Pioneer TS-G1341R Speakers fitted into gutted 2006 Honda Civic EX Rear Deck Speakers

Tonight’s project-cum-technical disappointment was what you see above. That is, my fitting some aftermarket Pioneer TS-G1341R 5¼” into the shells of Honda OEM speakers from the rear deck of my car.

See, ever since installing the Bass System Kit (photo gallery retired) a year ago, I just haven’t been wholly satisfied with the sound in my vehicle. The bass was improved over the factory bass, but it still sounded rather warbly and distorted even with ‘normal’-ish bass, such as the guitar in some pieces. Much electronic stuff was just right out.

Earlier today I decided that I’d pick up a cheaper, but likely decent set of speakers as replacements for the ones which shipped with the bass system kit. So, poking around, I came across the Pioneer TS-G1341Rs which are fairly widely available. So, at lunch I swung by Best Buy and grabbed a pair for just under US$50.

By gutting the leftover original speakers and some ¼” MDF I was able to nicely fit the new speakers in, and even wire them up to use the original Honda connectors. This is good because I can easily swap my new speakers in and out for the ones from the Bass System Kit.

Why would I want to swap them? Because the new speakers sound like crap. They sound worse than the ones with the Bass System Kit. In fact, they are more in line with the very original OEM speakers.

So, I don’t know what I’m going to do right now. Probably return them, and possibly acquire some (better 6½” speakers and an aftermarket mounting bracket. Or… something. I don’t know.

Bah. At least it only took a few hours.