[samanthaanderson]

I would like to see a schematic that shows the 540W 10 speaker premium sound system and the wiring for the touring/elite models.
My goal is to borrow and steal from the touring to improve the sound in the EX-L. The head unit should be the same, minus the factory nav. The big ticket item that would make a huge difference would be the subwoofer. If I can figure out a way to upgrade by replacing OEM components, I would think that the results would be better than aftermarket. The sound quality and the base on the Touring were amazing.
The center dash mounted speaker would be too hard to add, but the door speakers should be easy, unless there are amps involved.
There has to be some low hanging fruit to improve the sound system of the EX-L
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[samanthaanderson]

I looked up the part numbers for the touring and the EX-L speakers, amps, subwoofers and headunits. The touring has Panasonic components, that includes a 540w amp. The EX-L has pioneer components and a 240W amp. Without looking at the wiring harnesses it is impossible to know if this can be donde by swapping out parts only. The cost of the head unit is 1700, the amp is 500, the subwoofer is 130, the door speakers and tweeters are cheap. The more I think about this the harder it looks. I searched the Pilot forums and some have gone aftermarket, but then they create another problem by messing up the active noise cancelling (ANC) so that opens another can of worms. It has to be disabled. I may have to settle with what I have.

 

[samanthaanderson]

Ksullivan, thank you for the feedback. I agree with you, and I am also doing research before pulling the trigger.

There has to be someone out there that has been able to improve the sound.
I found the following videos from Pilot owners with a similar system that have done some aftermarket upgrades:

Replacing tweeters
Kicker hide away sub
How to disable active noise cancellation
Pilot stealth subwoofer (in trunk compartment)

I have not checked with local installers yet. Good luck with your search, and please keep me posted.

 

[samanthaanderson]

Hmmm. Did not realize there was active noise cancellation. Could be contributing to the "processed" sound and listening fatigue I've been noticing. I would be curious to see what effect disabling it has on sound quality. I'm not a fan of noise-cancelling headphones, that pressure feeling in the ear and the kind of "plasticy" sterile quality of the sound. I get that a lot of people love their Bose Quiet Comfort etc. it's cool tech, but for me its very unnatural sounding. Will look into disabling it.

Also check for instructions on disabling the ANC through the maintenance menu (by holding buttons in ACC mode to access it). Haven't done it so I can't provide instructions, but they are out there.

 

[samanthaanderson]

Also check for instructions on disabling the ANC through the maintenance menu (by holding buttons in ACC mode to access it). Haven't done it so I can't provide instructions, but they are out there.

ANC can be disabled by unplugging a module behind the glovebox in older pilots an also in the Acura MDX. This does not look difficult or risky at all. Link to thread Here