Turbo6

Hi folks! I've never had a truly GREAT sound system because I don't know enough. I think the Pioneer setup sounds decent for stock. I installed a JVC 6" touch screen HU and replaced the back 6x9's with some old 3-way kenwoods I had. It's all installed with a Metra 70-2103 harness and 2-din 95-3302 dash kit. The goal here is to get a nice low powered system with good clarity across the board.

Here's the extra parts I own now:
- OLD Jensen 175W mono sub amp
- Kenwood 3-way 6x9 speakers
- 5 Channel Soundstorm (china!) 1500w (250x4, 1x500)
- Old 12" Infinity Reference subwoofer

I want to use the HU pre-amp outputs so I'm thinking I'll start w/ the 5-ch amp. It says 250w max for the 4 channels, so I'd guess 100w RMS?? The sub output is 500w max, so probably ~125 RMS unbridged. If the 5-ch china amp sucks I could replace it later. Now for the questions...

1) Ditch the Kenwoods? They were like $70 6 years ago. They sound barely better than the 6x9 Pioneers being so underpowered by the HU+GM amp.
2) Are there any 6.5 component sets under $150 that will be way better than the oem Pioneer set?
3) Will the 2ohm Pioneer 10" sub work with a 4 ohm amp, will it respond better with more power, or should I just build a box and use my 12" infinity?

Lots of info here, so I appreciate if anyone reads it all. With all the parts maybe you could offer a better solution than I'm thinking about. Any advice would help. Thanks in advance.

xxenjoi11

iTrader: (10)

buy new speakers, and yes you can get component 6.5" for under 150 that'll sounds great.

not sure on the ohms wait foe empjj to chime in

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

you need to do an amp bypass to possibly get the kenwoods to sound better...

and yes you can run the sub at 4 ohms (its a dual 2 so 4 or 1 are the only options) if you put more power on it it will blow. just a matter of time

chad.brown

If you want to get the best possible response out of your sub visit www.pwkdesigns.com. Fill out an assessment form and you will be amazed! Check out his YouTube videos... For $50-$65 it is well worth the investment.

tru2nrtt777

iTrader: (1)

Here is a good set of components.

Rockford Fosgate P165-S 6-1/2" PUNCH Component Car Speakers System

Turbo6

The metra wiring harness is piggy backing into the GM amp, so when you use the pre amp RCA outs it's going to bypass the mofset amp in the HU but is the GM amp still being powered? In other words, will those wires running to the interior speakers still have 12v on them? I really don't want any chances of wires shorting out.

Thanks for the link Chad. I'm not sure I'll get quite that elaborate with a custom box, it would likely be undersized. But I'll check into it.

I was actually looking at those Rockfords a couple days ago. Never used their stuff before so that's why I was considering them.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

Turbo6

Would it be best to just cut the power wire going into the GM amp? I don't see any point in adding any load to the charging system for devices that will never be used again. It eliminates any chance of a short coming from the old audio system as well.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

if you are doing an amp bypass then yes you can. id just pull the amp fuse if you're worried about it

Turbo6

I had some last minute questions and didn't want to create a new thread, but this is off topic...

If I plug in the pre amp RCAs to the HU will it stop the output from the internal mofset amp? I may not have time to finish the install by this weekend when I'm taking a trip. If I plug in the RCAs and don't get the amp wired up and new speaker wires run thru the car I'd be stereoless for the trip, and that = no good.

I've never wired an entire car, so should I just run the left channels up the left side carpet and the right channels up the passenger side?? Seems like the best solution to keep wire length down. At 125W per channel, will the speaker wire they provide with the speakers work or are those dinky wires too small? They look like ~18ga.

I had an amp wiring kit but the power/ground wires are only 10ga. It will be about 6' of wire to the battery at most. The amplifier has a 60a fuse in it if that matters. Obviously thicker power wires are safer, but will the 10ga suffice?

Lasltly, my HU has subwoofer control built in with a range of -5 through +5. Would this just be a gain control of that signal to the subwoofer via the pre-amp out, or should I still wire in the subwoofer remote adjustment dial?

Sorry for all the questions folks, I've just never done this and don't want to burn my car to the ground due to carelessness.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

if you utilize the RCA's then yes you bypass the HU's internal amp. (soundstorm is a **** amp btw)

18g is plenty and highly doubtful its really 125w.

10g should suffice but keep the length as small as possible

you can use them both chances are the HU "control" will be way cleaner then the amp though

Turbo6

Thanks Emp!

I bought that soundstorm junk many years back when I knew less than nothing. It's supposed to put out 250W per channel, which is why I said 125W... which may still be doubtful lol. I powered a 12 with it many years ago and it sounded terrible so you're probably right. To craigslist the amp goes!

I bought the rockford prime components since the crossover is built in and it makes wiring easier. I'll try running them with the HU first. I bought the Rockford prime 10" sub and a 3/4" spacer ring as well. So I'm gonna work on that tonight and see if I can get it mounted to the pioneer enclosure. I'll run the RCAs for the sub channel and use my old mono amp to drive the sub. It pushes 175W, would that blow out the pioneer sub? Just curious in case I can't get the rockford sub in there tonight.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

it shouldnt immediately. probably would over a few months though.

Turbo6

My trip kept me from getting this done so I'm back at it this week. I'm tapped out for cash for a while as I just bought the sub and components so I'm left wondering about the amp situation. I sold the old 5ch soundstorm though, so I can put that towards something better.

My rockford 6.75" comps require 2-40W RMS and the 6x9 Kenwoods call for 2-60W RMS. They are getting ~30W right now (18W from HU + 10-15W GM Amp). I can't afford more than ~$200 for a 4 or 5 channel amp. If I bypass the HU and use an external amp that pushes 50-75W RMS is it really going to sound that much cleaner? I would guess most $200 amps fall into the suck category like the soundstorm, right??

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

well you dont add the HU power plus the gm power its one or the other. did you also factor in the ohms (ur aftermarket speakers run the stock amp at half power)

just remember that speakers dont "require" a minimum amount of power. The more clean power you can give them the better but even running of the HU would be fine.

If you are going to do the bass for sure i would do an amp bypass run the speakers off the HU amp and save up until you can get a good amp. sometimes you can get a steal especially at the end of the year when the new stuff is being released... i would have to see a specific amp to tell you if its worth it or not. you might be able to find what you want in your price range now but probably slim

Turbo6

My sub says 50-150W RMS and the jensen amp I have looks a bit short on power, it was on my old car as well. These amp companies annoy me because every few years a company gets bought out and outsources a good respectable brand to china sweatshops. Here are some I came across, which you can probably say yay or nay just by the brand. I'm not sure it matters if I go with D class or A/B. I do drive a long ways every day (110 mi) and take a lot of road trips so heat on long term drives is a concern, as well as the battery usage.

Rockford Fosgate R600-4D (R6004D) 600W 4-Chan Class D Prime Amp
Rockford Fosgate R600-5 Prime
4-ohm: 50 watts x 4 - 200 x 1

RE Audio XTX-500.5 (XTX500.5) 5-Channel Digital Car Amplifier
RE Audio XTX500.5
4-ohm: 60 watts x 4 - 200 x 1

PowerBass ASA 700.5X Auto Sound Series 5-Channel Amplifier
Powerbass ASA700.5X
4-ohm: 50 watts x 4 - 200 x 1

Boston Acoustics GTA-1105 5-channel car amplifier — 70 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 400 watts RMS at 2 ohms at Crutchfield.com
Boston Acoustics GTA-1105
4-ohm: 70 watts x 4 - 250 x 1

RUB5.800 - Rubicon - Amplifiers - Car Audio
SOUNDSTREAM RUB5.800 (ebay)
4-ohm: 70 watts x 4 - 200 x 1

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

fosgate is pretty good
RE i wouldnt use
powerbass is decent
BA is generally good idk about this specific model
SS eh... somewhere between the RE and powerbass

Turbo6

Thanks for the quick rundown.

I found several people who said that prime rockfords likes to get hot after 2-3 hours and shut down until it cools off. Maybe this is due to people cheaping out and using 10ga power wires... like I was going to lol. I've decided to get some 3 or 4 gauge power wires. Right now I'm leaning towards Fosgate because I am betting their cust service and support is better than the others for when I inevitably have problems.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

idk man i used to work at an RF dealer then the prime stuff first hit the market. back then there wasnt class D and while we didnt do a whole lot with the amps none of them that we installed came back with issues. i dont think we sold any out the door just installed them (i know one truck i did the install on with 8g lightning audio ofc wire or RF wire i forget)