Need Help w/ Audio Upgrade (newbie)

[aymehr]

Hi community. I have a 2018 Honda Civic EX with the 7" factory headhunt and 8 factory speakers, no center dash speaker, and no factory subwoofer. I want to upgrade my sound system. I want to keep the factory headhunt. Since this project can get expensive quick, I want to do be able to do it in one step at a time. I want to put together a high quality system.

I'm looking to add:
Focal ISS 165 (Rear components)
Focal 165 AS (Front Component)
Sound-deaden with SoundSkin Pro

I am confused a bit about the process so I had some questions:

1. Do I need to get DSP or can I just get an 8 channel Digital High to Low converter or should I have both?
2. If I have 8 speakers from factory in the car and want to add a sub, can I get away with an 8 channel DSP/Digital Hight to Low Convertor, connected to a 9-10 channel amp and add a sub to the amp?
3. Does 2018 Civic EX come with factory amplifier?
4. Which component of this project do you recommend I get first? I rather work efficient and not break apart my interior more than once.
5. Are there any other tips you can give me or anything else that I am missing terms of equipments needed?

Thanks.

These are my questions for now.

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[iamgoodpeoples]

Hi community. I have a 2018 Honda Civic EX with the 7" factory headhunt and 8 factory speakers, no center dash speaker, and no factory subwoofer. I want to upgrade my sound system. I want to keep the factory headhunt. Since this project can get expensive quick, I want to do be able to do it in one step at a time. I want to put together a high quality system.

I'm looking to add:
Focal ISS 165 (Rear components)
Focal 165 AS (Front Component)
Sound-deaden with SoundSkin Pro

I am confused a bit about the process so I had some questions:

1. Do I need to get DSP or can I just get an 8 channel Digital High to Low converter or should I have both?
2. If I have 8 speakers from factory in the car and want to add a sub, can I get away with an 8 channel DSP/Digital Hight to Low Convertor, connected to a 9-10 channel amp and add a sub to the amp?
3. Does 2018 Civic EX come with factory amplifier?
4. Which component of this project do you recommend I get first? I rather work efficient and not break apart my interior more than once.
5. Are there any other tips you can give me or anything else that I am missing terms of equipments needed?

Thanks.

These are my questions for now.

1.) I highly recommend a DSP with bass signal restoration. At higher volumes, the headunit cuts off bass. Dunno why... But AudioControl has excellent products that has the signal restoration feature. I'm currently using Honda Hack and setting DSP to flat with a script. But YMMV.
2.) Mobile Audio can go in many different directions. Do you plan to have people in the backseat? If so, rear speakers make sense. If not, I'd ditch rear components/rear fill altogether and just have front components and a sub. I've done this for both my Audi, and my CRV and it sounded amazing with just a pair of front components. I'd remove the rear speakers and use the hole as a bass port into your cabin. Not having rear fill and adding a subwoofer will save you some $$$ as well, since you don't need anything crazy.
3.) I believe no factory amplifier since you don't have a center dash speaker.
4.) I have plenty of tips... xD But you need to decide if you want rear fill or not. In terms of amplifier.... Choose one with speaker level inputs to make things a lot smoother. No need for Line Out Converters. Also, AudioControl has an amplifier/dsp line. A little expensive, but it'd save you buying an external DSP. Time alignment is one of the most important features of any DSP imo. That feature alone can make a car sound amazing no matter how good speakers are. Only other thing is that I'd recommend a monoblock amp for your subwoofer. In terms of what products to choose from, do your own research. Axxess AX-DSP is a good option (if it fits... I believe 2019 is a nogo. I forget if 2018 is viable.)

In terms of multi channel amplifiers, having only front components and a sub will require just a 2 or 4 ch amplifier (depending if you have a passive crossover or not) and a separate monoblock UNLESS you're comfortable with bridging a subwoofer to a 4 ch (I'm currently doing this and it's fine). Your questions are still pretty vague. I'd give you a detailed answer, but it seems as if you think replacing factory speakers will help, which it doesn't really... DSP features are what will make your system sound good. In fact, if you can somehow get Time Alignment to stock speakers and add a sub, I'm extremely confident that you'd be happy with that. Just did that to my girl's car and it sounds better than my friend's stock Bose system in his 2013 Mazda Hatch.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I've done plenty of audio builds and audio tuning. Not necessarily a pro audio guru, but definitely know enough to install and tune.

 

[rplush]

I highly recommend for you to get a DSP if you're sticking with the factory head unit. Most decent amplifiers will have built-in LOC. Assuming you plan to use the Focals, you wouldn't want to skimp out on the amplifier either. If you do get a DSP, you have to get an amplifier at the same time unless your DSP is also an amplifier. The EQ curve on the factory unit is horrendous and would be a shame to let those Focals play an amplified version of it. To top it off, if you were planning to get the speakers first and hook it up directly to the factory "50wx4" (realistically 15wx4) you will hate the sound coming out of those beautiful Focals. I'll throw down some recommendations below based on budget. The AX-DSP-HON2 harness should still be compatible with the 2018 Civics, that way you don't have to cut up any factory harnesses.

DSP

• High End https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/helix/processors/dsp-mini
• Mid-tier https://www.audiocontrol.com/car-audio/power-amplifiers/d-61200/ (also an amp)
• Low End https://is.gd/NNlfVU (AX-DSP) This little guy is pretty good and fits behind the dash easily. BT app control out of the box

Personally, I have an AX-DSP and a couple of micro AudioControl amps in my system. I'm waiting until the D.5-1300 to come out so I can replace my ACM.4-300, ACM.1-300 and AX-DSP to one contained unit.

Start out with the front doors. The rear deck is a pain in the a** and you want to sound treat the whole god damn deck. It was the most time consuming process in my whole upgrade.

Check out what I did with mine.

 

[aymehr]

Thank you both.

So it seems like I will go the DSP route. @iamgoodpeoples I think I'd like to keep the rear speakers in to have a "filler" for my cabin. I also agree with you, I do want to add an amp specially if I'm going to change the speakers. Now @rplush mentioned the AudioControl D-6.1200. I like it but my question for you guys is can I have active crossover in the front and at the same time add a passive crossover to the rear components since D-6.1200 has only 6 channels? (factory speakers are component for the rear).

I don't mind getting a separate amp for the subwoofer as D-6.1200 has RCA line-out that I can use for that.

Please bare with me if my questions are still vague, feel free to ask me if I'm still not specific with my questions.

btw @rplush I love the wireless CarPlay you got going on I am adding that to my growing to do list.

 

[rplush]

Thank you both.

So it seems like I will go the DSP route. @iamgoodpeoples I think I'd like to keep the rear speakers in to have a "filler" for my cabin. I also agree with you, I do want to add an amp specially if I'm going to change the speakers. Now @rplush mentioned the AudioControl D-6.1200. I like it but my question for you guys is can I have active crossover in the front and at the same time add a passive crossover to the rear components since D-6.1200 has only 6 channels? (factory speakers are component for the rear).

I don't mind getting a separate amp for the subwoofer as D-6.1200 has RCA line-out that I can use for that.

Please bare with me if my questions are still vague, feel free to ask me if I'm still not specific with my questions.

btw @rplush I love the wireless CarPlay you got going on I am adding that to my growing to do list.

you can use channels 1-4 as active crossover for the 2 tweeters and 2 mids. And use 5-6 to power the crossover network module for the 2 sets of speakers in the rear deck. Then get a RF TM 750.1 for the sub.

just keep in mind that space is super limited.

 

[iamgoodpeoples]

imo, ditch components for the rear fill. grab coaxials. i do want to put out there though, value to performance ratio is something to consider. having coaxials in the back is just more cost effective especially for sound that you're not really going to be able to take advantage of. that way you'd utilize all 6 channels for your speakers and another amp for sub. staging is important so a quality dsp is going to be the main component i'd put your money into. more watts doesn't mean better. match speaker to amp and that is what will really work for ya.

 

[RyeC]

Can I piggyback on here? Slightly different situation but I'm another newb to the 10th gen Civic. I have an Si w/ the 10-speaker factory system (including sub & center speaker).

Things I want:
keep stock head unit
better/clear vocals up front. . .
Would love to replace sub with another free-air if there is good bang for the buck improvement there.
would like to avoid putting a sub box or amp in the trunk. If I need an amp maybe I can hide one somewhere else, under a seat or under the trunk floor, etc.

Don't care about: rear speakers or wireless CarPlay.

What fits well with least amount of modification needed up front, what do I need to do about the center speaker, if anything? Suggestions on amp or need for other signal processing (if possible w/ stock head unit?).

Thanks!

 

[silverblip]

 

[aymehr]

I'm gonna wait for blackfriday for some deals. I've gotten busy with work this season, but I will keep you guys updated as this project moves forward. Again thanks for all the input. I will be in touch.

 

[RyeC]

I'm gonna wait for blackfriday for some deals. I've gotten busy with work this season, but I will keep you guys updated as this project moves forward. Again thanks for all the input. I will be in touch.

Sounds like a plan, nothing wrong with taking your time and getting the right stuff.

I will probably do similar. . .I'l ljust keep an eye here for advice and ideas.

 

[TurboSivic19]

Hi, Had a question about a line in converter for a 10th gen Civic Si. Im trying to install 2 12' L5 Kickers running 2500w Mono Amp. Which line in converter would would best with this set up?

 

[Sintahks]

I went with a FIX86 -> TWK88 -> AMP to power my front and rear speakers.

If I were to do it again, I'd probably skip the TWK88 altogether. The FIX86 restores/equalizes the signal from the headunit so you have a nice flat sound to work with. It also allows you to tweak your sound a bit. Since it has 6 outputs, you can have 2 extra outputs for you sub amp.

I tried using the HondaHack DSP Flat script, but it was just a hassle trying to remember to run it every time I turned on my car. I tried the auto-run on startup option, but that was a hit or miss and would occasionally crash my headunit.
So I'd go FIX86 -> AMP -> Speakers

 

[bbeem]

So I'd go FIX86 -> AMP -> Speakers

I have an LOC and DSP on another build I'm thinking of robbing but maybe looking for a new. The LC7i has everything I need except no DSP. A DSP like my Dayton dsp-408 doesn't correct the bass rolloff. The FIX86 is pricy but I'm not opposed if it's worth it. Just only need output for 4 channel and mono amp though. What are the best LOC or DSP solutions?

Just going to pull the signal from the amp under the seat for the LOC or DSP and run the 4 channel amp output right back up there and tap back onto the other side of the speaker wire that was cut to power the speakers with 4 channel amp. The center and factory sub will be the only thing still powered by factory amp. Sound thinking? Thanks for the input guys!

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