Tom is right, I have some Infinities in the rear deck and they wouldn't sound too good without adding a sub because they are excellent above maybe 500 Hz but not too good below this value. In tandem with twin 10's it sounds really good however.

 

alright, since i dont want to install a sub, i'll settle for Kenwood KFC-1669S speakers - rated 35 Hz - 22kHz and 2-35 watts RMS. at $50 a pair, i think they're pretty good for their price.

you're right - those infinities i mentioned earlier were 55 Hz - 20kHz. thanks for pointing that out to me

 

I'm already in the process of installing my aftermarket speakers in my 2005 HCH. I already installed kicker ks60s in my rear and have the infinity's waiting for me to install in the front. For now I am happy with just replacing my speakers, but I think I will change out my receiver sometime over the summer. What I need to know is: What does it mean by (5-65RMS) 130 watts max power and (2-50 RMS) 150 max power? And what does this mean compatibility-wise with a higher powered reciever most likely 50w * 4 with 20 RMS?

 

Well, peak power is the maximum power its going to take or give out (depending on the type of equipment) Most people use the RMS rating when talking about power. RMS is about 1/2 of peak. It is basicly the average power you are getting. See below for a glossary for another description.

Most unreputable companies put the peak power rating in big huge letters on the box. The reputable ones will generaly use RMS.

As far as speakers rated 150W or 130W watts peak power is concerned it just means that one will handle more power than the other.

This only makes a difference because speakers generaly have an efficency ratting at 1W/1M. And for every doubling of power you get +3db of gain in volume. So a speaker rated at 87db 1w/1m will put out 87db if you give it one watt, 90 if you give it 2, 93 if you give it 4, 96 if you give it 8, 99 if you give it 16, 102 if you give it 32, 105 if you give it 64, 108 if you give it 128, 11 if you give it 256. So esentialy both speakers are close enough to each other in power handling that you probably won't notice any difference running them at their maximum power.

Recievers/headunits are tricky because they sometimes give rms power ratings. But those rms ratings are inflated.

They do their ratings at the point the component fails not at a level the equipment can sustain.

Go to ebay and look for pyramid amplifers. Look at the power ratings and look at the price. Then look for alpine amps and look at the power rating and the price. You will notice a descrepency.

Useful resource: http://www.electronixwarehouse.com/e...n/glossary.htm

 

We replaced all four 6.5 inch speakers in our HCH with Boston Acoustics 2-ways, added a small Bazooka amplified subwoofer in the trunk, and improved the sound far above the factory speakers. Of course we also added an Alpine head unit with the XM Direct option and the iPod interface at the same time.

The Alpine has blue backlit controls and display, my one gripe would be that it is fairly dim and gets washed out in the sunlight. One disadvantage of the shape of the Civic's dash is that the center stack angles toward the windshield, so the sunlight hits the face of the radio directly quite often.

Minor gripe overall, we love the system. Not too boomy, didn't eat up our entire trunk with a sub-box.

 

When looking into receivers, how dramatic would the difference be in sound quality of a receiver which had a CD signal-to-noise rating of 92 db to one that was rated 120 db?

 

signal-to-noise ratio - A measure of the strength of the audio signal in comparison to that of the background noise. Essentially, a low signal-to-noise ratio means that the device or file has lots of hiss and static, while a high rating means clear-sounding audio.

 

I got an iPod Mini for my birthday (use it to listen to audiobooks during my long commute), and I'd love to connect it to the stereo in my HCH '05 (standard stock single CD stereo). I've tried the iTrip that works over FM radio signals but boy, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, trying to get an FM station that's open is really difficult.
There's a new gadget here called iPod2Car, looks like it only works with older Civics? Anyone know anything about it, or have any ideas?

Thanks.
My HCH's 5 days old today! 46.5 mpg on yesterday's 60+ mile commute.

 

i dont know about that particular model, but what probably is a better idea is to purchase and install a new head unit with audio-input jack so you can directly wire your ipod to the head unit and speakers. something like the Aiwa CDC-X204 or CDC-X304 might do the job for you. the first goes at $80 from crutchfield.com, but the price goes up to $100 with all the installation accessories

besides, its not just adding an input jack, its upping the rms range of your head unit and you'll get improved sound quality right away, even if you stick with your stock speakers

Aiwa CDC-X204

Aiwa CDC-X304

 

I think there is supposed to be something coming out later this month that would let you hook your ipod up. It won't work if you have a cd changer hooked up though. It plugs into the changer port and then you can listen to the playlists using your cd changer controls on the stereo. You can't use the ipod to contol it though.Try this web site ipod converter or search civic ipod disc changer.

There is also something that turns your cd changer into an auxiliary input. You would control it like you do with the itrip. Its about half the price. Try this site auxiliary converter.

I am thinking about getting one, but I may just get a stereo that will let me hook it up.