Help wanted with installing 4-ch amp to stock 2nd Gen. 6-CD Non JBL....

I like the stock 6-CD Non JBL factory radio. I like the clean look and I want to keep it if I can and upgrade the rest. I already replaced all factory speakers with with Pioneer & and Kenwood speakers.

If I get the 4-ch amp with sufficient power, will this set up help the stock radio to perform better? I have seen threads and posts where members replaced stock with After-market Headunit AND amp. But I want to keep the stock unit.

Is the wiring difficult to perform if I go with Stock + amp combo? Has anyone done this ? If so, can someone walk me thru this set up?

I know I will need some wiring harnesses from Scosche for this and I will probably need to find a suitable location for the amp. Where would you guys recommend to house the amp unit? Some members recommends under the seat and some says not to. So I am bit confused. I have 07 Access Cab TRD Sport....

Thanks for any information you can share.... Picture would be definitely a plus....

 

Im replacing the speakers and amp but leaving the stock head unit. Supposedly, it should improve sound quality dramatically. You need to see if the amp you are interested in has pre amp outputs or not. You may need to buy a line converter. Crutchfield has one that I bought for real cheap (like $20.00). You will need to wire from the head unit to the line converter then from the line converter to the amp (RCA wires). then from the amp to the speakers. You will also need to hook up the power cable from the battery to the amp and the remote start cable from the HU to the amp. Also you will need to find a spot to place a ground wire from the amp to a ground point on the vehicle. Remember not to run the speaker wires on the same side as the power cable or you will get bleed over from the power cable to the speakers. This is all I can think of off hand, but Crutchfield.com has pretty good overview videos on amp installation.

Line Converter:

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=721&i=142SLC4&tp=2001

Crutchfield:

http://www.crutchfield.com/learningcenter/car/amplifiers_movie.html?format=wmv

A very kind TW member:

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_install_a_car_amp/how_to_install_a_car_amp.htm

 

Did you already to this? Did you buy any harnesses, etc??? Any detail set up info, like, Amp model used, where mounted, etc... would be very much appreciated.... Do you have any pictures or links where I can go and learn???

 

I edited my post to add some more information for you. No I have not installed anything yet, although when my kappas arrive I will have MB Quart 6.5's for the rears / infinity kappas 693.7i 6x9's for the fronts / an infinity reference 475A amp, etc.

 

Thanks for your help. I will read up on the link you sent...

 

I'd like to chime in too. Adding an amplifier and speakers to the stock H/U will improve sound quality (though changing the source , ie the headunit is the best improvement in sound quality).

The information posted is correct. You will need a LOC (line output converter) that takes a high level signal, from the speaker output at the H/U, and changes it to a signal level and the RCA cable form factor. Or you need an amplifier that accepts high level inputs. Though these types of amps are somewhat hard to find.

I do not agree with the speaker wire needing to be run opposite of the power wire. Sometimes noise can be induced into the speaker wire, but it is rarely tracable to the power wire. Generally a faulty/loose ground wire connection is the culprit. But, it isn't bad practice to run the powerwire and RCA cables and power wire on opposite sides, though that is more typically, at least in my experience, as ease of concealment under carpet and trim pieces.

My opinion would be to use a four channel amp, powering the front pair with the amp and bridging the rear two channels for a subwoofer. I'm not a big fan of having rear speakers since they don't help the soundstage.

 

Why can't I get the 4-ch amp to wire up one speaker per channel. Iam no amp guy, but thinking logically, one would think that straight up one speaker per channel would work, in my humble opinion. I do not know anything about bridging and the simple hook up the better for me. I am thinking Profile amp 1040 which said he has the speaker level connection. Would this work with the Taco stock H/U?

 

Hes just saying that he doesnt prefer having four speakers. Of course you can attach 4 speakers to a 4 channel amp -- that is how they are designed to operate. He is suggesting that you use the 2 front channels (25Wx2) for the front speakers, and bridging (combining) the 2 rear channels (25Wx2 = 50W) for the subwoofer. So in effect, you would have 2 25W channels and one 50W channel, instead of 4 25W channels.

 

Zonks,

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I think I will go this route for now, unless someone convinces me that the sound coming from the factory H/U + Amp will not be as good and crisp as the aftermarket H/U. You see, if I had to replace the factory H/U, I was thinking NO Amp, but to find a aftermarket H/U that has the highest rated output (continuous RMS). But since I had the 6-CD factory H/U, I just did not want to give up 6-CD feature and I sort of like the factory look.....

I would love to see a "WRITE-UP" with pictures on FACTORY H/U + AMP wiring connection for novices like me and others. One of these days......

sigh !!!

 

all right, you have two choices here. either go the route where you connect the speaker wires to a LOC but also you might want to hook up an equalizer because your not gonna change the deck out for a aftermarket. this will help you get that special sound you want because you can control all levels of sound. then you can hook that up to your amp. OR you could get an amp that has high level inputs, you connect the speaker wires to the amp instead of using rca's, and then you can connect your speakers to your amp. what amp are you using and where will you put it?

 

I will do a write-up with pictures when I install my stuff in the new Taco. It will probably be the first of March before I get into it though.

I don't want to install a new H/U at this time, even though I am a bit of an audio nut and know that an aftermarket H/U will sound better. But, for nobility, I'll just say that I am doing it this way so that I can show others how to do it.


Just another note on H/U's: The power output of H/U's is pretty well limited to around 30-40w per channel RMS due to the amplifier chip and available power limitations. So if you see a H/U that says something like 50 or 60w (or more) per channel, it either needs to have another power wire supplying a beefier amp chip inside or it or the specs are lying. Generally it is the latter.

 

can't wait to see what you guys come up with, i have been trying to complete my amp/6x9 job for a few weekends now.