All I need to know..

OK, I'm considering putting in a sound system in my 96 Civic EX. I have some questions that I'm not too sure about. I have already put an Alpine H/U with Keyless Entry and I have a question about that too.

1) After putting in the H/U, the stereo seems to cut in and out if I hit a bump, slow down, or accelerate... the radio station worked fine on the stock radio. Anybody know what could fix the problem? The CD/MP3 functions work great. I plugged the antenna coax from the car into the "extender" from the H/U, but I don't know if it's making a good connection... does the extender come off the CDA9827 model and if it does, could I plug the antenna coax from the car into where the extender was?
2) What is the easiest way and where, on a 96 Civic EX, could I wire the amp from the trunk, to the battery?
3) Since I'm new to car audio, could someone give me a link to all the variables I need to learn in setting up a sub/amp/speakers and make sure that I'm not overloading something (OHMS?). I read the FAQ and I didn't pull out enough information out of it... maybe it's just me.. or I wasn't looking in the right section.
4) I'm thinking about making my own sub box to put in my trunk that will hold 2 10's, an amp, and maybe some neon lighting for kicks. Would it be easy to do so? If there's a link on how to make them, link me up. What material can I use to make them, I'm planning on making a sealed box because I like rock and hip hop.

I think that's all I need to cover on what I need to know.

i don't have any nifty links to give you but i should be able to answer any of your questions that you may have about anything on subs and amps. i am not too sure about your question on the headunit.
1. wiring your amp from the battery to the trunk for 96-00 civic coupes:
it is easiest to take out the battery and find a black rubber grommet that is down a little under the battery. you poke a hole through this with a clothes hanger and tie the wire on the other end. you should be able to pull the wire all the way through. the other side of that grommet is under the glove box and up the wall a little. after you get the wire through there you need to take off the plastic pieces all along the side of the car. the kickpanel, door piece, and then you can stuff the wire under the rest of the plastic peices until you get to the back seat. you stuff the wire along the side of the back seat and then fold the seat over. then you want to feed the wire under where the seat attaches in the corner and up into the trunk.
2. sub boxes:
-they need to be made out of mdf (medium density fiberboard)
-you need to draw out some plans and measure for the dimensions of your trunk or where ever you are putting it.
-you need to figure out the cubic feet needed for your subs to operate at optimum level (this is found in the owners manual), and then make your box that size.
-then you need to have preferabley a table saw, but you can use a circular saw if you are good at cutting straight lines. you also need a drill and screws and silicone and you can use wood glue for extra hold. when building your box you need to make sure there are no gaps that let air out, if you do have these then silicone the crap out of them until they no longer leak.
-after you get the box built you can either get carpet to put over it or you can use any other thing like that (vinel, tweed, etc.)
-you should always drill out a hole before putting a screw in or else the wood will split


-if you have any other questions i would be happy to help and if anyone sees that i am missing something please fill in where needed.

OK, this reply has to do with impedance and amplifiers almost specifically. I want to know what one-channel on an amplifier is... just one + and -... because I don't want to get a 4-channel amplifier if I'm not going to use the extra 2? Say I was looking at 2 10" woofers and parallel wire them, how many channels would that use?

I'm looking at an amplifier that is 2 ohm stable. An amplifier's stable impedance means what, you can't go over a 2 ohm load? If I were to get 2 woofers that have an impedance of 4 ohms, then parallel wire them, that would mean...
1/x = 1/4 + 1/4
1/x = 1/2
x = 2
2 ohms of resistance. Now that wouldn't over work the amplifer, making it overheat, or have any problems, would it?

Also could someone translate this for me..
Mono RMS: 210 x 2 Watts
2 Ohm RMS: 105 x 4 Watts
4 Ohm RMS: 85 x 4 Watts

the first thing you have remember about impedance is, the lower the number the great the load. 2 ohms puts twice the load on the amp as 4 ohms. Yes, one channel of an amp is the "+" and "-" . 2 subs wired in parrallel would use 1 channel of an amp, most people use class D amps for subs. The reasons are; they put out lots of power into 1 or 2 ohms, you get a lot more watts/$ than a conventional anp and they are more efficient - which means they draw less power from your cars electrical system. As far as 2 ohms overworking an amp, depends on the amp. Some amps will die if you bridge them and put a 2 ohm load on 'em.

Also could someone translate this for me..
Mono RMS: 210 x 2 Watts
2 Ohm RMS: 105 x 4 Watts
4 Ohm RMS: 85 x 4 Watts

you have the watts in the wrong place
it means it is a 4 channel amp
with 4 ohm speakers, it will develop 85 watts RMS to each speaker
with 2 ohm speakers, it will develop 105 watts RMS to each speaker
if You bridge the amp you will have 2 channels - each channel will have 210 watts RMS

Well, I'm not looking to get a show-sound, just a system that will get me some good bass, that's clean and somewhat boomy.

So the more ohms you have, the easier it is on the amplifier, but you don't get as much boominess?

Here's what I have in plan and tell me if these are compatible and will sound good and somewhat boomy in a sealed box. (2 woofers with Parallel Wiring)

PowerAcoustik Gothic Series 2-Channel 820W Amplifier

Bridged Max: 820 Watts Mono RMS: 460 Watts 2 Ohm RMS: 230 x 2 Watts 4 Ohm RMS: 180 x 2 Watts 2ohm Stable StereoAudiobahn AW100T 10" 800 Watts Subwoofer

Recommended RMS Power: 400W Peak Power Handling: 800W Impedance: 4 ohms 2 4-Layer ASV Voice Coil

having some boom and sounding boomy are two VERY different things. Having some boom is good, it means you have some good lower end bass. Sounding boomy is when the upper bass/ lower mid-bass is too loud, it makes the bass sound sloppy and generally crappy.

OK then having some boom.

those are not necessarily the best set up for each other. the subs you want can only handle a 4 ohm load so you need to get an amp that will give close to 400 watts rms at 4 ohms, if you want your subs to function at optimum level. i would suggest getting either kicker or jl subs. keep looking around for some better subs and a better amp. directed audio makes some good amps also kicker.

OK, so if you have a sub with 4 ohms of impedance, even if you're hooking 2 subs to the amp, you want to look at the power @ 4 ohms?

What I think would help me out so I wouln't keep asking questions is... what do you need to match up in order to see if the two (amp and sub) are compatible?

yes


you need to look at ohms and watts, when you are hooking up subs dependeing on wether they are dual voice coil or single voice coil, you can wire them to make them a different amount of ohms and there is always one way that lets it use the most power, but unless your amp can handle that you can't wire it that way so you need to look at all the possibilities of wiring and everything. there are so many different good combinations of subs and amps, just keep asking questions and you will soon get something to make you happy.

Ok, thanks for your help so far. Since I really don't have a lot of money to deal with, I might just get either 1 12" sub instead of 2, but I'm not sure if that will sound just as good as 2 10's. (like same features on the 2 10's as 1 12).

DVC and SVC... how can you wire them differently? What's the difference? I'm assuming DVC's better, but why?

Now, if I were to put 1 12" sub with a sealed box, here's the setup I've come up with... tell me if they're compatible and if it would sound decent.

PowerAcoustik OV2-1200 Gothic Series 2-Channel Amplifier
Bridged Max: 1200 Watts Mono RMS: 600 Watts 2 Ohm RMS: 300 x 2 Watts 4 Ohm RMS: 250 x 2 Watts Full MOSFET Power Supply PWM Circuitry Full Selectable Crossover Hi/Full/Low Tri-Mode Capable Variable Low Pass 40Hz-120Hz Variable Hi Pass 150Hz-1.5Khz 18dB Bass Boost @ 40Hz. Frequency Response: 10Hz to 30Khz S/N Ratio:97 db THD: 0.02% 2ohm Stable Stereo Kicker Solo-Baric L5 S12L52
copolymer cone Santoprene rubber surround dual 2-ohm voice coils for wiring flexibility frequency response 20-100 Hz power range 50-600 watts RMS (300 watts per coil) peak power handling 1200 watts sensitivity 86.9 dB SPL

dvc is better because you have different ways to wire where as the svc only has one way. that setup does look pretty good. the solo b's are known for their spl.

Alrighty, I'm almost done with the questions. After looking at the specs on amplifiers for a while, I see there's a Mono RMS rating. Does Mono RMS mean the power ouput given from the amplifier when the channels on the amplifier (2-channel+ amp) are bridged together?

I've been looking at Alpine subwoofers (Type-R or Type-S series to be exact) but I've heard that they're over-rated and sound like shit. I really haven't had any experience with them so I wouldn't know for myself, I just want a third-party perspective on them. They would be going in a sealed box.

When constructing a sub box that will hold two subwoofers instead of one, I've heard that you should separate the subs with another piece of MDF in the middle of them. This technique seems logical because it provides support for the box from the pressure exerted on the box and is also a safety feature so if one subwoofer blows, the other sub isn't exposed to a volume twice of what it's capable of. If I were to make a box that would hold two subs instead of one, I would need to get 2 terminal cups instead of one (because of the board in the middle), and multiply the dimensions for one of the subs by nearly 2, correct?

Lastly, what are the hidden costs of post-purchase of the system. For example, how much is the wiring going to cost?

Anyone?

mono means bridged or that the amp only has one channel.

i have never heard lapine subs so i can't help you there.

you will need 2 terminal cups or you can just drill a small hole and put the wires through.

wiring is going to cost around 20-40 dollars depending on where you get it and what kind you get.

OK cool, so I'll need either 8 or 4-gauge wire depending on the amplifier's specs and speaker wire? Anything else? I'm assuming I'll need a fuse(s), how do I know which one to get, etc.

Thanks mjshort18 and PaulD for your help so far, if I have anymore questions it'll be about wiring and stuff related to that from here on.

glad i could help. when you go to get a wiring kit a fuse will come with it. i am not sure which size would be needed though. good luck.

i have a question as well....
i have a 4 Channel 1000 watt TNT amplifier
1 1100 watt sony explod subwoofer
is there any possible way to bridge all 4 channels together for my one subwoofer