What should I do with my "system"

[colintrax]

Hi, I've been wanting to upgrade to a better system (headunit,amp,door speakers, and sub), but haven't done anything.
Well today, the factory headunit died. So my question is, what would be my best set up (factory amp/no factory amp), and what headunits are the best. (I should be getting a 10in sub, 800 watt amp, and two way door speakers from a friend within the next two months.) Cruthfield says I either need to get the amp bypass kit or amp intergration kit. If I use the stock amp, could I plug the 800 watt amp up to the same wireing kit, or if I bypass it wouldn't I need to undue the bypass kit to make the new amp work?
Also what is a good RMS rating and max rating?
Thanks, Colin

 

[ranger-93]

Dont know about all the wiring that is in question but if you are gonna have an 800 watt amp get a sub with at least 1000 watts max so your not gonna always be worried about the sub blowing

 

[mhart]

dirty power blows stuff up faster then over powering, unless it's like 5x the rms.

 

[PandorasCustoms]

You can not wire an aftermarket amplifier into the same cabling of the factory. Well, you can, but those wires were never designed to pull 800 watts of power and you will not be able to get any current from them.

So, new wiring will need to be run for the aftermarket amplifier.

The bypass kit is necessary in order to allow the aftermarket head unit use its internal amplifier as opposed to the factory amplifier.
Instead of buying the bypass kit, you can wire the speakers to the head unit on your own.

 

[colintrax]

Thanks PandorasCustoms,
but if I get a headunit with an internal amp, could I still run and external amp, or is that just overkill?
Or is it just possible to get a headunit w/o an internal amp, hook it up to the factory amp for now, and when I get the new amp/subs/door speakers take out the factory amp and put in the new one with new higher gauge wires?

Also, I fixed the factory head unit, the fuse just blew, but I still plan on getting a new head unit very soon.
Thanks

 

[PandorasCustoms]

but if I get a headunit with an internal amp, could I still run and external amp, or is that just overkill?

90% of the aftermarket headunits can run an aftermarket amplifier with them. I would not suggest running the factory amplifier, just because it produces around the same amount of power the internal amplifier does of the radio.

The factory amplifier and the internal amp of an aftermaket radio both only produce around an estimated 15~25 watts RMS. So, if you want anything boomy, you are going to need an aftermarket amplifier down the line.

Or is it just possible to get a headunit w/o an internal amp, hook it up to the factory amp for now, and when I get the new amp/subs/door speakers take out the factory amp and put in the new one with new higher gauge wires?

It is possible to get a head unit with no internal amplifier, but they are VERY expensive and used for competition purposes. So, it is unlikely you would want to do that.


If you plan on, down the line, running your own amplifiers for all the speakers in the vehicle, I would suggest getting a head unit that has a few things:

• Subwoofer Control
• Seperate Pre-Amp Outputs (RCA Connections) for Front, Rear, and Subwoofer
• High Pass Filter
• Minimum Three Band Equalizer

In the initial setup, all you have to do is run the wires from the speakers to the head unit itself, and then after you get your new amplifiers, run it from the speakers to the amps. The wiring to the head unit will help you get some practice in for when you do install the amps.

 

[colintrax]

Awesome, thats very helpfull.
Thanks.

 

[colintrax]

OK, I got a headunit today.
I bought a Pioneer DEH-12E.
It has a 3band equilizer, and two RCA conections. My question is, the RCA conections are different, one is white and has a L stamped next to it, the other is red and has a R stamped next to it. So how would I wire it into an amp and sub if its left and right?

 

[Nixthebomb]

Wow, that not two RCA connections (well technically it is) but its a pair, you wire it to the amp, then if you're only running a single sub, then bridge the amp. Oh and btw, its a nice looking radio, but for the money you could get better. For at least what I paid for the one I got. And also that's not sub output, it's only a rear output, so make sure you enable the LPF(low pass filter). It's a decent sound, but if you would have gotten one with true sub out it's makes a big difference. I picked a Pioner DEH-P8600MP from a family member for only 50 bucks

 

[colintrax]

Well crap, its 2:30 am. I finally finished wiring the wiring harness to the headunit. Went to hook it up when I relized the harness is wrong.

 

[Nixthebomb]

That Always sucks, I always check the harness first

 

[colintrax]

OK, tomarrow I'm gettting the harness swapped out!
:thumbdwn:But then I have to get my senior portrait taken.

 

[BrianDye]

Haha have fun with the portraits man, been there done that, just about 3 months ago :

As for the headunit, if your gonna have an external amp for the speakers, and subs, I would reccomend returning the headunit, and shop around with a 150$ or so budget, for that little extra, you'll get alot more options and capabilities in the headunit, for instance, 2-3 SETS of Rca's (Front, Rear, and/or Sub), more control over the sound, PRE-OUTS, which allows you to control how loud the signal going to the amp is, so you dont have to fidget with the amp if its too loud or too quiet.

Im no expert by far, but I can deff. help you with the headunit/stock amp, as I recently changed all mine out. Bypass the stock amp, no doubt about it. The headunits amp will be much better. I got my amp bypass kit for like 22$ shipped I believe, and it took about 30 minutes to get it done, (It plugs into the amps harness, and then you run the wires up to the dash where the headunit goes, and thats your wiring harness.)

It sounds complicated, but literally, it took maybe an hour tops to have my headunit in, and the wiring harness ran to bypass the amp.

 

[colintrax]

Ok, they got me a new wring harness, went to put it in, but the one doesen't fit perfect.
I can hold the harness together and get sound out of random speakers, but it won't actually connect all the way.
Any suggestions?

 

[colintrax]

Well its kind of working, the front speakers are sounding awsome! unfortunatly the rear spearkers arn't working. Could they just be dead, or is it somthing with the wiring harness?

 

[PandorasCustoms]

If there is no sound at all, it usually a wiring problem. Most times, even when a speaker is blown, it will still produce sound. It will just be incredibly distorted and sound pretty terrible.

So, it probably is a connection somewhere.

 

[colintrax]

Update on the rear speakers, was a blow factory amp, and burnt wires. The audio shop near me fixed it, for $100. All new 12 ga wire ran from the head unit to the door speakers!

I got the sub. My stealth box didn't exactly work, so its just gonna be sitting in the back, but this weekend I'm going to the drive-in. And I wanted to use my sub, but will it kill the battery for 4 door speakers, and a 10 inch sub to run for 2 hours without starting the engine?

Also, I'm working on the new box right now, and I wanted to put a sheet metal plate in one corner, with some kind of custom engraving. But will this sheet metal cause some weird noises, or will it just look awesome?
Thank you.