Help me connect 4 ch amp, 4 speakers and a sub

[r3hab]

OK, I'll go with the amp route (5ch or second mono). I have a new questions about setting everything up.

On my pioneer head unit in the settings I have High pass filter (50/64/80/100/125) and in the subwooofer tab I have Phase, Level and Frequency (again 50/63/80/100/125).

Should I use the settings in the player to set the frequency response of the speakers and sub or should I use the filters on the amp/amps or some combination?

It's easier on my AVR at home, just setting a crossover of 80hz and that's it. Also what crossover frequencies do you use in your cars? Is the "magical" 80hz also appliable in cars, or maybe lower is better, because you can localize the sub in the trunk on higher frequencies?

These are the spec of my current amp Kenwood 6406 and the filters it has:

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Wow gotta love all the name calling in the post above me! And mono blocks were around long before 20 years ago,lol. Try 1964 when the first Class D amplifier was sold to the public by Sinclair Radionics. Even back in the 1980s they were abundant for sale to the public. So before you spot off about how we know nothing try a little research. Even my dad laughed at your comment because he was using Class D mono amps back in the 1970s, were they expensive well duh but they were available to the public.

Name calling?  Is this your first day with internet access?  Know-it-all, holier than thou, and geeks are relatively friendly references for the 95% of people on here who don't believe in a difference of opinion.

You can bring out all the obscure history references you want.  12v sub amps were not common before '00.  I was there, shopping and researching tech forums -- not single minded bromo nut-hugging forums like this one.  That's all beside the point anyway -- which was there is never a NEED for a sub amp.

The guy wanted a cheap solution, and the one he was considering was perfectly logical and effective.

Way to encourage the OP. This sorta thing might have been cool to do back in the 90's or so but nowadays the BEST route to go is simply another amp separate for his sub only or a 5 ch amp. Did you not read what Jeff said?? The amp is not gonna filter out any unwanted freq if he were to run a sub off it. Terrible idea at best.  I don't see ANYBODY doing this at all. So many amps on the market there's really no need to.

Yup, we know it alls know what we're talking about. Funny how newbies come to this forum "knowing" that us veterns are still around seeking the proper help needed.

OP...sell that 4 ch amp and buy a 5 ch amp. Or just save a little more $$ and buy a small mono amp for the sub.

Did I read what Jeff said?  Yes, I did, and he's wrong -- which is why I pointed that out.  It has an LPF, it took, I don't know, 10 sec to verify that.

I encouraged the OP because it is sound and logical advice.  The BEST solution?  No.

The BEST solution is to save up a couple grand and do something outstanding, but that's not the budget and that's not the goal.  A couple things a lot of people here are unwilling to consider.

Buy the sub, provide a good enclosure, bridge the kenwood.  Everything will work perfectly fine with no problems whatsoever.  That is a fact and it can't be argued.  Will it be the greatest sounding setup in the history of all things car audio -- sadly, no, it won't.  But, it won't be money wasted, it won't be back tracking, it won't be anything negative, it will simply be the cheapest, shortest-term solution.  Which is the correct answer to this question.

If OP WANTS to spend more money on a 2nd/better amp --- great, that is an option too.  Doesn't have to happen now.  Doesn't have to happen ever.

There is EVERY possibility he may be happy with just the addition of a little bass.

You guys need to get over yourselves.

 

[fithwheel]

Fking geeks 

 

[Firewalker]

Lmfao my first day..I was on the internet back in the 1980s, not the modern internet but there was all sorts of people on it back then. Thankfully I had a father who built his own computers and taught me stuff that wasn't common until the 1990s. And yes they were very common before 2000. Obscure history references? No try facts there slick. I had a 12v mono block in my '92 S-10 back in '95. So just stop with the garbage about it not being around. Just because you were not able to find it doesn't mean the rest of us didn't, especially south of Chicago where they were commonplace dating back to as I said when my dad was using them in the '70s.

He can do something now for cheap that will work just fine, especially with what they cost these days. Taramps ship from Brazil to all over the world regardless of country. No middle men and are rock solid and put out waaaaay more then what they advertise, plus the quality is there as well for next to nothing.

 

[Firewalker]

Fking geeks 

Hey got a problem with Computer Geeks lol J/K there Fith hopefully you are not out on this decent weekend for the first time in awhile!

 

[fithwheel]

Hey got a problem with Computer Geeks lol J/K there Fith hopefully you are not out on this decent weekend for the first time in awhile!

Nope home every night no working on weekends. Almost beer 30

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Name calling?  Is this your first day with internet access?  Know-it-all, holier than thou, and geeks are relatively friendly references for the 95% of people on here who don't believe in a difference of opinion.

You can bring out all the obscure history references you want.  12v sub amps were not common before '00.  I was there, shopping and researching tech forums -- not single minded bromo nut-hugging forums like this one.  That's all beside the point anyway -- which was there is never a NEED for a sub amp.

The guy wanted a cheap solution, and the one he was considering was perfectly logical and effective.

Did I read what Jeff said?  Yes, I did, and he's wrong -- which is why I pointed that out.  It has an LPF, it took, I don't know, 10 sec to verify that.

I encouraged the OP because it is sound and logical advice.  The BEST solution?  No.

The BEST solution is to save up a couple grand and do something outstanding, but that's not the budget and that's not the goal.  A couple things a lot of people here are unwilling to consider.

Buy the sub, provide a good enclosure, bridge the kenwood.  Everything will work perfectly fine with no problems whatsoever.  That is a fact and it can't be argued.  Will it be the greatest sounding setup in the history of all things car audio -- sadly, no, it won't.  But, it won't be money wasted, it won't be back tracking, it won't be anything negative, it will simply be the cheapest, shortest-term solution.  Which is the correct answer to this question.

If OP WANTS to spend more money on a 2nd/better amp --- great, that is an option too.  Doesn't have to happen now.  Doesn't have to happen ever.

There is EVERY possibility he may be happy with just the addition of a little bass.

You guys need to get over yourselves.

So your calling out @Jeffdachef?! lol nice....when is he ever wrong about the things he says on here. This should go pretty well......I'll wait for his reply.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Name calling?  Is this your first day with internet access?  Know-it-all, holier than thou, and geeks are relatively friendly references for the 95% of people on here who don't believe in a difference of opinion.

You can bring out all the obscure history references you want.  12v sub amps were not common before '00.  I was there, shopping and researching tech forums -- not single minded bromo nut-hugging forums like this one.  That's all beside the point anyway -- which was there is never a NEED for a sub amp.

The guy wanted a cheap solution, and the one he was considering was perfectly logical and effective.

Did I read what Jeff said?  Yes, I did, and he's wrong -- which is why I pointed that out.  It has an LPF, it took, I don't know, 10 sec to verify that.

I encouraged the OP because it is sound and logical advice.  The BEST solution?  No.

The BEST solution is to save up a couple grand and do something outstanding, but that's not the budget and that's not the goal.  A couple things a lot of people here are unwilling to consider.

Buy the sub, provide a good enclosure, bridge the kenwood.  Everything will work perfectly fine with no problems whatsoever.  That is a fact and it can't be argued.  Will it be the greatest sounding setup in the history of all things car audio -- sadly, no, it won't.  But, it won't be money wasted, it won't be back tracking, it won't be anything negative, it will simply be the cheapest, shortest-term solution.  Which is the correct answer to this question.

If OP WANTS to spend more money on a 2nd/better amp --- great, that is an option too.  Doesn't have to happen now.  Doesn't have to happen ever.

There is EVERY possibility he may be happy with just the addition of a little bass.

You guys need to get over yourselves.

in what way is saying if the if his amp has a low pass filter, it will work wrong? or that 40 watts bridged to a sub will be weak as **** so he just needs to adjust expectations? what??? LOL lay off the crack pipe.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

in what way is saying if the if his amp has a low pass filter, it will work wrong? or that 40 watts bridged to a sub will be weak as **** so he just needs to adjust expectations? what??? LOL lay off the crack pipe.

What's "good enough" about a lpf?  It has one.  It'll work.  Not a factor.

40w?  It's 130.  Would be easier to take you seriously if you'd get the absolute basics right.

 

[DRBOOM]

Actually, I had a closer look at your amplifier. 

You can run a subwoofer on the rear channels bridged.  This is the way to do it;

• disconnect your rear speaker output in your amplifier and set it to low pass;
  
• Connect the RCA on the front and rear channels to your amp from your head unit;
  
• You can use a single subwoofer to bridge the rear channels on your amplifier  to run a single 4 ohm subwoofer ( or if you have dual 8 ohm subwoofers) but with bridged channels, it has to be 4 ohm as the amp will see a 2 ohm load;
  
• With regards to the bass, use a ported box as you are not getting much 'grunt' with 120 rms going through them but with some amplifier tweeking and running your speakers in high pass mode, you should be able to get a balanced sound from the front speakers that can blend in with your subwoofer;
  
• set the cross over at 100hz high pass on the speakers and subwoofer and see if the speakers sound good as you turn the volume to adjust the gain on the amplifier;
  
• If the front speakers, are lacking bass, turn the cross over point to 80hz / same for the subwoofer and see how does that sound to you;
  
• If the current amp does not provide the 'thump from the subwoofer/s then it may be time to invest in a monoblock  a 500 watt would be a good start.
  
• Then in future, you could bridge your current Kenwood amplifier to run more power to your speakers, and with a monobloc, it should provide more 'thump' to your system but use what you have now and see how you go. :suave:

 

[Mooncatt]

I'm in the camp of using what you have now being ok. Try it. If you like it, you're not out any money. If you don't like it, you know what to do.

OK, I'll go with the amp route (5ch or second mono). I have a new questions about setting everything up.

On my pioneer head unit in the settings I have High pass filter (50/64/80/100/125) and in the subwooofer tab I have Phase, Level and Frequency (again 50/63/80/100/125).

Should I use the settings in the player to set the frequency response of the speakers and sub or should I use the filters on the amp/amps or some combination?

If you go with a second or upgraded amp, done check the existing wiring first. If you didn't install oversized power and ground wires, and larger capacity fuses in case of later expansion, you may need to do that as well. If the wire isn't sized correctly for the total amount of power, it will make your output suffer at best. It could burn your car down at worst. If the main fuse isn't strong enough for the extra power, then you risk blowing it over and over. There's no real risk of damage there, just a time and money expense.

For your crossover settings and such, it's personal preference, but I prefer using the settings on the head unit. You know exactly what you are changing and how, and may have more flexibility. Doing it on the amp, it's often just dials with a minimum and maximum mark with no indication of settings in between.