96tegls
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I have a 96 Integra LS with stock radio, speakers and optional front tweeters. What can I do to improve the bass and/or sound clarity for $200 or less? Note that I'm running with underdrive pulleys and prefer not to drive components that will eat lots of electricity. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
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RyanDL
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Well, I guess you could install some 6.5" free air woofers in place of the rear speakers. Make sure you put a crossover on them.
Ryan
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Specboy-GSR
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I have a 2000 Integra that came with the Stock Stereo. What I found to be the problem is that the stereo itself seems to have a low pass filter so that not too much bass is delivered to the speakers to prevent them from blowing. I think it was honda's cheap way of getting out of putting better speakers in the Integra. Simply replacing the speakers will do practically nothing. The Head Unit is the main problem. (Plus, replacing the rear speakers in my 2000 Integra was a pain because of Tons of Foam Baffle.)
Although Factory Speakers from Acura/Honda tend to be paper coned, they aren't all that bad unless driven too hard. I'm still running the Stock Front Speakers off of an Infinity Kappa Amp and they sound pretty good... but I'm replacing them soon with Kappa Component Speakers. I've already replaced the Rear with Components.
My recommendation is to pick up an Aftermarket Head Unit like a Clarion DXZ835MP or DXZ735MP off of EBAY which will be just around $200-$240 - they play MP3 Discs too. (I've had extremely good Success with Ebayer IKESOUND and Clarion/Infinity Equip)
I replaced my Girlfriend's Civic Stereo with a Clarion DB625MP from ebay and the bass Quality increased tremendously even with the factory speakers. (granted the Civic has 6x9's in the rear and the integra has only 6.5's)
A DB625MP, a mounting kit, and a Wiring Harness should run you just around $200 if you are a Do-It-yourselfer. Integra Stereo Installs are relatively easy. I've done a few and I'm around if you have any Questions.
If you don't want the MP3 Capability you could shoot for a Clarion ProAudio DXZ725 for around the same price as the DB625MP. It's a nicer head unit with a motorized face, CeNet Capability for Changers and it will give you more flexibility with your sound and a better upgrade path for adding components such as amps or speakers later.
Any other Questions, Let me know.
oh, and by the way, I like clarion stereo equip if you couldn't guess. ;-)
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96tegls
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Hey thanks for the sound advice. The info on the head unit as the culprit is useful b/c it saves me a potentially expensive search for a better stereo.
Is installing the head unit much more involved once you access the underside and undo the two retaining screws? I did exactly that a few weeks ago when I installed an antenna amplifier (s2000 antenna mod).
My goal is to get a little better sound (the tweeters are reasonably clear, I just need more bass) with relatively little more money. A new head unit is a possibility and within the self-imposed budget. I can appreciate a good system, but I'm going to stay away from amplifiers and exotic speakers for the moment; those mods are cool but are impractical for my daily driver and a weight disadvantage if I start autocrossing!
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Specboy-GSR
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installing the Unit is rather simple. Once you've removed the stereo (can't remember if it's one or two screws at the back of the Factory Head Unit), you'll have to install a simple Dash Kit so that you get a good fit (Because the pocket under the Radio is attached directly to the factory unit, not to the center console)
Once you've got the dash mounting kit in, just slide the "Sleeve" of the Aftermarket Radio in, bend the prongs in to hold the sleeve, connect your wiring harness and slide the radio in. If you are paranoid about theft, you can use the rear mouting brackets/braces supplied with most radios or mounting kits to bolt the radio in place. If you're not to worried, the sleeve and the dash kit hold the stereo in place without a problem.
Here's a Document for doing an Install on a 90-93 Integra. The install is VERY similar between the 2nd and 3rd Generation Integras (my previous car was a 93 Integra GS)
http://www.installdr.com/InstallDocs/acura/integra.html
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IntegraVTEC
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I have a 96' GSR and I don't know if the speakers are any different between our cars but the stock speakers in my car were Pioneer. I didn't have the stock CD player but now I have a Kenwood CD player hooked up to the rear speakers and a Kenwood 4-channel amp hooked to 2 audiobahn front speakers in the door with the stock tweeters still hooked up and it sounds great but your looking at around $200 for a nice CD player and you could keep your stock speakers and it should sound great. I know you don't want to use a lot of power but get just one 10" sub and a 300 watt amp with your stock stereo and you will sound great. Audiobahn has a sell on amps and subs on www.thezeb.com look it up.
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Specboy-GSR
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Unless the Amp has speaker level inputs and you pull signal off the rear wire, a speaker level converter would be needed to change the speaker level input to Line level input (rca cables). Factory Head units do not have line level(pre-amp) outputs. Speaker level converted to line level loses quality and is therefore not a recommended choice for adding a subwoofer. Even if it was a good method of adding a sub, it wouldn't work well in this situation anyway. The problem itself lies within the headunit's lack of low frequency reproduction.
The simple fact is that the factory stereo does not reproduce much bass so adding any Amp and Subwoofer combination won't do much except increase volume, not bass. In order to get some bass, the head unit needs to be replaced. It's a shame that honda didn't put a better stereo in their integras but most audiofiles will replace the unit anyway since it's so easy.
~SB
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