# 2014 Accord Sport: Hybrid Audio, Mosconi, Stereo Intergrity



## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Back last December, I purchased my 2014 Honda Accord Sport (Modern Steel Metallic). This has been my 4th Honda overall and three of those have been Accords. Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to pay off the car 


Sorry for the "lousy pictures" so far, but will upload better ones later





*Source:* 
Honda OEM Head Unit

Power: 
KnuKonceptz Kolossus Fleks Kable 1/0 gauge power wire
KnuKonceptz Kord Ultra Flex 14 & 16 gauge speaker wire
KnuKonceptz (4) 2 Channel Krystal RCA cables

*Processor:* 
Mosconi 6to8v8 with Bluetooth module

Speakers: 
Hybrid Audio Clarus 6.5" midbass drivers
Hyrbid Audio L3SE midrange drivers
Hybrid Audio L1 Pro R2 tweeters

*Subs:*
2x Stereo Integrity BM MK IV

Amps:
Mosconi One 120.4 --> Clarus 6.5" mids
Mosconi One 240.2 --> Stereo Intergrity BM MK IV 
Mosconi AS 100.4 --> L3SE + L1 Pro R2

*Sound Deadening:*
Alpha Damp
Sound Deadener Showdown
Raamat Ensolite

This is a Mark Worrell (#doctor who is the lead installer at Audiomasters in Pineville, NC) install and is still a work in progress as I type this out. ATM, my Mosconi DSP will not upgrade the firmware of Mark's laptop so he will have to contact Nick Wingate to find out what the problem is.

He will send me all the install pictures he has taken and I will post some as soon as I get them.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

*Hybrid Audio Clarus 6.5" + L1 Pro R2* 


*Stereo Integrity BM MK IV*




*Mosconi One Series Amps*



*Mosconi AS 100.4*



*Power Wire*


I don't have pictures of the L3SE or the Mosconi 6to8v8 since I got those from Mark right before the install.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Power + Front End:

*Battery Terminal*



*Power Wire*


*Speaker Wire*



*Sound Deadening*



*Speaker Hole + Template*



*Clarus Mids*



*A-Pillar*



*Door + A-Pillar*



*Tweeter*


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

You get the V6?

Nice gear. Dibs on first demo!


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

No, the Sport model is the Inline 4 cylinder with CVT. Traded in my 2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6 for this car and couldn't be happier. I do miss the V6 sometimes, but like having the better gas mileage.


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

Very nice! Can't wait to hear it and you know it'll look fantastic with Mr Worrell working on it!


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## Huckleberry Sound (Jan 17, 2009)

This is going to be a good one!!!


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## win1 (Sep 27, 2008)

In for the install


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

My dad has this car, such a beauty. In for install all the way


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Super nice stuff here !


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

It's taken me since March to get all the components together. Originally wanted to do a 2 way with the Clarus set and upgrade to a 3 way later on. Mark said it would be easier to go ahead and do everything now, so here I am. A lot more than I wanted to spend, but you know how that goes...


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Couple teaser pictures since I have the car now but will have to go back to the shop soon.

*Sub enclosure:* 
Mark will add a face plate to the front so it will look stock when I open the trunk. Also, the lighting comes on when the trunk is open










*Amp rack:* 










I originally got the amp rack idea from this picture I found somewhere online


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Nice work. I love the lighting. 

One thing is bugging me though, and it may be the way the picture was taken, but something looks crooked in tbe last photo of your amp rack. Maybe the 6to8?


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

The amp rack will be redone because Mark has to take the amps back out to adjust the gains. I will mention that to Mark about the DSP being crooked.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

looks great so far Jason, I know youre getting excited to hear and see the finished product!


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

Glad it is coming together for you. It's gonna be a masterpiece.


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## l a r r y (Jan 25, 2012)

Very nice!!!!!!!


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## TREOSOLS (Jun 19, 2009)

Weightless said:


> Nice work. I love the lighting.
> 
> One thing is bugging me though, and it may be the way the picture was taken, but something looks crooked in tbe last photo of your amp rack. Maybe the 6to8?[
> 
> ...


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

Mark #doctor


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

New pictures are posted in 3rd post and will do more later. Mark sent alot of pictures to me but I will pick the best I think represents his work. Not sure why Mark didn't post any pictures of the L1 Pro R2, but I can take one tomorrow morning showing them installed.

*Sub Enclosure:*


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## happyb (Mar 5, 2008)

how thick of a spacer did you have to use to mount the clarus mid? i'm planning on running clarus upfront on my '14 accord ex-l


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

It does look off...like 1/64th of an inch from here.

Time to start over.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

happyb said:


> how thick of a spacer did you have to use to mount the clarus mid? i'm planning on running clarus upfront on my '14 accord ex-l


I will ask Mark since he did all the dirty work (minus the sound deadening).

Edit: The spacer is .75 inches thick


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

crea_78 said:


> *Mosconi AS 100.4*


I recognize that! You better treat that Italian beauty right! And Mark too while you're at it! 

This is going to be a fun little build - I wish I weren't traveling, or I'd go down with my Mac and try to help out with that 6to8. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product and especially hearing it before / at the meet in November!


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

bertholomey said:


> I recognize that! You better treat that Italian beauty right! And Mark too while you're at it!
> 
> This is going to be a fun little build - I wish I weren't traveling, or I'd go down with my Mac and try to help out with that 6to8. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product and especially hearing it before / at the meet in November!


The AS 100.4 is definitely a beauty (esp. since you got it custom painted), and thanks once again for giving me a great price on it 

Hopefully there will be a mini-meet sometime in October for those of us near Greensboro b/c it looks like I may not get that time off in November.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Not my install related, but went by Audiomasters today and Mark is working on redoing a 3 way Dynaudio Esotar system. The previous installer put the tweeters on axis right near the guys face and the midrange in the kicks.

Mark has from Thursday until Saturday to finish the front end.


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

I'll keep an eye on this! I started on the install on my 2014 Accord Hybrid should be complete within the next week...


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

My install will (or should) be completed by this coming Tuesday. After I listen to the system for about a week, will post my thoughts on how it sounds.


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## rmchevelle (Jul 22, 2008)

Nice products. Will be checking the updates.

I've owned 3 of the older Accords, including my current one. I'm amazed at how popular the new Accords are in my area after only being introduced maybe a year and a 1/2 ago, I think. Awesome looking cars and if they are as reliable and dependable as the prior generations the new Accords will only become even more popular.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

A little update... Today I stopped by the shop for a few hours. While I was there, Mark got a chance to test fit the L3 SEs into the a-pillars and later was able to lay a layer of fiberglass.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

looking good


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Those do look great!


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## KyleMDunn (Jan 27, 2009)

Awesome! I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

KyleMDunn said:


> Awesome! I can't wait to see the finished product.


I can't wait to hear the finished product... with a much needed tune. Right now, the bass is way too much ATM and i ultimately want the front stage to blend in with the sub's.


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## JSM-FA5 (Nov 18, 2012)

Looks great! I was able to see Casey's finished install and it is amazing. Mark does some great work for sure. Look forward to seeing the finished build.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Not sure what is going on with my subs now, but this is what I hear on almost daily basis. Told Mark about this once before and of course it played fine for him at the time. Will take the car back to Audiomasters to see him tomorrow for a few things and also to check out this problem.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0z1hQSTSn0rNU5nOVhhSWxJQU0/edit?usp=sharing


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

weird indeed. wonder what is causing that. Not happening on any of the other speakers?


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

No Casey, the 2 way in the car now sounds OK. I did tell Mark I can't feel any midbass coming out of the passenger side speaker which I hope he checks as well. He says it's playing but need to know for sure.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

crea_78 said:


> Not sure what is going on with my subs now, but this is what I hear on almost daily basis. Told Mark about this once before and of course it played fine for him at the time. Will take the car back to Audiomasters to see him tomorrow for a few things and also to check out this problem.
> 
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0z1hQSTSn0rNU5nOVhhSWxJQU0/edit?usp=sharing


That is very interesting.......'almost daily basis' does that mean that some days it does it and some days it doesn't - but almost daily? 

Why would it do this for you, but it doesn't do it when you play it for Mark - will be interesting to get that answer - (mechanical explanation, electrical explanation, etc.) - I don't think the speaker could 'decide to act right' when it is around Mark, so I'm curious to find out after this is resolved.

Did you email Nick last night?



crea_78 said:


> No Casey, the 2 way in the car now sounds OK. I did tell Mark I can't feel any midbass coming out of the passenger side speaker which I hope he checks as well. He says it's playing but need to know for sure.


Can't 'feel' any mid bass? Are you able to mute the other speakers except for that one to get a sense of what frequencies are coming from that driver?


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Jason, the problem occurs every time I turn on the stereo. This happens with no bass songs and with the stereo off. Of course the noise starts while I am in the car for 10+ minutes.

I emailed Nick last night but took that video today so wasn't able to send him the link. Hopefully there is nothing wrong with the sub(s) and can be easily fixed 

For the midbass, will take a better look at it in the next day or two when I go back over there.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

any chance one of the sub rca's is pinched? that can definitely case some crazy noises like that


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

casey said:


> any chance one of the sub rca's is pinched? that can definitely case some crazy noises like that


All the cables does look snugged in the amp rack, so that could cause the problem. The only problem is, the amps gains, connections are hard to get to unless the sub box moves toward the rear of the car to adjust anything -- pull out the amp.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Before I talk about the problems that Mark and I encountered (and fixed), I will show the finished a-pillars.







Now onto the major problems we encountered today. Casey was correct, the Knu Konceptz RCA cable was bad; which in turn made that god awful noise. Then, the reason why my passenger side midbass sounded like it wasn't playing was because that RCA cable was bad as well!! 2 out of 4 cables going bad is NOT GOOD so Mark had to rewire all the RCA cables to each amp with new ones. 

As for the his hiss I was getting from the tweeters, Mark added an LOC into the loop to go from a high pass to a low pass for the 6to8 DSP. There is a slight hiss if your ear is extremely close to the tweeter, but from the drivers seat, inaudible. That takes care of the two problems I was having.

Now the bass no longer overpowers the front stage on some tracks and blends in much better. Definitely sounds 100x better than it did before and the subs now blends in soooo much better!! Mark still has a few cosmetic things to finish up and by next Tuesday, will get a basic tune done!!


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

WOWWWWW.

Those pillar and sails. Perfect. I love the copper accents on the drivers too.

Glad to hear you guys figured it out and in the right direction for tuning


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

Have had the same issue twice with Knu cables brought into the shop. Bummer. Never an issue with Stinger stuff. Streetwires stuff I had around 2002 was great. Wish I didn't accidentally cut one of them in half when selling a car!!

But that isn't to say only Knu cables go bad...

Beautiful work. I want to have Mark do a sub box console for me. $$$$$ prolly.


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

Pillars look awesome!


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Russ, when are you going to let Mark do yours?


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

crea_78 said:


> Russ, when are you going to let Mark do yours?


Tomorrow morning......


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

I too have the Knu RCA and they are a PITA to work with.Nice work on the ride from a fellow Accord owner.


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## UNFORGIVEN (Sep 25, 2010)

sweet install i'm loving the finished a-pillars. can you tell me exactly which vinyl you used for this job? It would match my accord perfectly


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

UNFORGIVEN said:


> sweet install i'm loving the finished a-pillars. can you tell me exactly which vinyl you used for this job? It would match my accord perfectly


I can ask Mark for you. It does match my car's interior very well.


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## TREOSOLS (Jun 19, 2009)

I use 3 different types of vinyl. Madrid, Softside, and Greystone. I'll double check tomorrow which one this is.


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

crea_78 said:


> Not sure what is going on with my subs now, but this is what I hear on almost daily basis. Told Mark about this once before and of course it played fine for him at the time. Will take the car back to Audiomasters to see him tomorrow for a few things and also to check out this problem.
> 
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0z1hQSTSn0rNU5nOVhhSWxJQU0/edit?usp=sharing


2013 Accord Sport owner here. Did you disable the ANC microphones? There's a signal that the OEM deck gets from the ANC system to cancel out frequencies inside the cabin. If not, I suspect this is your problem. The system can be disabled by removing the ANC module behind the HFL module, both are behind the OEM deck.

On another note, there's a user over on the driveaccord.net forums who performed an analysis on the OEM deck output. Unfortunately, it's not flat. There's a pretty severe roll off below 50Hz and there's no way to really compensate for it even with a summing processor (because there's nothing to sum back into a flat signal). He even went through the trouble of creating a custom faceplate that mounts an aftermarket deck in the center console pocket.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

The ANC module was disconnected before the DSP got installed. The problem I had with the subs was definitely from the bad RCA I had.


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

build looks awesome! I'm interested to hear about the OEM unit's roll off and overall sound


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

FunkPnut said:


> build looks awesome! I'm interested to hear about the OEM unit's roll off and overall sound


From keep_hope_alive's post on driveaccord.net: 


> setup is as follows:
> 
> factory output direct from the HU into a David Navone 2 channel LOC. RCA from there into a SoundDevices USBpre ($600 preamp). A dedicated laptop running TrueRTA uses the USBpre as the input device. that is the purple line. Volume 30 of 40.
> 
> ...




Here's the entire thread if you'd like to read:
9th Gen. Factory Speaker Response - Page 3 - Drive Accord Honda Forums


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

Also wanted to mention this is only a problem on the LX and Sport models. Owners with an EX or Touring have deck's that have a subwoofer output that can be summed into the rest of the signal to create a flat response below 50Hz. I am using an Alpine PXE-H660 and it's doing its best to keep the curve flat below 50Hz, but there's not much that it can do. It did do a nice job of flattening the 80Hz boost that the factory deck puts out.

Metra did display a dash kit at CEMA or CES that is supposed to fully integrate with the iMid display and keep all of the OEM functionality but it has been delayed time after time because of the iMid integration difficulties. I would be surprised if it ever comes out at this point. The other option is as keep_hope_alive did is to run a aftermarket deck in a different location (or hidden) and run the factory deck output into an aux in on the aftermarket. For music he uses the aftermarket deck and switches to the aux input when making Bluetooth phone calls so he can retain the phonebook and voice commands of the iMid.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Another fantastic set of pillars Mark! You do such an incredible job. 

I hate that so much time was burned with defective cables. I'm sure it is so tough to install gear that you are not too sure of - supplied by the customer - and then when there is an issue - it takes valuable time to troubleshoot. Fortunately in this case, the beautiful BM subs were not damaged.

I'm looking forward to spending some time in this car with some favorite music at the Fall Meet


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Mark did a "little bit" of work today aesthetically...

Layout of the amp rack:


Mosconi in the new amp rack:



Metal grill for the subwoofer box face plate:



Mark preparing to carpet the face plate:



Sub box face plate with the newly done amp rack:



Tomorrow he will re-carpet the the false floor to match the sub box (right now the color is too light) and we will do a final tune.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

very nice progress


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Just ordered the DashTex dash mat in charcoal grey. Hopefully I will notice an improvement to my already great sound. Also, it will help keep my dash looking great for years to come against the summer heat.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Do you have a link for that ?


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

Coppertone said:


> Do you have a link for that ?


Custom Car Seat Covers, SUVs Floor mats, Trucks Sun Shades, Steering Wheel Cover


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Just ordered mine in black, thank you very much for the link.


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## rain27 (Jan 15, 2009)

Is this true even if you set the factory deck to "Flat" using the sub menu system? I believe I've read that you can do this.



slowsedan01 said:


> Also wanted to mention this is only a problem on the LX and Sport models. Owners with an EX or Touring have deck's that have a subwoofer output that can be summed into the rest of the signal to create a flat response below 50Hz. I am using an Alpine PXE-H660 and it's doing its best to keep the curve flat below 50Hz, but there's not much that it can do. It did do a nice job of flattening the 80Hz boost that the factory deck puts out.
> 
> Metra did display a dash kit at CEMA or CES that is supposed to fully integrate with the iMid display and keep all of the OEM functionality but it has been delayed time after time because of the iMid integration difficulties. I would be surprised if it ever comes out at this point. The other option is as keep_hope_alive did is to run a aftermarket deck in a different location (or hidden) and run the factory deck output into an aux in on the aftermarket. For music he uses the aftermarket deck and switches to the aux input when making Bluetooth phone calls so he can retain the phonebook and voice commands of the iMid.


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

The Accord sounded very good when I heard it, especially for a very basic tune. With some time put into the tune, the car will sound terrific.

Bummer about the RCA thing. That sort of thing makes me more understanding of why some shops and installers use their own wiring and interconnects. It's tough to get that deep into an install and then have cable failures. It's even tougher when the installer is faced with eating more time and then the decision to bill or not bill those hours into the cost. 
Marks a great dude and I can tell he took good care of you on this install. Quality work and great sound. 

Another fine job by the #Doctor !


On another note, I also had cable failures with the expensive SounDrive cables I purchased and used initially in my build (two of them actually). Fortunately though, I did all of my own wiring, sound deadening, etc and I had other spares with me when I was working at the shop with Mark. We knew something was wrong when we started setting the gain structure of the system and we were getting some wacky output from that cable. I learned my lesson and decided from then on I was using well known, reputable product from a quality manufacturer- or I'd be making them myself. Would have felt bad though if he put in the time doing it and then had to take things apart to fix it because of my bad cables


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

The pillars definitely look great and blend in so well with the rest of the interior of the car. Not too obtrusive from the outside where people passing by will stop and notice. They are and positioned a few inches in front of me and the passenger and the speakers do sound very good being slightly off axis.

Mark is a one-of-a-kind fabricator and I will highly recommend him for any type of car stereo work, being anything from a basic install to a full fledged one like he did for me. Also, he is very personable and easy to talk to.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Steve, thanks for the feedback and for a very basic tune (I guess 1-1.5 hours was done on it so far), the system doesn't sound half bad . Hopefully soon when Mark isn't so busy, he and I will get up together to do a full fledged tune. I would like to do it before the mini meet to really show off the system.

In response to the RCAs, Mark specifically told me to get ALL the wiring including RCAs. Therefore to save on shipping, I got em from KnuKonceptz.. not the cheap ones. For being a "well known company" and brand new, he nor I would have thought they go bad. It was money and time wasted, but in the end, cheap RCAs is the way to go


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## glfrancis2 (Nov 15, 2014)

The a-pillar install looks great. I'm looking to eventually upgrade to a 2way in my '12 Civic in a similar location. This really inspires me.


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

crea_78 said:


> Steve, thanks for the feedback and for a very basic tune (I guess 1-1.5 hours was done on it so far), the system doesn't sound half bad . Hopefully soon when Mark isn't so busy, he and I will get up together to do a full fledged tune. I would like to do it before the mini meet to really show off the system.
> 
> In response to the RCAs, Mark specifically told me to get ALL the wiring including RCAs. Therefore to save on shipping, I got em from KnuKonceptz.. not the cheap ones. For being a "well known company" and brand new, he nor I would have thought they go bad. It was money and time wasted, but in the end, cheap RCAs is the way to go



I think it's sounding better than good already. 

You're not the only one who's had some bad RCAs from Knukonceptz either unfortunately. I had a brand new Y splitter cable that threw me for a loop a while back too. I'll just stick with Stinger and old stock Streetwires and Esoteric from here out. Then I at least don't have to worry about it.

Can't wait to get another listen with a full tune. It's going to sound great!


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

To save on cost on amplification and not redo my amp rack, which of the two Mosconi One series amps is the best route. ATM, looks like my Mosconi One 120.4 isn't up to par since one of the channels appears to be damaged since every time I turn on the stereo, one of my midbasses has this vibrating noise. This is when I bridged the amp. Now I am running the midbasses using only 2 out of the 4 channels for 120w and things appear to be OK for now with about couple hours of play with this configuration.

As shown in one of the pictures on the first page, ]tThe amp rack is sanwidched between my back seat and the subwoofer box in an Accord so not much air flow. I know my amps can get very hot with a good 20-30 minutes of playing time since these are AB amps. Here is my decision. I can get another 240.2 to power my midbass to keep the amp cool, or exchange with another 120.4 and bridge them for more power) but it will run hot again like the 240.2 is doing playing the subs.

Would love to step up to the AS line of amps (already have the AS 100.4 powering my tweets/mids) but cost and time factor having them redone is a big decision as well.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

I would vote for the 240.2 on the mid bass. 

When you say they are running hot - is that warm-hot to the touch or searing skin? I have had Class D and Class AB amps that were really hot to the touch, but never had a problem. I think that channel that went bad is unrelated to being hot, but I could be wrong. 

So replacing that One Series might be better than redoing the amp rack.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Another thought - Russ had a good experience with Shawn and his amps - there may be a chance that it could be repaired if you don't mind pulling it, sending it, finding out if it can be repaired, and then possibly having to replace it if it can't be fixed.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Jason, since the amps are bridged and being AB, I think this would be the reason fit them being hot. Not searing but quite warm. The 120.4 not being bridged does feel cool after some playing time. The 240.2 would be good in this regard.

Another thought if they could fit but spend a little $$ is use two AS 200.2s for the midbass and subs.


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## BlackHHR (May 12, 2013)

Very nice set up. Looking forward to hearing this before and after the tune. The a-pillar set up is very sweet. 
Nice job!!


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