Ok, so heres what i want to do...I want to keep the factory head unit but replace all the speakers and add 2 subs. I'm going to use a 4 channel and a 2 channel amp to power everything and keep the factory unit to control it all.

Does anybody know if the factory unit has RCA preamp outputs on it? Where is the best place to go through the firewall with the power cable? How hard is it to pull up the plastic moldings without breaking the moldings or clips? Has anyone tried to take their radio out of the dash yet? Where do you start?

Any advice/comments are welcome!

 

You're probably going to hate me for saying this, but you should get an aftermarket head unit. The SQ will be far superior and it will likely have many more options. I can't confirm, but I highly doubt the factory HU has preouts. If it does, I doubt there will be more than 1 set, which isn't too great.

I grudgingly changed my stock head unit to an Alpine 7894 and I couldn't believe the difference. The SQ is amazing. Time correction has got to be the best thing that's happened to car audio.

 

if you stay with the factory radio then the sound quiality is not as great. i am almost positive that the radio has rca preouts.

if it does your in luck because you wont have to find a dash kit made for your car which will cost around $100 kuz of the temp controls like some of fords escorts and taurus'.

if it does have preouts i would have to recommend a crossover to seperate the highs and the bass.

 

No Preouts on the factory deck. You would have to use a Line out converter. I tried sticking with the factory deck for a lil while. It was ok for a lil while but after i put my aftermarket deck in the sound quality was improved 10 fold
Get an aftermarket deck

 

Does anyone have pics of an aftermarket HU on the new accords? from the way the radio is layed out, it would seem the dash would look weird/ugly without the factory layout..... i dunno, id need to see pics.

 

The main reasons i want to keep the stock head unit is because the climate controls are built into the radio screen and i'd like for the steering wheel controls to be functional.

I dont think the dash would look good at all without the factory unit installed. Some people have been adding aftermarket units underneath the climate controls, in the empty space the factory mp3 player would be installed. I dont want to go this route because i want to keep my factory look and keep all the controls functional.

Also, i'm pretty sure the factory headunit does not have rca preamps on it. I was going to get an amp that has speaker level inputs. Has anyone used an amp like this before? How is the sound quality?

 

hey have any of u guys heard about these converters? someone told me that they are really good and i wanna know if it's true http://www.go2pac.com

 

Check this out:

http://members.sounddomain.com/oftheseven

The SQ is definitely better. The factory stereo is now a motorized CD holder

 

i think its extremely dumb to have 2 stereos in the dash...

 

Unless you have extremely nice and expensive speakers/subs, then you won't really be able to tell a difference with SQ either way. If you are planning on only getting coaxial speakers, then just buy a weak amp, and use the speaker level input wiring harness that comes with the amp, and tap into the speaker wiring behind your deck, or near your speaker mounts, it will work fine. You can even use the same process to tap into your rear speaker wires for the sub amp, and just use the low-pass crossover. Again, unless you are getting some very nice component speakers, and have much experience and are VERY picky, then the normal ear cannot tell a difference.