Low cost amp, undeseat sub and speaker upgrades
06-06-2015, 06:53 PM
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Low cost amp, undeseat sub and speaker upgrades
5 hours later, everything works! I opted to keep the stock HU. I bought a 4 channel amp (power acoustik RZ41200D), 4 infinity reference 6032cf, and a Kenwood ksc-sw11.
I didn't want to spend a ton of money to get better sound, but I'm very, very happy with the results. The sub unit tucked nicely under the passenger seat and the amp is in the passenger footwell at the very front. You can't even see it when sitting in the seat so it should be pretty protected from the elements. I didn't permanently affix the sub unit in case I wanted to remove it wheeling / driving somewhere water might get in.
I spent less than $500 total, including all the supplies and (at least to me - I know audio is subjective!), it sounds like I spent a lot more than that!
My LOC was installed clipping the wires for the fronts at the stereo harness and tapping the wires for the rear. I tapped the rear as the sub uses speaker level connections, and I tapped the factory wires in the door sill. Rather than running new speaker wire to the soundbar, I clipped those wires AFTER the sub and spliced in new wire from the rear feed from the amp.
I set the levels on the LOC slightly higher for the rear than the front and set the gains on the amp at about 15%. Now, I dont struggle to hear the music with top down and the volume at 32. Now 21-22 is extremely loud and crystal clear.
I know there are a ton of audio options out there, but for less than $500, I'm extremely pleased..
This was a very easy install, especially considering I was doing it in the dark late at night!
I didn't want to spend a ton of money to get better sound, but I'm very, very happy with the results. The sub unit tucked nicely under the passenger seat and the amp is in the passenger footwell at the very front. You can't even see it when sitting in the seat so it should be pretty protected from the elements. I didn't permanently affix the sub unit in case I wanted to remove it wheeling / driving somewhere water might get in.
I spent less than $500 total, including all the supplies and (at least to me - I know audio is subjective!), it sounds like I spent a lot more than that!
My LOC was installed clipping the wires for the fronts at the stereo harness and tapping the wires for the rear. I tapped the rear as the sub uses speaker level connections, and I tapped the factory wires in the door sill. Rather than running new speaker wire to the soundbar, I clipped those wires AFTER the sub and spliced in new wire from the rear feed from the amp.
I set the levels on the LOC slightly higher for the rear than the front and set the gains on the amp at about 15%. Now, I dont struggle to hear the music with top down and the volume at 32. Now 21-22 is extremely loud and crystal clear.
I know there are a ton of audio options out there, but for less than $500, I'm extremely pleased..
This was a very easy install, especially considering I was doing it in the dark late at night!
