2008 Accord Coupe - factory upgrade

[llebcire]

Went back into the doors today and removed the foam I put around the speakers as I was paranoid it would eventually rub the surround. I never sealed the large access openings on the inner door skin and had some buzzing on certain tracks - added a layer of 1/4" ccf to see if it makes a difference. I may need to seal the openings after all.

Also got the Morel crossovers installed.

-Eric

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[llebcire]

CCF did the trick!

Doors are quiet except for one buzz that I need to tackle and with the insulation I think there's a substantial decrease in outside noise coming through the doors. Might have to add more fiberglass around the cabin

Finished the tweets and got the crossovers in - these Morels are impressive speakers!

Tweeter install could almost pass for factory.

-Eric

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[llebcire]

When I installed the Morel crossover for the passenger door I needed to pull the storage locations below the radio and don't believe an EQ would fit based on the way Honda engineered the hinges for the cover on the upper compartment.

After weeks of vacillating whether I should attempt to tap the factory balanced outputs I decided to go with an AudioControl LCQ-1 which will allow a quality conversion of the speaker level outputs, add AccuBass (although it's questionable when there's a factory sub), add an EQ and remote subwoofer level control. This system, while great at high volumes, can get boomy at lower volumes when my wife is in the car and the sub control on the factory deck doesn't allow enough adjustment. Additionally, there's often times when I want to increase the sub level which the factory HU won't do at high volumes. For instance, listening to Dave Martone's "When the Aliens Come" the recording quality is great - except on the track "Maneemanaw" which is why I have the disc and could use a slight bump on the low end.

The LCQ-1 is in the mail from a member and I'm interested to see what it will do. I'm also going to buy a Dayton Audio iMM-6 microphone so I can have a low-budget RTA and the Dayton gets good reviews for the price.

Working with Zapco I found there where errors in marketing materials when my amp, ST-5X II, was released and while it was initially represented as 350 watts into a 4 ohm sub channel, with 4 being the minimal impedance, this isn't the case. The amp actually does 200 watts into a 4 ohm load and 300 watts into a 2 ohm subwoofer and as I bought a dual 2 ohm Type R I'm not getting full power. Thinking of finding a dual 4 ohm version of this sub but not sure of the benefits. Theoretically I would gain just under 3 db which would be audible however at the expense of additional heat and I don't know if there would be much of a difference as I'm increasing 50% not doubling the power.

-Eric

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

That looks like a pretty nice factory tweeter ..a lot better built than the gm tweeters

 

[llebcire]

Purchased a Dayton iMM-6 iDevice Calibrated Measurement Microphone

Using AudioTool by jjbun (Android)

RTA from today - before adding LCQ-1

-Eric

 

[llebcire]

Update: LCQ-1 and remote control

One of the main selling features for purchasing the Audiocontrol LCQ-1 was to have remote sub woofer level control. I decided to mount it in an empty cubby hole to the left of the steering column that I never use. I had two goals: make it difficult to see from outside the car to remain stealth and like the rest of the system be able to remove with minimal damage.

Although I did need to put 5 holes in the compartment, they are at the top and should be easy to cover without being obvious.

-Eric

Couldn't get the fourth bolt installed - still very solid:

Can't see from outside:

Finished:

 

[llebcire]

Did another quick RTA this afternoon - much better!

-Eric

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[llebcire]

So what’s next? Besides fixing the images in this thread?

In my opinion the system sounds phenomenal as evidenced by the before and after RTA screenshots below. I can’t imagine the Morel components had such a terrible response curve and Honda must have equalized the car to compensate for some issues with the OEM speakers. It’s quite the difference and the LCQ-1 allows me to disable equalization from the dash mounted sub control to compare.

Other than using the factory HU, the components are all mid to good quality from reputable companies and should sound respectable.

Additionally I used dampening material and fiberglass insulation in the doors (Keep Hope Alive) to create a better environment and this treatment, while not finished, would make any speakers sound better.

The sub box, while a prefab, has angled panels along with internal bracing to minimize cancellation. The bracing adds rigidity and the box is completely sealed (can’t push the driver in) and it’s stuffed with fiberglass.

This started as a budget upgrade to the factory system and other than adding some additional sound dampening measures (for both sound quality and noise reduction) it’s nearly complete.

From a budget perspective I did pretty good:

Zapco ST-5X II and 4 guage install kit: $150 (after $70 Amazon promo credit and Christmas sale price)

Alpine 12” Type R ($50) with sealed enclosure $(35): $85

Morel Maximo 6 components with install rings: $150

AudioControl LCQ-1 with remote: $180

Dayton Audio RTA microphone, extension cable, misc. RCAs – free (after $40 Amazon promo credit)

Audio Tool app $8

Miscellaneous sound deadening: $42

Total: $615

Not bad! Several things in my favor but most important is I performed all of my own labor. I don’t know what the labor would be as the amp, eq, sub and 6s were straight forward. The tweeters were somewhat custom plus all the sound deadening and the remote install.

I also cut corners where I could. For instance the factory wiring is still in place and I used generic wiring and RCAs (sub is short run of 14 gauge Monster Cable) and realistically I’m not sure I (or anyone) could hear a difference if I ran quality wiring to the speakers and upgraded interconnects.

Then there’s the equipment. Amp, box and components along with RTA, wiring and sub control we’re new however I got deals from Amazon and Crutchfield along with credit for applying for Amazon credit cards (which I used the credit and cancelled the cards). Sub was BNIB and LCQ-1 was like new and not that old.

I figure retail on the equipment is $1,200 plus what, $500 - $700 labor? So $1,700 - $1,900 system for under $650 and I got to have some fun researching, planning and installing along the way. Sure the install is simple but it’s still practical and sounds great.

Still playing with rear speaker options (whether or not to use) and may go active on the components as I have two channels free. At this point I’m not interested in a DSP but one certainly isn’t out of the question.

-Eric

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