amp wiring layout question

[jcraft 10+ year member]

Hi ALL,

Trying to see if I have this amp wired the best way. I have 4 speakers in a system hooked up to a 4 channel 50x4 amp. I also have a 12" sub with its own amp. I have an older HU with only 1 pair of of rear RCA jacks out. I bring the pair to the rear and feed them both into y splitters to feed all four inputs on the 50 watt amp. I also have another Y splitter in one of the rca cables to feed the input of the amp feeding the sub. All appears to be good although want to make sure it is the best way as I am not sure how the input signals split using the all the Y's which could affect the overall output. I am thinking that the inputs are not modiifed using all he y's as it is a voltage reference and in a parelle circuit voltage is the same at any point. Does this sound accurate. I have been using this setup for years and it sounds decent but want to make sure. Thx

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[ilikeradios 10+ year member]

Does your 4 channel have a pass through?

That is RCA outputs, many 4 channels do.

What is the make / model of the 4 channel?

 

[JohnKuthe]

Hi ALL,
Trying to see if I have this amp wired the best way. I have 4 speakers in a system hooked up to a 4 channel 50x4 amp. I also have a 12" sub with its own amp. I have an older HU with only 1 pair of of rear RCA jacks out...

When you typed "I have an older HU with only 1 pair of of rear RCA jacks out" do you imply your HU also has a pair of FRONT RCA outs?

John Kuthe...

 

[ilikeradios 10+ year member]

When you typed "I have an older HU with only 1 pair of of rear RCA jacks out" do you imply your HU also has a pair of FRONT RCA outs?
John Kuthe...

please try not to help anyone.

Older / lower end HU's often had 1 set of RCA outputs which were labeled -- Rear / Sub

 

[JohnKuthe]

please try not to help anyone.
Older / lower end HU's often had 1 set of RCA outputs which were labeled -- Rear / Sub

Well, that's what happens when people do not supply sufficient information!

John Kuthe...

 

[jcraft 10+ year member]

I am using a Sony HU and the HU has one set of Rear/sub RCA outputs only and no front RCA outputs so in the HU steup you can pick if you want the RCA outputs to be rear or sub ( if set to sub I can change the output volume. So I have both pairs of RCA outputs back to a Rockford Fosgate 300-4 ( 50x4) amp. On the 4 inputs to this amp I have connected y fittings so both RCA's feed all the inputs. I also have another Y in one of the lines to feed a separate amp for the subwoofer and front and rears are off the fosgate amp channels. I have the RCA output set on HU to Sub and have set the sub output all the way up and then set my gains. The system sounds pretty decent but want to make sure I have the best layout for the signal inputs to gain the best overall sound quality. I believe the RF has pass throughs so maybe I can use a pass thru to feed the sub amp if Y's do something to the signal. The only problem I have now is no control over the sub volume from the HU. At some point I may upgrade the HU so it has front and Rear RCa's. Thx for help

 

[Infinbaruyota]

So I think you're using the Prime series 300-4 amp? If so, it doesn't appear to have hi level speaker inputs. You will need to get line-out converters for your HU regular speaker outputs, and get 2 sets of RCAs to feed the inputs of the amp, and use your HU RCA pre-outs for your sub amp. This way at least you can get independent front and rear fader control. Get rid of those y-splitters. If your unit only has a single set of rear-outs, then it's not likely that the HU internal firmware would restrict you to using either the pre-outs or speaker leads. Someone correct me if I'm missing anything.

 

[Infinbaruyota]

I totally forgot about this one, but if you really wanted to go BALL$ OUT, you could take your single preamp outs, and feed them into an active equalizer or crossover unit, (in-dash or hideaway) which would multiply all the RCA connections for front, rear, and sub. then you would have infinite levels of adjustment. Fader control would no longer belong to the Headunit. Some units, like my Clarion on the right, even have line driver capability, so the preamp voltage is higher, although I'm not sure the 7 volts it provides is completely necessary.