New head unit.. Factory amp..use or not use?

[NYRngrs24 10+ year member]

Has anyone done an install on a 2003 Kia Sorento EX with the premium audio? Has 10 speakers. 4 double coned and 2 tweeters.. (they consider it 10 speakers) There is an amp under the drivers seat.

It is my car. I plan to put an Eclipse AVN5495 in there. Should I wire it to the amp, get an Amp bypass or just run new speaker wire from the head unit to the speakers? I was told if I wire the eclipse to the amp it would cause noise? Thanks for the help.

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[analogkid]

youd have to find out what load those speakers will put on the headunit. occasionally the stock speakers end up being wierd impedences. might possibly damage the headunit, or not allow the radio to put out full rated power. better off changing the speakers i think.

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

youd have to find out what load those speakers will put on the headunit. occasionally the stock speakers end up being wierd impedences. might possibly damage the headunit, or not allow the radio to put out full rated power. better off changing the speakers i think.

true that, I'd try the factory amp and see what it sounds like some are decent. Usually you will get more mileage out of speaker replacement than an amp. Factory speakers are notoriously horrid.

 

[NYRngrs24 10+ year member]

hmm..well i dont know that much about car stereos stuff..but people who also have sorentos..said the new headunit helped out the sorento a lot.. "just needed more power for the speakers" .. i dunno I may need to take this to a por. i thought it owuld just be a basic install...

anyone install ON a Kia sorento with the 10 speakers before?

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

hmm..well i dont know that much about car stereos stuff..but people who also have sorentos..said the new headunit helped out the sorento a lot.. "just needed more power for the speakers" .. i dunno I may need to take this to a por. i thought it owuld just be a basic install...
anyone install ON a Kia sorento with the 10 speakers before?

You have 2 choices really, a new head unit will give your speakers more power and likely have more features (play mp-3s, rca outs for a future subwoofer,etc.) But by doing it, you may need to bypass your factory amp, or replace all your speakers because the combined load may be too low for an aftermarket head unit's internal amp to take, and blow it up. Replacing speakers simply makes the speakers sound better with the power that is there already, and you haven't wasted any money, because down the road, if you want to do a full system, you already have speakers that could handle amplification from a powerful amp. Your factory speakers would probably not like a truly good amp too much, and blow up. Now, here is the bummer- when shopping for speakers, you never know what you are getting, because what they sound like cranked in the store at eye level in a board, and your car are 2 way different things. I recomend going to crutchfield.com, they have a 30 day return policy so if you try and don't like, you can send 'em back for an exchange or get your cash back. They also give you instructions on how to take off your door panels, etc. to install them. Speakers would be my choice first, you can always do a Head unit and other stuff later, but speakers make a big difference. How much are you looking to spend?

 

[NYRngrs24 10+ year member]

well the reason I'm planning on putting the eclipse in was for the nav system, better sound, and a better iPod hook up. currently using a Wired FM Mod.

i didn't plan on replacing speakers for a while. crutchfield didn't say anything about this when i asked them about the installation. they said the amp could handle the head unit. But you guys seem like you know what your talking about.

 

[btmorris972 10+ year member]

if crutchfield says its ok then ide go for it.

call them and talk to someone they should be able to help you out

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

if crutchfield says its ok then ide go for it.
call them and talk to someone they should be able to help you out

crutchfield is pretty knowledgable, if they say it's all good, I would believe them.

 

[NYRngrs24 10+ year member]

would everything work the wya it does currently? and in another fourm i got people me telling otherwise..where i hsould just run speaker wire and a crossoevr for the tweets..

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

would everything work the wya it does currently? and in another fourm i got people me telling otherwise..where i hsould just run speaker wire and a crossoevr for the tweets..

I'd ask crutchfield, if that's the case they will tell you. I was gonna buy a cd player for my Element, but they told me I'd lose the factory subwoofer if I did, even though it cost them a sale. I think they shoot pretty straight and won't bs you to sell gear. I would also think their tech support knows more than random internet message board people on specific vehicle compatibility. You could run wires, etc. but why if you don't have to?

 

[DiamondFanatic 10+ year member]

I just pulled up the Audiovox Techservices for your car and it wouldn't even give me speaker wire colors or locations. If you know where the amp is it shouldn't be too hard though, and you should be fine just bypassing the factory amp and using the Eclipse. You will need to put capacitors on your tweets to filter out the lower frequencies. Ask crutchfield if you want to... if you don't feel up to installing it yourself without the help of an online retailer you might consider having a local shop do it instead, as it will not be as simple as a standard deck install, just a thought...

 

[NYRngrs24 10+ year member]

hmm ok thanks for the help.. ill be looking around at installers..and talkign to crutch...

what about crossoevrs for the door speakers and tweeters to work?

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

A good set of compenents will come with crossovers.

 

[NYRngrs24 10+ year member]

but lets say I dont want to buy those yet..(funds) couldnt i just buy a crossover and use it for my stock speakers?

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

you would need a crossover that works in the head or passive (speaker level) crossovers. Or some simple bass blockers I guess would work.