!!Help Needed!! Im VERY Tech Savy but my 1ST SYSTEM! IM AMPED! PLZ HELP! TY!

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

no problem, glad to help. be sure to share pictures. we haven't discussed the actual installation of the amp. make sure wires are neatly routed and protected, and that the amp is securely mounted. i like mounting the amp on a separate board that is secured to the vehicle. avoid mounting the amp directly to metal. i also avoid mounting the amp on the sub box - since i like the flexibility of removing the box if i need cargo space. amp ground is very important, as is doing the big 3 (search for it). all grounds should be to sanded metal, bolted to the floor - avoid existing seat belt bolts, suspension bolts, etc. and avoid drilling around the gas tank. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[I Like Waffle]

Why are some of you trying get this guy to buy dvc 4 ohm subs and hes got a 4 channel amp to power the subs with? Only gonna get about 100w per sub like that, its not even gonna tickle the JLs. Need to get SVC subs and bridge the front and rear, and since you have very limited power go with something with a respectable sensitivity rating.

PAIR 2000W 2 PYRAMID PW1286X 12" Car Subs/Subwoofers - eBay (item 230439959557 end time Mar-21-10 13:04:30 PDT)

Give those a shot, svc 4 ohm, pretty good subs especially for the money, i had 2 15"s in the trunk of my car, working on 4 now. I absolutely love them for budget subs. Outdone many setups with these little pyramids and people cant believe i outdid their JL or alpine or kicker shit with pyramids, but its 90% install 10% equipment, remember that. Heres a vid of 2 of the 15" models in my trunk car, on about 1kw of power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ANSQDQ5cw

Save the 300 you wanna spend on subs, and buy those and a better amp. You WILL get louder going that route, that 4 channel isnt gonna do much for any model of sub if you wanna "beat the block down" or whatever. 2 of those 12s and an AP1500 (about 150$ for that amp) would slam pretty good, and later on when you have more money to spend on a box and more subs you could run 4 12"s amp does about 800-900w @ 2 ohm so almost twice as powerful as what you got now. Try selling that amp on here to recoop some money for your install.

 

[I Like Waffle]

Another vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ANSQDQ5cw

Amp i was talking about

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-AudioPipe-AP15001D-1500W-amp-1-ohm-D-FREE-Gift-1500_W0QQitemZ310201640790QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Amplifiers?hash=item4839756756

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

why would we want him wasting his 5 channel amp? the 4 channels should be powering speakers, mono channel to the subs.

he want's to use the amp he has, and for good reason, it's a nice amp. It may not be overrated powerful, but it's good quality. plus, it has sentimental value - that is reason enough.

and really, Pyramid isn't even on the same level as JL, RE, or even Alpine. I can't in good conscious recommend Pyramid, Boss, Pyle, Lanzar, etc. to anyone. Sure, they work, produce bass, but the OP is also interested in sound quality, despite some of his posts to the contrary. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[affliictiion 10+ year member]

thanks keep... keep got a pretty good idea of wat direction id like to go... thanks neways for the advice man... appreciate it... yo keep, how many watts rms would i get to each sub if we run it as previously discussed? jw outta curiosity, since idk exactly how to figure it or the exact specs on the amp.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the amp's mono output is rated 200W x1 at 4 ohms. if you had two subs wired to it, each would see up to 100W RMS. that's fairly low, and the reason people think a separate sub amp would be a good idea. but you might as well try it and see what you think. it will still work and produce bass, maybe enough for your tastes - provided the enclosure is done right. if you go ported you gain efficiency.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

owner's manual (give this a read)

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/500/500MRVF340.PDF

 

[affliictiion 10+ year member]

ok so... on the back of my amp, on the left, it has the white and red female plugs, labeled input as follows:

from left to right, the first two from the left are labeled with a bracket as ch5, white(left) on top, red(right) on bottom

then to the right of that, it has white ch3 top, red ch4 below that,

then to the right of that, it has white ch1 top, red ch2 below that...are these for the subs or the speakers?

then to the right of that whole setup, it has 5 screws up top, n 5 screws below them, the two left most of them are labeled as ch5... i made a lil diagram of them below... are these for the subs or speakres?

............[/bridged\].....

............[/2\...../1\]....

........o...o..o...o...o....

ch5 {

........o...o..o...o...o....

............[\4/.....\3/.....

............[\bridged/].....

then farthest to the right, its got two 30 amp fuses, then a battery screw, then a remote screw, then a power supply screw.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

inside of your amp:

your connections

 

[I Like Waffle]

why would we want him wasting his 5 channel amp? the 4 channels should be powering speakers, mono channel to the subs.
he want's to use the amp he has, and for good reason, it's a nice amp. It may not be overrated powerful, but it's good quality. plus, it has sentimental value - that is reason enough.

and really, Pyramid isn't even on the same level as JL, RE, or even Alpine. I can't in good conscious recommend Pyramid, Boss, Pyle, Lanzar, etc. to anyone. Sure, they work, produce bass, but the OP is also interested in sound quality, despite some of his posts to the contrary. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I dont care what anyone says, those pyramid pro series are beast for the money. Mine have been taking a beating for going on 8 months, full tilt all the time, being overpowered, mostly bass heavy music. When i buy something cheap i beat the shit out of it, to see if i can break it, and i havent broken them. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif That way i can see if its worth a ****. Very tried and true product reviewing method.

But

I wasnt aware the amp was a 5 channel. I had a mrp-f450 similar to that, but it was a 4 channel. I would use that amp for mids and highs but using it for a sub is just about pointless, unless youre going for a super sq setup, which i highly doubt. Hes already said he wants to power the subs and will mess with the door speakers later iirc. Honestly in that trunk car with that much insulation/deadening between the trunk and cabin, anything is gonna sound good, especially sealed. Whats the output on the sub channel of that amp anyway?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the KDC-X494 has 6 rca preouts -

Front L/R

Rear L/R

Sub L/R

ideally, you'd run six RCA's from teh head unit to the amp, filling all six RCA jacks on the amp. (White is Left, Red is Right).

you connect the subwoofers together (per the diagram) and land a pair of wires on the Channel 5 terminals. You'd connect front and rear speakers (left and right) to the other 8 terminals.

Your amp is designed to power your front speakers, your rear speakers, and your sub. It could also be used to actively power a front components set, or bridged to power a front component set (no rears) and subs.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

another option is you could just use the amp for subs, bridge the front channels to a sub and bridge the rear channels to a sub. but the amp is only rated 120x2 bridged, so you're not gaining much power but losing all of the flexibility of the amp.

if you decide you want more output, you can buy a separate sub amp and use this Alpine to power upgraded speakers.

 

[affliictiion 10+ year member]

ahhh... wow im learnin so much erry time i read suttin lol ok i got u, so the 6 rcas are to sync up the amp with wat the radios tellin it to send out, then the 2 left most screws are for the subs, wired as prev discussed, then the other 8 screws are to output to the speakers, based on the 6 rcas to tell the speakers wat the head unit says to play... so i dont gotta worry about where it denotes bridged ova the 1&2 + 3&4 channel screws?

 

[affliictiion 10+ year member]

imma try hookin up just the subs with this, and gettin taht kenwood face... and if they dont hit hard as id like, ill just use this amp for my speakers only, and buy a devoted sub amp... right?

 

[affliictiion 10+ year member]

ok my man, now were on the same page... sounds good. i got a detailed plan set in my mind now... now if i had to buy an amp, based on the subs we talked about, wat brand/wattage amp would u reccommend just 2 power the subs if i so choose to go that route?