High Input Question

Hey mate!

Thanks for raising your question.  The option of either using the high to low speaker inputs or RCA inputs were implemented by car audio amplifier manufacturers so that the amp could be added to a 'stock' head unit that did not have provision of RCA's hence the idea.

Later many amps came out without this option so it also was a cost cutting factor for the amp manufacturers but due to recent better stock sounding systems , the idea has again reappeared in newer amplifiers and some amplifiers available today uses the speaker wires to even turn the amp on and off when required which is a great idea as stock radios did not provide you the option for a remote turn on from the head unit and I am also in the market to buy one soon as I am running dual amps using a stock radio :crying:

There is no need to use them unless integrating an external amplifier to a stock system to give it the extra volume and more 'thump' in your system but other then that, I would not use it.  My current amplifier does not have this feature so I am using a high to low converter so I can then connect the RCA's that run to the back of the trunk area to connect to the speaker amplifier.

Hope this has provided some insight for you when it comes to using high input connections to an amplifier that provides you this option mate! :suave:

Attached photo of the old school Rockford Fosgate 4600X amplifier which give you the option to use the high level speaker inputs between the RCA inputs but this amp is so dated but had great sound quality as a 'series 1' entry level amplifier.

idrackert said:

Hello,

Thank you for the response. The amplifier that I have does have the built in sensor to turn the amp on using the high input connection. I'm very glad for this and it is the sole reason I am not interested in replacing my stock head unit. If I had to find a remote 12v for the amp sensor to work then I might as well go aftermarket head unit and use low input RCA connections and the provided remote wire connection. As you stated, my stock system sounds decent as is. I just want to add a little more bass.

My question though is, do I need to run wires from all the speakers to the amp high input connection if I'm only using a mono amp to drive one sub?

I really don't want to 9 wire (or whatever you call it) all the speakers if I don't have to. Ideally I'd like to just tap into one rear speaker to get the signal necessary to run the sub. This is ideal for me because my battery is in the trunk. This means that power, ground, and speaker wire can be really short and direct. I'd hate to have to run a 9 wire all the way up to the stock head unit, I'd prefer to just use the rear speaker(s) keeping everything nice and tight and short runs.

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You got a history lesson I see  lol..

Do you have a audiocontrol amplifier?

I don't have experience with using factory head units either but I'm sure you don't have to run all your speaker  wires to the amp on a sub amp. I think the issue most people have ran into is factory bass roll off. If you do have an audiocontrol amp you can use the accubass to bring the roll off back up. If you have a factory sub I'd tap into that. If not I would imagine 1 of the rears would be sufficient.

idrackert said:

Haha luckily I love history. 

The amp I have is an Alpine MRV500. What is factory bass roll off? I will attempt to use the stock settings for bass mid and treble to blend in with the subwoofer. I have a control knob for the amp so that I can dial it in as best as possible. I'm certainly not going for an SQ comp setup, just want some extra mid/low bass. In my mind hooking up to one speaker seems like enough for a signal. But since I've never done it before I can't say for sure and I like to plan things out before I just go to tearing apart interiors.

Thanks for the response! 

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A lot of factory radios roll off the lows (high pass filter) to protect the stock speakers. So you could have a weak af signal say like at 60 50 40 Hz down. Who knows unless you have an rta to be able to see the signal That's why i suggested using factory sub to tap into. It all depends on what your factory signal is like on your rears on how well it's going to work. About all I know about it. I go out of my way to not  use a factory signal personally.

Idk if you're used to small sealed boxes you may not even notice it.