#1719054 - 10/14/09 04:22 PM
replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
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MainFrame
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Registered: 08/16/01
Posts: 36
Loc: TX
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So last week while my car was at the dealership waiting for a new clutch apparently someone there helped themselves to my stereo equipment plus anything else of value to be found. This was not a high-end system by any means (I put it all together for less than $200 using lots of old stuff I had laying around from my old car). Anyways, the dealership is compensating me for the loss, so I figured it's time for an update.
As far as I know my speakers are untouched (except for the powered sub that was stolen). My car is a 2002 stage 4 Subaru WRX.
The speakers currently installed are:
Infinity Reference 6022i (front doors)
Kenwood tweeters with crossovers, not sure model number (front doors)
Sony Xplode 5 1/4" (rear doors)
Cerwin Vega 6x9s (rear deck)
Boss Audio BASS600 8" Amplified Sub [stolen] (beneath drivers seat)
And apparently they didn't touch the POS Jensen 40x2 amp I've got in the trunk powering the 6x9s. (some of this stuff was free, hence the POS amp)
I reordered the same sub because for $115 I couldn't find anything better that would fit under the seat. I know it's not much, but I'm not into big bass anyways. I want clean sound that can be played loud without distortion.
I just got the Alpine iDA-X305 head unit I ordered to replace the stolen Blaupunkt I had. And I had ordered the Alpine KTP-445 Head Unit Power Pack to go with it. For those not familiar with this unit, it's basically a 4x100 inline amp that takes speaker level outputs from the headunit and adds more juice. It is designed small to fit behind the headunit in the dash.
Anyways, the place I ordered the KTP-445 apparently got mixed up or something because they shipped me a PDX-4.100 instead. At first I was pissed because there is no way this unit will fit inside the dash. But after some quick searching I found that the PDX amp they sent me is going for ~$299 compared to the $102.98 I paid for the KTP-445. So I guess I shouldn't be too angry, right?
But now my main question is, how exactly should I hook all this up?
The tweeters are currently hooked into the factory wiring harness that I can only assume is stealing power from the front door speakers. What I'm thinking I should do is run the tweeters and the rear door speakers off of the headunit accordingly. Then have the front door speakers and the rear deck speakers running off the amp (and trash the Jensen amp). Since the sub is self powered I can just run the SW RCA cables from the HU to it. This is the first headunit I've owned that has 6 preamp outputs and it looks like it's a good thing because I will be needing all of them.
To me this seems like the logical setup, and leaves room for another sub under the passenger seat if I run just one SW channel to each sub. I think this would be a decent (economical) 10 speaker setup. (at least it should be after I get all the sound deadening material added)
Let me know what you guys think, obviously there are several ways I could go about hooking everything up, but that seemed right to me.
Edited by MainFrame (10/14/09 04:24 PM)
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#1719149 - 10/14/09 06:52 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: MainFrame]
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keep_hope_alive
in another life, i'm a serial killer
SD I Power Bombed the Undertaker
Registered: 04/24/07
Posts: 13370
Loc: Quad Cities, IL
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that is a lot of words.
i need to get something to eat first. 
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#1719153 - 10/14/09 06:56 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: keep_hope_alive]
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keep_hope_alive
in another life, i'm a serial killer
SD I Power Bombed the Undertaker
Registered: 04/24/07
Posts: 13370
Loc: Quad Cities, IL
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ok.
run the Kenwood tweeters AND the Infinity door speakers off of the front channels of the PDX. use the passive crossovers that came with the Kenwood tweeters. rewire everything, don't rely on existing wiring.
run the 6x9's off the rear channels of the PDX. rewire these also.
if you feel the need, run the Boss off the head unit rear channels. i'm not sure they are doing much for you.
you got lucky, the PDX 4.100 is a nice amp, and it should fit under a seat as well. or get another Boss 8" powered sub under the passenger seat. you can mount the PDX damn near anywhere it will fit.
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#1719195 - 10/14/09 07:57 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: keep_hope_alive]
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MainFrame
Junior Member
Registered: 08/16/01
Posts: 36
Loc: TX
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The Boss sub just takes RCAs, so I can just run that from the SW outs on the back of the head unit..
Why should I run the tweeters and front door speakers off of the same channels? I wouldn't mind not using the front channels of the head unit. My old Blaupunkt head unit would over heat it I left it playing too loud for too long.. but I doubt I would have that problem with this Alpine unit.
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#1719249 - 10/14/09 11:44 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: MainFrame]
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keep_hope_alive
in another life, i'm a serial killer
SD I Power Bombed the Undertaker
Registered: 04/24/07
Posts: 13370
Loc: Quad Cities, IL
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you gain little by running speakers off the head unit AND amp at the same time. the speakers powered by the head unit will be quieter and have more distortion. you would have a little bit of level control between them based on the amp gain setting, and if you want the tweeters and door speakers quieter, then it would achieve that goal.
that amp can run all of your speakers with ease. tweeters and front doors in parallel on front amp channels. door and rear deck speakers in parallel on rear amp channels. and it will sound better doing it, won't break a sweat.
you can try both, decide what you like. i'm betting you'll stick with the amp.
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#1719331 - 10/15/09 08:03 AM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: keep_hope_alive]
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MainFrame
Junior Member
Registered: 08/16/01
Posts: 36
Loc: TX
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Interesting.. I hadn't thought about that. I just figured more power=better, and that it would be best to utilize the 18watts rms that the head unit produces per channel on the speakers that need the least so that the more power hungry speakers could get the full power of the amp.
Although, none of the speakers I have are really high end, and I thought it was nice that alpine provided me with a test sheet showing the amp was putting out 131watts per channel when it left the factory. I suppose that is enough power to double up on the speakers after all..
Thanks for the input.
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#1719653 - 10/15/09 03:29 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: MainFrame]
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keep_hope_alive
in another life, i'm a serial killer
SD I Power Bombed the Undertaker
Registered: 04/24/07
Posts: 13370
Loc: Quad Cities, IL
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the 18W out of the head unit is at max distortion - which is pretty high and very audible. you actually get about 5W of clean power, 10W of slightly distorted power, and anything above 15W is listenable.
yep, that amp will make those speakers sing like never before.
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#1728052 - 11/02/09 03:17 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: keep_hope_alive]
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MainFrame
Junior Member
Registered: 08/16/01
Posts: 36
Loc: TX
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One last question.. I got 100ft of 14guage wire, should I run each speaker's wire from the amp individually?
And, what are some good RCA cables?
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#1728064 - 11/02/09 04:01 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: MainFrame]
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highend64
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Registered: 11/04/00
Posts: 1867
Loc: CA
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It is better to run new speaker wires. Since you have 6 speaker system, are you planning to run the rear and the deck speaker on each channel?
Any reputable brand for RCA should be fine.
_________________________
88 Honda Accord
Alpine
CDM-9803
JBL P80.2 main amp
Alpine SPS-500 front speakers
Atomic AT-1500.1D sub amp
Diamond Audio 10" D3v1 in a 1.25 cu.ft. ported box
tuned to 33hz.
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#1728092 - 11/02/09 05:49 PM
Re: replacing stolen equipment - opinions wanted
[Re: highend64]
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keep_hope_alive
in another life, i'm a serial killer
SD I Power Bombed the Undertaker
Registered: 04/24/07
Posts: 13370
Loc: Quad Cities, IL
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from each speaker to the amp. if you have passive crossovers, you can locate them next to the amp.
yea, plenty of good brands. Monster Cable, Rockford Fosgate, Streetwires, etc.
Check out our Classifieds section, i know there are some RCA's for sale in there.
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