[gringo7718]

Thanks to the other members for providing the wiring information which helped me bypass the amp. Here is my audio setup for my 06 TSX which sounds so much better than the factory system. I started with new mids and highs and a 12 sub but after replacing the factory speakers, the new aftermarket speakers were severely underpowered and had weak mid range, only peaky highs and deep lows from the sub. After a few months I decided to proceed with the amp bypass and 4ch amp install and I am so happy I did - It made a huge difference!

Alpine CDE-147BT
Kenwood KAC-8405 4CH amp
Pioneer 6.5 D-series (front)
Pioneer 6.5 3 way (rear)
Polk Audio dxi 6x9 (rear deck)
Rockford 2ch.
JL Audio 12”

Update 10/2013 - Installed my radio in TSX oem dash pocket w fully functional door *LINK*



Acura MP3 audio attachment (Part# 08B06-SEC-210)

Front sound stage
The front doors got some dynamat in key areas but I didn’t use a whole lot (around the speaker mounting area and some areas on the inside of the outer door skin). Then I lined the inside of the door panels with foam carpet padding to deaden and reduce road noise. The carpet padding gets compressed between the door panel and the door and it was an excellent improvement! It is cheap, light, and made the car super quiet and tight sounding.

The front speakers are mounted pretty low in the door and I wanted to angle them up a bit toward the listener. I cut a 1” spacer at an angle and this allowed me to mount the speaker so it is angled back and up ~20 degrees as show in the example below. Link: Metra Part# 82-4300

Rear Sound Stage
You have some options when selecting how to wire up the rear speakers and I explored a couple of different options for wiring configurations. I was not sure if I wanted to wire up the rear doors, the rear deck or both. I entertained the idea of getting midbass speakers for the rear doors but I decided to use what I had and listen to it. Some car audio “experts” will say that the rear sound stage is not important but I like the rear fill as long as the front stage is slightly more powerful.

I ended up wiring both rear door and rear deck speakers together @ 2 Ohms and I am really happy with the results. (The front/rear gains must be adjusted so that the front slightly overpowers the rear, but the sound quality is damn good).


Bypassing the TSX Amp
The amp is located under the pocket and ashtray. There are two blue plugs oriented toward the front of the car. The smaller plug on right is the signal input from the stereo and the larger plug on the left is the output from the factory amp which leads directly to the speakers. We will be removing the left plug and splicing into this wiring and directing the output from the new 4 ch amp. directly to the speakers.

TSX Amp location

Output Plug

Amp Input Plug
FL + Red/Blue
FL - Yellow
FR + Blue
FR - Red
RL + Blue
RL - Pink
RR + Lt. Green
RR – Purple

Amp Output Plug
FL Tweeter + Blue/Orange
FL Tweeter – Grey/Blue
FL Door + Green/Black
FL Door – Lt. Green
FR Tweeter + Black/Red
FR Tweeter – Pink/Black
FR Door + Green/Yellow
FR Door – Grey /Red
RL Door + Pink/Blue
RL Door - Purple
RL Deck + White
RL Deck - Green
RR Door + Blue/Red
RR Door – Blue/Orange
RR Deck + Pink
RR Deck – Blue/Yellow

4ch amp under the passenger seat

 

[jvillefinest]

Congrats! Glad the info helped you. :tu:


In your search for that mp3 kit, did you see any that kept the door?? I am looking at possibly doing a hu but would like to be able to hide it.

Also where did you get the mp3 kit and what did it run you?


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[Dannyv]

this is great info!!1 lets see some pics of the speakers mounted! might have to do this soon im way underpowered.

 

[gringo7718]

link to the mp3 attachment kit
2005 Acura TSX MP3/WMA/CD-A Player

08B06-SEC-210 $69.00
Ground Shipping - $9.95
Total - $78.95


I wish I had taken pics when I was working on the car. Some of the pics are not of my car, I just used google pics to get the point across. That being said, I feel the drawings and pics do a good job of explaining the concepts.

 

[SidhuSaaB]

Hye ******, Thats exactly what I am working on. Have a ques: did you had to modify that MP3 kit to fit the aftermarket stereo?
Thx

 

[gringo7718]

jvillefinest - If you wanted to keep the pocket/door, have you considered cutting the back of the pocket off? This would allow you to counter sink the stereo "deeper in the hole" and still have the door. (I have not measured to see if this would work but it's one idea).

SidhuSaaB - The mp3 kit is not perfect. It fits the opening in the dash well, but you have to get creative with the mounting of the stereo to the kit and then mounting the assembly to the dash. It did not include instructions and I was not able to figure out how to bolt the kit to the car so it is lose for now. I had limited time and I just wanted to get the rest of the project done.

I had to use foam weatherstripping on either side of the stereo to fill the gap on R & L.

I found this photo online and I thought my stereo would fit perfectly (like below). I wonder if this guy is using the tape player attachment kit vs. the Mp3 attachment kit?????

 

[DeSEBticoN]

here you go guys, this PDF show you how to assemble the audio attachment kit

http://www.acurapartswarehouse.com/repair/tsx/2008-tsx-cassette-multi-media-player-attachment.pdf

Gringo7718 can you give more detailed info on your AMP Bypass ? Pics would help too

~De5

 

[gringo7718]

Thank you for the instructions DeSEBticoN. Only thing I don't like is that you have to cut off the "tab" that allows the pocket to mount. This would make it so that you cannot secure the pocket if you ever decide to reinstall it. I have the stereo pressure fit in there now and I am happy as it doesn't move or make any noise etc.



Amp bypass details

Since I used an aftermarket radio to generate the source signal, I only had to run wires from the output on new 4ch amp to the wires that lead to the speakers (the amp output plug). I decided not to amp the factory front tweeters although I may end up running them off of the radio itself as described below. The front is really straightforward, the rear is where you can decide if you want to connect doors, rear deck, or both. If you connect both, you have an option of connecting the speakers in series or parallel. Basically to get as much power out of the rear channels, I wanted to wire up (2) 4ohm speakers to result in a 2ohm load at the amp. (It is difficult for me to explain but very simple.)

Amp output plug

FL Tweeter + Blue/Orange.............(connected to radio's front left + output)
FL Tweeter – Grey/Blue.................(connected to radio's front left - output)
FL Door + Green/Black...................(connected to Amp FL + output)
FL Door – Lt. Green......................(connected to Amp FL - output)
FR Tweeter + Black/Red................(connected to radio's front right + output)
FR Tweeter – Pink/Black................(connected to radio's front right + output)
FR Door + Green/Yellow.................(connected to Amp FR + output)
FR Door – Grey /Red.....................(connected to Amp FR - output)


(Basically connected both Rear Left + wires together and both Rear Left - wires together)
RL Door + Pink/Blue...........(connected to RL + amp output)
RL Door - Purple...............(connected to RL - amp output)
RL Deck + White...............(connected to RL + amp output)
RL Deck - Green................(connected to RL - amp output)

(Then I connected both Rear Right + wires together and both Rear Right - wires together)
RR Door + Blue/Red............(connected to RR + amp output)
RR Door – Blue/Orange........(connected to RR - amp output)
RR Deck + Pink..................(connected to RR + amp output)
RR Deck – Blue/Yellow.........(connected to RR - amp output)

Here you can see I ran the 4ch amp output speaker wire up to the factory amp plug. Then I joined the wiring together as described, and crimped it.

Tips:

-Keep your RCA cables away from power wires and the A/C blower motor (behind glove box).
-Run high quality RCA cables for the 4 ch amp
-When cutting wires on the amp output plug, Do not cut the wires really close to the plug. Leave about an inch or more so that you can reconnect the wire in the future.

 

[DeSEBticoN]

Thanks ****** I'm not sure if my mounting brackets were screwed up and bent but when I installed them it looked like they can clear those tabs that they ask you to cut out but that was after I cut them out ( the ones on top ) , I actually had to take my aftermarket HU out along with the audio attachment brackets and faceplate because I was having an electrical issue and the dealer blamed it on my aftermarket HU so I uninstalled everything to prove that it wasn't the HU causing the issues. After i put the car back to stock the little cubby hole pocket thing snapped in without any problems and stays in there nice and tight without any issues what so ever. I am going to be doing a full interior color swap from tan to black eventually and will try to install the bracket without cutting those tabs next time and see if it works.

De5

 

[DeSEBticoN]

Hey gringo7718, just want to be sure i got this right, you just cut your harness and spliced the wires then ran them to your 4 channel amp ? is that correct ? Why not use the amp bypass wire harness ???? Below is a picture of my set up which i still have to figure out how to do as i would like to keep bot headunits functional. If i cant run the stock headunit through the aftermarket headunit then i think ill just run the aftermarket alpine and send the signal from there directly into the amps...

 

[gringo7718]

I cut the harness with enough slack to reconnect in the future. If I ever want to go back to stock it should take 15 min of matching wires that are the same color and reconnecting them back together. I don't know how much the "bypass harness" costs but I saved that money - and it would not have provided any improvement in sound quality anyways. My factory stereo turns on but no audio (I don't need it anyways).


You can't have both units hooked up at the same time without some way of "isolating" the two radios from one another. The high power output signal from the amp would be connected to the OEM radio's output and this would damage the OEM radio (output connected to output). You would have to isolate them somehow which just isn't worth the time, money, or effort.

 

[DeSEBticoN]

what about running all the audio output from OEM head unit via RCA's into the aftermarket AUX IN ? that would allow the OEM head unit to function through the aftermarket head unit when its in AUX mode no? and then just rewire all my speakers to run directly of off the amps which get their signals from the aftermarket head unit rca outputs ??? ill draw up a diagram and post it lemme know what u think

 

[gringo7718]

I get it, and it is a creative solution that works "in theory". You would bypass the amp as I did, but use the OEM radio to send low level RCA signal into the aux input of the aftermarket radio.

My concern is that the factory stereo does not send RCA signal output. You have some options of how you could get the factory radio to send RCA output but there in lies the problem of getting a "clean signal" out, which is why most people end up getting an aftermarket radio (to have a clean signal source). Most options have drawbacks like loss of sound quality, possible engine noise, or high cost.

How did you plan to get the RCA signal out of the OEM stereo?

Line out converters?
Audio Processor?
Cutting the OEM Radio output wires and splicing in RCA Cables?

 

[DeSEBticoN]

My idea was to get the amp bypass harness and some good quality RCA Males, splice together the front right and rear right hook it up to one RCA Male, then splice together front left and rear left and hook it up to the other RCA Male( kinda like you said you did with the signal from rear doors and rear 6x9s ? if i understood that right )[ basically having just left and right signals for the whole car ] and hook that up to the RCA Adapter thats in my schematic which would then plug into the aftermarket Alpine HU. Then, rewire the entire speaker system with upgraded wires that run from the 4 CH Amp that gets the signal from the Alpine HU ( Basically OEM HU would only be heard when 1 OEM HU Is Powered ON and 2 Aftermarket HU is in AUX mode ) but now that you mentioned the Audio Processor Unit it got me thinking how would that work ?

 

[gringo7718]

Audio processors are just really expensive and they are an option if you can't replace the radio, but you can achieve the same results with an aftermarket radio for a lot less $.

JL Audio Clean Sweep

MS8

VS.

Alpine CDE-147BT

 

[gringo7718]

I priced out my system (which I bought for my CRX years ago) and transferred it into the TSX. I bought all this over time and didn't spend that much when it comes to a car audio system. The setup is a really good bang for the buck. You can spend a lot more but you reach a degree of diminishing returns at some point.

If you bought all this new today it would cost approx. $760.


Alpine CDE-147BT - $180
Kenwood KAC-8405 - $119
Pioneer D-Series 6.5 - $65
Pioneer 3way 6.5 - $38
Polk Dxi 6x9 - $89
2 Channel Amp - 400w @4 ohms - $79
Rockford 12" Subwoofer - 400w @4 ohms - $89
Amp Cables, RCA's, etc. - $100

 

[Honda4life]

******, did you use any sort of adhesive for the carpet padding? what did you use if so? I am planning to do something similar for road noise in the doors and the trunk and the carpet padding seems like a great idea to accompany the ensolite I got with the raamat pack I bought. Also how did you get the audio attachment kit to fit with the stereo sleeve? The one that came with my pioneer DEH-80prs wont fit in the audio attachment kit with the sleeve on and creates an even larger gap

 

[gringo7718]

The adhesive for the carpet padding is good old duct tape LOL. Just used several loops to hold it in place. It doesn't take much as it gets compressed between the door and door panel.

The radio mounting is just ISO mounted using the oem MP3 bracket and some screws into the side of the radio. I haven't spent any time making it nicer fitting as I am trying to find another oem Pocket to carve up and mount it behind the door.

 

[jvillefinest]

I haven't spent any time making it nicer fitting as I am trying to find another oem Pocket to carve up and mount it behind the door.

Not worth it. I have stared at mine for hours and there is no way to make it work without cutting the gears that hold the door in place. At that point your going to have to manufacture your own gear to make it work and if you do that you have to remake the door hinges. What you have is perfect. Get some thin abs plastic or something like that and use super glue, then bondo and sand and finish in whatever color. I have my dash accents that are wrapped in cf so ill probably continue the theme further down.


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[Honda4life]

I wouldn't completely call it a lost cause as it can be done. Bmwproboi05 was able to do it and I think he ended up securing it in place using wire ties. I was thinking of doing the same thing with my pocket as I would prefer a cleaner, discrete look about it. It will be harder than it looks though because it seems to narrow toward the back of the pocket. But to each his own. I just cant stand the gap ive got ATM. But that project is on hold until I can pick up a dremel to mangle it. So I return my attention toward dampening panels and reducing road noise. I can't believe thats all you used for adhesive! lol