Discussion
Right.
So having upgraded my door speakers and rear speakers, I now need to go for a sub between the rear seats. I can fabricate a mount without too much of a problem but I know nothing about fitting an amp or anything like that.
Where do I take the power feed for the amp from? Is it possible to get a small enough amp that will still power a sub, but also fit in the space behind the cubby hole? Or do I really need to steal some space from the boot?
I'm guessing I also need a way to cut the bass to the rear speakers, as they distort a mid-high volume?
Ideally I'd like someone to post saying buy this speaker, this amp and connect it to this, like this. I can fit it myself without much worry, but electrics are not my strong point...
So having upgraded my door speakers and rear speakers, I now need to go for a sub between the rear seats. I can fabricate a mount without too much of a problem but I know nothing about fitting an amp or anything like that.
Where do I take the power feed for the amp from? Is it possible to get a small enough amp that will still power a sub, but also fit in the space behind the cubby hole? Or do I really need to steal some space from the boot?
I'm guessing I also need a way to cut the bass to the rear speakers, as they distort a mid-high volume?
Ideally I'd like someone to post saying buy this speaker, this amp and connect it to this, like this. I can fit it myself without much worry, but electrics are not my strong point...
Hey troop,Im a bit of a dab hand with car audio, it was my first expensive passion before investing heavily in a Blackpol rocket, I normlly dont keep my cerbies that long but im v keen on my latest,,im planning on putting a pretty substantial install in mine. SO tips-
1) Before swopping any speakers its an idea (not crucial) to bell out the cables ,make sure they havent corroded or snagged anywhere.
2)Installing an amp requires a pre out signal to come from the back of the head unit,,most decent units do have at least 1 pair.So an audio left an right to where ever you want the amp(boot is ideal).Run this cable down the right side of the car.
3)Also with the signal left and right, you need to run a remote cable ( doesnt matter what type of cable thinner the better)This cable sends a signal to the amps to switch them on with the cars ignition and off when the keys are out.
4)You now need to run a posative and a negative from the battery ,this cable should be proper car audio power cable(do not attemp to use shit cable,,fire is a risk)Halfords or Maplins are good.
These both connect to the amp.
You must run this cable down the left hand side of the car because power and signal interfere and u will get unwanted noise out your speakers.
ONLY CONNECT THE BATTERY WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED THE INSTALL
5)Connect the bass enclosure to the amp,
Try to find an amp with a built in crossover (which filters all high frequencies so you only have bass coming out the bass enclosure )its a must u will damage a bass speaker with high frequancies.
6)The cerbie has a sealed boot ,so you wil need a bass enclosure using at least a 12" driver in order for the frequancies to be low enough to travel through the car , without having to port the boot into the car.
7)Fix the bass enclosure and the amp into the boot, make sure you dont have anything lose floating around in your boots that could at any point short the amp connections ie: bits of unused copper speaker wire,
I will be more than happy to help u at any stage if you want my advice, I hope this has been of some help
Chris
1) Before swopping any speakers its an idea (not crucial) to bell out the cables ,make sure they havent corroded or snagged anywhere.
2)Installing an amp requires a pre out signal to come from the back of the head unit,,most decent units do have at least 1 pair.So an audio left an right to where ever you want the amp(boot is ideal).Run this cable down the right side of the car.
3)Also with the signal left and right, you need to run a remote cable ( doesnt matter what type of cable thinner the better)This cable sends a signal to the amps to switch them on with the cars ignition and off when the keys are out.
4)You now need to run a posative and a negative from the battery ,this cable should be proper car audio power cable(do not attemp to use shit cable,,fire is a risk)Halfords or Maplins are good.
These both connect to the amp.
You must run this cable down the left hand side of the car because power and signal interfere and u will get unwanted noise out your speakers.
ONLY CONNECT THE BATTERY WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED THE INSTALL
5)Connect the bass enclosure to the amp,
Try to find an amp with a built in crossover (which filters all high frequencies so you only have bass coming out the bass enclosure )its a must u will damage a bass speaker with high frequancies.
6)The cerbie has a sealed boot ,so you wil need a bass enclosure using at least a 12" driver in order for the frequancies to be low enough to travel through the car , without having to port the boot into the car.
7)Fix the bass enclosure and the amp into the boot, make sure you dont have anything lose floating around in your boots that could at any point short the amp connections ie: bits of unused copper speaker wire,
I will be more than happy to help u at any stage if you want my advice, I hope this has been of some help
Chris
Hi Chris
Miles away from you in leighton buzzard.
Couple of questions.
Can I take the power from the fuse box in the boot?
I'll be installing the speaker in the cabin, in the rear cubby hole space. Ideally I'd like an amp that will fit in that space behind the speaker so I don't have to steal any boot space. Do you know of any small amps that will still power a sub?
I assume it would be better to run all the speakers off an amp, as my head unit is only 40watts and I think that is the cause of my distortion on the rears, rather than excessive bass being sent to them.
Miles away from you in leighton buzzard.
Couple of questions.
Can I take the power from the fuse box in the boot?
I'll be installing the speaker in the cabin, in the rear cubby hole space. Ideally I'd like an amp that will fit in that space behind the speaker so I don't have to steal any boot space. Do you know of any small amps that will still power a sub?
I assume it would be better to run all the speakers off an amp, as my head unit is only 40watts and I think that is the cause of my distortion on the rears, rather than excessive bass being sent to them.
Neil.
My power for my amp comes from the fuse box, so theres no problem there.
I've put my amp in the boot, fastened on the inside of the nearside wing. Doesn't use much room. For the amp to go behind the sub in the helmet holder; you may be taking up valuable 'volume' needed for the sub to work efficiently, as theres not a lot of room. I know guys that have though.
Hope this helps.
My power for my amp comes from the fuse box, so theres no problem there.
I've put my amp in the boot, fastened on the inside of the nearside wing. Doesn't use much room. For the amp to go behind the sub in the helmet holder; you may be taking up valuable 'volume' needed for the sub to work efficiently, as theres not a lot of room. I know guys that have though.
Hope this helps.
trooper1212 said:
Can I take the power from the fuse box in the boot?
I'll be installing the speaker in the cabin, in the rear cubby hole space. Ideally I'd like an amp that will fit in that space behind the speaker so I don't have to steal any boot space. Do you know of any small amps that will still power a sub?
Only take the power if your not going to be running any thing serious. For good clean power take a decent 4 gauge cable direct from the battery and install a good gold fuse within the first 6" from the battery.
Dont fix your amp behind the sub as thats your petrol tank! Fit a small one on the left hand side of your boot away from the power and ignition bits that way you wont get any interference.
If your intending on running your speakers from the amp I'd suggest running your front ones from the amp and having your rear ones from the head unit for a bit of rear fill and get some coils to take any lower bass frequencys out of the rear speakers.
Most places including halfords now sell coils of different properties to help tune the system. I've opted for 125Hz ones that cut off any frequency below that to the rear. My all signing and dancing head unit takes care of every thing else (pioneer P8400).
Yea to be honest ,the cubby hole is not ideal for a speaker or an amp,,There is an equation ,which i wont bore you with, which relates to the size of enclosure you need for a certain sized speaker, using that space would mean ,only an 8" maximum sized base driver ,which can still produce a decent kick ,but bearing in mind how much noise these cars make,I doubt it would be amazing.You would also need to completly seal the cubby hole ,so putting an amp in there is not a good plan,overheating would be a defo and mantainance would be impossible once the bass unit was in.
If you can get a solid 12-14volts from the rear fuse box ,go for it,
If your budget permits it i would be tempted to buy another battery ,TVR's are not known for having the best batts or alternators, the last thing you want is your amp to drain the power so your starter motor wont turn over.
For a simple sysem get a 4 channel bridgable amp,power the fronts of 2 channels of the amp ,power the rears from the head unit, then bridge the final 2 channels to run the sub. Coils are just crossovers,,they are available built into the amps if you buy the right amp,,
Good advice on the fuel tank!!!!
forgot about that
If you can get a solid 12-14volts from the rear fuse box ,go for it,
If your budget permits it i would be tempted to buy another battery ,TVR's are not known for having the best batts or alternators, the last thing you want is your amp to drain the power so your starter motor wont turn over.
For a simple sysem get a 4 channel bridgable amp,power the fronts of 2 channels of the amp ,power the rears from the head unit, then bridge the final 2 channels to run the sub. Coils are just crossovers,,they are available built into the amps if you buy the right amp,,
Good advice on the fuel tank!!!!
forgot about that
christmc said:
Yea to be honest ,the cubby hole is not ideal for a speaker or an amp,,There is an equation ,which i wont bore you with, which relates to the size of enclosure you need for a certain sized speaker, using that space would mean ,only an 8" maximum sized base driver ,which can still produce a decent kick ,but bearing in mind how much noise these cars make,I doubt it would be amazing.
Mines a 10" JL sub, and I got the volume needed for the sub to work at its optimum rate. If I remember; 0.65/0.7 cu ft. This fell within the limits set out by JL. I think the min was 0.5cu ft and the max was over 1 cu ft.
Thanks for the advice guys.
I may have to go the second battery route, as I'm already running a laptop, 7" TFT and GPS receiver off it
I was tempted to just get rid of the head unit altogther as I never use the radio and the laptop is currently plugged into it and used for running an mp3 player as well as sat-nav.
I assume I can just run the speaker output of the laptop to an input on the amp?
What to put in the Head unit slot is the question though.
I may have to go the second battery route, as I'm already running a laptop, 7" TFT and GPS receiver off it
I was tempted to just get rid of the head unit altogther as I never use the radio and the laptop is currently plugged into it and used for running an mp3 player as well as sat-nav.
I assume I can just run the speaker output of the laptop to an input on the amp?
What to put in the Head unit slot is the question though.
I opted to run a 4 guage power cable direct from the battery, which was reasonably easy to run. I too like the idea of a second battery, but may opt for an Optima battery instead (if it will fit).
I am just putting the final touches to a fibreglass enclosure for the cubby hole. Managed to achieve 0.5 cuft, but very tight. I am installing a 10" Diamond TDX which will run at 0.5cuft.
Fronts to follow. Getting decent mid bass up front is going to be difficult
Peter
I am just putting the final touches to a fibreglass enclosure for the cubby hole. Managed to achieve 0.5 cuft, but very tight. I am installing a 10" Diamond TDX which will run at 0.5cuft.
Fronts to follow. Getting decent mid bass up front is going to be difficult
Peter
plotloss said:
As for a bit of bass up front. ISTR that the early Cerbs had a 6x9 in the back of the cubby hole under the radio.
If one was to replace (or fit, if its not there) that with a Genesis 6x9 sub, that would get a bit of bass, even perhaps, in your face...
That's what i've just taken out.
There is absolutley no space behind the original speaker, which is very poor quality and hence very shallow. You'll be lucky to get a quality speaker that will fit depth wise.
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