Hello Caraudio people,
I would like to change the speakers and add a subwoofer in my 2018 Civic. One solution could consist of simply replacing the stock speakers / tweeters and adding a Line output converter (LOC) as demonstrated by some people on youtube. This would be the easiest solution since I could keep my stock Headunit which already supports the basic features you need in a modern car for audio and would require less investment and less time. However, I have 2 major questions regarding this setup:
- I've read that putting higher RMS rated speakers on a lower RMS amp (which in this case, would be the headunit itself I believe), could potentially burn the speakers. Is this even safe to do considering that the stock Headunit probably has a very low RMS rating?
- I would suppose that the use of a LOC reduces the sound quality quite a bit. Would that even be noticeable since this would be for the subwoofer?
Now the second solution would be to install a 5 channels and new Headunit. This would be a little more time and money consuming but I don't mind paying for good result.
However, I had installed a custom sound system in my previous car (Honda civic 2003) and I would need to change the alternator maybe once a year, which is pretty fast rate. It had a Kenwood X700-5 amp and a brand new car battery. I am afraid that after installing a new system similar to this one, I run into the same problems again. Are an additional +/- 500 watts RMS really that hard on the electrical components? I've read about the Big 3, but at what point do you really need to upgrade the alternator, battery and wiring? I understand that you may need to upgrade your electrical system if you chose to install a 3000 watts RMS amp for your sub. But should I really need to upgrade my big3 for a 500w system?
Opinion, suggestions, and comments are welcome!
Will
I would like to change the speakers and add a subwoofer in my 2018 Civic. One solution could consist of simply replacing the stock speakers / tweeters and adding a Line output converter (LOC) as demonstrated by some people on youtube. This would be the easiest solution since I could keep my stock Headunit which already supports the basic features you need in a modern car for audio and would require less investment and less time. However, I have 2 major questions regarding this setup:
- I've read that putting higher RMS rated speakers on a lower RMS amp (which in this case, would be the headunit itself I believe), could potentially burn the speakers. Is this even safe to do considering that the stock Headunit probably has a very low RMS rating?
- I would suppose that the use of a LOC reduces the sound quality quite a bit. Would that even be noticeable since this would be for the subwoofer?
Now the second solution would be to install a 5 channels and new Headunit. This would be a little more time and money consuming but I don't mind paying for good result.
However, I had installed a custom sound system in my previous car (Honda civic 2003) and I would need to change the alternator maybe once a year, which is pretty fast rate. It had a Kenwood X700-5 amp and a brand new car battery. I am afraid that after installing a new system similar to this one, I run into the same problems again. Are an additional +/- 500 watts RMS really that hard on the electrical components? I've read about the Big 3, but at what point do you really need to upgrade the alternator, battery and wiring? I understand that you may need to upgrade your electrical system if you chose to install a 3000 watts RMS amp for your sub. But should I really need to upgrade my big3 for a 500w system?
Opinion, suggestions, and comments are welcome!
Will
