please help with new audio installation

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

Best plan as I see it.

1. Sell the 6x9's.

2. Use the money from the 6x9's to get bass blockers for your factory speakers.

3. Get a small mono amp that is good for 2 ohms, and has high level inputs.

4. Get a 8 or 10" efficient sub, dual 1 ohm, or dual 4.

5. Build your own box.

6. 4 gauge amp wiring kit.

7. 12 gauge speaker wire.

Install it all.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

you're fine. ignore the negative comments.

i've ran 4 channel amps to a set of speakers and a sub many times with success.

$300 is a bit low and you won't get the power you want. figure the cheapest sub you'll find worth buying is $70 or so (but it'll be a couple hundred watts RMS). and the cheapest amp you'll want to get will be $150-200. add $60 in wiring and you're there. just greatly lower your expectations and you can get something that will still sound much better than factory.

check the classifieds and your money will go much further. you'll get gear worth 3x what you'll pay for them used. hell, i'm selling used Kenwood gear including amps and subs that would easily fit your budget (but require a LOC). so are many others.

start by setting a goal for minimum features (high level inputs, adjustable crossovers on each channel, etc.). then go through classifieds here and on DIYMA.

Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer, Powerbass, Kicker, Phoenix Gold, all have entry level gear that is decent.

 

---------- Post added at 09:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 PM ----------

 

chemmins has a good plan.

bass blockers for the factory speakers will help some.

 

[magnus28 10+ year member]

great guys.. thanks for the tips! So if I have 6 factory speakers do I have to install a bass blocker at each speaker, or can I install one at the head unit... I know on some factory head units there is a separate plug labeled bass, can't I just unplug that cable from the head unit?

 

[magnus28 10+ year member]

ok.. i've taken the advise, I ditched the 6x9's....

I bought this amp today:

Dual XPA4100 4-Channel 600 Watt Car Amplifier (XPA-4100) from Solid Signal

and 2 of these 10" subs.

Scosche 10" Sub 450 Max Watts 150 Watts RMS Power - 48748 - Walmart Canada - Save Money Live Better.

can someone tell me what way to wire it? Series? Paralllel? or Series - Parallel ? I don't know really much about what that amp would run stable best at for impendance... And I don't know if the subs would handle being reduced to 1 ohm or whatever..

And also, what would be the best way to run amp? bridge 4 channels into 2, and run each bridged channel to each subwoofer? And bridge sub "A" to sub "B"

thx in advance!

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

wire one sub to channels 1&2 bridged. wire the other sub into channels 3&4 bridged.

that is the only way to run your equipment (and expect any useful output).

it has high level inputs and has a switch for 2 channel input mode. that's good. as such, you'll only need to run speaker wires from the rear left and rear right to the amp and you don't need a LOC. you'll still need to tap a factory turn-on wire in order to get a turn-on for the amp. don't just use an switched ignition wire for amp turn on - find a wire in the factory harness that provides 12V only when the head unit is on. if you don't have a turn-on wire, then i'd get a LOC with an auto turn-on feature (David Navone) so you minimize hassle and increase safety.

manual for reference:

http://www.dualav.com/support/manuals/xpa.pdf

 

[magnus28 10+ year member]

Thanks hope.. as always sound advise...

I read the manual, It says use low level output for best results with subs...

I will run the remote wire to the factory head unit.. that should be enough to turn amp on and off?

and one more question...

By just running each sub off of bridged 1+2 channel, and 3+4 channel, can I not wire the subs themselves together in series+parallel? What i'm getting at, is I wan Synchronized subs, not 2 different sounding subs, I want the beat to match precisely...

I have a basic understanding of how wiring parallel and series works....

If you wire 2 4 omh subs together in parallel - the impedance is halved, so down to 2, then have again when wiring it parallel to amp = 1 ohm

wire subs in series together, doubles the impedance to 8 ohm,

wire series+parallel and it splits the difference down to 2 ohms.

That being said, you have to run subs as low as your amp can run safely... In the case of my amp, it says 2 ohms safely in 4 channel mode, and 4 ohms in bridged mode.. so I have to keep it at 4 ohms so my amp won't get damaged..

correct me if I am wrong..

I just want my subs to sound like 1 sub, and not 2 separate ones.....