Questions on Installing an Amp/Subs

what should i look for when installing an amp and subs in my car? what is the difference between monster cables and just regular speaker wire? should i use monster cable instead of speaker wire when wiring the amp to the battery? what side should i run the rca and power wires from the battery to the amp, passenger or driver side?

for Kevin, im getting a sony xplod 760 watt amp, should i wire in series or parallel?

To tell you the truth, the "high end" stuff is just about the same as the low end stuff. Most of what makes it so expensive is just the name on the wire. If you buy one brand gauge of wire its going to have ~ the same amount of strands as another brand gauge of wire. Only thing I can think of that would make a difference would be the actual material used.

thats not realy true the bigger the wire the better. u will get more power with a bigger gauge wire and better clearity but it wouldnt be that noticeable with the clarity. it would make sense to run the wires along the driver side because thats where the battery is. u shopuld use monstercable when hooking it to teh battrey, it just thicker and more reliable, thats why its mkore expensive

would i be able to hear the difference between running a 380X1W bridged load at 8 ohms and a 150X2W load at 4 ohms? should i bridge it or no? i heard that running the RCA cables should be run on the other side of where the power cable is run to reduce distortion, is that true? im probably going to use 14 or 12 guage wire from the amp to the box terminal. what guage wire should i use inside the box (subs to the terminal)?

He didnt ask whether bigger wire would be better. He was trying to differentiate between regular wire and a "supposedly" better high end brand.
Yes, running the power wire away from the RCA's will make sure that no distortion gets introduced into the audio signal.
If you can find 12 gauge for a price you don't mind paying, go with it. Go with 12 on the inside of the box too if you decide to go with it from the amp to the box.

are all RCA cables the same guage? im afraid that the RCA cables that come with the amp, arent long enough. can i buy extensions or just buy longer ones?

The difference between RCA's is pretty much the shielding that they have on them. Get some Monster Cable RCA's (they sell pretty long ones). It seems that running the wires down the middle would be the easiest and best looking thing to do. I have mine running down the sides of the car but I'm sure it would look much cleaner if I had chosen to look into that route.

As to the bridging, you will not be able to hear an acoustic SoundQuality different from 4ohm stereo and 4ohm mono unless you have developed a bionic ear for soundquality. In theory, the THD (total harmonic distortion) raises a few tenths of a percentage, but overall, its worth the power.

And right about the RCA cables, its all about keeping out the noise. Run a midline-highquality cable correctly and you will be fine. :)

id figured that bridging would be better, just afraid i might blow the subs though. thanks for all your inputs, now just waiting for my amp to come!

Solly im sooooo late...but heres my contribution:D

When using cabling, for power, always use a bigger gauge like 8 or 4 because it will transmitt the power more efficiently. 4 is best. Keep the earth cable as short as poss and remove surface paint before connecting earth to any part of the body.
Always mount amp(s) on a wooden board, covered with material for effect, so that the casing of the amp never contacts with earth. These will all help reduce any interference thru the speakers. Its always best to route RCA/speaker cables and power cables on different sides, so reducing more interference. Use good quality RCA cable and speaker cable, Oxy Free is best, but theres no need to splash out on anything too expensive. Unless youre going into pro comp, wires wont make much difference to everyday listening quality. Speaker wires, 16 gauge is more than enough.
When bridging the amp, its automatically reverted to mono, wire the subs in series then bridge onto the amp. This is the best way i believe. Theres no harm in trying parallel, then you can compare each setup.
When tuning in the subs, up volume to 3/4 full (or what level of volume you normally blast at), make sure that the EQ is set so balance and fader are centre, and any bass enhancement is off including bass +1, +2..........You can also disconnect front or rear speakers to avoid excess noise. Play a bassy track that you are familiar with, adjust the gain on the amp gradually from low and listen for distortion (where the subs begin to fart) then back off a touch. And thats it. Make any fine adjustments with the headunit or bass boost to suit, but always listen out for distortion, its a KILLER!! and remember that every track is different so BEWARE!! youve been warned. Dont blow the subs after spending all that time making such a nice box for them:D
If ive repeated any of the above replies, its prolly due to lack of sleep and lack of concentration. These point are what i would normally do on any system im fitting.

For tuning tracks, try Sweat by Sash, a french DJ, it has a good build up to a fairly long bassline, enough for you to tune the subs. You can download it from Morpheus or similar program. Any problems let me know.

wow! thanks kevin, youve come through once again. :D dont worry ive got a lot of trance to bump, with nonstop bumping bass.

got my sony xplod amp today :D got some questions on the tuning of the amp. should i even bother with the filter or just leave it off? what should i set the Low Boost (40Hz) to? what does the Phase Shift Adjustment do? thanks :D

The Hz you need to set depends upon your taste, and what other crossovers your using for the front and rear, if any. Most of the time, anything below 80-50 HZ is about right, but it depends on the track. Remember, 80Hz will allow higher tone bass to pass thru, i.e. more mid range, whereas 50Hz will cut off more of the mid range.

Im guessing that the Phase Shift is just a fancy name for Reverse polarity, i could be, but again, try switching between them both, once you tuned up the amp. what you'll prolly notice is that by switching it one way, it'll give you slightly better bass OR make the bass sound more inline with the restr of the music. Its kinda hard to explain, but just try it both ways, it wont harm anything.

Don't forget an in-line fuse (a nice biggin', they're cheap) on your power cable ( about 10 inches from your battery)!

You don't have to, but better safe than sorry:(

f-bOmb!:smoker2:

P11GT is right about phase shift...it reverses the polarity of the speakers...

at 0 degrees you would want your speaker wire to go from pos. to pos. and neg. to neg....
at 180 degrees you would have it go from pos. to neg. and pos. to neg.

you should have your speaker wire go from pos. to pos. and neg. to neg....at 0 degrees

and ALWAYS have a fuse!

Originally posted by junglist
you should have your speaker wire go from pos. to pos. and neg. to neg....at 0 degrees

oh, oh, not always the case, my twin 12W6's are actually 180 degrees out of phase and what it does is create a tighter bass which beats more in time with the track. Its hard to explain, but thats why you should just try it, once its tuned up, just try both setting.

P11GT, thanks for the info...I've never read that...but I'm going to try it..

Originally posted by P11GT


oh, oh, not always the case, my twin 12W6's are actually 180 degrees out of phase and what it does is create a tighter bass which beats more in time with the track. Its hard to explain, but thats why you should just try it, once its tuned up, just try both setting.

sounds interesting- i have a friend who had a very high line system (he worked at SoundWerks in Phoenix, AZ so everything was top quality) and he had an amplifier that could allow him to adjust the phasing of the speakers from hitting right in sync- to hitting completely opposite...

he adjusted it and there is a setting somewhere in the middle- (probably closer to the out of sync end) where the speakers sounded the best...

the entire 180 degree flip sounds kinda odd though considering that kinda borders on noise cancellation... (this principle is the same principle lexus poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into- to develop technology that would cancel out vibrations from their engines)

example-

http://www.pandapower.com/180.jpg
This is basically where when one sub pushes out- the other one sucks in (180 degree phase shift in frequencies)

you can also read about that here-
http://www.deicon.com/vib_tutorial/act_vib4_pdf.pdf


So- perhaps there is a good setting in phase between 0-180 degrees... There are some pieces of equipment out there that can be purchased to configure the setting for the ideal sound that you like- just go ahead and play with it and see what sounds best for your ride.


-clifford

ya i figured out the settings i want and i love the sound especially with the wadding, makes it sound less hollow :D oops turned it too higher today at my house and disturbed someone the next street up :rolleyes:

Originally posted by AznVirus
ya i figured out the settings i want and i love the sound especially with the wadding, makes it sound less hollow :D oops turned it too higher today at my house and disturbed someone the next street up :rolleyes:


keep up the good work.

-cliff.

Agreed :)

nice one deric:D i still get to tha stage where i think my system doesnt sound right, and sometimes go to the local sound guru, but like he keeps telling me, its useless for him to set it up, as what he thinks it should sound like, may not be the way i like it. you just gotta play around with it the get the right 'mix'

Originally posted by P11GT
nice one deric:D i still get to tha stage where i think my system doesnt sound right, and sometimes go to the local sound guru, but like he keeps telling me, its useless for him to set it up, as what he thinks it should sound like, may not be the way i like it. you just gotta play around with it the get the right 'mix'


yup- totally!!!

you can tune a stereo for SPL record breaking levels- or for pure SQ- but when u hop into the car for everyday driving- it may sound like crap to you... so- fiddle with it- don't turn it up too loud while u fiddle- and you'll be ok.

-clifford

Originally posted by cliffud



yup- totally!!!

you can tune a stereo for SPL record breaking levels- or for pure SQ- but when u hop into the car for everyday driving- it may sound like crap to you... so- fiddle with it- don't turn it up too loud while u fiddle- and you'll be ok.

-clifford

true, three quarter full is enough for most

ya i turned the level a little less than 3/4 full. it sounds great to me, nice sound = nice subs/amp = nice box = nice box designer :D

:frog:

Ding Ding i'm late as hell on this one. In any case i never check these threads. If you are going to go with Monster Cable be aware that there a 3 diffrent types. A) Regular. B) Professional C) Studio. If you want the best its obviously the Studio type but its hella expensive. If you wan the best sound stick with the professional or studio but i'm sure there may be better companies than them that do wiring. Secondly i would recommend you learn how to soder if you want the clearest crispest sound because butt connectors and all that aren't always the best way when hooking up sound equipment.


Trk.

Originally posted by 2002G20Sport
Ding Ding i'm late as hell on this one. In any case i never check these threads. If you are going to go with Monster Cable be aware that there a 3 diffrent types. A) Regular. B) Professional C) Studio. If you want the best its obviously the Studio type but its hella expensive. If you wan the best sound stick with the professional or studio but i'm sure there may be better companies than them that do wiring. Secondly i would recommend you learn how to soder if you want the clearest crispest sound because butt connectors and all that aren't always the best way when hooking up sound equipment.


Trk.

ya a little late :p but i already got an amp installation kit, i sodered all the wires to the but connectors, dont worry :D damn amp kits are pretty expensive, got mine for $60:eek: