Bi-amp wiring help

[kenstewart 10+ year member]

Request assistance with wiring second amp. Here's my current setup:

Sony CDX-F7715X HU

Polk Audio DB570s in all 4 doors (60 watts RMS)

Audiobahn A2002T 2-channel amp (bridged 200RMS)

Waiting on sub (next week) to hook up to Audiobahn amp

Ok, now I want to hook up my second amp (also arriving next week) to my four speakers. It's a Profile California 4400 4-channel (50 x 4 RMS). I had the installer hook up a power distro block inside my cab for multiple amps. Now is where I come in (with no experience hooking up amps) but figure it shouldn't be too hard. I know thru reading to ground them both to the same spot and ground the highest RMS one first and then the other on top. Here's my questions for the rest of the hookup:

- Do I need to run a separate fuse, or is the one fuse intended to cover both amps since they're run off the distro block?

- What amp fuse should I get? current is only 25 amps

- How should I run the remaining wires (other than the speaker wires)?

- Lastly, the installer ran both power and signal wires on the same side of my Sport Trac. He said this is not a problem for a sub, but definitely separate for speakers. Is this true? Everything else I've read says to separate power and signal wires, but nothing specific on if it's a dedicated amp to a sub.

Any help appreciated,

Ken

Click to read more...

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

- Do I need to run a separate fuse, or is the one fuse intended to cover both amps since they're run off the distro block?

Well, if your "main" power wire (the one that runs from the battery to the distro block) is a larger guage than the wires coming out of the distro block, then you really should be using a fused distro block.

- What amp fuse should I get? current is only 25 amps

Huh? Fuse for where? In the distro block? Depends on what guage wire you are running

- How should I run the remaining wires (other than the speaker wires)?

Well, you have the power and ground figured out it sounds like. You just need to run RCA's from the HU to the amp, and splice into the REM wire to run to the 2nd amp.

- Lastly, the installer ran both power and signal wires on the same side of my Sport Trac. He said this is not a problem for a sub, but definitely separate for speakers. Is this true? Everything else I've read says to separate power and signal wires, but nothing specific on if it's a dedicated amp to a sub.

Well, going by the old myth, running a sub's RCAs next to the power wire is OK because the supposed "induced noise" would be at a frequency higher than what the subs are playing.

However.....run the damned RCA's where every you feel like. That whole "keep the power wire and RCA's separated" thing is a big myth. You will not have any audible noise because of where the power wire and RCA are ran in relation to each other. A guy named Richard Clark will pay you $1000 if you can make a power wire induce audible noise into RCA's. He still has his money //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

In the 8 years I've been playing with stereos, I have never separated the RCA and power wires, and I have never had any noise issues. If you do by some chance have noise issues, then the problem is likely with one of the grounds (either the HU or the amp), but not related to where the RCAs are ran in relation to the power wire.

 

[kenstewart 10+ year member]

Thanks for the response. My mistake on the fuse question, was intending to say on the power wire running from the battery not the amp itself. That's 100amps I found out so should be good. Looks like I have nothing to worry about as far as running the cables together, thanks again. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Ken ...