ChefJoe 10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
As a belated graduation present, my father signed over the title of his 97 Jetta with factory "premium sound" and a 6 disc changer. In order to keep the changer and security features active, I'd like to hold on to the sound system in the 97 Jetta. The problem is lack of RCA outputs (I assume) on this factory unit... all references to Jetta sound systems indicate they use your typical wiring harness.
My old car, a 85 Jetta, had been outfitted with a panasonic head unit with RCA output, a US Acoustics USX2150 2 channel amp (2 channels, currently bridged at 450 watts, high and low level inputs, RCA type output only, crossovers, etc all in there... but no RCA signal pass through), and a 12" Vega-124 series subwoofer in a bandpass box.
So, I have an amp (USX2150), a factory stereo (Premium sound - wiring harness type, no RCAs on it) setup with 8 speakers (I'm assuming they've got filters on the lower power stuff and the larger diameter speakers in the back have full range piped to it), an old head unit (not compatible with cd changer - don't want to keep it), and a 12" subwoofer/bandpassbox.
I figure I can use the high level/speaker level signal wires to the rear speakers as the input for the amp&subwoofer (any audio fidelity issues would be less noticeable there), but that leaves the rear speakers unpowered. Is there a powered crossover or something that would alllow me to generate an RCA signal without interrupting the signal to the rear speakers ? Should I buy another, smaller amp to power the rear speakers with a passthrough that can lead to the subwoofer amp? If that's the case, would I expect quality differences there? Anyone who's dealt with these sort of adaptations to a factory system, HELP!!
I guess my main question is how to use the hardware I have to make a 4 point (I assume) type of factory speaker system into a 4.1 type. I don't think I should have to spend more than $100-200 to get all this straightened out, perhaps way less. I don't want to compromise fidelity or power, so what equipment should I get to adapt signals.
My old car, a 85 Jetta, had been outfitted with a panasonic head unit with RCA output, a US Acoustics USX2150 2 channel amp (2 channels, currently bridged at 450 watts, high and low level inputs, RCA type output only, crossovers, etc all in there... but no RCA signal pass through), and a 12" Vega-124 series subwoofer in a bandpass box.
So, I have an amp (USX2150), a factory stereo (Premium sound - wiring harness type, no RCAs on it) setup with 8 speakers (I'm assuming they've got filters on the lower power stuff and the larger diameter speakers in the back have full range piped to it), an old head unit (not compatible with cd changer - don't want to keep it), and a 12" subwoofer/bandpassbox.
I figure I can use the high level/speaker level signal wires to the rear speakers as the input for the amp&subwoofer (any audio fidelity issues would be less noticeable there), but that leaves the rear speakers unpowered. Is there a powered crossover or something that would alllow me to generate an RCA signal without interrupting the signal to the rear speakers ? Should I buy another, smaller amp to power the rear speakers with a passthrough that can lead to the subwoofer amp? If that's the case, would I expect quality differences there? Anyone who's dealt with these sort of adaptations to a factory system, HELP!!
I guess my main question is how to use the hardware I have to make a 4 point (I assume) type of factory speaker system into a 4.1 type. I don't think I should have to spend more than $100-200 to get all this straightened out, perhaps way less. I don't want to compromise fidelity or power, so what equipment should I get to adapt signals.
