In preparation for the beautiful head unit I am anticipating (hopefully in early August, but I doubt it), I am planning on getting a new audio system in my vehicle. I own a Honda Odyssey, and I can honestly say it's the worst system I've ever heard in a car. Awful speakers, muddy sound, and a head unit that heats up my CD's so much, they're almost too hot to touch!

I went down to a local car audio place on the 3rd. One of the installers came out and did a thorough run-down of the vehicle, analyzing possible placement for various components
like the amp and sub.

The amp, he decided, would go easily go under the driver's seat and not interfere with the power seat mechanism or anything else.

The sub was another problem, however. After taking a look in every location, he eventually took my suggestion. A new console! He's going to build a console himself, and include a down-firing 10" MTX 4000-series sub. Nothing to rattle the windows, but enough to provide some quality bass.

In order to still play CD's, I'm going to run additional RCA cables from the AUX inputs to a compartment about a foot below the head unit, where I can hook up a discman or minidisc player or anything else for that matter.

For now, I am not replacing any speakers, front or back. It is expected that these improvements will be, for now, a large improvement over the current sound quality.

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By the way, this is an amazing vehicle. I'm only 20, so I'm sort of going against type by buying a minivan (my dad wanted me to be safe and have alot of cargo space while driving back and forth to college), but I tell you, this thing is incredible. 200HP SOHC VTEC 6-cylinder engine, same cargo capacity as the Ford Excursion, 18/25 mpg, fold-away "magic" rear seat, power sliding doors, and a navigation system!

It still has a bit of that soccer mom image, but it's a very attractive minivan, as minivans go, and I don't care about that anyway. The fact remains, I get better acceleration, capacity, and mileage than just about any SUV out there.

DiGNAN