Will this plan work?

[vdubya]

Hi from Indiana from a car audio newb.

Will a new head unit with rca preamp out feed

1. (4) speakers in my van's living quarters PLUS

2. RCA-to-a-4 channel amp that feeds four additional speakers.

Eight speakers total. The amp/4 speakers would only be powered when the key is on (driving tunes). The other 4 speakers are in the rear living quarters and would supply quieter tunes when camping, with a much slower drain on the aux battery.

Can I accomplish this with just one head unit, one 4 ch amp, and the eight speakers? Yes, I guess all eight speakers would be playing when driving. You guessed it...I've never really done any car audio so perhaps you just got a good laugh, or annoyed by the rookie question, or both. Ok, cool, now let's tackle this. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Click to read more...

 

[TheRealSpinner]

It's been a while since I really messed with this stuff, but I'm starting back up a bit I guess... Since nobody else has chimed in, I'll take a stab at it.

Short answer, YES. Use a new head unit, hook up the stock speakers to the speaker outputs, and use the RCA output to run the external amp and speakers. Add an in-line switch to the power-on 12v supply going to the amp.

Long answer, YES. In general, a Head Unit will have 4 channels of internally amplified speaker outputs. These leads go straight to the speakers, and when the volume knob on the stereo is changed, the volume of the speakers is changed.

In addition to the 4 channels of internally amplified outputs, Head Units will commonly have "pre-outs" (RCA cable outputs). These pre-outs will feed an external amplifier audio signal. From there, you can power an assortment of speakers (in your case, get a 4 channel amp and power 4 speakers). These amps can usually use one pair of RCA inputs and supply power to however many outputs the amp has, or use multiple RCA inputs and utilize fader controls from the Head Unit. The amp is also generally controlled by the head unit (turn the volume up on the head unit, and the output from the external amp will play the speakers louder).

You could (depending on the amp) play all 8 speakers with the 4 channel amp, and maintain fader and L/R controls, but this isn't helping solve your problem. If you're concerned with draining the battery too much when camping, I would just put an external switch on the amplifier turn-on switch. Generally, there is a 12v switched output from the Head Unit that is connected to the amp. This power signal turns on and off with the radio, and tells the amp when to turn on and off. In your case, I would run that signal through an additional switch that you would normally have ON when driving (and listen to all 8 speakers), but then turn OFF when you camp and only use the speakers that are powered by the internal amplifier of the Head Unit.

Hope this all makes sense.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Too convoluted, you need the KISS "keep it simple stupid" rule here.

Just get quality speakers, quality amp. You dont need 8 speakers. Just a pair of components for the front, and a pair of coaxials in the rear. If your speakers can be heard several football fields away, it will have no trouble being heard in the back of the van.

Get a secondary group 31 AGM battery (yes AGM) and a battery isolator. What the isolator does is when the car is off, it prevents the main battery from being drained and only drains the rear battery but it still allows the battery to be charged when the car is on.