royalcrown

hey folks. i'll be setting up a stereo system fairly soon and rather than getting a head unit i'll just be running my mp3 player to the amp via mini jack to RCA. since i won't have a head unit to run the amp's remote wire to, where is the best place for me to run it so that the amp will turn off/on with the car? i've done some searching on the forum and have seen the ignition switch suggested but wanted to see if indeed that is the best idea for my particular set up. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks!

hotrod351

in that case id just go to the fuse box and find a fuse that get voltage when you turn the key on and connect it there.

crunchyskippy

You've proposed an interesting setup (feeding your amp directly from your ipod). Although I've never seen this done, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

I'd probably recommend connecting the amp remote wire directly to the fuse box...say the radio fuse. Anything switched will work, really, as you stated above. But the fuse box will keep your remote wire convenient for the future head unit connection.

Be particularly careful of "POPs" with this setup, as in, don't unplug your iPod while the car is "On". You're speakers will take a beating...

Good luck.

--EDIT-- Hotrod 351 beat me to it!

royalcrown

Thanks guys! I'm also wondering if with this particular set up I'll get a buzzing sound from the speakers if the mp3 player isn't turned on. A friend of mine suggested this might happen but I think I'd only get a buzzing if the car/amp is turned on while the mini jack is disconnected from the mp3 player. As long as it's connected there should be no noise, correct?

Adrenolin

Might want to contact the amp manufacturer and ask them. I remember reading somewhere that the head unit doesn't supply full 12V to the amps via the remote wire. If you simple hook it up to 12V you could blow or damage the amp.

bredn65

You have to get the MP3 player voltage up, otherwise you will blow the amp. You have to set the gains on the amp to obtain maximum performance. Mp3 players are manufactured with millivolt output, therefore you would have to crank them up to get any volume which in turn would damage the amp. You could line-in a Eq w/inputs and outputs, but if you're going to do that, might as well get a head unit. Even still, some head unit w/MP3 input don't sound that good (IMHO). You'd be better off spending $100 on a head unit w/an MP3 input than risk damaging your amp. However, there are ways to do it, but (like everything else) depends on your budget. Easier to burn a CD of your MP3 music and play it through a head unit w/a CD player.

noroof66

If you go that route, I would hook it up to a toggle switch. If you go to ignition the amp is on every time your car is, whether or not the Ipod is even plugged in etc..

noroof66

Alpine amps were like that years ago, 3 volt triggers.

msmith

If you get a buzz, just ground the shield of one of the RCA connectors to chassis ground. No biggie.

I would put a toggle switch inline with the ignition-switched 12V turn-on wire. This will allow you to manually turn the amp off with the ignition on. You can hide it under the dash or even in the glove box.

msmith

All car amps that I'm aware of use 12v triggers. Even Alpines.