as above I was thinking of upgrading the mk2 standard speakers for some components but I see that it is recommended that they are run off an amp. As far as I can remember the sony head unit I have has one set of preouts for an amp. I want to know if it is possible to run one amp for a sub and one for the components with the existing head unit.
Some amplifiers have a through output allowing extra amps to be daisy chained from the same pair of phonos. Some 4 ch amps can use just a single pair of phonos too allowing ch3&4 to be bridged to the sub. Gurds
Ive got a small alpine and a small sony amp I will have to study them and find out, if I cant then maybe Ill just run components and leave the sub.
It's not ideal as you won't have independent control of your components and subwoofer from the HU with only one set of pre-outs (a stereo with 2 phono outs would do this) but it can be done as Singh suggests...
Depends on how many outputs on your head unit. Mine has 6 channels Front, rear and sub outputs. Check you haead unit. It may be better to have one amp running it all as mentioned but fed seperatly. ie front is 2 channels and sub is the other 2 channels bridged. But able to be controlled independantly from HU. Edit. Missed part about single pre out. You would need as splitter but not the best.
Ahh, you already have the amps too. Then just run the single phonos through a splitter for each channel and just balance the sound via the gain on each amp. Not ideal but will work. More likely to hear interference as the preout signal from the headunit will get halved by the splitter and gets closer to the noise floor on the signal. This is then all amplified by your amps. But give it a go and see what it sounds like. Given the mk2 has crappy plastic door pods, set the amp to high pass for the fronts to reduce bass rattles. Gurds
right getting a little confused with all the splitter/ channel talk so need to sit down infront of what Ive got and familiarise myself with it all. Thanks for all the input. Also think the amps might both be 2 channel.
had a look at the head unit I was thinking of running and it turns out its got front and rear sub pre outs and one of the amps has a through output pre out. So as far as my understanding goes I dont have to split anything on the amps but I'm still a little unsure how to power them both. Do I take the main red power cable and use it to power both amps and can I do the same for the small blue remote wire going to the HU.
Blue remote can be daisy chained. Red power: Run to the back into a fused distribution block (in your case, a 2-way). Then each fuse is wired to a seperate amp. Also, this wire should have a big fuse at the front at least large as the combined fuse values of the 2x amps. Earth: Just to the closest solid metal mounting where the amps are. Dont screw the amps down directly to metal as you can get ground loop interference. Screw them down to a peice of MDF and then secure that to the car. Gurds
Just to add that I would sand the paint back over your grounding point (I've used a seatbelt mounting before, or just anywhere with a suitable fixing point really) And yeah you can get a distro block at halfrauds, or online for about 1/3 of the price lol
You need to find the ratings of the amps and use the right power cables. Might be worth uprating the cables on the battery as older stuff is just about good enough to to run the car, let alone more electrical stuff. Good earths will help with dimming lights when bass comes in too.
Thanks I've already updated the battery cables and the amp wires are chunky enough I think, hopefully should be fine when fitted. What rating fuses will I need to use in the distribution box?
Look at the fuses on the amps and add together. That will give you the rating of the cable to use also. Uprate in case you decide to increase output in the future.
Hopefully I should finish putting most of this lot in over the next couple of days. I need to know what fuses to use in the distribution box. Do I use the same rating as the one in the actual amp and if I cant find the exact match do i go under or over the rating of the amp fuse.
Dual amp balancer is the job i use a dual amp balancer , small device mounts anywhere has a knob to give you two outputs to amps from a single input , alpine and kenwood ones i have had.particularily helpfull between full range and bass for the rear . i recomend amplified ato the front, and then with one of these split the rear signal to feed full range on shelf and whatever sub you like/afford. Adrian
