I am installing a 4 channel amp to my stock head unit using a line out converter. The dudes at Circuit City are trying to sell me an RCA cable set that is about $120 saying I will get engine noise if I use anything else. (says it happens to his installers all the time) My question....has anyone hooking up an amp to their stock head unit using a converter had any engine noise problems with any type/quaility of RCA cable?

 

I used a line out in my F-150 several times and never had any noise issues. Worst case is that I would try hooking up the convertor, run your own rca's and see if you have noise. Even expensive rca's like they are trying to push on you are just a band aid for the noise. Done properly, you should not have any noise issues.

 

They just want your money

I used to have a cheap Metra LOC with cheap Schoche RCA's and didn't have a problem in my old truck.

 

This is what i used. Got it at KCAUTOSOUND,
http://www.reqsound.com/default.aspx

 

dconder and Bartak1 nailed it.

The bastards at Circuit City and the rest of the retail chains prey upon customers that aren't audiophiles, by trying to up-sell them on rediculously priced cables, using scare tactics. It's a bulls**t tactic, and it works all of the time because people don't know any better. All you need to be concerned with is wire gauge and stranding for speaker cable, and shielding for RCAs. All the rest is hype and marketing.

There are tons of quality, inexpensive RCA and speaker cables out there and you won't find many of them at a chain store or car stereo shop. It's all about the markup.

I used these from Knukonceptz. They're beefy as hell and have great shielding.

System design is your best weapon against noise. If it's not too late, you should consider an amp that will accept speaker level inputs and avoid the external converter. The speaker-level signals get attenuated at the amp and any induced noise gets squashed at the same time. That helps to maintain your signal-to-noise ratio and things stay quiet.

 

Thanks to all those above for your advice. I figured they were just trying to sell me expensive cables as I've never had any problems with any other system I've installed. Just didn't know if there was something about the F150 or other newer vehicles that might generate some noise. I am going to use the converter and run RCA's so I don't have to rip everything apart again later if I update to a different head unit. This way the RCA cables will be there. Noticed today when I popped off the sills just how crammed the spaces are with wires. Alot more on the left side. Not to impressed with how Ford did that. I found a few wires pinched and the insulation broken through on a couple. God knows what they control so I'm glad I found them before some real damage was done. Wish me luck!

 

You're right. The driver's side cable tray is way tighter than the passenger side. I was able to fit my 4AWG power and RF speaker in the passenger tray, but I had to run my RCA and LF speaker outside the tray on the driver's side.

I didn't notice any insulation issues, but I really wasn't looking. Thanks for the heads-up and good luck with your install.

 

On the drivers side there were two wires coming off the main harness that they ran down through the slots that the sill plate clips go in. The wires were crammed up against the slot edge and are starting to wear through. They go under the truck towards the back. Not sure yet for what but that was a big quality screw up in my eyes. Like I said, I will be inspecting both harnesses from front to back. I don't need the truck dying on me because some fuel pump wire or something has finally chaffed through. I guess this stereo upgrade might have some other benefits in the long run.

 

i got mine for $10 off of ebay and it works like a charm and no engine noise.

 

You haven't crammed until you stuffed 3 Knu Krystal RCA cables, and 3 pairs of Knu Karma 12g speaker wire in there. Now that is TIGHT

oops back on topic lol

 

The wires running through the sill slots turned out to be tap offs for the power lock on my A.R.E. hard cover. Don't know who did that as it was on the truck when I bought it. So if they chaff through, no big deal. Plan to reroute them at a later date. Now off to the amp forum for another question. See you all there.

 

O.K., forgot I was already in the Amp forum. Long day!