Installing amp, sub, and speakers help

[Oceantrav]

Got a 2007 GMC savana. Wanted to upgrade the door speakers, and put a small amp for a 10" sub. Was going to put the amp and sub under my bench seat (from a 15 Ford transit). Speakers would have run off the head unit.

Problem is I got a system on trade recently, and not sure if I should use it or sell it. Got brand new marine JL stuff. A 600/6 amp, 4 6.5" speakers, and a 10" sub. If I use it, how should I hook it up? Will the speakers fit in the door, should I run off amp, etc?

Stuff was $1200 new so not sure if I should sell it? Stuff I was going to get would have ran me $200 new off amazon.

 

[86cj]

That is really good stuff and it will be a good choice for a van, it does see more moisture than a sealed up car. The doors open is a common thing and so is rain, not that you need marine stuff but you do have it. I would use a line output convertor to add pre amps, I would also invest in a good one because if you can tune that set up easily it will be great...The GM van front doors take 6.5", the back doors have 6x9 holes pre-cut down low and you can't hear them up front, the backs need to go up higher.

Something like this or even better, you can get a basic and cheap one that works but don't, it will make that good stuff sound poorly..http://www.audiocontrol.com/car-audio/factory-system-upgrade/lc7i/

 

[Lunchbox2]

I would purchase a head unit that gives you all of the pre-outs for the amp, that way you get front/rear/and sub outputs that can be controlled individually. You can run the 4 6.5" speakers off channels 1-4 (75w RMS x 4), then bridge channels 5/6 to run the sub (200w RMS x 1). That will make some noise, loud and clear. I have used JL audio equipment for years, and it takes a beating (as long as it's tuned and not distorting). I can guarantee that you won't buy anything for $200 that will sound as good. Spend that $200 on a decent head unit. Check out sonicelectronix.com for head units, they carry everything and you can read the reviews of each one, see what people actually think about it. You can find one for less than $200 that will do everything you need.... You'll have a bangin' stereo

 

[huskyhauler]

Don't forget, with a sub comes rattles, and with rattles comes things on counters vibrating off! Once you're all set do a test run and see what's making a noise rattle, and what might fall over and make a mess.

 

[simple]

I would purchase a head unit that gives you all of the pre-outs for the amp, that way you get front/rear/and sub outputs that can be controlled individually. You can run the 4 6.5" speakers off channels 1-4 (75w RMS x 4), then bridge channels 5/6 to run the sub (200w RMS x 1). That will make some noise, loud and clear. I have used JL audio equipment for years, and it takes a beating (as long as it's tuned and not distorting). I can guarantee that you won't buy anything for $200 that will sound as good. Spend that $200 on a decent head unit. Check out sonicelectronix.com for head units, they carry everything and you can read the reviews of each one, see what people actually think about it. You can find one for less than $200 that will do everything you need.... You'll have a bangin' stereo

This is the way to go. And don't forget to tune it by adjusting all the gains and crossover filters after installation.

Use good twisted pair RCA patch cords between amp and head unit to eliminate noise and run appropriate size power and speaker wire for amperage and distance. If the amp will fit under the front passenger seat, that may be a better location for running wire and keeping it out of the way.

86CJ mentioned not using the factory rear door holes and that is a solid suggestion.

If you want to use the rear door holes, you could make adaptor plates for you speakers but it would be better to incorporate them in a box under the rear bench along with the sub. Make sure when building a box that the speakers enclosures are all separate from one another and that the enclosures have the correct volume of air space for the subs and mids. You could also mount the mids in wakeboard tower pods up in the rear corners of the van. You may be able to mount the pods in such a way that they swivel out toward the back so you could open the doors and here them outside.

Correctly installed and tuned what you have should rock your socks off.

 

[Oceantrav]

Apparently the stuff was worth some money, sold it for $600.

Bought a pioneer 10" shallow sub in a box for $100, a 1600 max watt pioneer amp for $100, and some Rockford Fostgate speakers for $35 all off amazon prime.

So will run the sub off the amp. For the speaker will run off the head unit. My van only has the speakers in the door so I bought a pair of 6.5's. I already got a double din radio/dvd player i hooked up so it should be decent for the speakers. Question though, if the radio is set up for 4 speakers, since Im only running two, what do I do to combine them? Is that called bridging? Im 31 and haven't messed with this stuff since I was a teen. Do I just take the front left negative and combine it with the rear left negative, then the positive the same? If that makes any since.

Also, bought a $80 backup camera off amazon from china that replaces the break light. So when it arrives in 30+ days hope its decent.

thanks- Matt

 

[screwball48]

Only hook up each front speaker with its respective wire pair. If using an adaptor harness you can connect the rear speaker wires to the harness. If not then make sure the rear speaker wires are properly covered so they will not short on anything.


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[Oceantrav]

Ok, going to hook up the speaker to the head unit, got the adapters too.

Installed the amp and sub last night, and it barely moves at all...Not sure what I did wrong.

My sub is a pioneer 10" 4ohm that came in a shallow box. It's 1200 watts and 300 rms. My amp is 1600 watts and 300 watts rms at 4 ohms. Everyone on amazon with the same setup said it "hit" real hard. I can barely tell mine is on...

Used a $12 amp wiring kit off amazon. Think the power cord is 16ft 8 gauge, then a couple of feet 8 gauge for the ground. On the amp it has positive, negative, positive, negative. How should I connect the speaker wire from the sub box? The positive to the first positive, and negative to first or second negative? Tried both an no difference...

Also, how do I know what ohm I'm at? Is that referring to how the sub is wired inside the box?

Just don't understand why I don't have any bass...

Any help is appreciated, I'm an idiot when it comes to this obviously

 

[screwball48]

Some head units have a dedicated "sub out" set of rca connections. If you hooked to this you may need to adjust the settings and levels in the head unit for it to sound right.


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[mikracer]

Did you wire in the remote wire to switch the amp on when the radio is turned on? Also, check your gain on the amp. The amp should tell you which slots the wires should go to for a bridged connection. It's usually the + on one side to the - on the other.

 

[Oceantrav]

Messed with the gain and now it sounds decent.
Now to figure out how to get the door panels off for the new speakers...

 

[huskyhauler]

A couple of tips:

The plastic bits and load-bearing parts of the panels are typically held on with screws. After all the screws are out the door card is held on with plastic push retainers spaced out evenly around the perimeter of the card. The top-most part of the card may also hook around the top and into the slot where the window slides in and out, if that makes any sence.

Be careful when pulling the card out as the door locks and window switches will be attached to the card itself. The wiring loom won't be long enough to set the card on the ground, so grab something to set the card on while you reach in and disconnect the connectors.

When installing the speakers in the door make sure you determine which wire is positive and which is negative. Each door will have a different colored wire. You want to hook these up correctly or the speakers won't be working in unison and the sound will be muffled, especially if they are firing opposite of the sub.

Since you have a sub you should activate the setting in your head unit that limits lower end sounds that are sent to the speakers. In Pioneer units it's called HPF (High Pass Frequency). Not sure about other brands. This will allow you to turn your speakers up higher without them blowing by having the sub do all the low end sound work. This is especially important given you aren't powering the speakers with an amp, as they don't have enough power to stay clean at higher levels and the will destort. The lower end sounds usually destort first.

It helps to have your window rolled down when removing and reinstalling the card.