Looking for some friendly edumacation on amps, speakers, and subs. And not Jared footlong subs

Basically looking to run 6 speakers in my rig, possibly 7. I'm also looking to run a mild 10" sub in the cargo area. Not looking for "that's stupid", just input and expertise on the matter.

I know standard headunits pump barely enough juice for four speakers, two front and two back. Some guys splice wires to run two extra speakers, but I've read this can impact ohm resistance and kill the headunit. Simple enough. Bad idea.

So let's go most likely case scenario. Six speakers (one in each front door [2], one in each rear door [2], the two in the hatch) and one 10" sub. What's the best method here? Preliminary research says using a 5-channel amp will do nicely. I'm GUESSING this is by running 4 speakers and the sub off the amp using the RCA outputs of the headunit, then using a set of outputs from the headunit for the other two speakers. Does this sound right? If not, please advise of the correct method.

I appreciate ya'lls input!

 

It sound like it's much cheaper just to be deaf. LOL

 

Umm, I would suggest just doing it right and not ghetto rigging it. A solid 5 channel amp, with 4 good quality speakers is going to sound 100000x better than a crap quality head unit ghetto rigged to drive more than 6 channels (I know you already know that, not trying to be an *** )

Head Unit:
Buy a decent head unit with 6-channel RCA outputs (just hit-up ebay and get something cheap, I like Pioneer's 2005-2008 era stuff personally). The higher the pre-amp voltage the better, and I paired mine with a 12v APT-X capable bluetooth receiver which works surprisingly well (whole setup cost me $40 for a DEH 7800 MP which is a FANTASTIC headunit, and $20 for a Bluetooth receiver)

Amp:
Buy a good quality 5-channel amp such as this (or get a ~70w RMS rated 4-channel amp and a standalone amp for the sub-woofer, your choice)

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-JAD900.5.html

Speakers:
Image Dynamics are my favorite's but pricy;
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...s-IDQ65CS.html

JBL is also excellent but not "cheap"
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...JBL-P660C.html


I cant really suggest any cheap speakers because I would rather save up for a while than waste money on cheap garbage.


Subwoofer:
Remember, space makes bass. An Alpine 8-in Type R is perfectly sized for the enclosure below, and should handle the ~400w RMS that the above amp is capable of (bridged down to 2-ohm). If you want to go wild, I would recommend a Sundown SD-8 which should be able to handle ~600w RMS easily.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...R-SWR-8D4.html


Subwoofer Enclosure:
Its roughly .25 cu-ft when taking the subwoofer's actual volume into account;

http://subthump.com/Jeep-Custom-Subw...Enclosure.html

Wire:
KnuKonceptz hands down;
http://www.knukonceptz.com/mobile-audio/power-wire/


EDIT:

1. Run the power wire to the amp down the drivers side of the car (bottom trim), and run RCA's along the passenger side of the car.

2. Plug the head unit in (basically just power, ground, switched power, and Amp turn-on wire, and the RCA's).

3. Plug power, remote turn on wire, and RCA's into amp

3. Wire all 4 speakers using 16ga or better, decent quality speaker wire (Drivers front door, Pass. front door, and rear speakers in the headliner).

4. Wire and mount Sub and enclosure

5. Play music and tune system to your preferred music. Remember to use high quality source files (320kbps MP3 or FLAC) or you won't effectively tune your system due to clipping, etc. Avoid clipping the sub or speakers, you will absolutely harm them in doing so.

Also remember to break the system in for 20+ hours of low to mid volume listening before cranking the volume.

 

I would do it a little different and not use a five channel amp. I would and did use 2 separate 2 channels and a mono amp for the sub. You use one 2 channel for the front speakers and the other for the rear four. If you play on just one set of rear speakers then buy a four channel. This way you can get more power for your money.

I have used the alpine type r 8 in my jeep and was not to impressed. I had it in a .65 sealed box on a 500 watt alpine amp and it sounded good but not very loud. I think a single 8 may be a little small for a vehicle with this big. Although it depends how much bass you are after. I have a Jl 12 on the same amp ported and it sounds pretty good.


Type r 8



Jl 12

 

Yeah, you could go for a larger enclosure for sure. I had a 10" IDQ 10 and Type R but the latter was stolen. Your setup looks pretty stealth tho, I haul too much crap all the time to give up any space so I'm relegated to a single 8" in a cubby enclosure unfortunately. I could build something like yours but I was thinking of covering the cubby part in speaker fabric to keep it ultra stealthy. The SD-8 should do OK given 600w or so from the amp.

Why 2 separate amps though (unless going ultra budget)? I would do just a single good, cheap ish 4 channel amp for the components, many will push 120+WPC which is plenty unless you are shooting for insane SPL.

 

At the time it was budget, but now it is getting a rebuild on the speaker side as I did the doorless mod and also trying to get more sound quality out of it.

 

I'm in the market as well to upgrade my speakers, headunit, and add a sub. So thanks for the advice. For now I'm probably going to buy a sub/amp and a new headunit and then later down the road buy all new speakers. The reason being I want to do other mods at same time such as lift tires etc. thanks though

 

I have always wanted to do something like this, but I never quite figured out the right spot for a 3rd pair of speakers. But other than that, I agree with the above, I have a pioneer headunit, it was like 100$ and it hooks up to my phone and it is great. I would recommend, I also replaced all 4 of the speakers with some average priced pioneer ones, and those changes together made a big difference. But I also added after those a 10" sub in a ported box that runs like 550 watts, and it works plenty well to add bass. But I have never run an amp to the speakers or added more, so I would also be interested in some thoughts.

 

I have a 500w 2 channel amplifier for my 12inch subwoofer with a 160watt headunit in my 2001 XJ and wanted to get a 4channel amp, probably around 350w I'm guessing, to connect to my 4 speakers so I can play my music louder. I was wondering if this will be too much power for my stock battery/ 117 amp alternator to handle and cause me to upgrade one of them. Let me know if you have any knowledge, thanks.

 

I'm assuming that's the max rating on those. My amps max around 1200w tested on an Amp dyno. I don't have any problems with the stock alternator. I don't know the limit of it but I imagine I'm not pushing it.

 

If you're running a 1200watt amp, I should be chilling then right with a 500 and 350watt?

 

Yeah I think you should be fine if the battery and alternator are working correctly.

 

amplifiers do not CREATE power, they transform it from one type to another.

In other words the factory alternator is not good for 1200 watts it’s just that your amp isn’t able to give 1200 watts because it’s not really receiving 1200 watts (actually it’s only so efficient ,say at best 80%efficient so it would take 1500 watts of input to create the original 1200 watts of output-which your not creating in the first place )

in other words without an upgraded alternator your really just wasting money buying a big amplifier. It’s not magic, power has to come from somewhere .

 

the math would look like this to calculate the size alternator you will need

amps needed = 500 watt amp +350 watt amp=850 watts total

alternator output =14.4 volts

850/14.4=59.03 amps on top of your electrical system needs that are already in place or future considerations!

You might barely get by, You might not it depends.

check this link out:

https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/pag...Calculator.php