Stereo/Amplifier Question
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Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
Stereo/Amplifier Question
I am trying to work around a quality of sound problem with a certain brand of stereo head unit. The power to the rear speakers shown seems inadequate as they do not throw out a lot of volume. I have a never used two-channel Kenwood amp. Would installing that boost the quality of sound and volume from the rear speakers? I was thinking of installing the amp in the glovebox.
[Modified by paul67, 1:53 PM 11/27/2003]
[Modified by paul67, 1:53 PM 11/27/2003]
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 30,995
Likes: 98
From: Ontario
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (Corz)
OK, this is the infamous Custom Autosound USA-5 unit. The manual speaks of RCA line out jacks for an optional power amplifier. From the diagram they seem to be Front-L/R and Rear L/R. I will try to get a pic up.
*Edit*-Here is the pic.
[Modified by paul67, 6:47 PM 11/27/2003]
[Modified by paul67, 6:50 PM 11/27/2003]
*Edit*-Here is the pic.
[Modified by paul67, 6:47 PM 11/27/2003]
[Modified by paul67, 6:50 PM 11/27/2003]
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 11,593
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From: Clayton NC
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (SIGNGUY)
Munday, Why only a 1/3 I've played in car audio for years and would have to say ahhh no. The only reason he would need to be careful about turning the gains up would be that the speakers can not handle the power of the amp. I agree though you don't need to turn them up all the way either due to clipping. Why buy a 250W amp then just use 100W of power :confused: Paul just be careful to check and make sure that you start with the gains about half way or so. turn you radio to the loudest it will go. Adjust the gain to where the speakers begin to destort then back off 1/10 of a turn. You do this so that if some one cranks the volume it will not blow your speakers. Also it's possible that the speakers in that bar no matter how neat it is are not of high quality and no matter how much power you can safely push thru them they will not be any louder/better... Dave...
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (SIGNGUY)
Signguy,
I got them from Corvette America.
*Edit2*-I firstly linked to the product but that did not work. Even the link to their site does not work. The product number if you get there is 26329 for 1978-82. The nice feature is that they press fit into the carpet: no drilling and screws.
[Modified by paul67, 8:04 PM 11/27/2003]
[Modified by paul67, 8:08 PM 11/27/2003]
I got them from Corvette America.
*Edit2*-I firstly linked to the product but that did not work. Even the link to their site does not work. The product number if you get there is 26329 for 1978-82. The nice feature is that they press fit into the carpet: no drilling and screws.
[Modified by paul67, 8:04 PM 11/27/2003]
[Modified by paul67, 8:08 PM 11/27/2003]
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (youwish2bme)
Before I get into that level of detail I have to determine if that Kenwood unit will work. The power source (battery) on a C2 is right in front of the glove box in the engine bay. So that should not be a problem. What about heat from that unit; would it be a problem in such a confined space?
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Joined: Jan 2000
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From: San Jose CA
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (paul67)
I got a high wattage amp from another forum member. 250W will be MORE than enough to power the rear speakers. I have a very nice pair of rear speakers and they overpower the front ones by a significant margin.
Anyhow, once you get all the wiring done, you'll want to tune the gain. The guys say "not to use more than half", but that all depends on the speakers. First off, put your stereo up to about 3/4 max volume. Raise the gain until you hear distortion, then back off just a little. I have a feeling this will be too much gain, I never actually reached the point of distorting my rear speakers, just my hearing. :) If you find that this level of gain is too loud for the front speakers, then back it down. I DEFINITELY like my stereo setup much better with the rear amped than without it. Without it, the speakers were very quiet. In our cars, the rear speakers do most of the work.
-Steve
Anyhow, once you get all the wiring done, you'll want to tune the gain. The guys say "not to use more than half", but that all depends on the speakers. First off, put your stereo up to about 3/4 max volume. Raise the gain until you hear distortion, then back off just a little. I have a feeling this will be too much gain, I never actually reached the point of distorting my rear speakers, just my hearing. :) If you find that this level of gain is too loud for the front speakers, then back it down. I DEFINITELY like my stereo setup much better with the rear amped than without it. Without it, the speakers were very quiet. In our cars, the rear speakers do most of the work.
-Steve
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 1,427
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From: Boxford Mass
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (paul67)
Most amps get wired direct to the battery with a fuse of course. I also added a small Equalizer with RCA in and outs. That was the biggest improvement I made for quality. I have a cheap Pioneer radio (designed for the car like the custom autosound). The single **** for bass & treble doesnt cut it.
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From: Ontario
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (Jack71)
Thanks. With a C2 I can go right through the firewall from the glovebox to battery for power. The battery is on the passenger side near the firewall. That was my thought. I think a plan is coming together. But what about heat in the glovebox?
[Modified by paul67, 7:18 PM 11/28/2003]
[Modified by paul67, 7:18 PM 11/28/2003]
Racer
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 370
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From: Timmins ON
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (paul67)
It's been awhile since I've wired a stereo up but I think that when I installed one in my old '85 Impala, the head unit had a "remote on" or "power antenna" wire on it which becomes hot when you turn the head unit on and only when the head is on, and I used that to power the amp and pre amp/eq... That way there is no undue parasitic drain on your batt. I did follow the diagrams tha Alpine had supplied with the units... Maybe someone with more recent experience can correct me... A quick look at your wire diagram, I believe, show a power antenna wire (yellow?) on your unit.
If you're really concerned about cooling the amp, an option is to tie-wrap it to the bottom of the pas. seat... The wiring will be a pain, but it will be concealed, and have some fresh air flowing around it.. sorta... :lol:
If you're really concerned about cooling the amp, an option is to tie-wrap it to the bottom of the pas. seat... The wiring will be a pain, but it will be concealed, and have some fresh air flowing around it.. sorta... :lol:
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2003
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Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (youwish2bme)
Munday, Why only a 1/3 I've played in car audio for years and would have to say ahhh no. The only reason he would need to be careful about turning the gains up would be that the speakers can not handle the power of the amp. I agree though you don't need to turn them up all the way either due to clipping. Why buy a 250W amp then just use 100W of power :confused: Paul just be careful to check and make sure that you start with the gains about half way or so. turn you radio to the loudest it will go. Adjust the gain to where the speakers begin to destort then back off 1/10 of a turn. You do this so that if some one cranks the volume it will not blow your speakers. Also it's possible that the speakers in that bar no matter how neat it is are not of high quality and no matter how much power you can safely push thru them they will not be any louder/better... Dave...
you are making a very common error.....gain IS NOT a volume control....
1. it can overheat the amp....i don't think it would since the have thermal fuses now, but y do it..
2. it's not the volume control. to much will either distort or blow speakers.
you can get much better clarity running a 500 watt at 1/3 than a 250 watt at 2/3's
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Tulsa Ok
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (paul67)
I'd power the amp direct from the battery as they can draw a lot of amps and will cut out if underpowered. You can mount a small fan in the glovebox and trigger both the amp and fan with a relay off the power ant lead. Although your amp say 250w in big letters, in reality this is max power bridged to mono into 2 ohms. If your using it to drive two 4 ohm speakers, actual usable power will be 1/4 of that number or 75w per channel. That will be plenty to overdrive the front speakers which are probably at about 23w per channel. Once you have it hooked up, turn the amp gain all the way down and turn the head unit up till the front starts to distort and back it back down to where its clean then turn the amp up to match the sound to that level.
[Modified by FeedVaal, 8:12 AM 11/29/2003]
[Modified by FeedVaal, 8:12 AM 11/29/2003]
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (FeedVaal)
The specs for the amp confirm basically what you have said.
It looks like three wires for power. The battery/ground circuit seems unswitched: always on. I do not know the reason for that. And I am not sure I like that idea as the car can sit for two weeks at a time. The third wire I assume goes to the head unit and is switched.
[Modified by paul67, 9:32 AM 11/29/2003]
It looks like three wires for power. The battery/ground circuit seems unswitched: always on. I do not know the reason for that. And I am not sure I like that idea as the car can sit for two weeks at a time. The third wire I assume goes to the head unit and is switched.
[Modified by paul67, 9:32 AM 11/29/2003]
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 1,166
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From: Tulsa Ok
Re: Stereo/Amplifier Question (CF6873)
Athough the power line to the amp is always hot, the unit is switched off with the radio and should draw no power in that state. If you use a relay to power the amp and a fan, there will be no power to those units at all but the relay will always have power. This is usually of little concern as it would take weeks or months for any minor draw of power to run down a storage battery and if the car is going to sit for that long, you should disconnect the battery anyway.