OEM head unit died, time to upgrade but I'm lost!!! Help!

[ChadAtlanta]

My factory head unit on my 91 finally decided that after 20 years, it had enough of life, so it quickly and deliberately died.

Rather than replace the oem head unit, I figured this would be a good time to upgrade the system, but there is a small problem- I know nothing about in car audio/entertainment products.

That being said, I would love for someone to suggest an entire system. In terms of what I am looking for, I would like the system to have nav, real-time traffic (sans subscription service), bluetooth, ipod connectivity, and video. I care nothing for having a loud, annoying system with a 44" subwoofer. I'd just like a crisp, reliable, light-weight, modern system. Price is always a factor and I'd like to remain conservative with a budget (whatever that means )

If I can get away with using my oem speakers, great, but everything that I've read indicates that the amps often die, so I suppose I'll need to replace the speakers. I assume that I'll need to replace my center console with a double din unit, I really like the look of the carbon fiber ones (assuming that I can buy the door inserts too)

Can anyone put together a list of things I need or share some of their experiences in going down this route?

 

[repin jerz]

My stereo system complete upgrade.

link

 

[Hapa88]

Did the headunit actually die? Or did the speaker amps die?

A list of stuff for an NSX with what you want would be:

Almost Required:
1) SOS aftermarket head unit -to- factory amplifiers & speakers harness (if you decide to keep the factory speakers)
3) SOS Double DIN stereo bracket
4) SOS Double DIN center console
5) Double DIN stereo. Pioneer makes units that have all the features you mentioned for a reasonable price.

Optional
1) SOS Door speaker panel to mount aftermarket speakers in the factory location (if you choose to replace factory speakers)
2) Door speakers in size 5.25" to 6.75" (Most people get components that come with a separate tweeter). I chose the Pioneer Premiere TS-C720PRS, because of their high build quality, great reviews and low online price.
3) Subwoofer box like Angus' or Zetoolman's. The Boss BASS600 is another option if you don't put your seat all the way back (have this in my Mazda and it rocks, not sure how it'll do in the NSX though).
4) Subwoofer: Need a 10" shallow sub (I have the Earthquake 10" shallow in my Zetoolman V3 subbox)
5) Dynamat to line the door panels to minimize vibrations
6) External Amplifier to power the sub and separates. You can use the internal Headunit one, but you'll get the best sound from an external amp. I have an Alpine PDX4.100 digital amp which is pretty small.
7) Wires to run to the amp and to the speakers

I think that's about it. .

SOS = ScienceOfSpeed.com

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

I did this a long time ago but here's a list of things I used.

1. Aftermarket Center console
2. Sos's OEM to aftermarket harness "I just bought an Alpine unit though and crutchfield gives you an aftermarket to aftermarket harness but I'm not sure if it's the same as SOS's aftermarket to aftermarket one even though it looks the exact same".
3. Sos stereo bracket
4. I made my door speaker baffles, just takes some particle board "forget the thickness".
5. Speaker wire
6. Amp "mounted mine behind my passenger seat with some bolts/nuts/washers.
7. I mounted my tweeters inside my door ac vents with a L bracket.
8. I made my sub box but I'll never do that again, buy one and save yourself the time.
9. I grounded my amp wire to one of the 10mm bolts on the inside cabin by the window and sanded the paint down to touch bare metal.


Stephen

I ran my power to the fuse box by the coolant tank. I think if I had to do it over again I'd run it directly from the battery which I may change when I have time.

 

[NSX2398]

I'm sort of in the same boat. In 9 years, I've already replaced the amps twice (BrianK did the last ones) and now I need to do it again. It's never the speakers .. always the amps.

I'm not really interested in changing out the head unit with a center stack re-do .. and the sub meets my audio needs .. so I think the answer is to buy the SOS OEM head unit to aftermarket amp wiring; add a compact multi-channel amp somewhere; and convert the door wiring to go directly to the OEM speakers and I'm done... without spending megabucks.

In other posts, people have said that the door speakers are primarily midrange; are a funny size; and a weird 2 ohm impedance so this way I don't have to deal with all that and I don't lose whatever audio crossover the OEM head unit is putting out. I lose the custom Bose audio "tuning" that the amps do that people talk about (not sure what this really is .. maybe an equalizer would compensate) but I should gain bags of reliability.

Am I missing anything?
..Ian

 

[Jett]

Almost Required:
1) SOS aftermarket head unit -to- factory amplifiers & speakers harness (if you decide to keep the factory speakers)
3) SOS Double DIN stereo bracket
4) SOS Double DIN center console
5) Double DIN stereo. Pioneer makes units that have all the features you mentioned for a reasonable price.

I agree with the above with one exception. One owner here on NSXPrime purchased the SOS Double DIN center console and installed it. He had to remove it because it warped and deformed from interior heat. He ended up modifying the OEM center console for Double DIN.

The Pioneer system that I am leaning toward right now for the NSX is the Pioneer AVIC-X920BT. Last year I installed a Pioneer AVIC-N5 in my daughter's Mustang but I have spent enough time with it to be favorably impressed with the Pioneer AVIC series, which seem to be the most popular GPS/Stereo systems available right now.

For the NSX, a conservative budget is $1500 or less. Too bad it doesn't have a standard double DIN stereo, otherwise the budget could be half that. If you wanted to go economy, you could buy one of these. Add a small amp and it might make a satisfactory system.

 

[spider2k]

when you decide on your parts let me know and ill help you with the install.

if you just need an oem head to test if yours is bad i still have mine.

 

[shawn110975]

44 Inch subwoofer, yikes where do you buy those at Giants R Us? LOL

you actually need to go to an Audio Store and check out many selections,

they have lots, some of them look good, meaning the way its set up clock to the left,
and touch screen, I saw a real cool looking 6 disc changer built in Navi rear view, 7 inch touch screen,
bluetooth, I pod ready, USB port SD port, it was made by Alpine yada yada. but it was like 1300 Bucks, I was like NOPE,

so its hard to say which one you will like thats why i suggest going to look at a bunch of them at once.

doubledin style radio is the only way to go as they can give you the most screen touch or not ya know.

 

[arfnsx]

I am not sure if you have had you system done yet but I know alot of people here in Atlanta who can help you depending on how much you wanted to spend. They have done several NSXs and know what they are doing.

Let me know

 

[repin jerz]

I agree with the above with one exception. One owner here on NSXPrime purchased the SOS Double DIN center console and installed it. He had to remove it because it warped and deformed from interior heat. He ended up modifying the OEM center console for Double DIN.

Yup. That would be me. SoS/Downforce has since fixed this
issue on all new orders. They supply brackets to install behind the console along the thin strips top and bottom to prevent the warping. Since I've had both the SoS console and the OEM console customized for double din, I much prefer the OEM console as the material used is far superior. I found the SoS console to be much too flexible for my taste.

Hope this helps.