Why are the factory headunit/speakers so pants?

2476 Views 25 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Neil11, 11 mo ago

hazbaz1984

Discussion Starter · May 11, 2022 (Edited)

So, my factory headunit is done.

Let’s leave the fact that it’s CD, which makes it so obsolete I might as well burn it with fire.

Gripes -

1. It’s broken inside, which affects the clock display. I resoldered the display. But it’s still broken. And pressing on the HU makes the display work. So it’s some issue with the internal electrics. I have read about it on here, and with the amount of work needed, I might as well just replace the stupid thing. It’s not worth saving.

2. It often feels hot, like it may catch fire half the time.

3. It reads iPod/iPhone for about 20 mins via USB, then glitches out and either says ‘INCOMPATIBLE’ or will only allow you to play 1 track over and over.

4. Barely any options to adjust sound quality. It’s loud enough I suppose, but *no bass and treble control. So it sounds tinny and weedy at both ends.

*CORRECTION - Cack bass and treble control that has no discernible impact on either.

5. You can’t pause music playing on an iPod/iPhone. It just careens on by force.

6. It loses radio signal all the time. I know this is probably a fault with the aerial, but why doesn’t the HU have RDS?

7. Why when you turn the engine off, does the volume spike up for a second or two? Horrible and jarring.

8. It’s ugly AF.

Speakers are crap. As are the tweeters. Not even sure the ones in the back work they’re so crap.

This summer I’m ripping it all out and replacing it with something decent. All of it.

The end.

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1 - 20 of 26 Posts

Das

· #2 · May 11, 2022

LoL, yea I was very disappointed in the stereo when I got mine. Luckily I found a Honda Bass Works system at a scrap yard which improved things 10 fold. But for a country renowned for its tech, with companies like Pioneer, JVC, Denon, Sony to choose from this was a terrible set up they got from Panasonic. Which is another disappointment as Panasonic make very good audio equipment generally.

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Negativvv

· #3 · May 11, 2022

Haha

Be glad your car isn't an earlier model, or is it?

Mine doesn't even have an Aux cable so I'm using an FM radio transmitter to either broadcast MP3 or Internet Radio.

The sound quality is utterly dire but yet I put up with it...

In the perfect world I'd change it for a touch screen head unit and change all 4 speakers for decent ones. Would also soundproof the doors & boot floor too.

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hazbaz1984

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 11, 2022

Negativvv said:
Haha

Be glad your car isn't an earlier model, or is it?

Mine doesn't even have an Aux cable so I'm using an FM radio transmitter to either broadcast MP3 or Internet Radio.

The sound quality is utterly dire but yet I put up with it...

In the perfect world I'd change it for a touch screen head unit and change all 4 speakers for decent ones. Would also soundproof the doors & boot floor too.

Nah. It’s a 2010. So it does have a built in USB and AUX input in the arm rest. I might actually switch to using AUX, due to the reading issues for the old iPhone I’m using as an MP3 player in the car.

Yeah. Been planning an upgrade for a while. Pioneer touchscreen, 4x speakers, tweeters, new wiring, and sound deadening doors, rear panels and boot floor.

Pretty involved tho. Will have to wait a while. And I need to fix boot leak(s), rust treat and seal everything before I do the sound deadening.

Will be a fun project though, when I can be arsed.

Negativvv

· #5 · May 11, 2022

I think the cheapest good Android Auto/iPhone touch screen head unit with DAB radio is about £300, wouldn't go near the Chinese units.

The speakers are all 6.5 inch in each door.

Fixed my boot leak last year but I've run out of enthusiasm to upgrade the sound system, I just plug into the awful FM radio AUX feed every day. If my commute to work gets longer than 20 mins each way I'll probably upgrade then...

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hazbaz1984

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 12, 2022

Negativvv said:
I think the cheapest good Android Auto/iPhone touch screen head unit with DAB radio is about £300, wouldn't go near the Chinese units.

The speakers are all 6.5 inch in each door.

Fixed my boot leak last year but I've run out of enthusiasm to upgrade the sound system, I just plug into the awful FM radio AUX feed every day. If my commute to work gets longer than 20 mins each way I'll probably upgrade then...

Yeah. I’d def. get a pioneer, kenwood or alpine HU. I too wouldn’t go near cheap off brand tat.

Good to know speaker size. Do you need spacers?

Fixing leak, sealing it all, sound deadening and better sound have been on the agenda for a while.

Negativvv

· #7 · May 12, 2022

The suggestions on here is that they're quite a generic fit. There's some recommended speakers on here but I'm not that close to fitting or I'd dig up exactly what make and model!

I bought a Connect2 connector and facia for a touch screen ages ago for £50 off eBay so I really should have fitted something by now

37856

· #8 · May 12, 2022

Fitting a Pioneer F940-BT double din head unit made a huge difference in the sound quality of my 08 Type S. The oem speakers are fine, it’s the stereo that’s seriously lacking.

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Iceman29

· #9 · May 12, 2022

hazbaz1984 said:
but no base and treble control. So it sounds tinny and weedy at both ends.

Eh? Pre and post facelift civic stereos have bass and treble control, no?

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hazbaz1984

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 12, 2022

Iceman29 said:
Eh? Pre and post facelift civic stereos have bass and treble control, no?

Yeah. Not that you’d notice.

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SilverCider

· #11 · May 12, 2022

Type 666 said:
Fitting a Pioneer F940-BT double din head unit made a huge difference in the sound quality of my 08 Type S. The oem speakers are fine, it’s the stereo that’s seriously lacking.

Likewise, the amp in the standard head unit really lacks any drive. I made the mistake of changing the speakers out first which made very little difference. As soon as I fitted the Pioneer double din it all came alive!

You don't need to go mad with sound deadening either, just tap the panels to find what rings and apply small pads on those, tap again to see if it's sufficiently covered.

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Negativvv

· #12 · May 12, 2022

I'd assume if one is changing the speakers then that'll be the time to beef up the sound proofing so you only need to open the door panel once...

I guess if you're upgrading on the cheap then the rear two speakers could be of lesser quality of even to leave them original!

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Mandoscottie

· #13 · May 17, 2022 (Edited)

if you have auto stop start in your civic, you will also need a ballast to counter that, they not silly expensive (under £100, connects2 do them also), new 9G fascia (connects2 have em) and their steering wheel adapter, plus reversing camera convertor isnt cheap either.

last time i checked it was around £250 for the parts to fit it, plus head unit plus speakers plus an amp (i have a 4 channel JBL spare atm) but even without amp i was looking at £900 (£300 plus £300 plus £300 speakers for 4) for items last check. also if your not comfy running a direct 12v fused feed form underbonnet to boot for the amp and earthing to bar emetal for sub in boot, then also factor in £90 to £150 for a autosparky to run a new pro feed to boot.

that was all JBL and a Pioneer higher end DAB head unit with Android car play, when my garmin subs expire i will consider it for betty, till then ive got it sounding decent with some optimisation of my sources via Acid pro etc and recoded to suit the Honda setup.

also a major flaw in iphones with hondas with audio quality, connecting with the usb limits the codec used to barely CD quality (44.1Khz), connecting to bluetooth (usually handshakes around 48khz) DVD quality.
It allows the device connected Sound codec to use full bandwidth that usb cannot provide while auto-charging

thats why even cheap bluetooth speakers always sound so clear and punchy

its in the dynamics of the sound and the hardware RAMDAC in all devices, same applies for the stock unit.

Make sure you have volume levelling set to max and set balance and fader to dead center, Honda in their "infinite " wisdom made the rear speakers ambient mode and not actual true rear versions of the fronts.

replacing with a 3rd party unit and amp removes Hondas "ambient mode" when you rewire.

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hazbaz1984

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 17, 2022

Mandoscottie said:
if you have auto stop start in your civic, you will also need a ballast to counter that, they not silly expensive (under £100, connects2 do them also), new 9G fascia (connects2 have em) and their steering wheel adapter, plus reversing camera convertor isnt cheap either.

last time i checked it was around £250 for the parts to fit it, plus head unit plus speakers plus an amp (i have a 4 channel JBL spare atm) but even without amp i was looking at £900 (£300 plus £300 plus £300 speakers for 4) for items last check. also if your not comfy running a direct 12v fused feed form underbonnet to boot for the amp and earthing to bar emetal for sub in boot, then also factor in £90 to £150 for a autosparky to run a new pro feed to boot.

that was all JBL and a Pioneer higher end DAB head unit with Android car play, when my garmin subs expire i will consider it for betty, till then ive got it sounding decent with some optimisation of my sources via Acid pro etc and recoded to suit the Honda setup.

also a major flaw in iphones with hondas with audio quality, connecting with the usb limits the codec used to barely CD quality (44.1Khz), connecting to bluetooth (usually handshakes around 48khz) DVD quality.
It allows the device connected Sound codec to use full bandwidth that usb cannot provide while auto-charging thats why even cheap bluetooth speakers always sound so clear and punchy its in the dynamics of the sound and the hardware RAMDAC in all devices, same applies for the stock unit.

Make sure you have volume levelling set to max and set balance and fader to dead center, Honda in their "infinite " wisdom made the rear speakers ambient mode and not actual true rear versions of the fronts.

replacing with a 3rd party unit and amp removes Hondas "ambient mode" when you rewire.

Thanks for this. Thankfully I don’t have start/stop. And reversing camera is far too fancy for me. I’ll make do with my DIY reversing sensors.

Planning on buying the connects2 fascia and steering wheel gubbins. And a DAB aerial.

Will probably go pioneer with the lot. £350ish for a HU, around £200 for speakers (4 + tweeters), £150 for conversion stuff and about £50 for sound deadening.

Wont be running an amp…. Yet.

Don’t think my 2010 car has Bluetooth. So it’s USB only.

I’ve twiddled all the settings. Still crap. Ambient mode doesn’t work for me with the music I listen to.

So yeah, it’s all got to go.

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Negativvv

· #15 · May 17, 2022

Gets damn expensive when you consider the price of regular non FN2 Civics! Even though I already have the Connect2 and facia for £50 used that's still £550 so nearly £600 for decent sound quality. I've had my car for two years and approaching 15k+ miles.

Whilst I don't plan to change, I'm conscious that at some point it'll get uneconomical to repair. Although other than a broken driveshaft it's been completely reliable.

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Mandoscottie

· #16 · May 19, 2022

Negativvv said:
Gets damn expensive when you consider the price of regular non FN2 Civics! Even though I already have the Connect2 and facia for £50 used that's still £550 so nearly £600 for decent sound quality. I've had my car for two years and approaching 15k+ miles.

Whilst I don't plan to change, I'm conscious that at some point it'll get uneconomical to repair. Although other than a broken driveshaft it's been completely reliable.

Tbh upgrading VW Scirocco with same came to around 1k pioneer, JBL mains and JBL quad channel amp n sub cab.

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hazbaz1984

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 19, 2022

Negativvv said:
Gets damn expensive when you consider the price of regular non FN2 Civics! Even though I already have the Connect2 and facia for £50 used that's still £550 so nearly £600 for decent sound quality. I've had my car for two years and approaching 15k+ miles.

Whilst I don't plan to change, I'm conscious that at some point it'll get uneconomical to repair. Although other than a broken driveshaft it's been completely reliable.

Yeah. Since the cars little accident, money has not been an issue. The car essentially cost me £500. So spending a bit of cash on it to upgrade, even though it’s Cat N, I’ll probably still make it back even if I sell it in a few years with 115k+ on the clock.

tmsprlgsks

· #18 · 12 mo ago

Type 666 said:
Fitting a Pioneer F940-BT double din head unit made a huge difference in the sound quality of my 08 Type S. The oem speakers are fine, it’s the stereo that’s seriously lacking.

Agree 💯 now

Reactions: 1

Neil11

· #19 · 11 mo ago

Negativvv said:
Gets damn expensive when you consider the price of regular non FN2 Civics! Even though I already have the Connect2 and facia for £50 used that's still £550 so nearly £600 for decent sound quality. I've had my car for two years and approaching 15k+ miles.

Whilst I don't plan to change, I'm conscious that at some point it'll get uneconomical to repair. Although other than a broken driveshaft it's been completely reliable.

I've just bought a facia what connect2 do I need for a pre facelift type s 2007
Also if you don't use the connect2 does the AC/heater screen still work or is it just for the steering wheel controls
Thanks in advance I've just never considered changing the stereo before and my old 5 door had the sat nav screen stereo so never bothered

Sent from my Bush10Nou using Tapatalk

Negativvv

· #20 · 11 mo ago

Neil11 said:
I've just bought a facia what connect2 do I need for a pre facelift type s 2007
Also if you don't use the connect2 does the AC/heater screen still work or is it just for the steering wheel controls
Thanks in advance I've just never considered changing the stereo before and my old 5 door had the sat nav screen stereo so never bothered

Sent from my Bush10Nou using Tapatalk

Don't know... I assume whatever you bought would come with the suitable Connect2?

I got a used facia and Connect2 wiring from eBay but it's in the loft as my plans to upgrade the stereo are on hold since I might be back to train commuting soon so the Civic will get spared the daily grind...

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