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My mom has a 2018 Accord EX-L 2.0T with the 450watt, 10-Speaker Audio System (Non-Navi) (Factory Amplified)
I talked her into replacing the speakers and subwoofer as well as installing an aftermarket 5ch amp to power it all.
In my research and pursuit of installing it all I have come across some valuable info I though I'd share.
I'm also posting some info on what I chose to buy to replace it all.
First of all the factory system is terrible...Output is sub-par for sure. The subwoofer is vague and underpowered and the factory amp is also underpowered, providing whimsical sound that has no detail in the highs or driven "crunch" in the mids at ANY volume level with ANY input selection. The amplifier is made by Pioneer but it is no flagship model and is just an "OK" cheap "Fix" of a unit that is the result of corporate cost cutting. It takes cranking the volume up very high to get any real good sound out of it and thats just where the speakers start to display how under designed and produced they really are. The speakers use tiny magnets, though they are neodymium I believe so they can be small and still effective... They use very small voice coils and have a cheap plastic frame and basket.
Factory 10-Speaker, Amplified System:
8" In-Dash, Touch Screen Display
10-Channel, 450 Watt Amplifier (Located Beneath Center Console and HVAC Unit, On Top of Exhaust Tunnel)
Pioneer Serial #: QJTM039825WL
Honda Part #: 39186-TVA-A031-M1 "Amplifier Assy., Premium"
2 3/4" Center Channel Speaker
(1) Front Left & (1) Front Right, 1 1/4", Tweeters (Located in Front Corner of Doors)
(1) Rear Left & (1) Rear Right, 1 1/4", Tweeters (Located in Rear Deck)
(1) Front Left & (1) Front Right, 6 1/2", Mid Range Drivers (Located in Front Doors) - Yellow Fiber Composite Cone, Rubber Surround, 3" Voice Coil, 1 1/4" Neodymium Magnets, Plastic Basket
Note: There are no options for installing an aftermarket head unit in the 10th Gen Accords, you must retain the factory head unit and amplifier.
To install an aftermarket 5ch amp there are a few problems:
Getting the signal from your factory head unit and factory amplifier (if equipped)
Option 1 is to buy a "line output converter" that converts the speaker outputs from the factory amp to "Line Level" outputs, which are typically a Left and Right RCA type output. This RCA, Line Level output can then be connected to an aftermarket amp's RCA inputs via a set of 4 channel RCA patch cables.
Option 2 is to use whats called "Speaker Level" or "High Level" Inputs. These are a feature on some aftermarket amplifiers, they can accept speaker wire directly from your factory amplifier and it's amplified, "High Level" output and internally convert it to a "Line Level" signal that it can then amplify. This requires tapping into the factory speakers wires that lead from the factory amp to the speakers and running wire to your aftermarket amp, then from the aftermarket amp's outputs, to your new speakers (Lots of connections and running of speaker wire with this option).
In either case: You will be retaining the factory head unit and amplifier, the factory head unit will be in charge of input selection and volume control and the factory amp will continue to be connected as it was to the head unit and amplify the signal, the difference is it will no longer be directly connected to the speakers.
The factory 10-Speaker, amplified system is a true 10 channel system which means there is a separate amplifier channel in the factory amp for each of the 10 speakers, so you can't just run the Front Left & Right Door Speakers (Which are mid range only speakers) to the Front Left and Front Right inputs on your aftermarket amp and hope to drive anything more than mid range sound frequencies. Don't even think about somehow combining the factory amp's tweeter and mid range door speakers outputs to gain some kind of "Full Range" signal source, this will short the factory amp out. The solution to this is to keep the front and rear factory tweeters running and connected to, the factory amp, this works because as I said earlier, the factory amp will remain in tact and operational. The only problem is going to be setting the gain settings on the aftermarket amp for the mid range speakers and getting volume levels matched between the factory amp driven tweeters and the aftermarket 5 channel amp driven mid range speakers.
I Used the Crutchfield "Master Sheet" instructions to dismantle the dash, remove the factory head unit and the factory amplifier, as well as to remove the door panels. It's a somewhat comprehensive, picture filled, step-by-step instructional .pdf file that they give you a download link to when you buy products from them for your vehicle. I won't rip them off and risk a copyright related lawsuit by showing any of it on here but I plan to add to this thread by making my own, photo-filled "how-to" eventually. If you have specific questions on how to remove certain components or parts then DM me or post a reply and I can post a photo and instructions. Overall working on the 10th Gen Accord is very tech friendly, they have improved the design of their retaining clips (They use a softer more malleable plastic, less prone to breaking) and have really put some thought into how things go together. Be careful, take your time. The panels will seem impossible to remove at first which is a good thing as far as build quality and appearance is concerned but with the right careful inspection and approach you will find they snap right out of place with a satisfying popping, "clunk".
*Will Be Installing 6 1/2" Mid Range in Front Doors, New Infinity 3/4" Edge Driven Tweeters Will Be Mounted in Corner of Doors and Factory Amp Driven, Will Not Use the Supplied Infinity Crossovers since my 5ch Pioneer Amp will Only be Running Mid Range.
HushMat 11267 Kit (Two 11.75" X 11.75" Damping/Foil Sheets & Two 7.75" X 7.75" Wave Breaker Pads)
*The Damping Sheets will be used on the sheet metal of the rear deck, the Wave Breaker Pads will go behing front mid range speakers
Final System Power:
So my front Infinity Reference components will be getting 75 Watts, 83.33% of their rated 90 Watts RMS, so those will sound great and my rear Infinity Reference 2-Ways will be getting 75 Watts, 136.36% of their rated 55 Watts RMS which is not great but should be ok at lower to middle volumes (they are rated at 165 Watts Peak so I should be ok). The Infinity Kappa 800W 8" Sub I will be running in 4ohm mode as it is selectable between 2 and 4 and my Pioneer GM-D9705 5 ch is only 4 Ohm stable on the 5th channel (I believe). I think 350 Watts into the sub's 400 Watt RMS rated voice coil should be more than enough. I don't want my mom having wicked overpowering bass and neither does she, just a complimentary boom of a bottom end and a bit of a mid range boost. I am a little worried about the sub I bought being mounted in the rear deck without an enclosure, it's not a free-air sub but given that its going to be run @ 50 Watts below RMS (Or 87.5% of RMS), I think it should be ok. I am likely going to have the gain set low for this channel anyway.
I wanted an Infinity Kappa K5 5 Channel Amp to match it all but it was not available. I chose Infinity speakers because I have had good experiences in the past with them, having both Reference and Kappa, component and 2-way 6 1/5" models. They really have a warm, semi soft overall tone with good projection and just the right amount of detail. Low end bass im not concerned with in a 6 1/2" 2-way or component set, thats what the sub is for but they covered the area well and they had a mid range that was really "there" and really "working and "delivering".
I went from shopping online to having new front components, new rear 2-ways, a new 8" sub, a new 5ch amp, all wiring, instructions, speaker mounting adapters, speaker harness adapters and sound deadening, all delivered for right about $800. Very happy with that seeing as people spend that much or more just for a head unit.
Schematic of how I am going to wire everything (Not 100% accurate, for the Rear Mid Range 6 1/2" speakers, I plan on taking the signal right from the factory harness connectors @ the rear speakers, the fronts will need to be sourced from the harness @ the factory amp's outputs, then the aftermarket 5ch amp's Front Left and Front Right speaker outputs ran from the amp to the cut harness @ the factory amp. Also, won't be needing the crossovers.
Last edited by Accordian47; 10-11-2019 at 08:52 PM.
Here is the pinout for the factory audio amplifier's speaker outputs, this is something I made from some info I found online, it only includes the pinouts for the front L&R 6 1/2" mid range door speakers and the rear L&R 6 1/2" mid range drivers in the rear deck.
Last edited by Accordian47; 10-11-2019 at 08:43 PM.
UPDATE:
Got everything installed and the system is working, sounds great. Lots of high wattage power at lower volumes with much more clarity. I've got the factory 10-Ch amp driving the factory rear tweeters and the 3/4" edge driven Infinity tweeters up front that came with my Reference REF-6530cx components. The Pioneer 5ch amp is driving the new Infinity Kappa 800W 8" sub and the front and rear Infinity mid range speakers. Night and day difference between this system and the factory system, I highly recommend upgrading at least your speakers if your unhappy with your factory system. If anyone has any questions about install details, post or DM.
@Accordin47 THANK YOU for the super detailed post, it looks like you have done a lot of research, and you are quite knowledgeable in this area (which is more of what I can say about myself). If you could spare a few moments of your time for a reply I would appreciate it :-)
I own a 2019 Honda Accord Hybrid EX-L, and like you, I think the sound system, although an upgrade, it is a bit weak and disappointing. My question to you is, do you think I would I be able to replicate what you did (or do something similar, with perhaps less wattage), on my hybrid, or the fact that my car's more sensitive electronics (at least in theory), prevent me from adding amp, sub and speakers that will draw more power from the battery? Also, will I have to deactivate the ANC module of the car? - Thanks again for the info you shared!
The fact that your car is a hybrid shouldn't make much if any difference in upgrading the system. There are different body and powertrain harnesses, the addition of electric motor and batteries sure but the audio system is going to be identical to all the other 10th gen Accords. The addition of a single 5 channel amplifier shouldn't be too much for your factory alternator and battery.
$ buys sound quality so know your budget and buy the best stuff you can afford.
You will want to deactivate the factory ANC system, yes. I can show you how to do this, its pretty easy. Just removing a few interior panels and the glove box to disconnect a wiring connector from the module.
Hey Buddy, thank you for the input, and for the list of suggested brands, I truly appreciate it. I have seen a couple of youtube videos on how to access the ANC module, and how to disconnect it, so I think I know how to deal with that. However, I was hoping that I would not have to do that.
I think I have formulated my plan of action. My main focus is to do a minimally invasive upgrade. Here is my plan:
1. I will just start with upgrading the door component speakers, (I will do a pair of JBL Club 65000C), and while I have the door panels removed, add some Dynamat.
2. If I will see (or rather, hear), a change, but the resulted change wont meet my standards, I will do the same to the back speakers (same JBL 6500C). If I will not see a change at all with the replacing of the factory speakers, or if I feel that the change made some difference, but there is still something left to be desired, I will proceed to step 3
3. If changing the speakers wont do the trick, then I will add an amp, and connect all 8 new speakers to the new amp. If you have a specific amp suggestion, please do share
4. Finally, if that is not enough (I find that hard to believe, I am just looking for some decent sound, not something extraordinary), then I will add a powered sub and disconnect the ANC.
Am I forgetting anything? Do you have any better ideas or suggestions?
I got a better sound by adding a 5ch amp with 75W RMS x 4 and I upgraded the speakers but I still am getting a vague sort of emptiness in the sound and that I blame the head unit for. The head unit has poor sound quality and or components and sub-par digital signal processing. I hate to say it but I think you will be disappointed with just upgrading the speakers due to the head unit just not outputting a quality signal. Its a shame and its very limiting as there is no easy way to put in an aftermarket head unit without going totally custom.
I got a better sound by adding a 5ch amp with 75W RMS x 4 and I upgraded the speakers but I still am getting a vague sort of emptiness in the sound and that I blame the head unit for. The head unit has poor sound quality and or components and sub-par digital signal processing. I hate to say it but I think you will be disappointed with just upgrading the speakers due to the head unit just not outputting a quality signal. Its a shame and its very limiting as there is no easy way to put in an aftermarket head unit without going totally custom.
Hi Accordian47 -- try this: Press and hold : POWER/VOLUME **** + HOME + SOURCE
Select: Detailed Information and Setting screen
Press and Hold: HOME + Audio Check
Select: Audio Setting
Set: PS to OFF
Return from menu
In my 2020 Accord Hybrid EX-L, I too was disappointed with the stock "premium" system. Replace the front components with Focal ISS165, but found the above setting change to make the most significant difference (along with T+1,M-2,B+1,S+3 EQ). Appears to bypass the internal DSP EQ for the stock speakers. Sounds more full and rich, especially in the lower registers. ANC still active.
Next step is to install the Peerless 830667 to replace the free-air 8" sub -- however, except for the elevated shelf from 800Hz - 2Khz, the sound is fine and certainly livable. That mid peak actually adds presence to overcome road noise.
I know I’m late here but I’d like to add a 5 channel to my 2019 Accord w/ premium system as well. Could I grab signal from front left and right mid an tweet and my sub speaker wires and run to my processor via rca’s? I will leave the rear factory speakers running off the factory amp. I would run my 2 way components up front w/ active crossover through the processor. Channel 5 would be my sub channel. Would summing the channels through my processor work with this setup?
UPDATE:
Got everything installed and the system is working, sounds great. Lots of high wattage power at lower volumes with much more clarity. I've got the factory 10-Ch amp driving the factory rear tweeters and the 3/4" edge driven Infinity tweeters up front that came with my Reference REF-6530cx components. The Pioneer 5ch amp is driving the new Infinity Kappa 800W 8" sub and the front and rear Infinity mid range speakers. Night and day difference between this system and the factory system, I highly recommend upgrading at least your speakers if your unhappy with your factory system. If anyone has any questions about install details, post or DM.
I did the install myself. I installed the amp flat on the truck floor near the rear seats and I didn't use a line output converter, I could have but I just wired the speaker outputs of the factory amp to the "High Level" or "Speaker Level" inputs on my amp. If your amp is equipped with high or speaker level inputs its basically a built in line output converter, if your amp has only rca inputs then you'll need a line output converter. Some people say they get a better sound quality using a LOC and I wouldn't be surprised but my speaker level input setup is working just fine.
Hi Accordian47 -- try this: Press and hold : POWER/VOLUME **** + HOME + SOURCE
Select: Detailed Information and Setting screen
Press and Hold: HOME + Audio Check
Select: Audio Setting
Set: PS to OFF
Return from menu
In my 2020 Accord Hybrid EX-L, I too was disappointed with the stock "premium" system. Replace the front components with Focal ISS165, but found the above setting change to make the most significant difference (along with T+1,M-2,B+1,S+3 EQ). Appears to bypass the internal DSP EQ for the stock speakers. Sounds more full and rich, especially in the lower registers. ANC still active.
Next step is to install the Peerless 830667 to replace the free-air 8" sub -- however, except for the elevated shelf from 800Hz - 2Khz, the sound is fine and certainly livable. That mid peak actually adds presence to overcome road noise.
Thank you for the detailed instructions to navigate through the factory receivers settings, really, I was happy to hear the sound when I turned that PS setting, it is much better. I'm have to tune my amp again and play with factory EQ to get the sound I'm looking for but man that factory receiver is loaded with diagnostics and settings, how did you find out about this?
Great post! I just bought a 2020 Honda Civic EX-L. I love the car, but HATE the audio system. I am assuming that most of the changes applied to this Accord would apply to my Civic. I will start planning. Thanks!
-Replace only the factory speakers first and see what kind of changes you get (This will make a difference as long as you go with quality replacement speakers like a component setup but don't go too crazy because the most limiting factor in sound quality if the factory head unit)
-Replace the head unit only and see what kind of changes you get (Almost impossible on newer Hondas so not really an option without going totally custom)
-Replace the speakers AND install an aftermarket stand alone 4 or 5 channel amplifier (Going to make the biggest difference)
Last edited by Accordian47; 06-21-2021 at 04:17 PM.
10-07-2019, 05:09 PM
2018 Accord EX-L 2.0T - Speaker Replacement & 5ch Amp Install
