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2003 Acura Rsx Front Right

Wayne Watkins 2003 Acura RSX - Breaking From the Norm

A Top Competitor Builds An Exemplary System
By Clay Baber
Photography by Mary Weikert
2003 Acura Rsx Front
Arguably, multimedia systems have continued to be one of the hottest trends in the mobile electronics industry. A glance through any of our recent issues offers sufficient evidence of this popular movement. Wayne Watkins, however, chose a much different path when building his own demo/competition vehicle, a 2003 Acura RSX. Over the course of two years, he has created a truly remarkable competition audio system to compete in both IASCA and USACI 601+ classes. That's right, an audio system-no video sources or monitors anywhere.

2003 Acura Rsx Front Right
Go To The Source
Up front, the factory double-DIN radio location now holds an Eclipse CD8053 source unit trimmed with a custom smoked acrylic panel that houses the RSX's custom gain controls, status LEDs and switch for the linear actuator in the sub enclosure (more on this later). No additional processors were required as the Eclipse features built-in crossovers, time alignment and equalization. For additional convenience, an Eclipse 5083 CD changer is tucked behind the rear seat.

2003 Acura Rsx Rear Hatch Setup
Flanking the two amplifiers... 
   
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2003 Acura Rsx Rear Hatch Setup
Flanking the two amplifiers in the hatch is a Focal 100KP 4" component set that serves double duty for both rear fill and for demo speakers when the hatch is open. Matching yellow trim rings and custom clear acrylic grilles were added to protect the 4" drivers. For added flexibility, Watkins added a separate gain control for the rear stage to adjust the level of the drivers for either rear fill or demo purposes.
2003 Acura Rsx Focal Front Driver
2003 Acura Rsx Eclipse Head Unit
The factory double-DIN radio... 
   
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2003 Acura Rsx Eclipse Head Unit
The factory double-DIN radio location now holds an Eclipse CD8053 source unit trimmed with a custom smoked acrylic panel that houses the RSX's custom gain controls, status LEDs and switch for the linear actuator in the sub enclosure. No additional processors were required as the Eclipse features built-in crossovers, time alignment and equalization. For a secondary audio source, an Eclipse 5083 CD changer is tucked behind the rear seat.
2003 Acura Rsx Interior
The front stage is comprised... 
   
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2003 Acura Rsx Interior
The front stage is comprised of a Focal 100KP 5 1/4" component set and a pair of 165K2P 6 1/2" midbass drivers to create a 3-way system. Custom inserts were fabricated to house the 6 1/2" drivers in the doors, and custom kick panels were also built to house the 4" drivers. The Focal tweeters were mounted in the factory dash locations. Color-matched silver fiberglass panels with yellow accents trim the midrange drivers. Custom clear acrylic grilles protect the components that are installed with stainless steel security screws.
2003 Acura Rsx Jl Audio Amp
2003 Acura Rsx Eclipse Cd Changer
Folding the rear seats reveals... 
   
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2003 Acura Rsx Eclipse Cd Changer
Folding the rear seats reveals yet another silver fiberglass panel that displays the fuses for each amplifier and also trims the Eclipse CD changer.

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