Thread: Few questions for a total audio n00b

ok but what harness do i purchase? do i find one based on the car or the head unit I'm installing? stupid question i know, but im trying to learn a lot at once haha.

also do i need seperate amps to power my sub (probably gonna get a 12" Q from fi) and speakers, or will one amp do the job? I understand that each amp can handle so much power, but im still a little unsure how to tell how much and how much my sub + speakers are outputting. Could someone clarify that for me real fast so I know? And what last thing is I see the term ohms come up a lot. I have obviously gathered they are important but what exactly does it mean to be 1, 2, or 4 ohms and what is the relevance of that to how i have my amp/subs/speakers set up?

Basic Car Audio Electronics

we've all been there no big deal

I still like that five channel polk for the price I mentioned on the first page. Of course I was just looking at power requirements...I don't know what he needs for cross overs or any additional features.

Originally Posted by Rkrajnov

What kind of power wires do I need? I have no experience with any of this stuff. If you or someone could send a link to what exactly it is and where I could get them that would be great.

Also can anyone answer my question about the GMCO integration harness. is there anything i need to do if i don't install it?

Well you could get a amp install kit you should be good with a 4 gauge wire, I don't think you need anything bigger than that.

And as for link this is just so you can kinda see what I'm talking about price goes from around 20 to more than 100 depending on gauge and other stuff. Heres a cheap one.
db Link XK4Z - Sonic Electronix

Originally Posted by matt5112

You could get one five channel amp or a mono sub amp and a four channel amp.

There are many combinations and it all comes down to how much power you need, and for what price.

I think I may just get a sub amp and new head unit for now as the internal amp from the new head unit will probably help the speakers a bit and they're really not bad for stock. I'll worry about speakers once I get a little more familiar with things.

One last question is should I get the dual 1 or dual 2 fi Q sub. I'm probably gonna get the power acoustik amp as suggested, so does that mean I would want to go with the dual 1 option? Ohms are still confusing me a bit. Someone just help elaborate on this for me (as to what exactly each option means and what I want in terms of an amp for power/ohms or whatever else) and I think I'm done bothering you guys with stupid questions for a while until I got a better grasp on car electronics lol.

How many ohm's is that amp stable down to?

All the kenwood units i've had have been good to me, the ipod interface isn't my favorite now that I switched to alpine. No regrets there either. If that's what you want to go for, go for it. If it was me would say spend a couple more bucks and get the better kenwood headunit. Or alpine. Lol
http://www.crutchfield.com/s_113KDCX...4.html?tp=5684
http://www.crutchfield.com/s_500CDA1...7.html?tp=5684 That's the one I've got and like it a lot. But a tad pricey...

Hmm, well moneys not an issue really, as long as I'm getting something better for my money, but I just don't see whats much nicer about those two you listed compared to the one I did. Do you see anything in particular thats better about what you listed or is it pretty much just better design and possibly functionality? If there are obvious improvements I'd gladly pay the extra 50 or even 100 dollars, but if it's overall the same thing with a different design and possible small improvements I won't even notice I think I'd rather just stick with the cheaper one.

Also, what exactly does dual one mean in terms of the ohms? sorry to repeat the question lol I just really want to know because I'm trying to understand. I get the general concept of ohms (to an extent), but I want to know why (or if) I want dual one (compared to the dual two) for my sub and what exactly it means.

Also, one last thing..... hahah. Someone told me if I'm running more than 1000 rms, I'm gonna need to get a high output alternator, along with some other adjustments (which I can't remember off the top of my head). I was guessing since no one mentioned this that 1000 rms is not enough power to justify this?

Originally Posted by matt5112

You'll be fine as long as you get a quality amp or run a cap with a lesser quality amp.

alright good. im assuming the amp you posted would do fine.

is there any point i might need to worry about this (i.e. adding a second sub?)

also if I'm understanding this all correctly I need a dual 2 sub if I'm just hooking one sub up to the amp... is this right or wrong?

Originally Posted by Rkrajnov

alright good. im assuming the amp you posted would do fine.

is there any point i might need to worry about this (i.e. adding a second sub?)

also if I'm understanding this all correctly I need a dual 2 sub if I'm just hooking one sub up to the amp... is this right or wrong?

With that wiring, you could either go in series, which would bring it up to 4 ohms. Or parallel down to 1 ohm, as long as your amp is stable at 1 ohm you will not have any problems at all. If you add another sub you could wire the coils in series then wire the subs in parallel witch you would end up with a 2 ohm load.

Now as for the headunits, the kenwood I posted has a lot better interface, way more features, 4 volt pre-outs... Overall if it was me i'd gladly spend the $50 or whatever it is to upgrade to that.

Originally Posted by Rkrajnov

you mentioned a 5 channel, but I didn't see one when looking through the list on that link.

I guess you didn't jump on it soon enough...

They had 3 when I posted that.