Adding (not replacing) an aftermarket head unit.

[Soundmanred]

Who has done it?
Leaving the screen intact and adding another head unit as a base for the audio system.
No messing with Fix86's or the various AudioControl options.

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[Soundmanred]

 

[shoegazer]

my current situation

 

[SCOPESYS]

Nice solutions to the "so many" issues with the Honda Head Unit.
Good job(s) !!

seems to be a great fit -- almost made to go there !!

I think my personal choice would be #1, the Alpine, assuming the display was still readable in bright sunlight.

Can your Smartphones still fit in there under them ??




Can you give some details .. like how did you deal with the 2 potential sound sources, the added Radio, and the Honda audio ? Did you add any other hidden audio equipment ??

 

[Soundmanred]

Here's more from my head unit install. The actual head unit chassis is under the passenger seat (JL Audio HD900/5 is under the driver seat, Diamond Audio Black 6.5" and CDT silk domes in the front doors, 12" Treo TSX subwoofers in a sealed enclosure in the trunk).

 

[Soundmanred]

My smartphone mounts on the upper left of the factory screen via magnetic mount, you can see the silver charging cable to the left of the head unit.
There is still space under the face if I needed it though.
Audio from the stock unit is fed through the AUX in on the Alpine if I ever need it for some reason.
The display is very bright, even in sunlight.
I had to have a knob, and I hated the steering wheel controls.
The Alpine has excellent bluetooth calling with their supplied microphone.
The Alpine has a USB drive input, as well as bluetooth for music.
I don't listen to the radio. Ever.
The internal amp on the Alpine is turned off, and I used six channel RCA's to go from the head unit to the amp.
Connecting the face to the main unit is two strands of ethernet cable, 16 wires total.
The bracket to hold the face is shown.

 

[Soundmanred]

my current situation

Did you put the whole head unit under there?
I tested it, that's why there are scratches there.

 

[shoegazer]

My setup isn't as elegant. It's a Kenwood 'mechless' unit. So it's only about 4 inches deep. But it did require cutting away the rubber/plastic lip that surrounds the pass through on the shelf. Even then... it's a tight fit with the gear selector. But it's do-able.

The unit is just held in place by friction. But it hasn't budged in over a month.

Power comes from the 12V outlet behind the center dash area. The remote wire runs to the interior fuse box where it shares a circuit with the smart entry system via one of those 'add a circuit' taps.

I drilled two small holes into the floor corners of the tray to allow the speaker wires into the center console on either side. They are just tucked under the bottom of the console for their runs to the rear and under the front seats.

It's a work in progress. But for now I have a pair of tuned/ported Klipsch bookshelf speakers mounted behind the front seats and a pair of Pioneer 4" coaxial speakers, mounted in a 2" x 4" plastic electrical box, placed underneath the front seats. My choice for the location of the bookshelf speakers was mainly to discourage theft. I bought a pair of the thinnest gauge black t-shirts from K-Mart to help them disappear.

I had used a similar setup in my RSX previously. And I found that using the fader to adjust midrange was a lot easier than accessing all the tone controls and EQ to correct tone imbalances on the fly. It works for me. But it's going to win any awards.

I'm still curious to hear what the rear deck speakers would add (or take away) to the whole program. But I liked the enhanced localization effect of the front speakers. I should be able to easily run temporary speaker wire to audition the rears and see how they behave.

But I'm delighted to see that someone other than myself has chosen this solution.

 

[shoegazer]

My setup isn't as elegant. It's a Kenwood 'mechless' unit. So it's only about 4 inches deep. .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079MH5RX3/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Soundmanred]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079MH5RX3/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've had a Pioneer mechless before, but I really wanted something with alot more control over the sound and input choices, so I went with the Alpine. They have an app to control the head units Crossovers points/slope, the parametric EQ points/dB/Q, Time Correction, Spatial adjustments, fader/balance, subwoofer level and phase, Media Xpander, and Bass Engine settings. The bigger screen for displaying media information is great as well.

 

[shoegazer]

I've had a Pioneer mechless before, but I really wanted something with alot more control over the sound and input choices, so I went with the Alpine. They have an app to control the head units Crossovers points/slope, the parametric EQ points/dB/Q, Time Correction, Spatial adjustments, fader/balance, subwoofer level and phase, Media Xpander, and Bass Engine settings. The bigger screen for displaying media information is great as well.

Yeah... that's certainly more control than is available with my setup. Mine tends to have more effects and synthesized crap that, to my ear, just adds distortion. And the Bluetooth is worthless according to the masses. It was recommended to me years ago as a simple, adequately powered and decent-sounding unit. And I just stuck with it.

I used to be a recording engineer. And I spent to much time worrying about technical details in the studio When I get in the car; I just need my tunes. I need smooth top end and slightly punchy bass, enough headroom to avoid clipping, etc. But when I engage all the technical aspects and endless (for me) tweaking of EQ settings; I go down a rabbit hole where I'm not even enjoying the music anymore. I'm the same way with home theater. I just have a pair of decent powered speakers and that's it. I just have to keep it simple or else I'm missing the point.

So when I heard what Honda was doing with their processing and the ear fatigue that it was inducing (in my ears, anyway); it just had to go. I listen to music to feel good. Honda's system makes me feel pain and irritation.

I like your setup. I hadn't even considered separating the face panel from the unit. There's not enough room for a trim plate with my current situation. So I painted the chassis gloss black. And I'm still searching for some kind of filler to make it look a little better.

 

[TheMrsBridges]

Man I wish I could have done something like this. My screen completely shattered on OEM unit so I replaced with Pioneer AVIC-8400NEX since it had some features I wanted and having a tech who wasn't very forthcoming. I did research as well and seemed legit...well now I'm missing A LOT of necessary features. But hey I can play movies for the kids now so that's a perk.... only have to have AC on max nearly blowing us out of the car.... ‍

 

[oilerlw8]

Giving serious consideration to trying an install similar to the above, a separate head unit powered by a Rockford Fosgate 4 channel Prime amp along with a Rockford Fosgate
P300-12 powered sub, bypassing the stock radio, but still maintaining functionality of the head unit. Eliminates the need/cost of a Fix86, allows the flexibility of different amps,subs..
Thoughts? Too off base? Since reception would be almost exclusively XM radio or AM/FM radio, could any please provide the location of the antenna leads to the stock head unit? Thanks in advance....

 

[spacegg]

Man I wish I could have done something like this. My screen completely shattered on OEM unit so I replaced with Pioneer AVIC-8400NEX since it had some features I wanted and having a tech who wasn't very forthcoming. I did research as well and seemed legit...well now I'm missing A LOT of necessary features. But hey I can play movies for the kids now so that's a perk.... only have to have AC on max nearly blowing us out of the car.... ‍

you could change out your A/C controls for the LX model like i did, and get your fan control back. only downside is losing the dual climate. search ebay 2016 civic climate control and make sure to get one with a fan speed knob instead of the dual climate. i picked mine up for less than $50

 

[Royalz_2o9]

you could change out your A/C controls for the LX model like i did, and get your fan control back. only downside is losing the dual climate. search ebay 2016 civic climate control and make sure to get one with a fan speed knob instead of the dual climate. i picked mine up for less than $50

didnt know you could do this!!! i almost ordered an android headunit instead to retain climate and give me rca outputs, thanks bro!

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