Ok, I just ordered in a set of 2 10" subwoofers and an Amplifier for christmas. I was just wondering how exactly I would go about hooking these up.

I have a Monsoon CD player with 4 speaker option. Does the CD player have outputs for a Subwoofer?

I am new at this whole Amp and Subwoofer thing and am just looking for any help i could get.

Also, what are some good wiring kits that would help me out.

Thanks

 

No. The POS Monsoon stereo uses speaker level inputs at the POS Monsoon amp. There are NO RCA connectors used in the POS factory stereo.

If you are just adding subs to the otherwise stock stereo the best thing you can do is use a PAC OEM-1. This is a plug and play adapter that makes installation a breeze. Theres no need to cut and splice any of the factory wiring.

Forget about kits. The length of wires and cables you need depends on where you plan to mount the amp. You can use string to estimate the lengths you'll need. I have my amps mounted on the rear wall of my '99 T/A (link below). I used a 17 foot set of Stinger's Hyper Series "twisted pair" RCA cables. Twisted pair construction is critical to help prevent noise from entering the system. I would recommend running 4awg cable from your battery to a distribution block in back somewhere. You can then run 8awg cable from the D-block to the amp. This power cable setup will allow you to upgrade in the future. Be sure to use 8awg for the amp's ground connection as well.

You can learn a lot about installing a stereo in an F-body here. There's a lot covered so be sure to read it all.

 

Also, if you would like to know the best way to wire the amp to the subs, give us the specs.

Hey LS1RULZ, what exactly is the point of that LED bar above your deck? It looks pretty cool.

 

It's an LED power meter. The LED's pulse outward from the center to the beat of the music. It doesn't really serve any purpose other than to look neat when it's dark.

 

Thats pretty cool. How did you wire it up?

 

The LED display comes as a kit. I did a Google search for "LED power meter" (or something like that). I found the best deal for one from some place in Canada of all places. I think Parts Express offers them too now. The hard part is laying out the holes and drilling them in a straight line on the installation kit. The circuit is driven by the un-used front RCA's from my HU. I've got 2 switches that let me turn OFF the display or make the display a dancing dot (one LED) rather than the bar meter in the photo.

I forgot to mention that the kit uses standard 5mm LEDs. I swapped them out for the smaller 3mm LEDs.

 

Cool, I think I might just do that. I was thinking the same thing about the holes being hard to drill. Glad I havea drill press. I am gonna look into it.

 

Ok, well i am going to keep the factory POS Cd player and also the wiring to the speakers.

What I need to do is just wire up a subwoofer and an amp for my system, right?

So all i have to do is buy PAC-OEM1 and wire it up to the wiring to my stock amplifier?

So all i will have to do to wire up the amp is power and ground and hook it up to the subwoofer?
Also, thanks for the information for running power to my amplifier

Here are the details for the subwoofer and amp that i bought:

Dual 10" Single-Voice-Coil 1000W Bandpass Subwoofer System
Dual 4th order bandpass subwoofer system
Dual 10" Low-Q optimized drivers
High-mass cone subwoofers with 5.7" diameter ferrite magnet
Left- and right-channel inputs
Easy add-on for existing systems; no crossover needed
Metal frame with rubber surround
Sensitivity: 94dB
Impedance: 4 ohms
Easy add-on for existing systems, 4th order design, 3-chamber 4-port enclosure
Connection Type: Binding posts

And for the amplifier in know it is cheap but it came with the subwoofers.

High-Pass Filter Yes
Low-Pass Filter Yes
Max Power Watts per Channel (2 Ohms) 230 x 2
Max Power Watts per Channel (4 Ohms) 170 x 2
Max Power Watts per Channel (4 Ohms Bridged) 460 x 1 Line-Level Input Yes
Number of Channels 2
1 Ohm Stable No
Passthrough No
Speaker-Level Input Yes
Signal-to-Noise Ratio >90dBA
Tri-Mode Yes
Crossover Yes
Crossover Frequency Range 40-400Hz
Continuous Watts Bridged 230 x 1
Continuous Watts per Channel (4 Ohms) 85 x 2
Continuous Watts per Channel (2 Ohms) 115 x 2
Amplifier Class and Type Class AB
Bass Boost Yes
Bridgeable Yes

Thanks Again

 

hmmmm... been awhile since my college physics .. but I'll take a crack at it

I can't really tell what the "1000W system" speakers are be rated at, but unless this package cost you $2000+ I imagine they're talking combined wattage (i.e. 500W/speaker) and at max power... not rms. Regardless, 250W/speaker should be fine for this amp.

You "could" run each sub off of it's own amp channel and get them 85W each (rms, 170W max) since they're 4ohm speakers:

[4ohm SUB] ---- [AMP output #1]
[4ohm SUB] ---- [AMP output #2]

Running the subs in parallel will get you a 2 ohm load on the amp, which will get you 115W for both (57.5W each) off one output:

[4ohm SUB] ---- [Y-splice connector] ---- [AMP output #1]
[4ohm SUB] ---- [Y-splice connector]

The Y-splice connector isn't really necessary, you can run the wire from speaker to speaker (in parallel, not series)... I just didn't want to confuse anyone with the pic.

While this looks like a rip off (it is ) the money shot is to run the subs in parallel (to get a 2ohm load), then run the AMP in bridged mode, so the second output is dead, and output #1 gets the full juice:

[4ohm SUB] ---- [Y-splice connector] ==== [BRIDGED AMP output]
[4ohm SUB] ---- [Y-splice connector]

Running a 2-ohm load over the Bridged channel should get you 230W total (115W each).

Having a bridge-able amp allows you to run speakers in parallel for the wattage gains a lower ohm-load provides... but without the power loss of cutting out a channel output.

Although it's been a while so you'll probably want someone here to confirm before you start cutting wire.

 

Dump the stock HU. Not even worth keeping. You can find a decent HU for under $200. If not find one used FS around here.

 

I would, but i just dont have any other funds at the moment. I also like the way the stock unit looks. So what is wrong with the stock unit? It seems to do fine with me so far.

Also, i know the subwoofers and amp are kind of a rip off, but i only paid $100 new for the set.


So what do i have to do to wire up my subwoofers? If i dont use the PAC-OEM1 splice to wire it up what could i do?

Thanks

 

You have what you need for a 230 Watt (RMS) set up. $100 sounds like a deal to me if you're just looking for a bit more substance to your stock set up.

As for the PAC OEM-1... you'll need it. It isn't worth trying to make one from Radio Shack parts unless you have (and are used to using) soldering tools. Cost of parts is almost the same anyway. OEM-1 can be had for like $30 I belive. This will give you RCA connectors to run to the signal in on the amp.

To wire your speakers in parrallel, just connect both + terminals on each speaker, then run one post (aka terminal) to the + on the amp (this will use the least amount of wire). The other option is to wire each + speaker post to the + output on the amp. This will take a bit more wire, and may give you some extra problems with signal integrity, but signal strength won't suffer.

For the first set up, use a gauge rated for 230W, or ~20amps from the amp, then the connector-wire can drop to a higher gauge for the speaker-to-speaker connection.

 

Most 2-channel amps are only stable to 4 ohms when bridged. You can TRY to wire your subs in parallel and bridge the amp. See what happens. It might play, but cut off due to thermal overload or it may just go directly into low impedence protection. Of course, this is a POS amp. It might not even have an safety feature and will just catch on fire!! hehehehehehe

Also, just to clear things up. The PAC OEM1 plugs into the stock head unit. Not the stock amp. It will give you a set of RCA plugs. Run those to the rear of the car and plug them into the amp. Run the power wire directly off the battery, use an inline fuse, through the firewall and to the amp. Find a grounding point as close as possible to the amp. Sand off all paint and dirt. Ground the amp.

 

uh oh... looking at the amp stats again, it didn't mention the ohm load a bridged channel can handle. If it's not 2ohms, you'll need to drive them at 4 ohms for the 230W rating (or risk burning up your amp). Since you have dual voice coils this should be "easy"

What you want to do is run each coil in series, to make 8 ohm speakers, then run each speaker in parrallel to get 4 ohm load total.

This will help: http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/IS...pedance=DVC4x2 take a look at option #2. That's what you want to get the most power to your speakers. See how one voice coil's (+) post is connected to the (-) post on the other coil? Make sure you connect 2 different coils, not the same one (which will do nothing to that coil but leave it dead... but it will load the amp at 4 ohm).

If you hook it up without the coils cross-connected... it should NOT play. If it DOES make sound... turn off the stereo quick since you don't have the coil terminals connected properly. (make sure you turn it off quick, as you'll be running a 2 ohm load to the amp... not good in bridged mode). If everything EXCEPT the coil connector hooks up and NO sound is produced you're fine.

Connect the coils and check for sound.

 

crap. with dual voice coils the first post I made is pointless.

Just run the coils in parallel to get 2 ohm loads, then give each speaker it's own channel:

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/IS...pedance=DVC2x2

only difference here from the bridged design, is that you have 230W @ 4 ohms using the bridged channel... and 115W @ 2ohms for each speaker using the diagram above.

Your choice... doesn't change much.


(even the budget subs have dual voice coils now? man I've been gone too long... )