help/suggestions on 5th gen audio install [Archive]

flyby

11-19-2007, 06:24 PM

ok, so i spent an hour looking over the site and cant quite find the answers to my setup. here is what i have sitting on the table:

JVC KD-AVX1 h/u (optical output S/PDIF)

Alpine MRA-F350 5.1 digital amp (digital input) w/ sub preout

according to crutchfiield they have no components for the door that are oem fit. I need suggestions & i dont want to have to pay someone to make a lot of cuts in my door either.

the only 6x9 is a 2 ohm JBL Grand Touring Series GTO927 set. The amp is a 4 ohm; are they compatible? Any one have any other suggestions?

the center channel single din speaker i am looking at is an Alpine SBS-05DC.

I am not going to install the .1 right now. maybe next summer....So basically I can eitehr mount the amp to the back seat, which makes putting skiis or 2x4's not feasible. the amp is too tall to fit under the passenger seat. It sounds like others have successfully mounted it in the carpet in the spare tire area...

It sounds like the mics & oem speakers do not work with aftermarket h/u & amps together correct?

How are the oem speaker wires? Any brand of power wires to stay away from?

I was thinking of having Best buy do the work or Progressive, any others in the San Diego area?

So the music i listen to is all over the place. i want clean, clear crisp sounds. I will eventually pair a clean and tight sub later. i enjoy rap, but i dont want to dedicate the system to bumping only. Also I want to listen/watch DVD's and DVD-Audio.

Any advice and/or suggestions would be greatly apreciated.

so i visited best buy today and asked what they had...

6.5 components:
Infinity reference 6020cs $221.00
Alpine SPR-175 $249.99

6x9:
Kenwood KFC-6981e 5way $109.99

they wanted $40.00 to bypass/rewire the rear speakers if i stuck with them.

the kid never heard of a digital amp or headunit either. He said virtually any speakers would fit with a 2" mounting depth.....

So hopefully people can help out here with info

nevrdun

11-22-2007, 03:13 AM

1. So what you have and what you are looking to add are kind of different. You have a 5.1 headunit and paired amp correct? So I assume this h/u is capable of DVD Audio? Dolby set ups in cars is a very delicate subject. Personally it is a jokeand complete waste of technology and research. In a custom built Alpine show car with optimal speaker placement that only has Dolby discs played though it...incredible. In a vehicle you sit on the left side and listen to your buddies cd he just burned or your iPod....atrocious. It doesn't decode stereo sound well. A LOT comes out of the center channel and ALL center channel self contained speakers suck. And for 5.1 to spound right your center channel would be at your gages and your left channel would be as far away as your right unless the deck has time alignment which I haven't seen in a DVD audio head unit except for like Alpine F1 gear.

2. With the equipment you have Best Buy shouldn't come near your car. They are usually clueless. This type of equipment needs to be installed by seasoned professionals in specialty audio shop.

3. Speaker wires are small for my liking unfortuately to run new wires in the doors is a task for a reasonalble amount of power they are sufficient but Im looking at like 350w of Boston Acoustic power PER CHANNEL!

4. Not a big fan of any of the speakers you mentioned. Infinity's "reference" line is deceiving any other mainstream audio company's reference or flagship line is top notch or audiophile grade is carried by a specialty retailer not purchased from Best Buy.

5. What is it exactly you are looking for? People seem to get stuck on I have to have this because all my buddies and their cousins said its awsome. I can put together a great sounding system for $1000 or even better for $5000. Crisp and clean are just filler words with no meaning do you wanna listen to rock music and feel like your at a concert where you can almost feel the snare drum crack or do you wanna hear Ronnie Dunn's incredibly smooth powerful voice and swear that he was actually singing infront of you or do you listen to a rap CD and say this sounds great because your sub can hit rediculously low frequency and only need to hear the voice of who ever is rapping? Didn't know there was that much to different sounds did ya?!

To boil it down for you I can put in a 249 dollar pair of boston speakers with a 200 dollar JL amp hooked up to a 200 dollar Kenwood Excelon deck and blow that expensive 5.1 setup out of the water when you pop in any given CD you by at Target.

genxx

11-22-2007, 09:40 AM

1. Alpine MRA-F350 5.1 digital amp-This amps is only controllable from a Alpine HU. I used to have this very amp. It has optical input or AI net. The amp has built-in T/A, x-over(though limited) and 5.1 decoder with a few other goodies. These features can only be accessed by an Alpine HU. The source units compatible with this amp are-W200, W205, 310, 9860, 9861, 9965 I think that is all IIRC.

2. the center channel single din speaker i am looking at is an Alpine SBS-05DC.-Very Good choice for a all-in-one solution

3. The amp will not run 2ohm period.

4. For 6x9's check out the RF Punch/Power. RF stuff has gone down hill for years but these are some very capable 6x9's unless you want to run something like the TangBand 6x9 woofer/subs, they are pretty efficient and 50w should do them ok.

I agree with nevrdun stay way from the Infinity and those 5way Kenwoods.IMO Bostons or Pioneer Rev are very capable and are much better that the ones you are currently looking at.

5. For the front door speakers a 6.5 will work just takes a little modification. The OD of my HAT L6s are alomst 7" but it took some modifications to make them fit. IE speakers baffles and trimming.

Before you start getting all off into correcting everything with T/A get the PL or Path Lengths correct and this will minimize your need for T/A.

nevrdun

11-22-2007, 11:33 AM

Also for a good fit look at Boston SL series speakers. Very little if any moding to fit them in the front. Very shallow compact package. I have Boston SPZs in front and that took a little time.

genxx

11-22-2007, 01:25 PM

I will second the Boston SPz if you want to put in the work. It also depends on how much cash you want to spend. I know the SPz are not cheap but you get what you pay for.

Give me and nevrdun a budget and maybe we give you some better recommendations to help you out.

Another set to check out that should work with minimal modes if any is the Pioneer TS-720's or the New PPI 6.5's that are really re-badged O/S A/D/S comps. The Pioneer have a ton of great reviews and CA&E was very impressed with them. They can be had for $250.00 the PPI are about the same price.

For budget I would recommend the PG RSd 6.5 comps. for $90 bucks on ebay they rival some and out perform most $200 sets of comps. Great midbass/midrange and the tweeter is pretty darn nice. The tweeter if anything is the only thing holding this set back from being one of the best from $100 to $300 range.IMO You can upgrade the tweeter to a Seas Neo that run about $60 shipped and this will make one very good set-up for $150.00.IMO If you go PG RSd run them with the tweeter that come with the set if you don't like them then you can upgrade later.

flyby

11-26-2007, 05:32 PM

thanks for the input!

So, all I think I know is that crutchfield and a local Progressive mobile shop told me that the h/u & amp would work together. Basically, the h/u & amp both decode DD & DTS and Pro Logic II . I will lose some of the options on the amp since i do not have the matching Alpine h/u; but they are available on the h/u. I dont know of anyone else doing this, so i though it would be interesting and minimalistic. 1 optical cable vs. 4 coaxials running to the rear. I do not have a sub/enclosure yet but I know that the amp has a preout for that already. I got the h/u 1 year ago as a gift and have been saving up for the rest of the pieces. I just purchased the amp a couple of weeks ago.

I know the center channel is about 120.00 from crutchfield.
My initial thinking was to spend roughly 200 on the fronts and reuse the rears. what about using 6.5 2 ways in the door and disconnecting the oem tweeters? But i didnt know about the mic's being in the rear and such, so...

As far as speaker wire, since the amp will be in the rear somewhere, I will need to run some wire, and at that point would it be easier to just run new wire all the way?

As to the music I listen to, its all over the board. I want to hear the vocals clearly and unmuffled. I want a balanced sound system that doesnt over exagerrate things. I have the dvd-audio of the The Police, it sounds like you are there with them, I want to have some like that in the car (if its possible on the budget i have).

I figure it will cost about 100 for h/u & center speaker install, 150 for amp install, and 80 for the front components...?

I am patient, I want to gather the correct parts ata decent price and find a GOOD installer. As I mentioned I have already waited about a year, so steady as she goes is the theme of this install. Thanks for the help! Any other questions for me or suggestions please let me know.

*I have a Alpine mrv-300 amp 4 channel bridgable amp that i bought new years ago. Its functionalble but has a buzzing sound on the coaxial inputs, i think they are loose???? No crackling or hissing though. Could i use this with my future sub

So i looked around and came up with these candidates:

center still sticking with the Alpine SBS-05DC center channel

fronts:

Alpine SPX-17 ref (around 180.00)
or
JL TR650csi (around 190.00)

rear:

Alpine SPR69c type R (around 80.00-160.00)
or
JL TR690txi (around 130.00)

the local installer suggested the Alpine 6.5's.
the local installer also suggested 180.00 to purchase & install dynamat Xtreme around the speakers in the door.

looks like a amp kit with inline fuse is running about 50-130.00: thats a wide range so i am still unsure of which street wires kit to get, if that brand at all. Lastly, the installer is charging me 90.00/hour. About how may hours does a this type of install take. This is being done in San Diego. SO how good/bad is this looking??????

I was looking to order from SonicElectronix in Valencia ca. or Crutchfield.

genxx

12-03-2007, 07:10 AM

Alpine SPX-17 ref (around 180.00)
or
JL TR650csi (around 190.00)

The Alpine or the JL will both serve you well. Would be nice to keep it Alpine though.IMO

Amp kit for that one amp you can get for $20 online either Stinger or Streetwires. Check Darvex.com, Partexpress.com or Ebay. You only need a 10gauge kit but an 8 gauge will be fine also.

$90 an hour is f*cking ridiculous, damn price gouging. IMO The going shop rate is $40 an hour from what I know and that is even at places like HAT audio with someone like Scott B. doing the install.

Rates I remember for Labor flat rate.
Amp install-$45.00
Speaker install in simple factory locations-$35.00
HU-$35.00 plus harness cost so about $55.00
1 Hour for tuning charge $35.00 if desired

So total to do the entire thing should be around $170 to install everything. I would make them give you a total cost installed in writing or look at another shop period. They know how long it will take them to install it. I would not spend more than $180.00 for the install including small miscellaneous install parts.

Amp install kits:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Streetwires-Power-Station-Amp-Kit-PSK08B-300-watts_W0QQitemZ230197982989QQihZ013QQcategoryZ7152 9QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/new-Stinger-8-gauge-blue-amp-wiring-kit-w-fuseholder_W0QQitemZ130179027681QQihZ003QQcategory Z71529QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/STINGER-SWK10-PRO-SERIES-10-GAUGE-AMP-WIRING-KIT_W0QQitemZ140175431724QQihZ004QQcategoryZ32808Q QrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

http://www.darvex.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=WK

flyby

12-03-2007, 05:13 PM

Thanks! This is what i was looking for, some reference point so I dont double or triple pay! I have 2 other installers/shops that I am going to look at this week.

genxx

12-04-2007, 04:49 AM

On thr Dynamat Extreme. I have used many times in the past and it is one of the best on the market but it is simple way over priced in todays market. You can do the deadening yourself. Here is a link to Rammatt just as good as Dynamat at a cheaper cost.

http://www.raamaudio.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

Rick the owner is a great guy and very helpful so just shoot him an email or give him a call.

I can have a hook-up through Cascade Audio to get their Deadening products also.

For Rammatt you are looking at about 120 which is enough to do both your doors and have plenty left over to deaden other places you chose on your car.

Cascade V-Max even at a buddy deal is going to run you $135 shipped but it is some of the best stuff on the market.

I have used Rammatt and V-Max they are both excellent products. However, you get double the amount of Rammatt that you get for the same price of V-Max.

Another great deadening company is Second Skin but its super pricey.

Here is a link to sound deadener for called the sound deadener show down its very popular in the car audio community.
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

You can do the sound deadening your self its easy.

flyby

12-04-2007, 06:31 AM

Thanks, will look into it...on average does one really notice the sound deadning in the doors? How cost effective is it i guess?

genxx

12-04-2007, 06:48 AM

If done properly it will yeild some gains in the midbass region and lowers the noise floor. Keep in mind the more you do the more it pays off. It also keeps the door from resonating. There are many techniques to deadening and to do it right is almost an art form. Going all out is not cheap. I have about $1200-$1400 in deadener products in my car.

Example of my Floor Pan area.
1st Layer Cascade VB-1 Liquid
2nd Layer Rammatt BXT
3rd layer SS Heatwave
Foot well area only close to tire and fire wall is a layer of Lead
4th Layer Vertex Barrier
5th Layer Ensolite and Neoprene
Over tranny hump is Cascade VB-3

Even my center console is sound deadened. This is extreme but there are Comp Cars out there with a ton of lead and even some using Granite.

For your door one layer full coverage of Rammatt, then 1 layer of ensolite. This on on the inner and outer skin of the door. The same goes for the door card. For the average person this is all that is needed. So 1 roll of Rammatt BXT and 3 to 6 yards of ensolite with spray glue. Rick can handle all this at a good price.

Dynamate, Rammatt, Damp Pro, V-Max ect are mass loaders they ass weight to stop metal from resonating. You then have absorbers/backwave break-up products like ensolite, Back stop 1.0, Deflex Pads, Dynaxorb ect. Then you have Barriers like Vertex, Lead, VB-4, VB3.5, Dynaliner, SS Luxury Liner. Many people also use foam in the areas they cannot reach with liquid or mat, using foam takes experience as to much expansion can warp metal. You also have thermal products like Heat Wave which are intended to insulate you car doing summer and winter. They do add a little absorbance but thats about it.

Liquid deadeners do not mass load as well as sheets.FYI

genxx

12-04-2007, 06:50 AM

Here is a link to show you a simple 3 step process that will yeild the most for 90% of the public. Again this is not cheap to do properly.

http://www.secondskinaudio.com/store.php?category=70

flyby

12-04-2007, 09:45 PM

wow, i have to admit that I am most not comfortable even installing my speakers in the door, let alone doing an acceptable job of applying the matteing! Of course, now I am curious as to how much material, and where exactly this installer that I talked to is using for the installed price of "about" 180.00? But I am defineately gonna get 2 other quotes from local shops and then ease into this install in January or February.....

This is kinda annoying though, because I am used to installing all kinds of performance parts and such on my vehicles, and saving a bundle of installation labor over the years, but I dont really want to mess up on my first audio install.

genxx

12-05-2007, 07:14 AM

Take the plunge. Just do some research on a few forums and you will be fine. Its time to take the plunge and go DIY Audio. Here are a couple of forums that you can search and learn everything you need to know. On caraduio.com you need to have some thick skin. You can learn everything you need to know just from doing some searching and then specific questions just ask.

Ton's of knowledge on diymobilaudio and elite.

www.diymobileaudio.com
www.caraudio.com
www. elitecaraudio.com

flyby

12-12-2007, 12:38 AM

ok another week another shop with a quote and suggestions.

Boston SL's or type X about 330.00 (they prefer the Bostons),
6x9's spend about 100-150.
Stinger cap about 100 install-75 : total 175.00
dynamat extreme both doors completely stripped down to the motor and the window and guide....otherwise according to them its not worth time or money to less then that on the door. Off hand they threw me 800 for the rear deck area, and both wheel well areas & doors.
amp kit 150.00 parts...

labor for everything except dynmat starts @ 400.00 (eg. bolting amp to backseat)

As Genxx pointed out already, the Alpine amp will not work with my JVC h/u....they are suggesting that i return the amp to Crutchfield and purchase a Alpine PDX-4.100 and forget about the 5.1 setup as well as the center channel....

They also suggested some JL audio stuff, but Im not sure if they meant amps or speakers.......?

Of course, they wouldn't write anything down, so I was trying to scribble madly as he was talking....I told I was just after ballpark figures anyways....

From their prices on Alpine h/u's that would work with my amp, they start @ 500.00 and thats only for the ai-net, it doesnt have the optical output.

So my whole goal was to have the least amount of wires running everywhere and not bulky as well. 1 optical cable vs. your 3 preouts&ai-net or whatever...

At this point I have 210 in the amp (which is refundable), A JVC h/u still unopened in the box that I have been wishing that knoew what to do with. Another alpine amp that has a slight buss in the pre-in's ( but never bothered me when they were hooked up in my other car. I was going to spend 150 on the center channel but now thats a mute point (so Im at 350 now to purchase a new amp)-I see a Infinity Reference 5350a for 349.00 then add a sub someday in the future? Im annoyed, a bit dazed & somewhat confuzed.

Also, apparrently, the new Alpine PDX amps can run 2 & 4 Ohm at the same time???? [plus they have a super small footprint?] So then could I not for now just use that to power all my factory speakers? That way I could upgrade a little by little?

I also got the typical buy from us, that way anything goes wrong we deal with it, not you, and such. But honestly, how many audio parts are defective right from an authorized manufacturer? + they would have to charge me to uninstall the defective part, then reinstall the defective part...

Lastly, I assume that it is pointless to fix the buzz in my old amp, and also pointless to just install my JVC and run on deck power (return the Alpine 5.1 amp) and wait until more people start making optical inputs on their amps again??? I guess Alphasonic & Phoenix Gold used to make ones but no more, not on ebay.

Oh, plus I have a perfectly good Kenwood Z828 h/u in my other car, but some phuck broke into my car and stole the faceplate rendering the deck useless.

This is why I stick to buying go fast parts and other things that i know about and can install myself!!!!

nevrdun

12-12-2007, 09:42 AM

Dont hold your breath on any more amps having optical inputs. Probably not gonna happen. Streetwires along with other companies make a 6ch rca. Running numerous wires is really not a chore worth buying unusual equipment to avoid. You don't want to use an amp that has a "buzz" that just defeats the purpose of installing an amp for sound quality. You can get a JL A6450 6ch. amp for about 450. Great amp, sounds good and everything in one package. Hook a a sub to the bridged 5 & 6 chs when you get one and your done. No getting in there to install another amp when you want a sub and fooling with that. I would prefer the boston sl 60s. Also, to do a full door deadening isn't nearly as important on a 5th gen lude as other cars would be. Where the speaker mounts it makes a perfect infinite baffle. There is no holes in sheet metal for wave cancelation or anything. The speaker mounts in the door panel.

flyby

01-05-2008, 07:05 AM

so...i have been looking around and what not. I sent back the alpine amp, going to use only my older alpine amp after I send it to Alpine for 70.00 in repairs. Im still thinking of using Crutchfield mainly b/c of their good rep. I see a lot of other places have the same items cheaper but am worried that it will be grey market or a hassle dealing with them....& and all the audio shops are overpriced it seems...with that sed, Crutchfield has a sale on Polk stuff. buy 1 get the other 1/2 off. So I looked at the new Db series 6.5 $200
6*9 $75 totals $275

or the MOMO set

6.5$270
6*9$90 totals $ 360

but for around the same price I can pick up JL's TR line....

the MOMO set lokos good to me with a better warranty of 3 years and has carbon fibre woofers (strong?) but really I dont know sh*t & dont want to get hooked on the "momo" name....

the type X 6.5's (crutchfield $350/other web sites $200) & Boston SL60 ($200) & Sl95 ($190)-[very shallow mounting depth of 67mm] but Crutchfielf doesnt sell the SL line.

I also compared mounting depths on the different speakers as well. Does it really matter with the Prelude if I have a good person do the job? all the fronts seem to run about 62mm inches & the rears differ from 77mm-82mm. I dont want the rears to rub on the hatch torsion bar...

Sorry to ramble on and make things too complicated...hopefully that all makes sense...Im just very tempted to go the cheapest route outta the bunch I have listed, but I also dont want to swap anything out a year or two later...

nevrdun

01-06-2008, 01:26 AM

Well your assumption of being sucked in by the MOMO name is correct. That marketing scam was incredible. Whoever came up with that idea made a lot of people a lot of money and overcharged a lot of suckers. For the similar price of these over promising under delivering polk speakers you can get a set up from Bostons SL line. They are the best bang for the buck. Or rather they are the most affordable high performance speaker. Go to a local shop. A reputabl shop will be more than willing to help you with your questions. The independent is what furthers the industry and the industry favors the big box and internet. Its a terrible cycle but reality. So please anyone, if you can shop local stores rather than ebay you are helping the automotive aftermarket industry as a whole. Sorry im off my soapbox now.

flyby

01-08-2008, 09:35 PM

Has anyone ordered from www.sonicelectronix.com? They have very good prices and are listed with the BBB, pricegrabber, cnet, and bizrate, but they are not an authorized reseller of either anything there? If I am reading it correctly, if you have to return a defective product you go to them, not say Alpine, and according to Alpine's website you have no manufacturer's warranty if you buy from a non-authorized reseller? I havent bought any audio equipment other than through Crutchfied ( which was recently for the 1st time...& returned)

I've also narrowed it down to the Type X's for their low hitting frequency (35) and attenuation control (4)

or

the JL'sTR-650csi but they have a funky non attenuanable in line crossover. They dont have the actual crossover boxes like all the components have but have recieved great ratings.

Im guessing that the Alpine is a active crossover and the Jl's are passive? Would I even notice?

or

the Boston SL60 which everyone online likes and the local shops like as well, but are hard to find cheap (200) online or on back order from other sites that seem really shady, or full msrp (300) at other shops; which is too expensive for me.

For the rear I really like the shallow mounting and again low frequency (35-20,000) of the Boston SL90's which are running $170-$300, and back ordered on most sites, or full price on others.

or

JL TR690-TXi running a lot cheaper $105-$160

I see by a lot of other member's rides, that people mix and match brands too. So ideally i like the type X's and Boston's for the rear because I have decided that the idea of running another amp, kit, and sub to the trunk of these small cars is very cluttered-so i was gonna try to get by with the mid-bass 35hz of these speakers...It may not bump but ought to sound way better than stock right?

I see some speakers are like 88 db effecient vs. like 92...does it matter since i will be using my Alpine 35*4 amp? Also, the rms on all these speakers is twice the rms of my amp. Does it just mean that I will have to use a higher % of the available amp power to get it loud?

Again, any explanations/help will be greatly appreciated...btw Alpine will fix a person's out of warranty amp for a flat rate of 70.00 you just mail it to them and they pay the return shipping...

Brash22

01-09-2008, 02:11 AM

Type X. I ran them previously and have nothing but praise for them.

flyby

01-14-2008, 07:47 PM

Well i sent my old alpine MRV-F300 amp to their service center [Long Beach, CA.], turns out that it was a cold solder joint failure or such....Also, i learned something new about my amp today....but I dont know what it exactly means... 40W x 4 @ 2 ohms

Now all my speaker questions/choices (see above) have been 4 ohms

Since it does 2 ohms should I be looking at different speakers? Man this only gets more confusing....

nevrdun

01-14-2008, 11:35 PM

hojemwod

01-14-2008, 11:58 PM

Well i sent my old alpinre amp to their service center, turns out that it was a cold solder joint failure or such....Also, i learned something new about my amp today....but I dont know what it exactly means... 40W x 4 @ 2 ohms

Now all my speaker questions/choices (see above) have been 4 ohms

Since it does 2 ohms should I be looking at different speakers? Man this only gets more confusing....

IMO go to a quality professional car audio store where you can hear the speakers etc and have them help you match everything

flyby

01-15-2008, 04:47 AM

so basically, its nothing i need worry about. good enough for me...Thanks

flyby

01-16-2008, 08:58 PM

another question: the amp has a non fading preamp output [2 rca's] what does this mean? I know that the amp's 4 channels go into the amp here, but is this some type of pass-thru in case your h/u does not have another sub specific preout? OR Is it only used when you are not running the amp in 4 channel mode?

genxx

01-16-2008, 10:45 PM

Its just a pre-amp pass thru. It sends the audio signal to an addational amp without having to run another set of RCA's all the way from the HU to another amp.

Alot of comapnies are incorporating it now.

flyby

01-16-2008, 11:40 PM

flyby

01-17-2008, 04:38 AM

I would like to thank everyone for helping me out with my boatload full of questions, and such. I finally picked out and ordered online my speakers...

Alpine Type X's 6.5 components

Boston Acoustics SL95 6x9 coaxials.

I hit up a local socal Preluder to do the work for me, so I guess that is it....

Cheers (-:

Rob

01-17-2008, 06:49 AM

well most speakers are going to be 4 ohms. Youre going to find very few that aren't. If fact the only ones I can think of is Bostons high end speakers at like 2.7 ohms. For what reason I dont know. JLs W7 is 3 ohms as well. I guess they claim it is the best mix between efficincy and sound quality. Very minimal differences tho.

Ohms is resistance, so the less resistance (ohms) the more power. Amps are measured in watts, why? Big selling point I guess, I've never actually seen a true wattage rating yet. Usually when looking at an amp you see something like this

220 watts RMS @ 4 ohms
400 watts RMS @ 2 ohms

You can achieve a 2 ohm resistance by hooking two 4 ohm speakers in parrallel which means, hook both speaker positives together and hook the two negatives together, then hook the positives to the positive on the amp then hook the negatives to the negative on the amp. Now with these two 4 ohms speakers hooked in a parrallel circuit you now have a 2 ohm resistance doubling your power, less resistance more power. It's called OHM's Law

Hope that helped clear some things up.

genxx

01-17-2008, 11:39 AM

so then my hu has a sub out rca as well. does one get a better/cleaner signal running a separate rca?----> or is it just 1/2 dozen of another? I always thought that every time you couple/convert/ or use an adapter it degrades a analog signal? Also, if one did run an additional amp, could you just use one power lead for the 2 amps?

Ok lets say you have a HU that has 2 Pre-outs and 1 non-fading pre out.

You have:
1 Pre-out for Front
1 Pre-Out for Rear
1 Non-Fading Pre-out for SUB

If you y off the front pre-outs and fade to the rear you will hear nothing as they are all on the front pre-outs. There is nothing wrong with this other than using a y adapter which if you use a good quality one is a non-issue.

No you also have pre-amp out voltage the HU may be hotter that the amp which would intern give you a stronger some what cleaner signal.

You are correct its better to keep minimal connections with anolog. It could degrade the signal but is more likely to have a chance to intorduce noise. Unless you are running fully balanced which is not common practice in car audio.

Many people doing comp systems will run balanced or Optical/Digital.

You can use one power lead for two amps. You just need to know the current draw for both amps to use proper wire size and fusing. You would need a distro block to do so properly. I prefer fused distro blocks in the rear for added protection. Just ensure you use the proper fuse size for your amp.

He is a goiod link that has a calculator and a bunch of other great stuff.

www.bcae1.com

Also remember as you lower the ohm's you up the THD and an amp will run hotter.