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1St Gen Audio Questions

So I am starting to slightly understand about high level/low level outputs.

High level is speaker level outputs and I think that is why my 4 door speakers are distorting, so I need to run the low level RCA jack outputs to an amp and then power those 4 door speakers with that. I need to use an amp that has at least 65W RMS x 4 @ 4 ohms to match up with the output of those speakers.

I can install a distribution block to add an additional amp just for the subs. I am not sure how many watts I need to run for the subs though.
Like if my door speakers are 65w RMS @ 4 ohms each, how many watts RMS will match up with my door speakers? I am looking at 4ohm sub boxes and see everything from 300w RMS @ 4 ohms, to 600w RMS @ 4 ohms.

Is there a formula or equation I can use to figure this out?
Would like to this only once, and would like the system to be balanced. Obviously want to make sure there is enough power, but don’t want to end up with twice as much power than I need.
 



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Wattage is all going to depend on brand of sub, and the brand of amp. If you get a cheap 500 watt sub power it with a cheap 500 watt amp.

You really don’t see anyone end up with too much amp.
 






Thank you for that. I know it seems obvious but as you know there is so much different information out there it gets confusing pretty quick.

Is there any way to know how many watts I should go with the sub, given my 65w door speakers tho?
Like door speaker = 65w
Should sub be 100w? 200? 300?

I honestly have no idea. I have never done any car audio stuff besides replacing regular stock speakers. Never bought an amp or subwoofer in my life lol.

I’m still up in the air about whether to get 1 four channel amp and separate sub amp, or a 5 channel amp that can run everything.
I his is why I am asking about the sub
Thanks again!
 






It all depends on how much bass you want. Unfortunately 65 watts to one set of door speakers is entirely different than another. If you put 300 quality watts to a single sub you’ll be fine.
 






We I just noticed that the 5 channel amps have 3 sets of low level RCA jack inputs.

Will I need a head unit with 3 sets of low level RCA jack inputs?

This is all getting pretty aggravating so I think I am going to just stop all of this nonsense
And just leave it alone.
Seems like the deeper I get into it, the more confusing and aggravating it gets.

There is a car audio place near me, maybe I’ll go there and throw the guy a couple bucks and ask for his advice.
 






It all depends on how much bass you want. Unfortunately 65 watts to one set of door speakers is entirely different than another. If you put 300 quality watts to a single sub you’ll be fine.

Ok gotcha.
I am looking for some pretty heavy bass, and low frequencies.

1 more question:
On the 5 channel amps, it will say 65w x 4 @4ohms, plus another 500w x1@2ohms.

Can I run the sub at 2 ohms with the speakers being 4 ohms? I heard not to mix up the ohms and to keep them all the same.
Or is it ok because the amp is set up for the different ohm readings?

JBL CLUB 4505 5-Channel Class D Full Range Amplifier 65W x 4 + 500W x 1 @ 2 ohm 50036328326 | eBay
 






I think it depends on the amp itself. Most, however, are two small amps inside a single enclosure. You’d need 3 sets of RCA’s since you have front, rear, right, left and a sub channel.

Does your head unit have a sub channel output?
 






I think it depends on the amp itself. Most, however, are two small amps inside a single enclosure. You’d need 3 sets of RCA’s since you have front, rear, right, left and a sub channel.

Does your head unit have a sub channel output?

The current one does, but one of the RCA connectors is missing. The red one since the white one I still there.
I will prob need to get a new head unit anyways.

In a prefect world I would get a head unit capable of putting out at least an honest 65w RMS x4 @4ohms for the door speakers, and then use the RCA low level out to power a 300w RMS x1 @4ohms amp for the sub and be done with it.

But not sure if any single din head units have enough power to do that

Thanks again for the help
 






No head unit puts out 65 real watts. A lot of head units only have a single sub RCA.
 






Another issue I have, is I went with 3 way speakers for the doors and the bass distorts earlier than I would like.
But I don’t know if it’s because the head unit is clipping, I don’t have another head unit here to test that.
I’m wondering if running the door speakers through an amp would allow me to tune them better as far as frequencies? Or would an EQ take care of that?

I almost want to plug in a home stereo receiver to one of the speakers and just see if the speakers will actually perform satisfactorily without distortion.
Then at least I will then know that the speakers are fine and the head unit will need to be upgraded and then I can go from there.
At the moment I am not thrilled with the performance of the entire system and don’t know where to start.
Head unit is 10yrs old and was in the truck when I bought it. It always sounded like crap, and I was replacing some door latches and handles. The stock speakers were all complete garbage so I bought some upgraded 3way speakers since I had the door panels off anyways. Now it kinda still sucks but it is a little clearer at low volume.

So I guess I thought the speakers were the problem but it’s looking like that is not the only problem and the head unit also needs to be replaced.
 






No head unit puts out 65 real watts. A lot of head units only have a single sub RCA.

Ok so that answers that question, thanks again I really appreciate it.

So now I am back to 2 separate amps, or 1 amp for everything.

If there is only 1 sub RCA out, how do I send it to 2 different amps?
Are there adapters/splitters available?
 






Ok so that answers that question, thanks again I really appreciate it.

So now I am back to 2 separate amps, or 1 amp for everything.

If there is only 1 sub RCA out, how do I send it to 2 different amps?
Are there adapters/splitters available?
You’d only need the single sub output. Your door speakers would be governed by the fader/balance and the regular bass and treble from the head unit. The head units sub ham channel would handle the crossover point and bass boost. Of course, you could also send full range to the sub amp and do the filtering there.

it sounds more daunting Than it really is. It all comes down to there being a million ways to skin a cat. Bottom line, if you spend a few hundred on amps and subwoofers your stereo will sound a lot better, and you’ll enjoy it more.

If you are looking to do this minimally I can hook you up with a path of least resistance.

1. Get a 4 channel amp, run a single RCA to this. Your fader and sound is mostly managed by the amp. Amp *must* have pass through RCA’s. Most do.

2. Sub amp gets signal through the pass through. All bass is managed on the amp. Most amps have a remote boost level. This mounts up front somewhere.
 












That’s a great starter amp. Installation is simplified.

You’ll want to use the sub channel at the 1 ohm load, for sure though.
 












So I ended up pulling the trigger on that 5 channel Polk audio amp, and a Rockford Fosgate 1x12 ported 1 ohm sub box. Haven’t ordered the power cable or fuse yet, nor the speaker wires or RCA cables but I know I need those.

Amp is 70w RMS x 4 @4 ohms, speakers are 60w RMS @ 4 ohms.
Amp sub channel is 500w RMS x 1 @ 1 ohm, sub box is 400w RMS @ 1 ohm.

I want the amp to have more power than the speakers to have some more headroom, will obviously use the gain controls to avoid sending too much power to the speakers.

Only thing I need now is a single din head unit.
I don’t want a CD player, but I would like it to have some external jack to plug in my iPod.
Does anyone have any recommendations, now that I know which direction I am going?
That would be sweet, thanks in advance!
 






Head unit will be picked by budget. Virtually everything aftermarket will have USB, Aux, and Bluetooth these days.

the head units output voltage will determine your amp gains, not the volume of the speakers(ideally anyways)
 






Head unit will be picked by budget. Virtually everything aftermarket will have USB, Aux, and Bluetooth these days.

the head units output voltage will determine your amp gains, not the volume of the speakers(ideally anyways)

Thanks!

Would you have any idea what output voltage would be good for this system?
I plan on only using RCA jacks from the head unit, no speaker wires.
Or is that something that I have to check on as far as what the amp wants to see for voltage?

thanks again, sorry for the noob questions
 






So I received the 1x12 ported enclosed subwoofer, and amp. Everything looks good!
i still need to get a 4 gauge install kit.

looking at head units-
I am finding Kenwood single dins with six 5 volts preamp outs, 4 channels for door speakers and 2 for subs. Would this be satisfactory for the amp?
Thanks!
 



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