Tactilla

I just pick up my 2012 JKUR and have been very disappointed in the stereo. I loved imedic31's write-up as I also wanted to keep the OEM H/U as I got the connectivity package. A buddy pointed me to a Pac-Audio C2A-CHY23 that seems to pull off the audio signal right from the head unit; not interrupting the CAN bus to the OEM amp.

What puzzled me was how the Pac-Audio works and how this setup would work differently then a post-amp summing devices? The Pac-Audio only pulls off 4-channels so how would I then integrate the sub-woofer? Am I just saving on the custom wiring harnesses most factory sound processors require? Would a post-amp or this Pac-Audio solution give me better control/options for the rest of the system?

I'm somewhat new to car audio (and this forum) so bear with me. I just want to understand the pro/con's before dropping $1K into a replacement audio system. Thanks,

TacomanBJK12

To add a subwoofer you would just grab the rear signal and run it into the amplifier. The amplifiers crossover can tune out the vocals and just keep the bass.

Infinutty

I actually just got my adapter in today and have been looking at it to figure things out. My plan is to drop in an Alpine 5 channel amp in place of the factory 5 channel amp. It's true that the adapter only has 4 channels out but that's all the factory H/U produces. The factory amp just internally adapts the signal to the subwoofer output. Since this PAC claims to basically be a full signal anyway I'll just piggyback the rear RCAs to the sub input and see how it goes. It's a lot cheaper solution and I like the idea a lot better than using LOCs and running from amp to amp with some sort of summing device.

I guess I may be a bit of a guinea pig as I haven't seen many threads around using this adapter in the Jeep yet. My only concern really lies with the fact that the install sheet shows the factory amp still in place but I was told by PAC support that I could remove it as I planned to. I'm hopeful that I wasn't mislead as I've heard they know what they are talking about there...

Tactilla

Keep me posted on how the install goes. Seems like a simple solution with a good product; no custom wiring harness. I know Pac-Audio has been around for a while so I'm curious as to why there is no reference to them on this forum.

Goose0077

You can use a SNI-50 that splices into your rear left/right speaker wire converting high level into low level RCA connections for your mono sub amp

Infinutty

Well I'm kind of annoyed that I need to install this thing behind the head unit and can't do it where the factory amp is...I'm going to write and ask why on earth they wouldn't have an option to do that when the idea is to replace the amp? Anyway, it's tucked behind the head unit with the factory amp still installed. Not sure if I pulled something loose while putting it in but now I don't see my evts light flashing and I see the ETC light on the dash but things seem to work so far. Might pull the adapter and see if things go back to normal. I'll probably consider using the amp for the new sub only until I can figure out what new speakers I'll install not sure where I could temp mount the amp though.

Infinutty

Just an update, I installed everything this weekend and it works great for my needs. I forgot to change a switch on the amp so will all come back out sometime soon to make that one change. Basically the amp I got is a 4 channel + mono sub, there is a setting to choose if it will add up the 4 channels to create the sub output or if it will have discrete sub input to use. By default it is set for discrete so I need to change that to sum up the 4 channels and send to the sub instead which is similar to what the factory amp does.

In any case, the bottom line is the PAC adapter works just fine, just wish they had an option to set up closer to where the factory amp location is.

DudeManBro

When this adapter says "does not retain hu bass, treble, eq" does that just mean whatever you connect to the output of the RCA plugs is unaffected by modifying those controls? I would think that the HU controls would still affect whatever is connected to the infinity amp if it is still feeding your speakers? From what i understand it seems like the Pac adapter passes the signal from the HU to the factory amp through the adapter w/ out modifying it while at the same time "decodes" that same signal to provide 2 pair of unaltered 20-20khz RCA outputs to give a full range signal for an additional amp. Just wondering if anyone knows this to be accurate?

A situation where this would be useful would be where you were using the infinity amp to power your speakers like stock and have eq controls but just adding an aftermarket amp and a subwoofer, which is what i am trying to do.