[JPK]

Ok, I have an amp and I have a box. I was wanting to buy a 12" sub to put in the box and hook it up with the stock audio system (advanced audio from factory).

What am I gonna need to do this? I thought I had read a thread that said you need a converter of some sort to hook up the amp or sub or something.

I was thinking just to draw the signal from the rear speakers to the amp and then hook it up to the sub. Will this work? Will I need a converter to do this? Help me out guys, I have no idea what I'll need besides wire and rca cables.

 

[Vita]

it's doable, a friend of mine just did that with a jeep, and it sounds great. i think you need some type of adapter for the deck where the speaker wires go to the adapter, then they come back out with an RCA setup now in the mix. never done it though. check out crutchfield.com and they should have some stuff

 

[goofyguy]

its a preyy simple deivce that you need. Its a line out converter. They go by many names. it takes the source the positive and negative wires from the speaker you would splice into and makes it a RCA source. I used the rear speakers because they are so damn convient back there.

 

[John]

Ok, I have an amp and I have a box. I was wanting to buy a 12" sub to put in the box and hook it up with the stock audio system (advanced audio from factory).

What am I gonna need to do this? I thought I had read a thread that said you need a converter of some sort to hook up the amp or sub or something.

I was thinking just to draw the signal from the rear speakers to the amp and then hook it up to the sub. Will this work? Will I need a converter to do this? Help me out guys, I have no idea what I'll need besides wire and rca cables.

yes thats what i did . you have to put a converter from the speaker wires to the amp.they sell them at mobile one etc. for about $30.00. the you need a rca cable to go from the convertor to the amp.then run power and ground to the amp with a fuse in the power wire. the battery is in the trunk so this is easy. you will also have to run a remote wire to a power signal source in the dash. Pick something that comes on when the radio is turned on. (although i wired in a switch so i can turn the amp off and on with the radio left on) then run speaker wires from amp to sub encloser, and if everything is hooked up right, you have boom boom. also dont cut youre speaker wires you can buy some snap connectors that you lay both wires in snap closed and they are connected.

 

[JPK]

Thanks for the help guys.

I was thinking of running the remote wire off the power window fuse with a fuse tap. It's easy to get to and provides power until the doors are opened. Think that'll work?

I'll look for some of those snap connectors too. Will someone like Radio Hack have them?

Also, do I only need to tap one of the rear speakers for the signal with the converter and then go to the amp? I found a thread that had some pics and someone had tapped into both rear speakers. Is that necessary just to run a sub? Maybe they were running an amp to the door and rear speakers as well? I would think that you'd only need one signal source for my application.

 

[Vita]

Thanks for the help guys.

I was thinking of running the remote wire off the power window fuse with a fuse tap. It's easy to get to and provides power until the doors are opened. Think that'll work?

I'll look for some of those snap connectors too. Will someone like Radio Hack have them?

Also, do I only need to tap one of the rear speakers for the signal with the converter and then go to the amp? I found a thread that had some pics and someone had tapped into both rear speakers. Is that necessary just to run a sub? Maybe they were running an amp to the door and rear speakers as well? I would think that you'd only need one signal source for my application.

you can get the connectors at radio shack, as for only using one speaker, i'd go with two as it seems it would be more balanced, but then what do i know about it.

does doing this still let you use the rear speakers? seems like it if you can use the wire tap connectors. just seems ghetto, and that it would take away from the sound of the rear speakers

 

[John]

yes use both rear speakers to have the best sound even with one sub,and yes this allows the rear speakers to be used still. you can run the rca wires down the trunk tension rod under the felt to the amp so you cant see the wires. it looks better that way.

 

[daveRL]

you can get the connectors at radio shack, as for only using one speaker, i'd go with two as it seems it would be more balanced, but then what do i know about it.

does doing this still let you use the rear speakers? seems like it if you can use the wire tap connectors. just seems ghetto, and that it would take away from the sound of the rear speakers

Bridge the amp and it will be balanced.

Yea, you can still use the rear speakers, you will just be stealing some power.

I was thinking of doing the same thing, except with a 10" sub. I have the amp and sub that I took out of my old SL2.
From what I can remember most amps require a low-level input. The radio puts out a high-level output (to power the speakers without an amp). The advanced audio has an amp, and I don't know if it is high or low level input. I would assume it's high-level, because not all Ion's have the advanced audio which includes the amp. Does the converter power down the signal to a low-level along with converting it to a RCA? I guess you would tap into the speakers befor the amp, am I right?

 

[John]

ya navy i tapped before the amp, that way the factory amp wouldnt lose power to the factory sub. sounds pretty good that way. and as far as bridging it depends on the watt of the sub you are using and the power of youre amp. if you bridge an 800 watt amp and pump it into a 200 watt sub, it wont sound good and will blow pretty quick. I would recommend a 12 if using one speaker though, depending on quality and power of the sub of course. i used to have 2 10 jl wo's and noe have 1 12 inch eclipse,with the same 800 watt kicker amp. and the 12 hits and sounds alot better than the 2 10s did.

 

[BKTU1]

Yeah i have 2 12" subs and i only hooked up 1 sub. i only used one of the rear speakers and i still get sound out of it. I soddered my converter wires right to the speaker and then bridged my amp to my sub. Its a 1000 watt amp and a 1000 watt sub so it bangin pretty hard. If you need any help or pics let me know. i got my converter from ebay for 5 bucks jus search for a hi/low impedence adaptor. good luck

 

[jonboy]

I was thinking of running the remote wire off the power window fuse with a fuse tap

The pink wire running to the factory amp on the upgraded audio is the "remote" turn on for that amp. I tied into it for my remote turnon. Looking at the connector, its on the bottom row about 1/3 from the left.

I tied my converter in after the amp, and I think it sounds great. 300 watt rms amp with a 12" MTX 7500 series sub in a sealed enclosure. Exactly what I was wanting.

 

[CarNut]

From what I can remember most amps require a low-level input. ...

Many amps (including high end models) have speaker level inputs. Even my old school, USA made Rockford Fosgates have them. They draw verrrrrrrry little power from the head unit since the impedance is so high. An RCA adapter would use the same amount. If you don't already have an amp, save the money on the adapter and spend it on the amp.

I noticed another interesting thing when upgrading my Silverado PU. I replaced the rear speakers and powered them with a 4 channel amp (running in 3 channel mode) so I could add a sub. What I did not expect was the improvement I got in the front speakers. Since the head unit no longer has to power the rear speakers (only the tiny draw required to drive the amp) it seems like it has more power available for the fronts. I don't have any equipment to measure the power ouput and verify it, but it seems logical that it could increase given the design of modern amps. The internal power supply is often the limiting factor. You see evidence of this in the specs, especially at the low and middle end. If the 2 ohm power output is not much more than the 4 ohm output, the amp is probably power supply limited.

I plan to try the same with my Redline (no AAS). It's no more work to add a 4 channel amp than a 2 channel. If the stock head unit has have enough juice for the fronts, I won't bother adding an amp to for the front.
Even with AAS the results might be similar. If it could send the whole 160 watts to the fronts, that should be plenty to run some quality speakers.

 

[jpapa]

Are you trying to run the subs from the stock stereo head setup or do you have an aftermarket CD player in? I'm not an electronics master by any means, but our stereo doesn't have the RCA cables to go to the amp like you said. It sounds like there's equipment available to get around this problem, but every system I've seen, I don't recall anyone running subs or an amp off the stock stereo head unit. If you get it to work, I'm interested on how well it sounds, if our head unit has the right channels to give the amp and the subs a quality thump like aftermarket units.

 

[jpapa]

That's the other thing, if people aren't satisfied with the stock speakers and paid the extra $$ for the advanced audio and 6 discer...seems like a waste of money if you end up switching the stereo with aftermarket and other speakers and a new amp and all that stuff. Hope you guys didn't waste your money like this...

 

[navymitch12]

john: ya navy i tapped before the amp

im confused john i dont even think that i posted on this thread, is there someone else who is now called navy or did i post on this one and not know of it

 

[JPK]

The pink wire running to the factory amp on the upgraded audio is the "remote" turn on for that amp. I tied into it for my remote turnon. Looking at the connector, its on the bottom row about 1/3 from the left.

I tied my converter in after the amp, and I think it sounds great. 300 watt rms amp with a 12" MTX 7500 series sub in a sealed enclosure. Exactly what I was wanting.

Wow, that would make my install a complete breeze just tapping into the pink wire that's already in the trunk for remote. I was planning on tapping into the power window fuse but then I'd have to run the wire to the trunk. This way, no wire to run.

The battery being in the trunk is quite nice as well.

 

[JPK]

That's the other thing, if people aren't satisfied with the stock speakers and paid the extra $$ for the advanced audio and 6 discer...seems like a waste of money if you end up switching the stereo with aftermarket and other speakers and a new amp and all that stuff. Hope you guys didn't waste your money like this...

I'm keeping everything completely stock (advanced audio option). I'm just adding an amp and 12" sub.

The 6 disc, in dash changer is great. I don't think I wanna give that up.

 

[Sp00ner]

That's the other thing, if people aren't satisfied with the stock speakers and paid the extra $$ for the advanced audio and 6 discer...seems like a waste of money if you end up switching the stereo with aftermarket and other speakers and a new amp and all that stuff. Hope you guys didn't waste your money like this...

I have the advanced audio and the regular mp3 player option for the radio. My tweets up front are pretty good, and the stock speakers handle a decent amount of bass for a stock set-up.

Having the AAS just means that you already have an amp to run your mids and highs, and all you need is an amp for the subs. With the advanced audio, I can grab the 2 12's I have, and the amp. Throw them into the back of the car, and have a full cheap system. Now that's not going to win any shows, but it will sound better than most people that throw subs in the back and never put an amp on the mids and highs. 4 passive crossovers on the mids and highs would make it sound real good with quality subs in the back. I may not be a stereo genius or anything, but I know a descent system. The 12's I was talking about come from my Camaro, which has: 2 12" JLs, Fosgate amp that's bridged (and stable) to 1 ohm, 2 JBL 6x9's, 2 Boston Acoustic 6.5" components in custom door pods, 2 Infinity Kappa 4x6 Plate in front, all run by a (then near top of the line) Pioneer Premier deck. If I just dropped the amp and the subs in, along with some crosses for the mids and highs, it would be a pretty good set-up for a long time.

Lets be honest, there are alot of people out there that would never beef up the mids and highs with an amp, they would rather spend it on better subs. So if you already have 6 speakers and an amp installed professionally, would $600 be alot to pay? No, not at all. At least you have a while before you need to replace the mids and highs, and you'll even have the tweet pods built in to the interior. If you knew from the out-set that the AAS was not to your liking, then you wasted your money, but when I throw them into the trunk this weekend, I'll have a decent system for nothing. Plus, when race days come up, all the wiring is right in the trunk, and I can remove all the extra weight in 5 minutes, without the rest of the system suffering at all.

 

[Catshreds]

Spooner: I have the AAS in my RL. All I want to do is kick up the bass with a sub. What do I need to buy? Thanks!

 

[Sp00ner]

Spooner: I have the AAS in my RL. All I want to do is kick up the bass with a sub. What do I need to buy? Thanks!

For the most part, just an amp, a box for the sub, and make sure you're reading what these guys are doing to hook it up. So you'll need some sort of adapter to go from speaker wire to RCA jacks. Or you can get an amp with speaker wire inputs that you can take from the rear speakers. Please make sure you buy good quality wiring, it's not cheap. My power wire that runs from the battery up front in the Camaro to the amp and subs in the rear was about $100 for a 7' length. It's about 1/2" thick too.

If you roll into a smaller car stereo shop, they'll help you alot. As long as you know enough to keep them honest. There are some spefics that you have to adhere to, like the size of the box, the power from the amp to the speaker, the amount you can bridge the amp, etc.

The easiset thing you can do is to buy a set of 10's, or 12's, that are already installed in a box. If you're not planning on really pounding hard, then one 10" or 12" speaker will be fine. Choose a good brand, don't be afraid to pay some cash to get a speaker that will last. My 12" JL's are over 10 years old and work perfect still. The power of the amp you want is balanced by the amount of power the subs can handle, and the amount of power you have going to the other speakers, so they aren't drown out. That's my issue in the Camaro, could never afford another amp for the 6 speakers I had up front. Again, buy a good brand of amp for the subs, while a $50 amp and a $200 amp may put out the same power, there are alot of differences within them, the most important ones, to me, being the durability of the power circuits, and the noise level of the circuts. Without researching all of your choices deeply, just make sure you get a decent name brand.

Check out the Crutchfield website for some good DIY stuff, and they have some pretty good explaintions of what the different stuff is good for.