Stereo amp/sub question...Audio guru's

[Tasty Geezer]

I am finally upgrading my stereo

I have a 400W 2 channel amp and a 10" sub that I want to add to my existing system

Can I keep the front 6-1/2" speakers that are in my doors hooked up to the JVC head unit by speaker wire and then just run the Aux cables from the head unit to the amp/sub for the bass? Never installed a stereo before and don't want to fry anything if possible.

Also, plan on running the wires under the truck on top of the frame rail and drilling a hole in the vertical plane at the hinge of the passenger seat. I only have rhino-linear... I will then mount the amp to the bottom of the passenger seat. make sense?

Thanks!

 

[Broncofan76]

As long as you have RCA out on the back of your head unit then you are good to run an amp for your sub as well as keep the current speakers running from your deck. I have been debating running my wires in the same spot (under the truck) and as long as they are protected from too much heat and are secured in a wire loom or some sort of protection like marine quality shrink tube they should be fine. Consider mounting your amp to the floor though. The heat sinks are on the top and they work better if they are not upside down. Although, once you consider that the seat itself is likely cooler than the rhinolined floor it's probably no big difference where it's mounted. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have questions. I enjoy stereo installs.

 

[jpopsbronco]

Yes on the rca's the headunit amp will be powering your 6.5's while the amp will be amplifying the signal from the headunit from the rca's.
Mounting your amp to the seat is better then mounting it to the floor because although the floor is rhinolined, the seat is wood (less chance of interference) and will insulate it better from the car metal. The amp shouldn't overheat as long as you dont seal it away somewhere. As far as running your wires yu outta be fine where ever you put em as long as theyr protected from heat/road grime

 

[Tasty Geezer]

Great! just what I wanted to hear...can't wait for some real sound coming from my stereo...

Broncofan76, have you met up with the Atlanta crew yet? ...They meet up every couple of months...fun group of guys! I just moved to Pensacola from Atlanta, so no more chili dawgs at the Varsity for me...

 

[NY-Bronco]

I just added a sub not too long ago 10" sony explod in a ported box. Sounds great. I kept the existing alpines in the door. Just added a 1" spacer to keep it from rubbing against the window mechanism.

I ran the amp cables from the battery. The fuse is on the wheel well then the cable runs through the firewall with all the other cables then under the carpet. The amp now resides under the passenger seat. I bought the passenger seat storage from wildhorses. Now the angles on both the drivers and passenger side is matching and the amp has plenty of room to breathe under there.

You will most probably be happy with your result. The only side effect is that at high speeds you will be one of those guys with the loud stereo. Oh and ringing ears ;D

 

[Tasty Geezer]

NY bronco...sounds just like my setup...so your amp only powers your 10" sony sub and the head unit powers your door speakers right? Are you happy with the sound? Also, where did you end up mounting your Sub...just curious...Thanks

 

[NY-Bronco]

The amp is for the sub only. I got a cheap JVC unit and it powers the door units just fine. Its well balanced as long as the Bass is turned all the way down. Then you blast it for a good rumble ;D It sounds fine. We cant expect an audiophile setup in our rigs. Too much other noise.

The sub is currently in a ported box (large) its behind the rear seat. Im currently working on insulating the rig and plan to make boxes in the space around the wheel wells. Once I do that then Ill get another 6.5" set and power all via an amp.

But for now, I am quite satisfied with the setup.

 

[Tasty Geezer]

Thanks...looks like what I will do.

Good luck with the insulation!

 

[NM Bronco]

Do you need to port a sub? i thought a moderately sealed box was better? thanks for the ideas.

 

[Tasty Geezer]

one more thing....

A 400W 2 channel amp should be plenty for the 10" sony sub right?

 

[NY-Bronco]

Do you need to port a sub? i thought a moderately sealed box was better? thanks for the ideas.

I prefer ported.

 

[NY-Bronco]

one more thing....

A 400W 2 channel amp should be plenty for the 10" sony sub right?

Youd be surprised how enough that is. Just keep in mind not to run it too long without the engine running.

 

[chuckinphx]

depending on the tires and if your at highway speed the head unit should have ok power for the door speakers , my 35 inch km2s are quiter than the old bfg muds but at highway speeds ,no top, really had to turn up loud. i got a small kicker amp for the highs so i can hear them now.. go to a sterio shop and get capacitors (bass blockers) for the mids, it will block the bass from getting to them,( distortion blows speakers faster than anything) since your getting bass from the sub now.... and if you route under truck.. dont forget a fuse close to battery, i use a resetable circuit breaker. and GROMMETS especially on power wire..

 

[jpopsbronco]

For our purposes ported is the best option. At the box's tuned frequency the sub is 3 db louder than a sealed box.. Sealed boxes tend to be more tight and true bass and the ported boxes are a little more boomy and louder, each sound great but it takes more power to push a sub in a sealed enclosure. Another side note- ported boxes tend to be about 1.5 times bigger than sealed boxes to get the same performance out of the sub. typically you want a box tuned around 35 Hz but most inexpensive boxes dont say what they are tuned to.. also for anyone buying an amp or speakers and doesn't know what watts rms and peak power is--(extremely short version) http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100728010824AAYjwLE

 

[chuckinphx]

as far as sealed box = can handle more power but wont get the lowest bass notes.----------------------------------------- ported box = need s to be made to each manufactures spec to get the most out of it. but it will get better sound..

 

[jpopsbronco]

capacitors (bass blockers) for the mids

I think he means crossovers.. most amps have them built in though..
some expensive head units have them also

 

[chuckinphx]

yes crossovers ,, but if your speakers didnt come with them,,, most component speakers do (the ones that have a mid and tweeter seperate from each other) you can get them for a few bucks and then when you turn up the bass on the head unit the mids will still sound ok. When i was installing sterios.. radio shack had them for 50 cents. ................. ya its amazing how many things they can stuff into a car sterio. the pioneer 4100 i have has a usb port (main reason i bought it) all the music i could ever want and it works really fast finding tracks. but its a pain to figure out how to operate...

 

[DrLathrop]

I mounted an amp under the passenger seat as well. I used thick zip ties to hold it in place so that if I needed to make an adjustment to the gain or any other settings just fold the seat forward & then I could get to the panel of the amp easily. It would be more secure hard mounted to the floor but it would also be subject to more vibration, heat & feet. I could clean up the wiring but it works just great for me.

 

[Tasty Geezer]

I mounted an amp under the passenger seat as well. I used thick zip ties to hold it in place so that if I needed to make an adjustment to the gain or any other settings just fold the seat forward & then I could get to the panel of the amp easily. It would be more secure hard mounted to the floor but it would also be subject to more vibration, heat & feet. I could clean up the wiring but it works just great for me.


View attachment 180344

That's how I plan on attaching mine...except I have a hole drilled by the hinge at the seat and ALL wires run out and under the bronco...really clean looking...

So...these crossovers are cheap and can be found at any audio shop? How big are they, where do you mount them and do they need power as well?

Thanks for all the help...I will post pics once I have it all installed

 

[DrLathrop]

That's how I plan on attaching mine...except I have a hole drilled by the hinge at the seat and ALL wires run out and under the bronco...really clean looking...

So...these crossovers are cheap and can be found at any audio shop? How big are they, where do you mount them and do they need power as well?

Thanks for all the help...I will post pics once I have it all installed

So is your head unit going to be in the dash or in a tuffy console?