Stock Head Unit with Subs?, Can I do it??? Options

[Sev408]

I want to know if i can use the stock head unit with aftermarket subs like JL or something. Im in no way car audio smart so Im not sure what i can and cant do?

thanks for they help


--Scott

[Snarfer]

I think only if the stock head unit had signal outputs, which I don't know my car had an aftermarket when I bought it. I guess you could make a crossover and wire the subs in with the rear speakers but there wouldn't be enough power to drive them.

[Coomer]

You'd use a line level converter. It converts the audio signal from your speaker wires to RCA connections. When we wired up Natalie's car, we had to use one because she wanted to use her factory head unit.

[Sev408]

hey coom where would i get this converter at?

maybe you have a link so i know what it looks like.

[AudioFreak]

A line level converter is one option. Another is to use an amplifier with high level inputs. Basically it has the converter built in.

[Digndoug]

Go to betsbuy or radio shck, they'll have em, But its not going to sound nearly as nice as an aftermarket headunit

[Coomer]

[Sev408]

so what amp and sub could i get that would work with the stock headunit with the high level inputs??

[Coomer]

Lots of amps have high-level inputs...what are you looking for in a system? SQ? SPL? What kind of music do you listen to? What's your budget like?

[Sev408]

uh im more of a rock person with techno everyone once in a while.
coheed and cambria
saves the day
taking back sunday
story of the year
linkin park

that kinda music

and for a sub and amp no more then 500 i guess
possibly cheaper


thanks

scott

[Pali_playa]

your gonna loose alot of sound quality, but yea all of the above is right

[shid]

Yeah, its a sound quality issue man.. sound quality issue. High level inputs is never good. If you're looking to spend 500 plus, you can afford a new head unit. A JL sub and an amp to drive it shouldn't be more than 400...

[Sev408]

yeah but its too much work to do put a new head unit in also im only putting in a sub how is that going to have bad sound quality. ?????

[shid]

[Coomer]

[Sev408]

exactly and thats why i dont understand how teh hell the sub quality could be worse then with ahead unit??

[Coomer]

[shid]

[Sev408]

OMG CAN SOMEONE JUST LINK ME TO AN AMP AND A SUB THAT WILL WORK IN MY CAR ON A STOCK HEADUNIT AND LINK ME TO THE SPLITTER!!!!!!!

[Coomer]

[Coomer]

[Sev408]

thankyou

as stated before i dont know jack about car audio, i can wire it up when i need to but i dont undertand all the terms.


thankyou

scott

This post has been edited by Sev408: Aug 18, 2004 - 11:52 PM

[shid]

[Sev408]

ricers damn ricers thats why the prices when up!!!!!!

well i dont want to have a huge hole in my dash thats why i dont want a head unit, and it will probably be stolen if i put one in.

DC aint the safest place for car parts, especially car audio

all i want is a sub to go with my speakers, i happy with my stock upgraded speakers. they sound better then some cars ive been in that have systems.

so i cant run like a 150w amp or anything then?

thanks,

scott

[shid]

[Sev408]

well i want to know the sub is there but i dont want to rattle my license plate? if that helps any.

so what amp could i run on that JL or any sub for that matter it doesnt have to be JL

[shid]

Just look for a 150W, 200W or 100W amp with speaker (hi level) inputs on it.. then doublecheck some of the other audio threads to make sure the company makes good amps.

Same thing for the subs


A 10W3v2 shouldn't be enough to rattle your plate.. 2 of them together tho.. are

[Coomer]

So you just want some good bass that'll blend in with your stock speakers?

If so, I think running 150 watts or so to a sub will be fine...my 10" Infinity Reference running off a little more than 150 watts from a JBL BP300.1 at 4 ohms was able to hurt my ears in my '88 hatch.

And unless you're looking for a nice brand name that everyone recognizes, I wouldn't go for JL stuff, unless you can get a really good deal on it. It's typically overpriced for what it is...the only reason I have a 10W6 is because it was $30.

[Sev408]

how about his profile sub?


or this infiniti


will those work?

i think i know what im looking for

scott

[shid]

[Coomer]

It really depends on the type of sub that you get...a sub that has a resistance of 4-ohms would be good for either of those amps...if your sub has a lower resistance, such as 2-ohms, then a mono amp such as JBL's BP150.1 or BP300.1 would probably be better.

[Sev408]

so this rockford could work it has 4ohms

and a power range of 50-150

[Coomer]

[Coomer]

[shid]

[Sev408]

so where do you suggest i buy the sub and amp from that wont rip me off, i know crutchfield use to jack up there prices.

[shid]

[Sev408]

damn they changed then, they used to be expensive like 2 years ago.

well i search them then

[Coomer]

SoundDomain.com is awesome...they'll pricematch CarMedia1.com and IkeSound.com to get you a really low price, which is nearly always lower than Crutchfield. And their service is good too...I've ordered a few subs and some headlights from them and I never have problems.

eBay is good too...I get most of my stuff off of eBay.

Oh, and TheZeb.com is good too...I've had excellent service with them too.

And Shid, you should listen to some Image Dynamics subs when you get a chance...they're awesome! I used to have a pair of ID10s and they were the most musical subs that I've owned by far out of the eight that I've owned. And the IDMax is excellent as well...not quite as good as the W7, but still a really powerful, really musical sub.

[Sev408]

i checked some sites that people posted and they dont have teh jbl amp or image dynamics sub

[Coomer]

[Sev408]

so i want 2ohms right?

with that jbl amp

[Coomer]

[Sev408]

so this ID sub

with

this JBL Amp is not the 150 but 180?

[jgreening]

This is a good thread. Like SEV, I am also an audio noob. I also find myself in the same situation as him - I want to add a sub and improve sound quality for a few hundred bucks but really have modest goals. My question is whether you should also buy another amp with this setup to push some or all of stock 8 speaker system. If adding power is advisable, is there an advantage of going with a multi-channel amp rather than multiple two channel amps?

[Coomer]

[Sev408]

word ya i did a massive google search and i found the sub and amp that you are talking about.

im order it soon enough,

but what else do i need

the wiring kit thats like $25

what about this splitter thingy or how would i wire it in?

[funnyboy117]

Sorry to butt in on this 3 person conversation, but a site you might want to check out if you already know what you want is www.cmttrading.com It looks like a shady place, but thats where I got 90% of my audio stuff from, for prices that were sometimes half as much as list, and my friends have been there too. The only difference is that I am about 2 miles from them, so I don't know how well they deliver nationwide, but they have delivered to my house quickly

And guys don't be discouraged by a lack of car audio knowledge, the first time I was asking if a sub was okay I posted a link to a really neat looking audiobahn...subwoofer box

shid and Coomer are car audio gods too so if you're not up to their level, don't worry about it.

[Pali_playa]

hey now rockford isnt THAT bad, they hit pretty well with clarity.

OT...my friend shwoed me this amp he got, its an MTX sumin...its so amazing, its not any bigger than a peice of paper, and has power of 25x2. but mtx garentees that it wont over heat at any ohm level, or theyll replace it. so he has it bridged at 1/8 of an ohm and woah....its freakin crazy. the manual for it is as thick as a novel, and in the back it shows u how to wire 4 speakers and 16 subs

[MeEGo0]

Have a look at my setup. Eventhough it is not a stock head-unit, the JL Amp has got high level input which you can connect speaker output of your head-unit to the amp.

http://celica.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?u...c;f=11;t=001215