Hey guys, I am having a hard time trying to figure out what to put into my truck. I have talked to several different people at Crutchfield and at a couple audio stores and I am getting a mix of answers from them. I know that some of you guys are brand loyal and have the means to spend a lot on your audio system. I am not brand loyal, and would like to keep the damage down to a minimum. (college student + payments on truck). So could you guys offer your opinions on these questions.

I really don't listen to music obnoxiously loud but I do turn up the volume. I listen to mostly alternative and rock music so there is more emphasis on drums and bass guitars than on what you would have in hip hop music.

I already have a JVC-KDS890 head unit and Pioneer TS-A870R 3-way speakers installed. I would like to add some bass to the truck too.

1. Is there any way a single 4 channel amp can power Four speakers and One subwoofer?

2. When adding a subwoofer to a vehicle, do the regular speakers have to be amplified? What would the drawbacks be if the speakers were not amped?

3. I have seen Supercrew single 10" box for around 100 plus shipping, and ProBox for 130 plus shipping, which would be better?

4. Final one. Would it be blasphemous to just add a subwoofer and mono amp instead of an amp for the speakers too?

 

1. u could up the anty and get a multichannel amp..i know there are ones with more than 4 channels

2.no ur speakers dont need to be amplified...the drawback is that u can crank up the bass..but since ur speakers arnt amplified they wont be able to be turned up as loud..they will start to "skip"..in other words u would hear the bass but the speakers would sound like crap

3.since ur not going for hardcore...get the cheaper of the 2

4. no not at all...TONS..of people have amplified subs but speakers running off of the head unit


in ur case since ur on a budget and ur not looking for hardcore sound system...just get a sub and a mono amp

 

The best bang for your buck would probably be a powered sub-woofer. Don't expect to wake up the neighbors with one, but something like the Kenwood KSC-SW1 does a great job of giving a little thump to your music.

1. In a nutshell, yes. If you buy a 4-channel amp that's stable at 2 ohms, you can run all four door speakers off of two channels with no problem. You can run the sub-woofer off of the 3rd or 4th channel. Most 4-channel amps have two sets of gain (volume) and frequency controls for channels 1-2 and 3-4. You can set channels 1-2 for full range amplification and channels 3-4 for low freq for the sub. There are also 5 and 6 channel amps which are better suited to this, but they cost quite a bit more.

2. A single channel sub amp or a powered sub will have gain controls so you can match it to your stereo's output. Many amp's and powered subs have remote frequency and gain controls so you can adjust the woofer's output at will.

3. In my opinion, you'd be better off with two 10 inch subs. But, with a dual woofer box under the rear seat, you'll have to relocate the jack.

4. No. Lots of people do it with very good results.

 

A powered sub would be the cheapest way.If he gets a 4 chan amp it would have to match up to the speakers he has.like a 30-50 x4 amp so the door speakers do not get cooked.And a bridged 30-50 x4 amp is not going to push any subs well.Its called Triway or 3 way most 4 chan amps will do it just fine.
If money is the main focus go with a powered sub of some kind.

 

Yes, if your amp has the ability, you can wire it to run 'Tri Way" or 'Dual Mode'. That way you can run all four speakers, plus a sub.
If you had something like a 50x4 watt amp, you could still get around 200 watts for the sub...quite adequate for a nice little bump, or for an SQ install.

I would just find a nice 4 channel that when bridged, will match your subs wattage rating pretty well. Then, bridge your amps rear channels for the sub, and run the two front speakers off the amps from channels, youll most likely need to keep the gain down on the front channels so you dont get smoke shows from your front speaks. Then just run the rear speakers off the HU.

 

My brother in law recieved an amp for Christmas and he is trading me the amp for wireless headphones that he gave me for Christmas. I know it may not be the best amp but wouldn't a Sony 600w 55rms x4 be enough to power my speakers adequatly?

If I were to go ahead and purchase a sub or two and another amp, how would I wire the two amps? Is there someway to wire them off of one power wire from the battery?

 

Whats the power rating on those speakers? That amp should work fine for them, if they have a lower power rating you might have to watch the gains.

Yes, you can run both amps off one wire. You will need a big main wire that runs from your battery back to a distribution block, then from there you can run wire to each amp.
How big of sub amp do you think you want to run?
What I would do is get a wire big enough to support your 4 channel, plus whatever size of sub amp you plan to get, use that, run it to a distrubution block, then to the Sony. That way when you go to put in the other amp you dont have to pull out the wire you put in for the Sony because you need bigger. Just saves some time/work and it will be there when you need it.

 

The Pioneer speakers are rated at 2-50 rms which would match with the Sony amp. As for the size of the sub I would be looking to get, I really don't have any ideas yet.
My parents have an 2006 Land Rover and the subwoofer in their would be around what I would be happy with, but I can't figure out what size and output it is.

So for the distribution block I run a bigger wire from the battery to the block, and then a seperate wire for each amp from the block to each amp, correct? Where exactly does the distribution block "mount"? Which side of the firewall I suppose?

 

Yes, you are correct. The block mounts inside the truck somewhere....if you are installing your amps under the back seat, or on the back wall, then thats where I would put the block. It doesnt matter how close it is to the amps.


As for the Land Rover sub, I did a little searching and it looks like they came with either one 10, or two 8's, depending on model and year.
Not sure on wattage, Id assume something like a couple hundred watts, just a guess after seeing some info about 710 watt 14 speaker Harmon Kardon stereos in some of the Land Rovers.
Im betting a nice single 10 with 3-400 watts would do you good...

 

Thanks a lot Bartak and the others who've been helping me out. This information might keep me quite for a little bit while I try to figure out what amp and sub/s to go with.

 

Haha, no problem. Good luck searching.

 

Alright I think I should concentrate on getting this 4 channel amp in first before I go off looking for subs and another amp. I called Best Buy to see how much they would charge. They said $80, I thought that would have been a good deal. However, they then said that the wiring kit would run another $80-$100, bringing my total to around $200 with tax. Is this an average estimate for an installation of one amp?

Anyway from what I gathered on various sites these are some of the steps that I need to follow correct? Although they might not be in the correct order.

1. Running the power wire and the power on wire from amp through drivers side door sills, through firewall, under the cowl, and connect to battery.

2. Run the RCAs from the HU through the passenger side door sills to the amp.

3. Is where things get difficult for me. How do I run the output speaker wires from the amp? I have to run individual wires to each individual speaker correct? If this is the case can someone please point me in the correct direction on how to do this?

Thanks again for the help.

 

you could do a 5 channel amp, I just bought the kicker zx750.5 off of ebay refurb for $230 and I coupled that with the mtx single 12" box form fitted (brand new) also from ebay for $220 With amp kit and the door speakers and headunit I already had the whole deal was under $500

It sounds really good.

You can do it in stages, But I would highly reccomend a quality 5 or 6 channel amp for your setup first. It will allow you to grow into a complete well balanced system.

 

That's a lot of money to spend for something that isn't really that hard to do. You can buy the amplifier install kit for much cheaper if you shop around and do it yourself if you have some basic skills and a day to do it. ( It also helps if you get a buddy or two to help) You have the basics down in regards to the power and rca's.The remote turn on lead goes from the head unit though, not the battery, and you ground the amp as close to it as possible, a seat bolt bracket usually works good. The easy way out on the speaker wire is to run your outputs back up the passenger side to the factory connections behind the head unit and tie them in there. It's not optimum, but it will work fine. Also, take Bartak's advice, get a amp kit that is capable of multi amp with enough output to cover upgrades, so you don't have to upgrade it again later. Good luck!

 

Well thanks to this site and a few others I am fairly comfortable trying the installation with my brother in law. The only thing that we can not figure out (right now) is how to run the output wires to the speakers. I like your idea because it is the easy way out, but I would also like to be on the safer side too.

Anyone else have any ideas on how to run the output wires?

Thanks again