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He very well may be dealing with a balanced feed then, which will require the amp or LOC to accept balanced inputs (not that common). Definitely want to clarify that before you get too deep into this one Samsquamsch I am also now mesmerized by your hip shaking Wasabi the J.
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Oct 22, 2014 14:33
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| # ? May 25, 2024 17:04 |
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Selling a couple head units in SA-Mart if anyone is interested: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3675122
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Oct 22, 2014 16:04
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Input requested for these headunits i'm looking at. 2002 WRX Wagon with the factory under-seat subwoofer. The car might have a blown aftermarket speaker and may have been wired for an amplifier at some point, but I still need to verify this by taking the door panels off. I'm not sure I want to spend money to add a 4 channel amp either, but having the ability to add one in case I do would be nice. Requirements: double din touch screen good android integration for waze/google maps bluetooth audio streaming Desired features that are not required: built in HD radio ability to keep using under seat subwoofer Dealbreakers: internal navigation (don't want due to increased cost) kenwood products (bad previous experiences) A couple of Pioneer products that look good: Pioneer AVH-X5600BHS - $338 Pioneer AVH-4000NEX - $546 Would prefer to spend under $600
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Oct 22, 2014 21:28
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Well, the second one has appradio mode, which gives you the newly released Apple CarPlay if you have an iPhone, or screen mirroring through 3rd party methods if you have android phone. You might want to consider trying one before you buy though. I was set on the Pioneer SPH-DA110, but after trying it in the store display it felt really slow to react, and i just kept my old headunit and phone mount. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/AppRadio/AppRadio+3+(SPH-DA110) A quick google leads me to believe the factory sub has its own amplifier running off the rear speaker line outs. It should still work with aftermarket headunit, but you might need to splice in some wires. Don't take my word for it though. [Edit] Just noticed you said you have android. You can check out this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451980 but it is a bit of a hassle. Humbug fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Oct 22, 2014 |
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Oct 22, 2014 21:57
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Hello thread. I have a Honda Civic 2009 that I am looking to add bluetooth to. I have a headphone jack bluetooth adapter now but its terrible. I am also pretty poor with cars, can anyone recommend a place in the twin cities I would get this done at? Cheers. This is for both bluetooth calling and playing audio with my android phone. If push comes to shove I can do it, but I figured this is a pretty common request and there must be a place I can do this at locally. kri kri fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Oct 23, 2014 |
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Oct 23, 2014 20:44
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wasabi, redneck, aflicted, thanks for your responses! I did some more researching and then proceeded to just do what I thought about doing; cut the plugs off the end of the stock sub inputs and wired positive/negative left and positive/negative left to the respective wires on the LOC. The only reason I asked in the first place is because my friend told me I could probably just get away with splicing LOC pos/pos and neg/neg and just use one set of signal wires. I think I probably could have, but in case it didn't work, it wasn't too much work to just wire all 4 individually. Had about a mile of extra RCA cable at the back because unlike last time I wasn't going all the way to the head unit, so I stuffed it up into the rear deck and behind the sub box. My battery is also in the trunk, so all the work and wiring was localized to the trunk area. Hooked up the remote wire to an empty, on-with-the-car fuse in the trunk using a fuse tap, and then failed to get it working yesterday because unbeknownst to me, the spot I chose for a ground had a washer with a layer of insulating material between it and the metal. Hooking the remote wire straight to the 12V made the power lights come on, but then rapidly fade out due to the bad ground. Took the washer off today, sanded the whole thing down, and re-grounded, and bam, bass (hence why no reply till now). I'm so loving psyched, it's been a solid year since I've had these hooked up, now all that's left to do is tune them (they seem a little overly responsive, even with boost at 0 and sensitivity at less than half) and clean up the wiring as best I can. gently caress yeah! Thanks again for your replies. edit: drat it, headlight flicker. I drove a 97 Mercedes C230 for a long time with these these in there and the lights never flickered, but I guess there's a lot more electrical equipment in newer models. I guess it's either the big 3 upgrade or the alternator? I'll ask in the Mercedes thread. Samsquamsch fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Oct 25, 2014 |
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Oct 24, 2014 20:58
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Glad my fumbling Google could help! I'm in a different kind of bind; I don't know anything about building cabinets. I have a 1993 Explorer XLT with a Blaupunkt Helsinki 220 driving four Kenwood KFC-C6895PS from the head unit directly. No provisions for deadening or dampening have been made. The storage area has a little storage cubby that isn't much use.  I was thinking of getting something like this and stuffing a 10" sub (?) with a dedicated amp (???) to fill in the low end. I'm not trying to rattle out windows, or even make the bass hit hard, I just want to add some impact to my Kenwood speakers. Basically, I want to end up with this:  I know there is some room behind the panel for "stuff" (Ford even has a factory sub box and amp mount for the space, seen below) and it's mostly empty, but it's not rectangular, and I don't know the first thing about making a sub cabinet. Would this be something worth taking the time to do? I don't have a jigsaw, so the cost of tools/materials would be something that I would need to consider.  I do NOT want a standalone box sub, as I actually use the cargo area and fold-down seats often. TLDR version: - What are recommended budget sub/amp combos for a mono sub system in a tight space like this? - Would building a cabinet in a hidden area be worth the effort? - What would the cost comparison be vs. buying a premade cabinet (linked above)?
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Oct 27, 2014 14:18
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If you can find a q logic box, like you linked, for that area or something similar then that is the best way to go. You don't need a large driver in that open cabin to make a nice impact on the sound. In my hatchback I used a single 8" Polk with about 150w amp driving it and it was more than enough to fill out the low frequencies that my fronts couldn't muster. You want to find out what the sealed internal volume is and make sure that it pairs up nicely with what is specified for the driver you use. If it doesn't come with some cotton batting then I would consider getting some and add it in. Custom making a standalone enclosure is not too difficult to do, but the moment you want to do specific packaging like that it gets tricky. You are looking at making a fiberglass enclosure there.
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Oct 27, 2014 18:37
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Ah, I didn't know that I was diving into the realm of fiberglass; I was thinking a backboard to mount the amp/crossovers, plus a sealed box built onto it would be feasible, but I see how that would be ... difficult now. Would I use the batting around the inside or outside of the box? How would I isolate it from the bodywork? Should I get some sorbothane sheets to make gaskets for it? Additionally, what are some sub+amp combos that the thread recommends? I'm trying to stay on as low of a budget as possible.
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Oct 28, 2014 07:07
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The polyfill would go behind the sub in the enclosure. I have never used a Q-logic box, but it may come with rubber washers to use on the mounting points to isolate the box. You could always consider adding some sound deadner back there if you have experience a lot of vibration. As for subwoofers, I have personally used JL, Focal, Infinity, and Polk and have liked all of them roughly in that order actually. The key is to find one that covers the frequency range you are looking for. For instance a JL 10W0 is rated for 25-250hz, whereas a Focal P25 is 40-500hz etc. You need to account for the box volume and make sure it is adequate for the speakers requirements and that it can handle the depth of the speaker mounted. You should be able to get a decent sub from either of those 4 MFRs for close to $110 or less. Most in that price range will handle 50-250 watts RMS so something like this: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136JX2501/JL-Audio-JX250-1.html?tp=35834 would be a decent pairing. Kicker makes the 300.1 which I have used and actually have sitting on a table for a future date, that is a bit cheaper. The JL though gives you a bit more selectivity in the high pass filter setting so if you wanted to set it higher than 80hz you can. The Kicker is just a hard cut at 80hz which is typical for a well rounded system. If your door speakers are small (5 1/4 or smaller or factory driven) then you might appreciate the sub filling closer to the midrange.
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Oct 28, 2014 15:58
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What impact (if any) would the different ohmage of sub coils have on this setup?
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Oct 29, 2014 07:45
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I wouldn't worry about this too much. The different configurations come in to play when you start getting creative in wiring up multiple speakers or using multiple amp channels on a DVC speaker. If you choose a 2Ohm speaker, then make sure the amp is rated to drive 2Ohm loads. For a single speaker I would not be too concerned about it and pay more attention to the sensitivity and frequency response on the choices. It is also important to remember that the impedance rating is really just a point in time figure. As a speaker works, the frequency changes also vary the impedance. It is not a static figure. If you get a dual voice coil (DVC) speaker then you will want to look at wiring in series or in parallel and what that does to what the amp "sees" when powering it. Wiring in parallel is divisive, and wiring in series is multiplicative. For instance, if you have a 2Ohm per coil DVC subwoofer wired in parallel, it will be a 1Ohm (2Ohm/2=1Ohm) nominal load presented to the amplifier. If you wire them in series, it will be a 4Ohm (2Ohm*2=4Ohm) nominal load presented.
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Oct 29, 2014 12:19
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 WIRING QUESTION INCOMING I did all the soldering and wiring on my friends Mercedes W124 head unit swap, the old stereo install was sort of a PO mess and I did my best to wire everything right into ISO connectors. After installing the subwoofer + amp in the trunk we went for a test drive to try it out and during that ride we had a minor panic as smoke came out from behind the head unit. Luckily my other friend had put the head unit keys in the glove compartment so we could pull over and get the head unit out. What had happened was that the ground wire on the new ISO harness had overheated and melted the insulation and made a horrible stench. Why did this happen? I wired the red ISO to the prev head units hot lead and the yellow one to the lighter outlet cable on the back of the ashtray (key hot), was this wrong? Why did this happen? Also the sound was all hosed up and scratchy when you turned it up. Edit: Also originally the head unit kept restarting when you turned it up, but when my friend put the antenna back on the car it stopped I think? Cached Money fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Nov 2, 2014 |
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Nov 2, 2014 17:44
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Samsquamsch posted:edit: drat it, headlight flicker. I drove a 97 Mercedes C230 for a long time with these these in there and the lights never flickered, but I guess there's a lot more electrical equipment in newer models. I guess it's either the big 3 upgrade or the alternator? I'll ask in the Mercedes thread. Is this the sort of situation where a capacitor in-line to the sub amp would help?
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Nov 2, 2014 18:40
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Cached Money posted:
Either you have a short somewhere or you are drawing too much power for the size of the ground wire. Actually, bonus option would be that thats not meant to be the ground wire. So double check everything I guess? Hopefully this gives you an idea at least 
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Nov 3, 2014 01:15
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Panty Saluter posted:Is this the sort of situation where a capacitor in-line to the sub amp would help? Yeah this might be cheaper.
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Nov 3, 2014 01:15
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Are JL's TR series still a decent entry level speaker? I finally replaced the gaping hole in my dash with a Pioneer headunit a little while ago only to confirm that roughly 1.5 of my speakers are working in any fashion (they are older JL VR series that pretty decent as far as I can tell but time and moisture makes fools of us all).
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Nov 3, 2014 01:33
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Is it normal to get slight engine noise through the speakers when it's cold for some reason? Only happens when it's cold out 
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Nov 3, 2014 01:41
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leica posted:Is it normal to get slight engine noise through the speakers when it's cold for some reason? Only happens when it's cold out Check your grounds? The only thing that comes to mind is that you have one that's a tiny bit loose and it breaks contact when it contracts. Other than that no idea v  v
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Nov 3, 2014 01:44
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I had an isuzu trooper that would do that. If you ran your own amps you probably have your rca audio interconnects running parallel to a power wire and have a noisy alternator. Redo your grounds better too.
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Nov 3, 2014 04:08
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Well the car is a Miata, the amp is in the trunk with the battery pretty much right next to it, so the power wire is only along side the rca lines for less than a foot. And by grounds do you mean the amp grounds or all the car's grounds in general?
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Nov 3, 2014 04:32
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Panty Saluter posted:Is this the sort of situation where a capacitor in-line to the sub amp would help? Capacitors are sort of the equivalent of a band-aid; no substitute for an adequate system (at least, that's what I've heard). My alternator puts on 150A and the 900W amp consumes 75A at peak, which is definitely not what I'm consuming; I get headlight flicker even at moderate settings. The power cable from the alternator to the battery is also pretty big, so not sure if I want to go through the trouble of running 0/1 gauge wire from the trunk battery to the alternator. I'm going to get the battery checked and see if that's the issue.
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Nov 3, 2014 06:12
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Samsquamsch posted:Capacitors are sort of the equivalent of a band-aid; no substitute for an adequate system (at least, that's what I've heard). My alternator puts on 150A and the 900W amp consumes 75A at peak, which is definitely not what I'm consuming; I get headlight flicker even at moderate settings. The power cable from the alternator to the battery is also pretty big, so not sure if I want to go through the trouble of running 0/1 gauge wire from the trunk battery to the alternator. I'm going to get the battery checked and see if that's the issue. yeah see your average power usage is less than generated, you just have a problem with peakiness which sounds to me like a capacitor would be ideal
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Nov 3, 2014 06:23
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Cached Money posted:
I always have to double check this, but I am pretty sure that the yellow wire is the always hot power lead and the red wire is switched. That ground wire should be a thicker gauge than the others too. Usually the yellow wire is also a thicker gauge as well.
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Nov 3, 2014 11:43
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bobbilljim posted:yeah see your average power usage is less than generated, you just have a problem with peakiness which sounds to me like a capacitor would be ideal Yeah, as far as I knew caps were used to offset voltage drop on the power line (which is something you're going to get almost no matter what). Lower voltage means you wind up with higher current draw and a lot more stress on the vehicle's power system. I guess it's a "band-aid" insofar as it can even out the draw on the electrical system, but I don't think that's a bad thing.
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Nov 3, 2014 13:36
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Aflicted posted:I always have to double check this, but I am pretty sure that the yellow wire is the always hot power lead and the red wire is switched. That ground wire should be a thicker gauge than the others too. Usually the yellow wire is also a thicker gauge as well. Yeah, I mixed up the colors in the post, but I got the switched and constant right at least, must be a goddamn grounding error.
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Nov 3, 2014 20:37
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bobbilljim posted:yeah see your average power usage is less than generated, you just have a problem with peakiness which sounds to me like a capacitor would be ideal I also just noticed that you said the power cable is "pretty big" but that a 0/1 gauge would be an upgrade. If you're running that much juice over 2 or 4 gauge wire I'd think you're probably getting appreciable voltage drop which means higher current draw, especially as things heat up. You might need only 75A if you have a constant 12V, but that becomes 90A if you drop to 10V, etc. Also in general those big spikes will stress your charging system even if they're still under capacity and a capacitor helps buffer your alternator from the big hits.
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Nov 3, 2014 21:30
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I'm looking for a 4 channel amp to replace the stock amp currently mounted under the drivers seat in my Volvo wagon. From what I have read online it seems like I can pretty much swap one in for the other. Anyone have any experience with this and any recommendations on brands?
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Nov 4, 2014 10:47
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confonnit posted:I'm looking for a 4 channel amp to replace the stock amp currently mounted under the drivers seat in my Volvo wagon. From what I have read online it seems like I can pretty much swap one in for the other. Anyone have any experience with this and any recommendations on brands? If what is under your seat is aftermarket, then yes, you can probably swap the cables over. You will want to know what is connected and how. (Line level or low level inputs, bridged channels, hi/low pass filters) This is to make sure the replacement can handle the task. I have used a few amps from Kicker, Rockford, and Alpine and none were bad. The Alpine is ten years old, still kicking, sounds great. Your source and speakers will have a more meaningful impact over one amp or another. Just read up to make sure the one you are looking at plays well thermally in small spaces. Alpine PDX, JL digital amps, and ARC Audio are known for this.
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Nov 4, 2014 12:49
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bobbilljim posted:yeah see your average power usage is less than generated, you just have a problem with peakiness which sounds to me like a capacitor would be ideal Panty Saluter posted:I also just noticed that you said the power cable is "pretty big" but that a 0/1 gauge would be an upgrade. If you're running that much juice over 2 or 4 gauge wire I'd think you're probably getting appreciable voltage drop which means higher current draw, especially as things heat up. You might need only 75A if you have a constant 12V, but that becomes 90A if you drop to 10V, etc. Also in general those big spikes will stress your charging system even if they're still under capacity and a capacitor helps buffer your alternator from the big hits. Thanks, I didn't mean to be standoffish, it's just that everything I'd read about capacitors indicated that they were not appropriate to solve the issue of the lights dimming. Since it's an inadequate power system somehow (alternator/battery/power and ground wires) adding a cap doesn't actually help since (going back to the power = water analogy) it just adds a reservoir between the battery and the amplifier that has to be filled after discharging (drawing from the inadequate power system). I've heard it can actually help with the lights dimming, but that it's just an effect of having that extra barrier between two of the components; power is unimpeded going to the lights, so they're fine, but that's at the cost of the amp not having enough juice, so it suffers either in quality or stress on the system. I am going to get the battery checked out, but I think it's fine; really, I just need to suck it up and upgrade the power wires. If I'm totally wrong and uninformed on caps please tell me, that's just what I heard when doing initial research for my sub install; the salesperson at Crutchfield said I should absolutely get one, but I opted not to and my 1997 C230 didn't have any dimming issues whatsoever, even when listening at twat-level volumes. That more than anything convinced me caps were a margin-boosting accessory sale for the dealer. I am guessing a 150A alternator is already sufficient. My old car put out something like 100 and didn't have issues, so even with all the extra electrical equipment in a newer model, it shouldn't be the alternator's fault (I shouldn't think so, at least) Samsquamsch fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Nov 4, 2014 |
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Nov 4, 2014 21:29
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Yes, the cap has to refill from the power system but at least in theory you are not pushing it so hard that the cap is constantly being completely depleted (if that's the case the amp/sub is probably the weak point ). Ideally I think you are just using the cap as an "emergency reservoir" that can pop a bunch of amperes very quickly without them having to travel over the length of the car. You're correct, of course, that band aiding is never good practice. Cleaning and making sure your connections are snug is not a bad idea at all. How big is the cable going to the sub amp anyway? I assume the amp is in the trunk.
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Nov 4, 2014 21:40
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Panty Saluter posted:Yes, the cap has to refill from the power system but at least in theory you are not pushing it so hard that the cap is constantly being completely depleted (if that's the case the amp/sub is probably the weak point It's 4 gauge to the amp, and I believe the power wires from battery to alternator are 2 gauge. Like I said, I want to make sure the battery isn't the problem (because that would be easiest to get checked) but yeah, I think the power cables are going to have to change if I ever want to be able to listen loudly. Samsquamsch fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Nov 4, 2014 |
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Nov 4, 2014 21:47
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Samsquamsch posted:Thanks, I didn't mean to be standoffish, it's just that everything I'd read about capacitors indicated that they were not appropriate to solve the issue of the lights dimming. Since it's an inadequate power system somehow (alternator/battery/power and ground wires) adding a cap doesn't actually help since (going back to the power = water analogy) it just adds a reservoir between the battery and the amplifier that has to be filled after discharging (drawing from the inadequate power system). say you generate 2 units of electricity per second. say your music uses 1 unit of electricity per second most of the time, then every 5 seconds or so uses 4 units of electricity. with no capacitor, your headlights dim when the 4 units is drawn. say you add a capacitor that holds 10 units of electricity. for 4 seconds, you will generate 8 units and use 4 units. capacitor will be storing 4 units. in the 5th second you can suck out 4 units from the capacitor and your headlights stay on. this is oversimplified but it can give you an idea. i think a capacitor ought to be cheaper than upgrading any of the big 3 and you wont lose horsepower like you would with a bigger alt for example. just dont get a real expensive cap i reckon
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Nov 5, 2014 05:24
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I'm buying a decent deck and a set of decent speakers to run without amping. Is it socially acceptable to run these speakers with the OEM speaker wiring, or do I need to replace it with some Monster Cable or Radioshack branded high quality sound cable?
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Nov 6, 2014 03:17
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I don't usually upgrade the wires unless I'm using an amp, you'll be fine using the stock wires and it will be ten times easier too. Running wires sucks.
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Nov 6, 2014 03:26
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Reacon posted:I'm buying a decent deck and a set of decent speakers to run without amping. Is it socially acceptable to run these speakers with the OEM speaker wiring, or do I need to replace it with some Monster Cable or Radioshack branded high quality sound cable? Run it with OEM. I want to say OEM is usually 18/16 gauge and really that should be fine for super-short car runs. That plus running wires in a car sucks and is not worth it for the low return when running off a headunit
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Nov 6, 2014 03:29
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That's unfortunate, I was hoping to spend half my paycheque on super-EMI-shielded, gold plated, water-resistant cabling. But thanks for the answer - I'll proceed without it.
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Nov 6, 2014 03:46
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It really depends on the car. On my 86 BMW, the stock deck outputs 2 low level channels (shared chassis ground), which go to the amp in the trunk, then come back to the fader by the deck, then run to the speakers. I'm going to run new wiring to the front speakers, and commandeer the fader wiring for the rear speakers, and let the new aftermarket head unit do the fading.
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Nov 6, 2014 03:47
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gently caress it, buy triple shielded quad-ought gauge wire if you want. If it make syou feel good when the music is sounding right it was all worth it. *not a recovering audiophile
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Nov 6, 2014 03:49
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| # ? May 25, 2024 17:04 |
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After running wires in both my cars for two amplified systems (Miata headrest speakers are a PITA) I'm done for a few years at least. The worst part of installing systems is running the wires. Even better is when you realized you hosed up AFTER you put it all together and have to rip it all apart again YAY.
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Nov 6, 2014 03:53
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