Amplifier Wiring Question

xcessive

xcessive

xcessive

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Hi

I'm going to be buying a 4 channel amp for my car and sell the current 2 channel amp i have.
The 4 channel amp will be running my sub and 6x9's. At the moment my current amp just runs the sub.

Will i need to lay another set of RCA's along the car to accomodate for amping up the 6x9's or can the current RCA cables handle both signals for the 6x9's and sub?

If i do need to run another set of RCA's shall i run them along the same side as my current RCA's and remote turn-on cable or on the other side with my power cable?

Thanks
 
If your amplifier has individual crossovers for both channels then you can get away with using one set of RCA leads making sure that you use the L+R pre-outs on your HU.

If you wanted to utilise subwoofer adjustment via your HU and your HU has dedicated sub pre-outs then you could run a seperate RCA lead. I'd run it along with your current RCA and not with the power cable.
 
You could use the existing RCA cable if you bought a splitter for it, and then you would need to put a low pass filter on it, which the amp will probably be able to do for you.

It would be better however, to run a separate cable, especially if your head unit has a sub woofer output. If you do run another cable, it should be on the same side of the car as the existing one.

For safety reasons, if you are not running a new power cable for the amp, then make sure the current one is thick enough to handle the power the new amp is going to draw, as I am guessing it’s a more powerful amp than the current one. Also, are you aware that it is not really recommended to use 6x9s and a sub, and that in some cases, this can actually break the 6x9s?
 
splitz said:
If your amplifier has individual crossovers for both channels then you can get away with using one set of RCA leads making sure that you use the L+R pre-outs on your HU.

If you wanted to utilise subwoofer adjustment via your HU and your HU has dedicated sub pre-outs then you could run a seperate RCA lead. I'd run it along with your current RCA and not with the power cable.
Click to expand...

The amp i am getting has a 'Fully adjustable electronic crossover network'.
Don't know what the hell that means though ? :S

My mate has the exact same amp in his car and same set up and he is running 2 sets of RCA's. Could i just get away with using my current RCA's ?

My headunit does have a Subwoofer pre-out but i have always used aux out for my subwoofers.
I am pretty sure my headunit has 2 pre-outs plus a seubwoofer pre-out
 
Yes, there's no need to run a seperate RCA unless you require the ability to adjust subwoofer settings via your HU. It's just a convenience thing- you can still adjust subwoofer frequency and gain settings via the amplifier itself.
 
Redrum said:
You could use the existing RCA cable if you bought a splitter for it, and then you would need to put a low pass filter on it, which the amp will probably be able to do for you.

It would be better however, to run a separate cable, especially if your head unit has a sub woofer output. If you do run another cable, it should be on the same side of the car as the existing one.

For safety reasons, if you are not running a new power cable for the amp, then make sure the current one is thick enough to handle the power the new amp is going to draw, as I am guessing it’s a more powerful amp than the current one. Also, are you aware that it is not really recommended to use 6x9s and a sub, and that in some cases, this can actually break the 6x9s?
Click to expand...


I am aware about 6x9's and subwoofer arguement but you get so much more bang for your buck when you buy 6x9's. lol

I have a 4 gauge kit in the car anyway and that should be more than enough to power a 1200Watt amp.
 
Don't some 4 channel amps have a switch that duplicates the RCA input across all channels?

You'll probably find yours does, which means you only need one set of RCAs going to the input sockets, but the amp will act as though you've got two sets, allowing you full control over the crossover and gain settings of each channel.

xcessive said:
I am aware about 6x9's and subwoofer arguement but you get so much more bang for your buck when you buy 6x9's. lol
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No no no. You get much more bang for buck when you buy a set of reasonably decent front comps and a decent 12" sub. By decent I mean... RE, Rainbow, DLS...

A setup like that will set you back about £500 for speakers, the amp and a sub... and it'll leave any 6x9/sub combo for dead :)

/Gets excited about ordering his 12" RE XXX :D
 
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4AWG is 70A rated which equates to around 1KW (with the engine running). You should be more than safe with it, considering you'll never output anywhere near that sort of power sound-wise.

agw_01; My amplifier has that setting. Can't quite remember how it's labelled but your amplifier book should document the feature it it's available.
 
splitz, I thought 4AWG could handle 120A (as an absolute safe maximum) across a 5 metre range but 100A was perfectly fine?
 
The amplifier has the ability to connect 2 sets of RCA's to it.
Why would an amp that can 'duplicate' the RCA input have 2 RCA inputs ?
Just seems weird.
 
agw_01 said:
splitz, I thought 4AWG could handle 120A (as an absolute safe maximum) across a 5 metre range but 100A was perfectly fine?
Click to expand...

You're probably right, I've only ever heard 70A and have never bothered researching it further.
 
Ahh. I wasn't getting at you, just wondering :)

xcessive, the amp manufacturer doesn't know how the amp is going to be used, so provided inputs for both individual channels... you could be running an in-car surround system or something where the seperate RCA's would be required.

By providing such a 'mirror' circuit, they're making it easier for the user so that they don't have to have 2 lots of RCA's carrying the same signal.
 
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xcessive said:
The amplifier has the ability to connect 2 sets of RCA's to it.
Why would an amp that can 'duplicate' the RCA input have 2 RCA inputs ?
Just seems weird.
Click to expand...

So that you can have two sets of individual channels.
 
agw_01 said:
No no no. You get much more bang for buck when you buy a set of reasonably decent front comps and a decent 12" sub. By decent I mean... RE, Rainbow, DLS...

A setup like that will set you back about £500 for speakers, the amp and a sub... and it'll leave any 6x9/sub combo for dead :)

/Gets excited about ordering his 12" RE XXX :D
Click to expand...

I'm getting an In Phase 12" subwoofer (including sealed sub box), Legacy 1200Watt LA 690 amp and a set of Pioneer TSA 6911 6x9's for an amazing price of £150.
All of the gear is brand new and boxed, never been used and off a mate.

I would be a fool not to buy the 6x9's (was only planning on upgrading my sub and amp) because they are fairly powerfull.
 
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