Audio Newbie... Virgin thread doesn't have enough info...

[BigDave]

My sub finally blew (JBL sound in a '94 XLT). I purchased a 12" MTX Thunder 4000 Series from Circuit City. (I know that I get what I pay for, but I am not looking for competition quality here.)

I want to build my own box, but I have not been able to find any good resources on the net. If anyone could post some links to plans for sub boxes, or sub box design sites, I would be most appreciative.

Also, I need to know what kind of wattage I should look for in an amp to drive this sub. It is 200 Watt RMS, 400 Watt peak, 4 Ohms. It will be the only thing that the amp is driving. Do I need any special wiring? My head unit is a Sony Mobile ES, that has a Sub line-out output already, so I think that I will be pretty good there. All I would need to do is hook the speaker to the amp, the amp to the battery and ground it. I would also need to run the cable from the head unit to the line-in on the amp.

Do I need any capacitors? Also, any links to car audio FAQ's would be wonderful. Maybe something to post permanently at the top of this section of the board. That way newbies would have a place to start without asking the same basic questions all of the time.


Thanks in advance for any and all help... I really appreciate it.

Dave

 

[JTang]

It's nice to have a capacitor, but for your application you probably won't need it, unless you tax the amp hard.

Do not look for ratings against the max power, just the RMS or continuous power rating. Most likely, the amp you will get will be a 2 channel amp that can be bridged. In this case, because you want roughly 200 watts total bridged at 4 ohms, you're looking at amps that are 2 ohm stable and will not put out more than 50 watts per channel. Once the amp is bridged, it should (if it's a good solid amp) put out 200 watts RMS bridged at 4 ohms no problem.

In addition to the amp you will purchase the following:

RCA cable. Prices vary greatly.

8 guage wire for power and ground. Prices vary greatly, but as long as it's car audio wire, (thinly stranded) it shouldn't make too much difference, even the 2nd tier brands suffice for basic installs.

An inline, outdoor fuse holder that can hold fuse sizes between 30 and 60 amps. - (radio shack for like 5-10 bucks, looks like a clear plastic cylinder).

Fuses, depending on the size of your amp.

18 guage wire for the remote line lead to turn on your map.

.5 amp fuse and small inline fuse holder (about a buck, it's a plastic yellow thing at Radio Shack) that you will use to fuse your remote line lead just behind the radio. I can't stress how simple this is that will protect your head unit for a dollar or so, because it's happened to members on the board before.

Screws.

Speaker wire from your amp to sub box.

That's it.


Box Construction:

Dead Link Removed

 

[BigDave]

Thanks JT... That is exactly the information that I was looking for.

Dave

 

[Mbrooks420]

I'm going to recomend that you buy high quality cables right off the bat. I've had cheap RCA's ruin a flawless installation. Don't let a cheap cord ruin the sound quality of your system.