Can subs (amp) be hooked up to stock head unit?

[CRXONE]

Hey guys I want to keep my stock head unit yet hook up a sub and change the front speakers to splits.

Has anyone tried this before?? Or either just hooked up splits to the stock head unit or just hooked up an amp to the stock head unit

cheers,
Mark

[dc2dc2dc2]

I remember reading a while back in some magazine. There is no reason why u can't do it.

[Fr3aKi3]

It's possible to do, there's a few ways of doing it. Some amps have high level inputs (basically same wires as speaker wires), so you can connect the speaker wires directly to the amp.

The other option is a Line Out Convertor or LOC. In essence these convert the speaker cables into RCA's, which can then be hooked up to amps.

[AmateurJazz]

Check whether your stock headunit has RCA ins (most likely it won't) - without any RCA ins you cannot hook up your amp to the headunit. You will need to get a converter/FM modulator like fr3aki3 said, which converts the speaker cables into RCAs. That connects to your amp and the rest is just like usual.

Bear in mind that with this setup the sound is coming from a frequency from your radio and hence quality will not be optimal.

[lilwilliam]

^ couldnt u just bridge the rca cables onto the normal speaker wires? not 100% sure on this but im curious.

[Riviera]

bridge??? as in cut some RCA's off the headphone jack to left and right RCA's? and solder them onto speaker wires??? lol

[lilwilliam]

bridge??? as in cut some RCA's off the headphone jack to left and right RCA's? and solder them onto speaker wires??? lol

Yup ghetto style? i duno i was just curious.

[Fr3aKi3]

^ couldnt u just bridge the rca cables onto the normal speaker wires? not 100% sure on this but im curious.

What do you mean by bridge the rca cables to normal speaker wires? Generally RCA's are what you'd want to connect the headunit to the amp. It offers better shielding against interference.

I'd stay away from FM modulators altogether, personlly I dont think they're even worth the packaging that it comes in. LOC's on the other hand are different. I've heard mixed reviews some, some are good and some aren't.

edit:

Yup ghetto style? i duno i was just curious.

that's just dodgy and wont work... lol

[Riviera]

ghetto styles work man they use to work for me when i wanted to hook up a stereo in my bag lol


way back when speakers and stereos couldnt fit in bags or u had to be rich


fishing tackle box
2 6 inch speakers
head unit
shit loads of DD batteries lol
= ghetto blaster lol

but you wouldnt want to be doing this in ur car... unless its easy access.

how come u dont wana scrap the old unit???




ghetto styles work man lolbut the voltage might change as u turn it up and blow sumthing... i dunno mete no ghettos for me

[lilwilliam]

What do you mean by bridge the rca cables to normal speaker wires? Generally RCA's are what you'd want to connect the headunit to the amp. It offers better shielding against interference.

I'd stay away from FM modulators altogether, personlly I dont think they're even worth the packaging that it comes in. LOC's on the other hand are different. I've heard mixed reviews some, some are good and some aren't.

edit:


that's just dodgy and wont work... lol

^ it was an idea and was wondering if it would work or not lol. so i guess that u cant do that option sorry for the spams then

[aka_NSX]

some brand of Amp you can do it straight from your speaker wire to RCA by flicking the switch to High level , you just splice the -ve spkr cable to the shield one of the RCA and the +ve spkr cable to the inner cable of the RCA, I have done it on the Euro with no problem and you dont even need any LOC

[dupac->]

You get that Line Out Convertor, and hook them to ur speaker cables that run off ur headunit.
But buy doing this you lose 2 speakers, because your speakers if they're standard is running power from your headunit therefor u lose them buy using the LOC

Then you can run an amp n sub after u get RCA outputs from ur OEM headunit.

[AusS2000]

Check whether your stock headunit has RCA ins (most likely it won't) - without any RCA ins you cannot hook up your amp to the headunit. You will need to get a converter/FM modulator like fr3aki3 said, which converts the speaker cables into RCAs. That connects to your amp and the rest is just like usual.

Bear in mind that with this setup the sound is coming from a frequency from your radio and hence quality will not be optimal.

BS ALERT!!

Seriously, you ain't got the foggiest. RCA INS are, as you would expect, for putting a line level signal IN to the head unit. Such as an iPod signal.

We're talking OUT as we want signal out of the headunit. As someone already correctly stated, there are no line level outs (RCA or otherwise) on the stock head unit, but there are two sets of speaker level outs not used. They are for rear speakers and the S doesn't have any. You'll need some pins or a connector from another Honda car to connect these to the 'Speaker Level INS' of most consumer grade amps and play your doof-doof to your hearts content (although not your ears or neighbours).

[WhiteAP1]

LOL I though it was reasons like this u didnt hang around here anymore Aus?

[AusS2000]

I just come here to vent. ;)

[integrity]

i have done it.

it works but quality is not clear cause the standard unit is like 20 watts or something.

it can onyl take so much power as well and i must admit it does get hot.

IMO its not worth it cause you will have to buy a hi/lo level converter to convert to RCA then amp it, etc...

to me its not worth it when you can buy a $200 strathfield deck and it will sound alot better with clearer treble and deeper bass.

[AusS2000]

Once again I'm lost. An AMP wants a Line Level input which is a very low power signal so the stock heads power rating is kinda irrelevant. The stock head unit doesn't have line outs so you use the speaker outs either through a line level converter or with an amp that has speaker level inputs.

I've never used a line level converter but I do have a cheap Sony 2 channel amp with speaker level inputs. Using the stock stereo, this amp and some consumer grade speakers the sound was improved drastically. It was clearer and could be heard at driving speed quite clearly.

[BOOSTD]

i have done this in a crv and it was quite easy actually....i just needed a rca converter with i got from autobarn....was some time ago but i dont think it was too pricey

[dupac->]

its like $15 bucks or something

[MRK-01]

does anyone have best place to run cabling and mount amps.?
Under seat for the amps..?
Cables run down the centre..?

Also what about running power feeds from the battery, whats the easiest way of getting through the firewall without the use of a drill..?????

[dupac->]

does anyone have best place to run cabling and mount amps.?
Under seat for the amps..?
Cables run down the centre..?

Also what about running power feeds from the battery, whats the easiest way of getting through the firewall without the use of a drill..?????
mount amps in the boot is best imo coz they can get pretty hot and more air too kinda cool it. more room and looks better and less messy. run power wire down one side of the car, and rca's down the otherside of the car. dont run them down the car together. and with the firewall there always is a gromet with electrical stuff thats running through ur firewall. so u dont need to drill. it's just a matter of trying to get the wires through the gromet/firewall.

[EL_DC5]

man IMO forget about keeping the OEM deck because the sound quality is crap, i tried it 2 different ways and out of the both i would say that the high level input directly to the amp is the way to go. LOC = Extra Crap.

[lilwilliam]

You get that Line Out Convertor, and hook them to ur speaker cables that run off ur headunit.
But buy doing this you lose 2 speakers, because your speakers if they're standard is running power from your headunit therefor u lose them buy using the LOC

Then you can run an amp n sub after u get RCA outputs from ur OEM headunit.

no u dont loose 2 speakers, because u can just bridge the wires from your speakers into the line out converter.

[rahul]

audison, stinger and navone make 2 and 4 ch LOC that i know off.

you can get the navone at http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/store/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=11

and apparently its really good (very low noise) for the price. i'm pretty sure the audison and the stinger ones are much dearer

EDIT: i'd go for a 4 ch one,,, use the 2 ch for fronts and the remaining one for sub