Audio and Connectivity Overview for 2016 Honda Civic Sedan

[Slickone]

^ Just remember there's nothing regulating how Honda come up with that 450W. It's really meaningless. And it's likely fudged a lot. And what resistance are the speakers? And pretty sure it's a max rating, so doesn't really mean anything. Do we even know if that's the amplifier rating, or just the speaker ratings added up (of which the sub should be a big chunk of it)?

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[takemorepills]

^ Just remember there's nothing regulating how Honda come up with that 450W. It's really meaningless. And it's likely fudged a lot. And what resistance are the speakers? And pretty sure it's a max rating, so doesn't really mean anything. Do we even know if that's the amplifier rating, or just the speaker ratings added up (of which the sub should be a big chunk of it)?

If I were to take a guess, it is likely RMS@1% THD, which is typical of CEA type automotive ratings these days.
Doesn't really matter what the speaker impedances are either. I do hear what you are saying, we could look at these power ratings with a grain of salt, just like full size truck ratings have always been debatable as there wasn't a regulating agency to police the claims.
My main attraction to the 450w system is the upgraded speakers with subwoofer. With these new head units that Honda is using, we are kind stuck with what they give us. I really wish car manufacturers would provide a full set of RCA outputs on the backside of their head units so that the aftermarket wouldn't struggle with these baked-in stereo systems.
Worse case scenario, the Si doesn't get 450W stereo (with it's extra speakers) I can always use the Audio Control LC7i that I have stored in my garage to integrate the OEM Honda head unit. But even then, that would be my last choice, I would prefer Si can be had with 450w, OR that OEM Audio comes out with a Civic kit, I have heard excellent things about OEM Audio. Basically audiophiles who are used to custom systems from the past but don't want to hack up their modern cars have been very happy with OEM Audio.

 

[Slickone]

Is there a separate amplifier somewhere in the car?

 

[ahitchcox]

I just purchased a 2016 Civic LX and I am a little disappointed with the display on the 5" radio. While it sounds ok (espcially compared to my '09 Civic EX) the display is pretty underwhelming. The radio does have the RDS information but if you want it to show up on the display you have to change it in the settings (Menu, audio settings, RDS settings, display radio text). The radio will show the song/artist but as once you change the station it goes away and you have to do this again if you want the text again. It isn't difficult to do this but it's very annoying.
If you don't display the song/artist name then the screen goes black and only displays time in the upper right hand corner. I saw that you can plug in a USB stick and upload an image to use as the wallpaper so I'm hoping that will make it look better. It just seems like such a waste to have a 5" screen but then have it just be all black and only show the time in small text.
The same goes for using an iPod/iPhone, it doesn't show the song info even if you play it using a USB cable.
I saw that some of the older Honda's that had RDS radios were defaulted to not show the RDS text unless you went into the settings and changed that to the default setting. I've looked through all of the settings and this doesn't seem to be an option. Am I just missing something?

 

[nathanzachary]

This is probably the ONLY thing that bothers me about the LX--the display. I wonder if there will be any way to get the full 7" display into the LX? The smaller display really looks cheap, but apparently, we can't get 6MTs with anything higher than the LX.

 

[nebbiolo]

Buy the Canadian LX...

 

[ahitchcox]

I just purchased a 2016 Civic LX and I am a little disappointed with the display on the 5" radio. While it sounds ok (espcially compared to my '09 Civic EX) the display is pretty underwhelming. The radio does have the RDS information but if you want it to show up on the display you have to change it in the settings (Menu, audio settings, RDS settings, display radio text). The radio will show the song/artist but as once you change the station it goes away and you have to do this again if you want the text again. It isn't difficult to do this but it's very annoying.
If you don't display the song/artist name then the screen goes black and only displays time in the upper right hand corner. I saw that you can plug in a USB stick and upload an image to use as the wallpaper so I'm hoping that will make it look better. It just seems like such a waste to have a 5" screen but then have it just be all black and only show the time in small text.
The same goes for using an iPod/iPhone, it doesn't show the song info even if you play it using a USB cable.
I saw that some of the older Honda's that had RDS radios were defaulted to not show the RDS text unless you went into the settings and changed that to the default setting. I've looked through all of the settings and this doesn't seem to be an option. Am I just missing something?

Never mind, I think I figured it out. The stations are now displaying the song name/artist when I change stations. And now the radio is also showing song/artist and picture of the album for the iPod.

I think I had it in wallpaper mode instead of audio and that's why nothing displayed and the screen kept using a screen saver.

It looks a lot better now. I'm sure the bigger 7" looks a lot nicer but I also like the simplicity of the controls with having the physical buttons on the smaller LX version.

 

[nathanzachary]

Buy the Canadian LX...

I wonder if that would be possible. I would consider doing that, but then again, maybe it would make more sense to just buy the USDM LX, and swap out the head unit at some point.

 

[heath3990]

I find the CD format much more convenient than MP3. And they sound better! I can pick any of my 1500 CDs to listen to in the car without having to transfer any of them to another device like a phone. I can play them at home over my good quality speakers, or over the Sonos if I want to multiple rooms.

So now I'd have to either get a USB- or Bluetooth-connected CD unit for the car, if there is one available. Or I could transfer hundreds of CDs to my phone, which is just cumbersome and restrictive.

Or, you could just download one app for streaming music (i.e. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, or the new Tidal) and use that in the car. So much better having almost ALL music available to you just by pressing a button on the steering wheel and asking for it. Keeps the car clean of CDs and CD Cases too. Personally I prefer Spotify but you can do a free trial from pretty much all of them before deciding which one you like.

 

[takemorepills]

Or, you could just download one app for streaming music (i.e. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, or the new Tidal) and use that in the car. So much better having almost ALL music available to you just by pressing a button on the steering wheel and asking for it. Keeps the car clean of CDs and CD Cases too. Personally I prefer Spotify but you can do a free trial from pretty much all of them before deciding which one you like.

Obviously you haven't read up on how much of a steaming pile of crap Honda's infotainment systems are? http://www.civicx.com/threads/so-many-options-for-phone-integration-so-little-time.715/

Honda has forced us into doing what THEY want us to do. Even the car mags are beginning to poo-poo they way Honda is going about this.

I just can't get my head around people, like yourself (this is no offense intended) who want to have trendy, quickly outdated tech baked into their car. A car that could likely serve you well for 20-30 years, or at the very least a car whose car payments will outlive the validity of your tech. Even claiming you can run updates on the system to keep up...could you? Has NO ONE ever seen obsolete, outdated hardware? There's mountains of desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones waiting to be recycled because they are not "quad core" or are lacking memory, drive space, processor speed or have just plain crapped out and can't keep up with software!

I am one of those guys who nurses old tech along as long as possible. I have home audio equipment from the 70's, and my last desktop and laptop were from 2005. I just recently replaced those 2005 computers, they were functioning horribly, one of them was an XP machine, I had to reload software on it last year and found the restore disc had 9 year outdated software, and when I went to apply updates Windows had pulled ALL XP support. Meaning that computer was stuck in 2005! Both of those computers actually became obsolete at least 5 years ago, and were painful to use these last few years. What the hell happened to them that they couldn't just browse the web? Same with an Android 2.x smartphone I have. Try and use that damn thing in 2015, it is choking on even the simplest of tasks. It was fine a few years ago.

And people WANT this tech in cars? And Honda is FORCING it onto everyone who wants to buy a new Honda??

Maybe this isn't an issue for you or 87% of Americans whose consumer level A.D.D. keeps the wheels of our economy (and China's) lubed up nicely with tech upgrades every few years, and purging of old tech before it becomes too "uncool". But a car is a serious thing to manufacture, and somewhere between 13-16% of people keep their cars for decades and 100% of cars traded in because of being outdated then become someone else's headache.

I'm with Paul. Offer a basic freaking CD/AM/FM/AUX head unit for EVERY level of Honda. Just something that the dealer can slide out the infotainment unit and slide in the simple unit.

 

[anckentucky]

Obviously you haven't read up on how much of a steaming pile of crap Honda's infotainment systems are? http://www.civicx.com/threads/so-many-options-for-phone-integration-so-little-time.715/

Honda has forced us into doing what THEY want us to do. Even the car mags are beginning to poo-poo they way Honda is going about this.

I just can't get my head around people, like yourself (this is no offense intended) who want to have trendy, quickly outdated tech baked into their car. A car that could likely serve you well for 20-30 years, or at the very least a car whose car payments will outlive the validity of your tech. Even claiming you can run updates on the system to keep up...could you? Has NO ONE ever seen obsolete, outdated hardware? There's mountains of desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones waiting to be recycled because they are not "quad core" or are lacking memory, drive space, processor speed or have just plain crapped out and can't keep up with software!

I am one of those guys who nurses old tech along as long as possible. I have home audio equipment from the 70's, and my last desktop and laptop were from 2005. I just recently replaced those 2005 computers, they were functioning horribly, one of them was an XP machine, I had to reload software on it last year and found the restore disc had 9 year outdated software, and when I went to apply updates Windows had pulled ALL XP support. Meaning that computer was stuck in 2005! Both of those computers actually became obsolete at least 5 years ago, and were painful to use these last few years. What the hell happened to them that they couldn't just browse the web? Same with an Android 2.x smartphone I have. Try and use that damn thing in 2015, it is choking on even the simplest of tasks. It was fine a few years ago.

And people WANT this tech in cars? And Honda is FORCING it onto everyone who wants to buy a new Honda??

Maybe this isn't an issue for you or 87% of Americans whose consumer level A.D.D. keeps the wheels of our economy (and China's) lubed up nicely with tech upgrades every few years, and purging of old tech before it becomes too "uncool". But a car is a serious thing to manufacture, and somewhere between 13-16% of people keep their cars for decades and 100% of cars traded in because of being outdated then become someone else's headache.

I'm with Paul. Offer a basic freaking CD/AM/FM/AUX head unit for EVERY level of Honda. Just something that the dealer can slide out the infotainment unit and slide in the simple unit.

I really feel like the passive aggressive tone of your post just isn't necessary. Just because you don't like what Honda is offering doesn't mean that others don't like it. I understand what you're asking for in wanting a standard audio system, but your long winded rant and attack at Heath3990 is pretty unnecessary for an adult. You should take out your grievances with Honda customer service, as posting on this forum isn't going to make much of a change.

 

[Slickone]

Or, you could just download one app for streaming music (i.e. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, or the new Tidal) and use that in the car. So much better having almost ALL music available to you just by pressing a button on the steering wheel and asking for it. Keeps the car clean of CDs and CD Cases too. Personally I prefer Spotify but you can do a free trial from pretty much all of them before deciding which one you like.

I guarantee many of the songs on my CD's can't be found on those services. Also streaming is not free, requiring a data plan (or using T-mobile's crappy service). And I like to be able to pick an album and play it through. That's the way us old folks did it. I can't remember if you can do that on those services or not.

 

[dick w]

The audio options sound great--Sirius XM is a must for me. But how do I play my music collection if there's no CD player? Really? There's no CD player?

In case you haven't heard, whether we like it or not, CDs are going the way of the cassette tape.

We have close to 700 CDs and haven't used one in a car in at least five years. Bought a $800 BMW CD changer for my 2009 135i. Used it half a dozen times. Put rips, transcoded is better for size, on a 64GB USB flash drive, <$20 from The Big River. Plug the stick in the car. You can drive for literally months and not hear the same music twice. You also don't have to worry about damage or loss of the CDs or how often you have to swap them out. I understand the audio quality argument, but, seriously, is the car really a critical listening environment, starting as it does with >70dbA of ambient noise?

 

[dick w]

I have about the same # of CD's, and would rather use them than to transfer everything to a digital format, … I've never bought digital audio and hope I never have to.

The D is CD stands for Digital. Just saying.

 

[takemorepills]

I really feel like the passive aggressive tone of your post just isn't necessary. Just because you don't like what Honda is offering doesn't mean that others don't like it. I understand what you're asking for in wanting a standard audio system, but your long winded rant and attack at Heath3990 is pretty unnecessary for an adult. You should take out your grievances with Honda customer service, as posting on this forum isn't going to make much of a change.

Where were you when I was growing up, Dad?

I do agree with you, but the interwebs are not necessarily the place to police people.

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