Nick.Simonds

Ok here my situation and my goal.

Situation: A PO put a new head unit in which as the classic looks but has an audio input, this will be great for a ipod and such. I do not want to buy a new head unit. One thing he did not do is up the speaker(s). I have installed some in the package tray, will put some in the kicks and maybe some tweeter's in the dash where the stock speaker went. I have been testing the speakers and have found that the head unit does not have a whole lot of power to give.

Goal: Im not looking to rattle cars next to me and **** people off. I would simply like to be able to hear the radio over my exhaust, which will probably be 40's or some glasspacks


Question: Can you/how do you wire the speakers through an amp to get them some extra power? I know nother of amps please help.




Cliff notes: Head unit sucks, I wont change it, I need more power to the speakers.

Thanks guys

boogerschnot

Could you tell us what type of head unit you have now and speakers? make and model.. That would help. Also, do you have the amp yet? You could buy yourself a 4 channel amp and run two sets of RCA cables from the back of your head unit to the amp (front and rear) then run your speaker wires from the amp to wherever your speakers are. Thats the basics.. The rest is prett self explanitory.. make sure you hook positive to positive and neg to neg with the amp and speakers. How much money are you working with?

Nick.Simonds

As for head unit, I have not idea. I could take a pic and look for a make of model later. For speakers I will be using Xplodes all around, my friends have had good experieces with them so far. Again they arent that fancy, just something to hear. I do not believe the unit has RCA's. No amp yet.

fakesnakes

You will need an amp that allows speaker level inputs (not all do). For your purpose, a four channel amp is probably fine. You can find good ones online via Crutchfield or even on ebay. Size the amp and speakers to be compatible looking to match wattage and observing peak vs. rms to ensure you use the same measure for each. For example, this Kicker is a good amp for your application:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-KICKER-08-ZX...3A1%7C294%3A50

boogerschnot

Do like fakesnakes said and pick up the amp with line level inputs. I'd say 45-60 watts RMS would do the trick with just about any set of sonys you can find.. Sony Xplodes are fine, if you are tight on cash, they will sound ok with a decent amp. Just dont run too much base to the things.. Once they start to distort (the bass isnt clear) turn it down a bit.. Many many people think that having the bass cranked to the point that its just popping actually sounds good... It doesnt. Keep it clean and clear and your speakers will last a lot longer.

Sorry,, slight rant..

Nick.Simonds

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not much of a bass guy anyways, I like the tremble turned up a bit.

WildMustang351

Good advice guys,They always say it's best to buy all the same brand anyway.
Most brands test their stuff on their own products and match them accordingly and it's hard to find a good match otherwise.
Sony's Explod line is a really cheap line,But it's a good line for moderate volume's 80% listening volume or less.
I have a friend who has a couple Explod amps in his 4x4 rig that he has been wheeling for atleast 10 years now and has not had a single failure.

It sounds like you are going to have 6 channels (channels are speakers) I would use the head unit speaker wires to power the tweeters in the dash with some Bass blockers (15 cents each at a stereo shop) Tweeters require very little power to do what they do.

With an AMP you are going to have to run a FUSED power wire to the battery, The ground should be a max of 3 feet long and can be mounted to any metal part of the car.

Run all 4 speaker wires (8 wires total/4 channels) to the 4 channel AMP that you would most likely mount in or near the trunk.(it would be nice if you can squeeze it under the rear seat,just so you don't have to run wires everywhere) overheating should not be an issue.
Or run the wires back to the doors and package tray.

What you need to buy or should buy:

300 watt or so AMP With line level inputs (speaker)$175.00 or less Walmart sells Sony Explode
300 watt AMP installation kit $20.00 Walmart sells these to.
2 channel BASS Blockers ,Local audio store $1.00 or so
Extra 18 gauge or bigger speaker wire (the amp kit will have some speaker wire in it,you just need to figure out how much you need)

Good luck

This system should be great for covering up road noise (or annoying passengers/wives)

And you have to also remember the music is only going to sound as good as the source making it no matter how much power you throw at it.
One more thing don't be scared of subwoofers,their only porpuse in life is not to annoy other people they add richness to good music,lol
If you don't like the sound you may want to look into getting a new head unit next.

Waffles

No on Xplodes. CRAP. For subs go MTX for speakers go infinity plate speakers.

Nick.Simonds

Well looks like I will be buying a new head unit anyways. I swear it had a input jack but it does not.

Waffles, thats the DJ speaking. Must be LOUD right?

crunchyskippy

More power (bigger amp/more wattage) equals cleaner sound. But don't forget about your alternator. In example, a 300 watt amplifier will draw 25 amps (amperes) of current at full power.

Upgrade your alternator if needed.

(Current=Power/Voltage)