Deciding on New Sub/Amp for 03 FX45/need help with understanding this stuff

[RafeCohan]

Hey guys.

I originally was taken by the 12w7 h.o. box, and then recently stumbled upon the smaller and apparently louder 13w7 prowedge. Im doing a complete overhaul of the factory bose system, including a PAC ipod adapter behind the head unit, Polk sr5250 components in all 4 doors, a JL cleansweep in the glovebox, and a sub in the trunk. This is a scary install, but the way i see it, nothing is custom mounted besides the tweeters and dynamat, and if im going to upgrade some of this stuff, i might as well do it all in the same install. Im an audiophile, and i listen usually through a tube amp and paradigm speakers in my room, so the bose system just didnt cut it for me when i got in my new/old car. I want to know what amps are great besides pioneer premier jl and alpine, and how im wiring all this together/ if i will need some kind of power upgrades/how to avoid all that messy stuff.

The way i put it together on paper was that i was going to take the spkrwire from the bose head unit to the jl cleansweep, run the rca's down the right side to the 4 channel amp and sub amp, idk like split it or whatever, run the power to the amps on the left side to avoid noise, then run the spkrwire from the amps out to the speakers.

Im a total noob i just love music, have the money to spend, and dont want some chump charging me 700 dollars for all this to get put in if i can do it myself with help.

Please let me know if im completely out of my league, or what i should do to make all this equipment work/advice on wiring 2 amps to a sub and components.

THANKS SO MUCH

Click to read more...

 

[RafeCohan]

replies?? cmon guys you all replied to newer posts..

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

There is a pretty good chance you can tackle this yourself. There is a wealth of good information and tutorials here and every other forum.

What makes you want to keep the stock HU? It would probably end up being cheaper and an easier install with an aftermarket.

J/L and Alpine make good amps but they are kind of expensive. If you want to save space Alpine makes a great amp with a small footprint. I don't remember the series off hand. Also look into Sundown, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

For your wiring needs, go to http://www.knukonceptz.com. They have the best quality and cheapest wire you will find. Plan on getting a 4 or 1/0 gauge wiring kit and a couple distribution blocks for your install. Also a couple sets of RCA cables.

What other more specific questions do you have?

 

[RafeCohan]

There is a pretty good chance you can tackle this yourself. There is a wealth of good information and tutorials here and every other forum.
What makes you want to keep the stock HU? It would probably end up being cheaper and an easier install with an aftermarket.

J/L and Alpine make good amps but they are kind of expensive. If you want to save space Alpine makes a great amp with a small footprint. I don't remember the series off hand. Also look into Sundown, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

For your wiring needs, go to http://www.knukonceptz.com. They have the best quality and cheapest wire you will find. Plan on getting a 4 or 1/0 gauge wiring kit and a couple distribution blocks for your install. Also a couple sets of RCA cables.

What other more specific questions do you have?

Thank you for your help! I was just wondering how i need to deal with getting the 1000/1 and the hd600 set up for 2 comps and the 13w7 prowedge out of the 2 sends from the jl audio cleansweep, and how to power it safely, how to avoid messing with the cars electrical to the point of damage and things. I know the Cleansweep has 2 RCA outputs, and i can send them down the right side of the car, but i want to know how to wire the subwoofer amp into the mix, since i am unsure how it falls into the equation of wiring, im so new at this hahah.

Why keep the stock HU? i totally agree with you in that it would be an easier install and easier to integrate ipods and things, its just that besides enjoying control from the steering wheel and such, first of all the HU is one of those big, non regulation DIN sized HU's you see, where the whole center console is absorbed by controls, with a screen offset, kind of like bmws and such. It also is attached to the a/c, defogger, all of your car controls, not just a little radio that i can pull out and toss. I also do not want to take this out because while i am upgrading the coaxials in the doors, and putting a 1000/1 and a w7 in the trunk, and a cleansweep to negate that ugly sound coloration bose does to compensate for their poor speakers, It is a factory 11 speaker system, and Im not going to replace every weird speaker in all the strange places bose has them in the car. This leaves me with the intention to not negate the speakers that can only help once better speakers and amps have been added. for example, and i may be wrong, Im not sure that the weird surround spkrs hidden around the car would actually hurt the sound, so why take them out/spend money to replace them, when the upgrade im doing will already be massive.

Basically, over the course of the next month, i need to come up with a sort of customized installation plan, all the way from installing dynamat, to tuning the set up, and in order, without having to backtrack and make things messy, and any help i can get that will lead me there without damaging my equipment would be great. I already got a mastersheet from craigslist, so i know how to remove doors and things, i just need to know what order i should do it all in :

dynamat doors trunk hood

jl audio cleansweep from bose head unit

2 polk sr component systems in all 4 doors

jl 13w7 prowedge

jl hd600 amp 4.150 for the polks

jl 1000/1 for w7

ipod adapter into the satellite input in back of hu

all the wiring

Thanks i know how annoying this is for all of you and i definitely appreciate it.

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

Thank you for your help! I was just wondering how i need to deal with getting the 1000/1 and the hd600 set up for 2 comps and the 13w7 prowedge out of the 2 sends from the jl audio cleansweep, and how to power it safely, how to avoid messing with the cars electrical to the point of damage and things. I know the Cleansweep has 2 RCA outputs, and i can send them down the right side of the car, but i want to know how to wire the subwoofer amp into the mix, since i am unsure how it falls into the equation of wiring, im so new at this hahah.
Why keep the stock HU? i totally agree with you in that it would be an easier install and easier to integrate ipods and things, its just that besides enjoying control from the steering wheel and such, first of all the HU is one of those big, non regulation DIN sized HU's you see, where the whole center console is absorbed by controls, with a screen offset, kind of like bmws and such. It also is attached to the a/c, defogger, all of your car controls, not just a little radio that i can pull out and toss. I also do not want to take this out because while i am upgrading the coaxials in the doors, and putting a 1000/1 and a w7 in the trunk, and a cleansweep to negate that ugly sound coloration bose does to compensate for their poor speakers, It is a factory 11 speaker system, and Im not going to replace every weird speaker in all the strange places bose has them in the car. This leaves me with the intention to not negate the speakers that can only help once better speakers and amps have been added. for example, and i may be wrong, Im not sure that the weird surround spkrs hidden around the car would actually hurt the sound, so why take them out/spend money to replace them, when the upgrade im doing will already be massive.

Basically, over the course of the next month, i need to come up with a sort of customized installation plan, all the way from installing dynamat, to tuning the set up, and in order, without having to backtrack and make things messy, and any help i can get that will lead me there without damaging my equipment would be great. I already got a mastersheet from craigslist, so i know how to remove doors and things, i just need to know what order i should do it all in :

dynamat doors trunk hood

jl audio cleansweep from bose head unit

2 polk sr component systems in all 4 doors

jl 13w7 prowedge

jl hd600 amp 4.150 for the polks

jl 1000/1 for w7

ipod adapter into the satellite input in back of hu

all the wiring

Thanks i know how annoying this is for all of you and i definitely appreciate it.

The cleansweeps outputs are probably front and rear. You can run a sub from these without much trouble. All you have to do is run the two F/R RCA cables to the mids and highs amp, then run a shorter RCA from there to the sub amp. It will have a built in low pass filter. I'm pretty sure the 1000/1 has a bass knob included so that is how you could control it separate.

As far as the car's electrical goes, most modern vehicles will run maybe 1500 watts before upgrading. You should be fine with the two amps you have, if you have to you can do the Big 3 upgrade, and get an extra battery. Once you get it all hooked up check your voltage with a multimeter and if it dips below 12.5 volts you need to upgrade. You may have to because J/L amps are kind of inefficient.

If I were you, I would just by-pass anything the factory put in except for the HU. But to do this there is a chance you may have to buy a special harness for the Blose system.

For wiring I would recommend the 1/0 Dual amp kit from Knukonceptz. The quality is great and it includes most of everything you will need except some small things.

Also, instead of Dynamat I would recommend Second Skin Damplifier. It is the same price if not cheaper and a better product. To start off, you should probably deaden your doors, and maybe the trunk/rear deck.

 

[RafeCohan]

So the big three involves a second battery?

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

The big 3 basically is just replacing the 3 major wires of the charging system with new. The battery to alt wire, the battery to chassis ground, and engine block to chassis ground. All with 1/0 wire. If this doesn't help your voltage then you can add a second battery in the trunk or upgrade the one up front.