head unit okay for subs?

[topslop1]

Okay, new to the audio scene. Thinking of hooking up a couple of subs with an amp in the trunk of my car. Can it be done with a head unit such as this? Also, if it can be done - what is a medium quality / high quality set up? Is buying used off of craigslist a good idea or not? What kind of stuff should I look for and what kind of stuff should I avoid?

View attachment 26532054

Click to read more...

 

[Vecticus 10+ year member]

What is your budget?

 

[cyn 10+ year member]

Okay, new to the audio scene. Thinking of hooking up a couple of subs with an amp in the trunk of my car. Can it be done with a head unit such as this? Also, if it can be done - what is a medium quality / high quality set up? Is buying used off of craigslist a good idea or not? What kind of stuff should I look for and what kind of stuff should I avoid?
View attachment 26532054

Just buy a new HU with SUB outputs.. , avoid boss, power acoustic, and stuff like that.. you can get a New Head Unit for cheap under 200$ if not around 100$. If you are just wanting some decent bass and stuff 1 single 12" will work wonders. just do a ported box.

also need to know Budget? What its going in? How much space to sub/box you willing to give up? etc.. etc..

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Even a basic aftermarket head unit will outperform a stock HU.

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Even a basic aftermarket head unit will outperform a stock HU.

This... If you cant drop around 100 on a decent deck then I wouldnt get into audio... Not being rude just letting you know its not a cheap hobby...

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Need to know vehicle and what the stock system is. Lots of people run subs from a stock radio using speaker level inputs from the radio, but some of the fancy factory systems make that difficult.

And budget?

 

[zorphon 10+ year member]

Look at the JVC KD-X40. A lot of people say JVC isn't the best, but that headunit is awesome, for the price. Surprisingly it's the cheapest on Crutchfield.com and you can get it with all wiring harnesses/dash kits for your vehicle for like $100, and there's a coupon you can google to use for $20 off if you spend $100+. So basically you can get a JVC KD-X40 with a harness and dash kit brand new for ~$84. That's what I did.

It has two pre-amp outs so you can hook up an amp for subs in the trunk and also have another pre-amp out in case you want another amp for speakers or something later down the road. It has some EQ controls, not quite as much as high-priced unites (obviously), but definitely a lot more than a stock head unit.

It doesn't have a CD thing unfortunately, but that's fine for me because I wanted a Digital one. It uses like Aux-in, USB, and SD card input. Check it out if your not a big CD guy, great cost for a good head unit!

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Look at the JVC KD-X40. A lot of people say JVC isn't the best, but that headunit is awesome, for the price. Surprisingly it's the cheapest on Crutchfield.com and you can get it with all wiring harnesses/dash kits for your vehicle for like $100, and there's a coupon you can google to use for $20 off if you spend $100+. So basically you can get a JVC KD-X40 with a harness and dash kit brand new for ~$84. That's what I did.
It has two pre-amp outs so you can hook up an amp for subs in the trunk and also have another pre-amp out in case you want another amp for speakers or something later down the road. It has some EQ controls, not quite as much as high-priced unites (obviously), but definitely a lot more than a stock head unit.

It doesn't have a CD thing unfortunately, but that's fine for me because I wanted a Digital one. It uses like Aux-in, USB, and SD card input. Check it out if your not a big CD guy, great cost for a good head unit!

I would rather have a lower line Kenwood personally...

 

[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

Look at the JVC KD-X40. A lot of people say JVC isn't the best, but that headunit is awesome, for the price. Surprisingly it's the cheapest on Crutchfield.com and you can get it with all wiring harnesses/dash kits for your vehicle for like $100, and there's a coupon you can google to use for $20 off if you spend $100+. So basically you can get a JVC KD-X40 with a harness and dash kit brand new for ~$84. That's what I did.
It has two pre-amp outs so you can hook up an amp for subs in the trunk and also have another pre-amp out in case you want another amp for speakers or something later down the road. It has some EQ controls, not quite as much as high-priced unites (obviously), but definitely a lot more than a stock head unit.

It doesn't have a CD thing unfortunately, but that's fine for me because I wanted a Digital one. It uses like Aux-in, USB, and SD card input. Check it out if your not a big CD guy, great cost for a good head unit!

jvc = kenwood which has helped them a little. new jvc arent too bad.

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

jvc = kenwood which has helped them a little. new jvc arent too bad.

JVCs feel cheap as hell though... For the price of the JVC he could have this Kenwood KDC-352U (KDC352U) In-Dash CD Car Stereo Receiver w/ USB

 

[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

Look at the JVC KD-X40. A lot of people say JVC isn't the best, but that headunit is awesome, for the price. Surprisingly it's the cheapest on Crutchfield.com and you can get it with all wiring harnesses/dash kits for your vehicle for like $100, and there's a coupon you can google to use for $20 off if you spend $100+. So basically you can get a JVC KD-X40 with a harness and dash kit brand new for ~$84. That's what I did.
It has two pre-amp outs so you can hook up an amp for subs in the trunk and also have another pre-amp out in case you want another amp for speakers or something later down the road. It has some EQ controls, not quite as much as high-priced unites (obviously), but definitely a lot more than a stock head unit.

It doesn't have a CD thing unfortunately, but that's fine for me because I wanted a Digital one. It uses like Aux-in, USB, and SD card input. Check it out if your not a big CD guy, great cost for a good head unit!

i would go with one that has 3 sets of 5v preamp outs and still has aux in and usb in front.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

Okay, new to the audio scene. Thinking of hooking up a couple of subs with an amp in the trunk of my car. Can it be done with a head unit such as this? Also, if it can be done - what is a medium quality / high quality set up? Is buying used off of craigslist a good idea or not? What kind of stuff should I look for and what kind of stuff should I avoid?
View attachment 26532054

If you are just looking to "make it work" yes you can. You will need a LOC to wire up your RCA's to, but that is it. Many people do it with no issues what so ever and it will work 100% fine.

 

[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

JVCs feel cheap as hell though... For the price of the JVC he could have this Kenwood KDC-352U (KDC352U) In-Dash CD Car Stereo Receiver w/ USB

just got a cheap $100 jvc for my stepdaughters car and it seems fine. buddy has higher end kenwood and both are similar in some ways higher model jvc and kenwood are about the same...maybe because kenwood makes jvc now.

 

[VisceralSound 10+ year member]

Need to know vehicle and what the stock system is. Lots of people run subs from a stock radio using speaker level inputs from the radio, but some of the fancy factory systems make that difficult.
And budget?

Based on the stock headunit hes driving a roughly 90's-2001 Chevy Malibuor even an Oldsmobile cutlass, they're both tbe same body not sure about radio.

 

[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

If you are just looking to "make it work" yes you can. You will need a LOC to wire up your RCA's to, but that is it. Many people do it with no issues what so ever and it will work 100% fine.

this is also another possibility. some amps even come with high level inputs which would eliminate a LOC. i recommend this to many people with newer cars that just want to add a sub because many of them done want to lose the factory radio optios such as nav,xm,voice command etc. also many new stock systems arent too bad and would keep up fine with a small sub addition.