How do I wire 2 amps, 1 amp=4 speakers, 1 amp=sub

[TheLinkster]

Hi

I have in my car 2 front speakers and 2 rear speakers. All are currently connected into a 4 channel amp which is set up correctly. Also, if it means anything at all, my CD Player has its own fused power cable running directly to the battery because it drew more power before I installed the amp.

I want to add a subwoofer with its own amp. Something small, like a 10 inch.

I am vaguely aware of what I have to do, such as either buy a "distribution block" or run a second lot of power and ground cables for the second amp.

However I do have a couple of questions.

1) Where exactly does a distribution block go? How is it connected and how are the wires fed to it?

2) When using two amps, how can both of them wire to the CD Player? I ask this because the amp I currently have is already connected to the "Remote" cable on the CD Player, so how can a second amp be connected to it?

I am very new to car audio and have only just started learning about it and installed my own system over the past 2 weeks.

Anyone with experience with this, help is greatly appreciated.

PS: On an unrelated note, I get slight engine noise from my 4 speakers and the pitch of it increases as the RPM increases, but after reading the forums its probably a bad Amp ground.

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[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

I'd just run a second dedicated power line to the sub amp. By "remote" wire I assume you mean the trigger wire. Just splice into it near your front speaker amp and run it back to the sub amp. Most HU's willl trigger 2-3 amps, more than that then you use a relay to get the job done. Good luck...

 

[spacegear 10+ year member]

jst daisy link the "remote wire" to the other amp. as for the input. for the 2nd amp. you could use the line out from the 1st amp to 2nd amp input. pretty easy..

 

[TheLinkster]

Hi

I have drawn 2 diagrams. The first one is my current set up. The second is what i have interpreted your advice as, but i might not be accurate since i am new to car audio in general. Please tell me if this is what you guys are talking about.





The amp I currently have is 4 channel and this is powering my 4 speakers.

The new amp I am getting is 2 channel and it will be bridged to run just 1 sub. Identical to this http://www.cardomain.com/item/PIOGM5100T . I am posting that link because the specifications talk about the ability to connect via speaker cables if there is no preout, however I have never heard of an amp being connected this way, but then again I am completely new to this. If anyone has info or advice about using the speaker wire alternative rather than a RCA that would be great.

My current head deck is a JVC KD-G325 and it only has 2 pre outs, so to run my current system I have had to split the 2 line outs into 4 with RCA splitters.

To add a sub, will I need a new head deck with at least 3 Pre-outs? As 2 of them can be split to 4 for my speakers, and the last one can be for the subwoofer, at least this is my understanding. Or can adding a sub be achieved with my current head deck, such as, using the speaker wire connection that the amp features, however I have no idea how that works.