Who Knows Car Audio Systems Well?? Please Help?
I know its possible to hook up my two 10" MTX Jack Hammer subwoofers with a 400 watt Amp to my stock Mazda3 Deck but if I do that am I going to mess something up running all of that off of a stock deck?? Thanks.
Comments
Short answer:No.
Will your subs live up their potential on a stock radio: Absolutely not
Running subs off a stock radio does no harm to the radio itself. I'm guessing since it is a factory radio it has no RCA outputs that would easily connect to the amp. That means you need to splice into the rear speakers to get a signal for the amplifiers. You will also need an amp with speaker level inputs or an in-line converter to convert the signal to RCA. The actual power for your amp comes from a separate power line you will need to run to the battery. a very small current is needed from the radio to power the remote turn on lead from your radio. this basically tells your amp when to turn on and use the higher current wire connected to your battery. you can either get a fuse tap at any autozone type store and tap into any fuse that is powered by the accessory switch in the fuse box or just splice into it from the rear of the radio. However, most stock radios aren't ideal for hooking up subs to. This is because as you crank up the volume, the circuits inside the radio actually lower the bass output in order to protect the cheap factory speakers. This isn't true on all stock stereos for the most part it is a fair assumption. I would recommend shopping around and getting a cheap aftermarket deck. I have always shopped at crutchfield.com and they have a good selection and fantastic customer service that will include all the directions you need to install your stuff on your own, and no i don't work for them, just a loyal customer. Best of luck!
A further comment:
georgewillings, i apologize my description was not clear. no don't fuse tap the rear of the aftermarket deck, only fuse tap out of the fuse panel. everyone recommends the windshield wipers but on my accord the windshield wipers only work when the car is on and no in accessories so just do some research. i meant wire tap the remote turn on lead from behind the factory stereo, after market stereo have a remote turn on lead coming from the wiring harness.
and yes georgy porgy you can get stuff cheaper else where, say a pawn shop, but i have found stuff there cheaper than other places and that doesnt factor in all the brackets, picture diagrams/directions and wiring harnesses that are included not to mention the tech support. obviously if this question was posted he is no expert and should therefore welcome a little guidance with the install. relax and calm down buddy
Jeff, crutchfield is a rip off, they charge more than your local audio shops do. Also, the fuse on the back of aftermarket decks, you never tap into that fuse ever, bad juju. The other thing is that the circuitry inside stock decks only tune the bass down only to conserve the life of the pathetic stock speakers.
Splice the LOC (line out converter) into the rear speaker wires, run the remote wire to your windshield wiper fuse using a fuse tap, and then replace the fuse with the tap into the fuse receptacle. Run your fused power wire to the positive battery terminal, and make your grounding point for the amp, wire up the sub, your done.
The power all of your amplifier needs comes from the battery. You will not ruin the stick deck just by hooking up an amplifier to your system. However, does your stock deck have standard RCA outputs? If not, you will have to splice into the factory speaker wire under your rear deck to have an input signal for the amplifier to read. You will also have to find a fuse that is operated by your ignition to run your remote wire to.
is it possible? yes of course. but factory units only put out half of a volt into an amp. when after market head units put out 2-6 volts . sometimes more. my friend did the same thing and when he spent 100 bucks on an aftermarket radio the difference was unbelievable. his subs were hitting almost twice as loud. and it is very stressful on an amp to try to operate on such low volts from the factory radio. ive known some amps to just blow up and fry. just take the time to buy a 100 dollar radio.any after market radio would be better than a factory
crutchfield is very expensive. ive gone to sonicelectronix and tell all my friends about it their awesome