Poor audio systems in honda vehicles

[rikhav]

the civic has an alpine with proprietary connectors.

Thats what my friend even told me who owns a Civic but I thought he may have got it wrong as Neo said if its flush mounted system it mostly has to be a Panasonic

 

[neo]

Hi Neo
Is sound dampning required even if there is no sub-woofer installed?

Yes! I've a skoda which has one the most sturdier builds i.e thick panel,doors etc but there is big diff in sound by damping & i've no woofer installed as yet. The first thing you must damp in most cars are your front doors as the most of the noise comes from there. Than the boot, the firewall, the floor & rear doors.
All the best
Cheers

 

[neo]

Apologies for digressing a little..

Has anyone checked out the Rockford Fosgate system on the new Outlander, 650W 9 speakers, flat sub,

Is it worth buying the car for , I mean as compared to the CRV,

Best Regards,

Danccc

IMO the CRV is a better drive, You always get a good ICE set up.

The Rock Ford fosgate is one of the decent car audio offered as oem. but it is not to my taste.

 

[neo]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for taking the time. Neo dumb of me to not get your lingo. Truly was wondering as i had never heard of 'panna'. Haha thanks anyway.
Rikhav i know what a power amp can do in a home set up and i guess would be great for a car too but my expectations from a car audio are different. And yes i love to drive and have never had a driver till date.
Heard the dyna system in the volvo though and its very good. Sounds more like a good audio set up as compared to a car stereo. But frankly i dont have the heart to shell out lots on car stereo as its adds to the possibility of theft on our bbay streets.(Last 2 decades i have had 3 car stereo s and 2 front panels stolen and the rascal also took my tennis kit which actually cost as much as the stereo)

rgds

Dude! You are not getting a new head unit are you??? If heard your civic head unit well i guess you would pray for it to get stolen

I don't think it's easy to steal spks & amps, so if you splurge a bit you should be okay & the set suggested by me is preety reasonble the bull & kenwood set will be whitin your budget.
Alll the best.
Cheers

 

[neo]

Hi,
Sorry moderator for all this car talk.

Yes Rikhav it came with Michelin Energy 195/65 R 15 as the stock tyres which i changed the same day. Honda vehicles (civic) can come with either Michelin,bridgestone or goodyear tyres. One cant choose. All the above OE tyres are similar and mediocre.
Regards

Hey! Mod sorry for the car talk.But could'nt resist.
The Michelin energy MXV8's are a good set of rubber!!!!
What did you change to???

I would still say getting a decent car ICE makes driving in b'bay a bit more tolerable at times. 15-20k is worth taking a risk to ease your nerves.
So go get one dude.
All the best.

 

[neo]

Thats what my friend even told me who owns a Civic but I thought he may have got it wrong as Neo said if its flush mounted system it mostly has to be a Panasonic

Hey! you guys could be right on the make, but it is a flush mounted unit for sure.

 

[neo]

Yes! I've a skoda which has one the most sturdier builds i.e thick panel,doors etc but there is big diff in sound by damping & i've no woofer installed as yet. The first thing you must damp in most cars are your front doors as the most of the noise comes from there. Than the boot, the firewall, the floor & rear doors.
All the best
Cheers

Damping is aslo car specific. so if you need more info let me know the car & may be i can try to help.
Cheers

 

[dinyaar]

Hey! Mod sorry for the car talk.But could'nt resist.
The Michelin energy MXV8's are a good set of rubber!!!!
What did you change to???

I would still say getting a decent car ICE makes driving in b'bay a bit more tolerable at times. 15-20k is worth taking a risk to ease your nerves.
So go get one dude.
All the best.

Swapped to a tyre that i have had good experience with for the last 5 years in various cars. I like the Bridgestone Potenza G III and the size this time is 205/60 R 15. Like most tyres the first 100 odd kms are not great but they smoothen out to be great allrounders . IMO less than a 60 profile is asking for trouble and hence sticking to 15".Plus the fact that the importer/distributor is my school mate and looks after any issues if they ever arise.

I believe the Head unit is alpine as per the Arya Honda service center

 

[reignofchaos]

Dinyaar just replace the speakers. Should be enough. However sorry to disappoint you. The OE Michelin MXV8 is way better than the Potenza GIII that you put in your car. The latter is rubbish - noisy, hard ride and not much grip compared to michelins.

 

[dinyaar]

Dinyaar just replace the speakers. Should be enough. However sorry to disappoint you. The OE Michelin MXV8 is way better than the Potenza GIII that you put in your car. The latter is rubbish - noisy, hard ride and not much grip compared to michelins.

Will replace speakers soon.
OE was XM 1+ and no opinion as barely drove the car 10 kms with them. Now potenza i have used for 5 years in sizes 225/55 R 16 and 195/60 R 14 for the accord and old city.
My opinion is super grip and handling(esp wet), great durability, great braking and decent looks. Minus points would be stiffer ride(mich offers more comfort) marginally more noise(sportier pattern + directional) and more expensive.
G 3 is made in Japan and a great allround tyre for our roads in my opinion.
ROC what potenza have u tried and on what car?
Regards

 

[reignofchaos]

Will replace speakers soon.
OE was XM 1+ and no opinion as barely drove the car 10 kms with them. Now potenza i have used for 5 years in sizes 225/55 R 16 and 195/60 R 14 for the accord and old city.
My opinion is super grip and handling(esp wet), great durability, great braking and decent looks. Minus points would be stiffer ride(mich offers more comfort) marginally more noise(sportier pattern + directional) and more expensive.
G 3 is made in Japan and a great allround tyre for our roads in my opinion.
ROC what potenza have u tried and on what car?
Regards

I use a Lancer Cedia which came with Potenzas as stock. I'm currently running Michelin Pilot Preceda 2 in 205/60 R15 pattern. The difference between both is night and day. The latter is in a completely different performance class.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Guys,
Finally swapped the rear speakers of the civic to Focal Access 630 and the sound is much better. More depth and clarity.]
The installer insisted I put an amp as the speakers needed it but i have not as yet. An amp will definately improve things though.
Other options considered were the Blaupunkt, JBL,Morel and lastly pioneer. The Focals are not 'thumpy" like the JBL s and not as harsh/sharp in the trebles as the Morels/pioneers. The Blaupunkt was a little bland. Sorry for not posting all model Nos auditioned as i cant recollect them.
These cost me 6.5K with a 1 year warranty and seemed a good deal.

Thanks to all the guys for having taken the time to advise.

Merry Christmas and a blast in the year ahead.

Rgds

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

Hi Guys,
Finally swapped the rear speakers of the civic to Focal Access 630 and the sound is much better. More depth and clarity.]
The installer insisted I put an amp as the speakers needed it but i have not as yet. An amp will definately improve things though.
Other options considered were the Blaupunkt, JBL,Morel and lastly pioneer. The Focals are not 'thumpy" like the JBL s and not as harsh/sharp in the trebles as the Morels/pioneers. The Blaupunkt was a little bland. Sorry for not posting all model Nos auditioned as i cant recollect them.
These cost me 6.5K with a 1 year warranty and seemed a good deal.

Thanks to all the guys for having taken the time to advise.

Merry Christmas and a blast in the year ahead.

Rgds

Hi Dinyaar,
I was waiting for your final choice, as I also have a Civic and was toying with the idea of changing the rear speakers. The price sounds good. Are you going in for an amp as well ?If so, what would be your choice ? Cheers and have a great 2009

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Sanjay,
As of now I am not opting for amplification. Do change the speakers though.The sound does improve. The speaker in the rear was some unbranded rubbish which basically bellows the mids.If opting for the swap go to a good installer with proper tools as the rear metal has to be cut to accomodate larger oval speakers. DO NOT LET HIM USE A CHISSEL & HAMMER as the job is very untidy and get the correct connectors. The Focal came with a connector that had to be modified to fit the standard connector in the civic. Anyway there are tons of connectors available. The grills of the speakers cannot be used as there is less clearance but thats not a problem at all.
Lastly am totally out of touch with car audio and cant help u with the amp, but apart from this thread and similar log on to team bhp for ideas on ICE and am sure u will end up with a good car stereo.
Rgds

 

[rikhav]

Hi Dinyaar
As you mostly self drive your car, wouldn't replacing the front speakers would have been more ideal?
Or were you satisfied with the fronts?
And yes with an amp SQ will improve, but if you are OK with the current SQ there is nothing to worry.

Happy New year to you

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Rikhav,
Actually am awaiting new fronts but they are un available at the moment. I liked the Focals so will go with them for the fronts too.
Yes i self drive. Nobody else touches the car. Hahaha.
Rikhav the OE speakers are pathetic while the Alpine HU is very average but i will stop at just swapping speakers. An amp maybe sometime later.

Good luck to your family and yourself in the year ahead.
Rgds

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

Hi Sanjay,
As of now I am not opting for amplification. Do change the speakers though.The sound does improve. The speaker in the rear was some unbranded rubbish which basically bellows the mids.If opting for the swap go to a good installer with proper tools as the rear metal has to be cut to accomodate larger oval speakers. DO NOT LET HIM USE A CHISSEL & HAMMER as the job is very untidy and get the correct connectors. The Focal came with a connector that had to be modified to fit the standard connector in the civic. Anyway there are tons of connectors available. The grills of the speakers cannot be used as there is less clearance but thats not a problem at all.
Lastly am totally out of touch with car audio and cant help u with the amp, but apart from this thread and similar log on to team bhp for ideas on ICE and am sure u will end up with a good car stereo.
Rgds

Hi Dinyaar,
Thanks for the advice.I will definitely change the rear speakers and also probably the front ones as well,if the budget stretches that far.Now, I have to find a dealer/installer who has the Focals in stock in Hyderabad and can install them properly.I think I'll leave the HU as it is and also postpone the amp. Like you, I drive the car myself and keep it out of bounds for the driver( always ) and the wife ( almost always !! ).Now that you've had the Focals in the car for a few days and heard your music on them, do give us your feedback on your second impression on them. Cheers and regards

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Sanjay,
Actually will wait a while before i really give a fair opinion on the stereo as i hardly drive this car and hence listening is difficult.
Since my wife never browses the forum i state here that she is a "rough" driver and hence we always have seperate cars. One looks like its been thru a war zone!!!!!!!
I will check this set up out when i get my fronts and will definately post.
Good luck in the new year and all the best.
Rgds

 

[marsilians]

any speakers other than the stock in any car will sound better unless you got a premium package. Also if you change the indash to a CD/DVD player with MP3 support then it will sound way better.

If you can, get '3 way' speakers as they fill the vehicle with pretty good soundstage.

 

[reignofchaos]

any speakers other than the stock in any car will sound better unless you got a premium package. Also if you change the indash to a CD/DVD player with MP3 support then it will sound way better.

If you can, get '3 way' speakers as they fill the vehicle with pretty good soundstage.

Not true! The mitsu coaxials in my car sounded far more balanced compared to infinity reference components which i was planning to buy after hearing good reviews. I couldn't believe a pair of dinky OEM coaxials were outperforming a pair of 10 grand components. The latter shrieked like banshees.