So I have already grown tired of the factory HU on my 03' DX - no line in, no changer, no MP3 playback, and adapting it to line in would cost ~$60-80.

I did some cursory research (went through this forum, asked a few sales people) and decided to pick up the Pioneer P6200BT. It seems to do everything I want out of a HU, and if I wanted to upgrade the speakers at a later point it would give me options.

I was hoping for some feedback:

1.) I am aware that this unit will probably wear down the factory speakers if wired directly in, but what I've heard is that I should still get a few years out of them, based on usage. It seems like I could just never crank the volume all the way, and normalize my MP3's. Also, I don't really listen to Bass heavy music (If I did I probably wouldn't be happy with the factory setup). Any thoughts? Would it make any sense to put in a linear voltage regulator on each speaker line?

1a.) Specifically the Pioneer install literature warns not to use the unit with speakers that have 1-3 ohm impedance, or under 50W output value. I have no idea what the specs of the factory speakers are, the only thing I know is that the factory HU outputs 40W max.

Update: I found the following relevant discussion on the honda-tech forum regarding a civic:
http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?p=44055276

2.) I am assuming that I need to pick up an antenna power adapter, as the HU I have does not connect to the antenna power. Salespersons I spoke to implied that I did not, but they seem wrong.

To give back to the forum for being so helpful ;-) I will document the harness build and install in this thread. To start with I've attached my harness wiring diagram (based on the way I plan on building it right now).

Thanks!
-FDP

OK, so I had a bit more time to snoop around. It appears that the stock speakers in the DX are 4ohm, 20W (front/rear).

I just installed a Pioneer DXT-2266UB in my wifes Element yesterday. Got the complete kit from walmart with stereo and four 6.5" 2-way speakers for $85. Sound is great, but it doesn't have bluetooth like the one you are looking at. Here is a link:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pioneer-Complete-Car-Audio-Package-DXT-2266UB-200W-Stereo-and-Four-6.5-Speakers/15140328

Wow, that's an awesome deal. The BT might be useful, but I doubt it is worth the ~$170 difference (when you take the speakers into consideration).

Yeah, I thought so too. It mounts right in place without a kit. I just bought the wiring harness adapter, wired it up and soldered the connections at my kitchen table, then went out and plugged it in. The speakers were easy to change too since the speaker grilles just pop off &you don't have to remove the door panels.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I just cut off the blue wire on the stereo because it is for an electric up & down antenna and the element has a fixed mast antenna.

No luck on finding the Walmart deal locally, would have to drive 2 hours. I want to do the install tomorrow, so I guess I'll stick with this radio. I'll probably pick up those speakers at some point though, they seem like a good deal (incidentally the speakers alone cost ~$110 at "Best Buy").

In the interest of documentation, and also getting feedback, here is my harness build. Nothing special going on, but I have to admit that it was my first time soldering stranded wire (in my line of work we only crimp). I found it surprisingly tricky to get the solder to go on in a thin layer over the wire. I used the following method which seemed obvious, but I'm not an audio guy so I have no idea if this is actually the right way to do the job:

1.) I twisted the wires together, trying to get a solid physical connection.
2.) I tinned the iron and placed the solder onto the wire, then ran the iron up the solder (I would never do this on a PCB, but it seemed to work well here). I was trying to go for a thin coating, not globs, although a few happened here and there.
3.) Heat shrink

This isn't the prettiest harness, but I'm hoping it will do the trick. In the end I pulled the two orange wires, as my radio does not have a dimmer input (which is annoying).
-FDP