Hi all,

New member here. I am HUGELY impressed with the participation and expertise here! The "Extraordinary Car Stereo Install" thread was/is aburd in it's awesomeness. Thanks very much! Been lurking for awhile and it's time to ask for your advice.

I have a 2005 EX with the 270 watt (claimed) system. I am unimpressed with the sound, and would like to install the system that came out of my last truck but am unclear what path to follow.

The system is:

Eclipse 8443 HU
Focal 165 V Slim mid with separate tweets for the front.
Focal 165 CA Access for the rear.
JL Audio 8" Sub in sealed box
Eclipse EA2212 2/1 amp to power sub
Eclipse PA 5422 4/3/2 to power front and rear

While this system sounded GREAT in my truck (2003 Tundra), I am presented with a dilemma....

The amps are pretty big and as far as I can tell, to install them would cause a loss of utility that I'm just not prepared to lose. Soooo...

1. I wonder, would just swapping out the HU and the speakers, and installing a small (300 watt) amp to power my JL sub, result in better-than-stock SQ? Much better? I listen to all kinds of music from Zeppelin to Radiohead to Midnight to Nickel Creek to Dave Matthews to symphony. I'd like a bit more volume than stock (but not alot), and would like really clean sound.

2. Would an aftermarket amp to power the sub, fit where the stock amp is?

3. Can I reuse the stock sub enclosure for the JL sub? Or, do I just have the JL sub box in the back somewhere and disable the stock sub? (I'd love to keep the sub up front)

4. Can I hook the aux input back into this Eclipse HU so I can plug my iPod into it.

I won't be doing the install, but I'd like to be able to speak coherently (unlike now....I've just had about 5 glasses of really tasty sake') with the installer when we negotiate what he is going to do.


So....any advice and guidance that you all can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!

1. I wonder, would just swapping out the HU and the speakers, and installing a small (300 watt) amp to power my JL sub, result in better-than-stock SQ? Much better? I listen to all kinds of music from Zeppelin to Radiohead to Midnight to Nickel Creek to Dave Matthews to symphony. I'd like a bit more volume than stock (but not alot), and would like really clean sound.



Doing anything would result in better-than-stock sound. HU, Speakers, Amp. Pick any.



2. Would an aftermarket amp to power the sub, fit where the stock amp is?



Not likley. That sucker is small, and tight. I'm guessing it's about 3"x6".



3. Can I reuse the stock sub enclosure for the JL sub? Or, do I just have the JL sub box in the back somewhere and disable the stock sub? (I'd love to keep the sub up front)



Not without modification. Stock is 6.5", and I think 8 may be a bit too big to even cut the hole out.


4. Can I hook the aux input back into this Eclipse HU so I can plug my iPod into it.


Not my bag of tea, but I'm sure someone else can answer it. The aux-in is basically a normal aux connector - it will work if you connect up the wires properly.

MrBeetle is exactly right. :)

To elaborate on the aux jack, it is a powered jack. I'm not quite sure why except that it seems to have some kind of auto signal detector for the head unit end.

There is a six pin connector going into your deck for the aux jack. Here is the color coding and the labelling of these wires from service manual. My interpretations are in parenthesis:

yellow: AUX-DET (aux detect?)
blue: AUX-GND (aux detect ground?)
brown: AUX-RCH (right channel)
green: AUX-S-GND (signal ground)
white: AUX-LCH (left channel)
light green/red: Shielding

I'd try hooking up the right, left and signal ground wires first into your Eclipse deck. Hooking up the shielding probably wouldn't hurt and could possibly help. There is the main computer for the car right in that region and they are notorious for putting out noise. Listen to your system with the iPod and see if you have noise. If you do and you haven't hooked up the shield, do it. Being the nervous type, I'd probably hook the shield up right away and then disconnect it if I had noise.

OP, I guess you never connected an iPod to your stereo before ripping it out. :)

When you connect an iPod to the port the stereo switches to AUX for you. When the car turns off, the iPod stops playing.

^ Cool. :cool: A Nano is on my Christmas list if anybody wants to buy me one. I'd like the 4 gig version, please. :)

MrBeetle is exactly right. :)

To elaborate on the aux jack, it is a powered jack. I'm not quite sure why except that it seems to have some kind of auto signal detector for the head unit end.

There is a six pin connector going into your deck for the aux jack. Here is the color coding and the labelling of these wires from service manual. My interpretations are in parenthesis:

yellow: AUX-DET (aux detect?)
blue: AUX-GND (aux detect ground?)
brown: AUX-RCH (right channel)
green: AUX-S-GND (signal ground)
white: AUX-LCH (left channel)
light green/red: Shielding

I'd try hooking up the right, left and signal ground wires first into your Eclipse deck. Hooking up the shielding probably wouldn't hurt and could possibly help. There is the main computer for the car right in that region and they are notorious for putting out noise. Listen to your system with the iPod and see if you have noise. If you do and you haven't hooked up the shield, do it. Being the nervous type, I'd probably hook the shield up right away and then disconnect it if I had noise.

For my HU, I had RCA inputs.

I simply followed the connection advice located at http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3065 to get it working properly.

I assume it wouldn't bee TOO much work to just pull new cable, as well.

Originally Posted by Madmardigan
4. Can I hook the aux input back into this Eclipse HU so I can plug my iPod into it.


I have a CD8454, used to have the 8443 prior and with both units you can connect the indash aux connector to the deck by cutting off the plug and splicing in a male phono jack to plug into the decks aux connector.

Also that PA5422 fits nicely under the pasenger seat with a little modification like cuting the plastic trim iece that covers the duct outlet and bending the spring anchors a little to accomidate for the width of the amp. Also I had to use a couple small blocks of wood to get the proper level mounting height.

Also about the sub amp, maybe you can install it where the stock sub is, under the cover and run a small box in the rear. If the Stealthbox is on your mind, avoid it. There are several complaints on this board about it and for the price you can do much better.

Also when you install the eclipse deck, you should go for the metra kit that i have in the pic, very clean oem look.