system to be far too bright and harsh and completely lacked warmth and decent bass. The equalisation is just all wrong, at least to my ears, and the factory all plastic speakers are just rubbish. In fact many users, including many here on OzHonda have had the standard speakers fail, many times!

My system is now based on all Focal speakers and 4 channel amplifier, with a Rockford Fosgate DSP to 'fix' the dreadful EQ of the standard system. I did not want to go the the extent of changing the factory Head Unit, and there are little to no options in that area anyway. It's a big job, but the result is well worth it if you love your music.

Cheers, and good luck.

Hi JustRight.

Thanks for all your input. I've gone from thinking I can get by with under $1000 of hi-fi upgrade, to already having paid more than that in seriously discounted hardware before I've even started, and I still have 3 speakers a sub and an amp to go, plus sound deadening, cables, etc. Not to mention the services of a professional installer, since I can guarantee that I will destroy the car if I try to do the installation.

Now that I have gone into way-over-the-top mode, may I pick your brains for some of the details of your installation:

Have you needed to upgrade your power connections from the battery? Did you need to drill through the firewall to allow larger cables through? Were the holes in the doors sufficient to get cables into them, or were the cables already of high enough quality and calibre for your focal speakers?

How deep does your sub go? How deep do the focal splits go? Where did you set the cross-over between them - did you just allow the focal splits to naturally bottom out and let the sub take over, or did you fade out the splits somewhere above their lower limit?

Finally, have you needed to beef up your battery? With the massive amp I already have for my sub and the additional amp I'm about to get for my splits, plus the amp built into the JBL MS-8 DSP, I suspect that I'll be pushing the limits of a standard battery.

Cheers, Warren

[JustRight]

Howdy Warren,

It's alarming how the costs build up isn't it. I found exactly the same thing, when after spending what I thought was my budget on the Focal 165VR's and amplifier, to then realise I needed a DSP and a decent sub-woofer.

Anyway, it all worked out well. So, on to your questions:

Have you needed to upgrade your power connections from the battery? Did you need to drill through the firewall to allow larger cables through? Were the holes in the doors sufficient to get cables into them, or were the cables already of high enough quality and calibre for your focal speakers?

Yes I did indeed upgrade the power lines from the battery. I ran an additional 4AWG power cable from the + terminal to the input side of the standard fuse box. I clamped and soldered the additional cable to the factory connections. I then ran a 4AWG cable from the distrubution side of the fuse box, next to where the input from the battery comes in, to a large amperage circuit breaker which I mounter on the upper firewall on the passenger side. The 4AWG cable then crosses to the drivers side along the firewall and enters the car through the large rubber wiring loom seal just under the brake booster.

This is the only reasonably accessible place to pass the power cable through the firewall. From under the drivers dash you can get good access to the rear of the rubber wiring seal. I simply cut a small hole in the rubber and pushed the cable through. A quick squirt with some Silicone lubricant and I was able to pull the cable through the hole easily.

I then ran the cable along the drivers side of the car under the door sill trims. There is plenty of room under there. I also used black flexible plastic conduit for the entire length of the power cable right into the boot. The cable then makes its way up under the rear seat and up the drivers side of the boot to the parcel shelf where I have mounted the Focal Solid4 ampilifier.

The earth cable is also a 4AWG cable that goes from the amp, across the back of the boot to the passenger side where it is bolted to the cars frame. At the battery end I also replaced the short battery to body earth strap with one I made up also of 4AWG cable. I believe that the standard earth strap is only 8AWG, and so we need to also beef up the current return point as well.

When I eventually added the Focal powered sub-woofer I simply added a 'T' piece connecter to the 4AWG cables in the boot for both the power and earth and then connected them via an Anderson plug to the sub. The Anderson plug allows the sub to be easily and safely removed whilst being able to tolerate the kind of amperages that these amplifiers can require.

As for the speaker cables themselves, I simply used the original factory wiring. It is entirely adequate for the amount of power we are driving to the component speakers. I have had no issues with that at all.

How deep does your sub go? How deep do the focal splits go? Where did you set the cross-over between them - did you just allow the focal splits to naturally bottom out and let the sub take over, or did you fade out the splits somewhere above their lower limit?

I set the DSP to run the sub from 20 to 100Hz with a 24db/Octave slope. I effectively allow the 165VR's to run down to their rated bottom end. The 165VR's are rated to 70Hz so I have set the DSP to roll them off from 80Hz, also with a 24db slope. This seems to work pretty well, and I have not found myself wanting to 'fiddle' with it for some time. Initially I had set the 165VR's to roll off a lot higer, but I found that that seemed to leave a 'hole' in the sound around that area, so by running them down a bit lower the car seems to fill nicely with that mid-bass with the sub filling in the very bottom end.

Finally, have you needed to beef up your battery? With the massive amp I already have for my sub and the additional amp I'm about to get for my splits, plus the amp built into the JBL MS-8 DSP, I suspect that I'll be pushing the limits of a standard battery.

So, I see that a DSP has appeared in the mix. Have you been able to get the MS8 at a good price?
Anyway, no, I did not do anything about my battery, although I don't think I am drawing anywhere near the power that you might with the Schnieder Mono Block etc. However, I do take a few precautions, for example, I never play the stereo without the engine running.

All in all this worked out very well. I have had no real issues with alternator whine or ground loops etc. Although I do get a very slight hiss when the system is powered on but there is no signal. It's very minor and inaudible once any music is playing or the car is in motion.

Hope this little essay helps. You can use some of the pictures on my original threads to see just where I mounted the crossovers in the doors etc, etc.

All the best,
Trevor

[WarrenM]

Warren have you received the HSK 165's yet? Can you send me the link to the seller? Thanks man! That's an awesome price! I was looking for some last year and was prepared to pay the $300+ everyone was asking for them!

I have just spoken with Elletromedia (Hertz manufacturers) in Italy. These HSK 165 speakers are fake. Bugger!

They are very good to excellent fakes, and sound pretty good according to the firm, but of course there is no quality control. I shall be letting Elletromedia know where they came from. I shall not be putting that information on the forum. Sorry.

Please note that current model HSK 165s are, to the company's knowledge, unable to be faked, due to the much more complex and therefore expensive machining involved. If you find current model HSK 165s at a bargain price, they are almost certainly legit (or stolen I guess).

Cheers,
Warren

[androo]

Damn!!!! Bad luck Warren. Will you be returning them or keeping them? Is the seller unaware or do you think they're passing them off as real even though they know its fake? I'm shopping for speakers at the moment. I'll let you know if I come accross any awesome deals!