Easdfg
CarAudio.com Newbie
Hello,
This is my first post here.
My problem: I have a powered sub enclosure. It has a left and right signal input. That's it. Wiring it into my car currently means it is attached to one set of signals (currently the front.) This makes my head unit fade controls useless because if I fade to my rear speakers, I lose the sub.
What I want to do: I would like to take all four audio channels, mix them together, then feed the one mixed signal to both the left and right inputs of the sub effectively making it "immune" from fade or balance controls.
About what I am doing: This is my first time diving into car audio installation. I wanted to install a decent (better than factory) stereo in my 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. After saving up to go to a local installer and buy a basic 6 speaker set-up COVID hit and Ohio shut down. What am I to do with my new telework, extra time stuck at home and not other options? Research and do it myelf. I have made plenty of mistakes so far, butchered my vehicle, already had to have the dealership fix something, but it works so far and nothing burst into flames so I have that going.
My setup thus far: I kept my factory head unit and tapped the speaker wire / line level outputs from it. I re-routed that to a 4 channel amp. The 4 channel amp then sends it's audio via speaker wire back to the main wiring harness behind the radio. Outside that, I replaced all factory speakers, spliced in some extra speakers in the front and rear and went from a basic OEM 4 full range/2 tweeter to 11 speakers (I created a false center channel off the front left and right.) Instead of jumping the price gap to get a 5 channel amp to drive a sub, I found a nice powered sub enclosure and ran with that instead. I tapped the front left and front right channels right before they feed the amp.
My thoughts thus far: I am new at all of this. I have done countless hours of research to make sure I don't destroy my car wiring something wrong. I realized after I set this up that I overlooked my setup and landed here with no fade controls. Why do I want to retain fade controls? I have small children that sometimes ride in my vehicle and my wife has hearing damage. So depending on when and who is riding where in my vehicle, I need to adjust where the music is strongest in the car. When I am by myself everything is left to center and this isn't an issue.
I already attempted purchasing a passive audio mixer but it turned out that it won't work for my setup. It practically mutes the audio passing through it because I found out later it has a minimum 47 ohm resistance. An overlooked detail on my part. Unfortunately, I am having little luck finding passive channel mixers that look like they will hold up fine installed in car (and as a result be subjected to summer heat and winter cold) or finding ones that can deal with signal from a factory car amp. Most I come across are for instruments.
I am willing to dive into a DIY approach if I knew what I was doing. I essentially need to combine the front left and rear left into one input and the same for the right. However, when the wires meet I need them to not "cross" with each other and then accidentally feed my aftermarket amp a junky mashed signal that is all sorts of a mess. This is the result I expect if I just take all the left positive wires and cap them together and so on down the line. I thought about a diode to create a "one-way" electrical flow and tap the channels that way for the sub. However, I read that diodes just ruin an audio signal.
I am aware I can buy line level converters, or nicer mixers but I A: am on a budget (100 dollars or less at this point) and B: Cannot run another power wire (which also means C: my existing power wire isn't going to handle a 3rd item running off it.)
If I can add any details that might help someone answer this, let me know. I appreciate any and all inputs. Thanks in advance for helping me with potentially trivial questions.
This is my first post here.
My problem: I have a powered sub enclosure. It has a left and right signal input. That's it. Wiring it into my car currently means it is attached to one set of signals (currently the front.) This makes my head unit fade controls useless because if I fade to my rear speakers, I lose the sub.
What I want to do: I would like to take all four audio channels, mix them together, then feed the one mixed signal to both the left and right inputs of the sub effectively making it "immune" from fade or balance controls.
About what I am doing: This is my first time diving into car audio installation. I wanted to install a decent (better than factory) stereo in my 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. After saving up to go to a local installer and buy a basic 6 speaker set-up COVID hit and Ohio shut down. What am I to do with my new telework, extra time stuck at home and not other options? Research and do it myelf. I have made plenty of mistakes so far, butchered my vehicle, already had to have the dealership fix something, but it works so far and nothing burst into flames so I have that going.
My setup thus far: I kept my factory head unit and tapped the speaker wire / line level outputs from it. I re-routed that to a 4 channel amp. The 4 channel amp then sends it's audio via speaker wire back to the main wiring harness behind the radio. Outside that, I replaced all factory speakers, spliced in some extra speakers in the front and rear and went from a basic OEM 4 full range/2 tweeter to 11 speakers (I created a false center channel off the front left and right.) Instead of jumping the price gap to get a 5 channel amp to drive a sub, I found a nice powered sub enclosure and ran with that instead. I tapped the front left and front right channels right before they feed the amp.
My thoughts thus far: I am new at all of this. I have done countless hours of research to make sure I don't destroy my car wiring something wrong. I realized after I set this up that I overlooked my setup and landed here with no fade controls. Why do I want to retain fade controls? I have small children that sometimes ride in my vehicle and my wife has hearing damage. So depending on when and who is riding where in my vehicle, I need to adjust where the music is strongest in the car. When I am by myself everything is left to center and this isn't an issue.
I already attempted purchasing a passive audio mixer but it turned out that it won't work for my setup. It practically mutes the audio passing through it because I found out later it has a minimum 47 ohm resistance. An overlooked detail on my part. Unfortunately, I am having little luck finding passive channel mixers that look like they will hold up fine installed in car (and as a result be subjected to summer heat and winter cold) or finding ones that can deal with signal from a factory car amp. Most I come across are for instruments.
I am willing to dive into a DIY approach if I knew what I was doing. I essentially need to combine the front left and rear left into one input and the same for the right. However, when the wires meet I need them to not "cross" with each other and then accidentally feed my aftermarket amp a junky mashed signal that is all sorts of a mess. This is the result I expect if I just take all the left positive wires and cap them together and so on down the line. I thought about a diode to create a "one-way" electrical flow and tap the channels that way for the sub. However, I read that diodes just ruin an audio signal.
I am aware I can buy line level converters, or nicer mixers but I A: am on a budget (100 dollars or less at this point) and B: Cannot run another power wire (which also means C: my existing power wire isn't going to handle a 3rd item running off it.)
If I can add any details that might help someone answer this, let me know. I appreciate any and all inputs. Thanks in advance for helping me with potentially trivial questions.
