Sub and Amp question

Hey new member here. I have a jl stealthbox for a 2013 tacoma. I am confused about choosing an amp for it. I have seen on crutchfield that the sub itself is a dvc at 4 ohms and the stealthbox is a 2ohm and its confusing me on which amp to match it with preferably a jl.

Second question is about a LOC. I know i should go upgrade HD first before doing a sub but i have a sub on me and will be upgrading HD down the road and want to make use of this sub. I need help on choosing a LOC because i do not understand what i need in a LOC as i have looked at audiocontrol and seen multiple making my head spin.

Any questions or answers to help me understand will be greatly appreciated.

 

Depends what you are going to run. If you do just a sub their you lc2. Multiple ampse lc6. Or lc7i. I am in the process of N install and will be usually a normal Loc and will be tapping into my speakers. If you plan to do the speakers and sub I suggest going lc6 or 7 up front ant save yourself time and money.

Depends on budget and what you are going for

 

Well the plan is to do a full revamp down the road maybe by the end of the year from HD to speakers amp and sub. Right now I only have a sub.

1. I need help choosing a mono amp for the JL stealthbox sub I have.

2. I need a LOC to run only this sub and amp on the stock headunit for now but after researching alot on everything else for the future my head is spinning.

My budget for a suggested Mono amp and LOC and whatever else I need to hook them and the sub up is no budget. I mean I hope that a solid mono amp and LOC and whatever else won't exceed $1,000. If that was the case I might as well wait to upgrade everything at once but since I have a sub I wanted to use it for the time being which would be better more than half a year.

 

I realize this is a little pricey, but AudioControl makes good stuff. If you plan on running an amp for the speakers, you can combine the amp and LOC and DSP into one unit which also simplifies the install in a space restricted pickup. I've pre-ordered mine, I want to keep the stock head unit, I went aftermarket and then swapped back to stock.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_161D4800/AudioControl-D-4-800.html?tp=115

 

If you plan on replacing the head unit, my recommendation above is overkill.

 

So the plan is getting a mono amp for the sub and a LOC. Do I really need an amp for the stock speakers when the HD runs them now? I plan on selling this mono I plan on purchasing far down the road when I purchase a 5 channel amp for the whole system. Also what is DSP?

 

If you're going to get a headunit cas he mentioned above the rest is overkill. Save once do it right.

As far as amps go. I prefer jl. Even Rockford I hear kicker isn't bad. depends how much power your going for. I have a sound magus which I've read is spl but I've had it pushing a 15 clean 1500 rms all day.

If time is on your hands. eBay and craigslist is your budgets friend.

Also if you do just decide buy and slowly revamp. I would go with the what the subs are rated at as far as ohms and rms.

 

If you are upgrading the head unit, and/or are happy with the stock speakers you do not need an amp for them. My suggestion sounds way overkill for your build goal.

Where things can go a little sideways is the stock head unit kills the base to protect the stock speakers, this can be evident in your subs performance. The AudioControl LOCs have their base enhancing Accubase technology to combat this.

DSP= Digital Signal Processor. It basically is an equalizer to fix the signal from the factory head unit, to fill in the lower frequencies. If your happy with the factory speakers it is unecissary. If you were going to add an amp and aftermarket speakers it is recommended.

 

Thanks crashnburn80. The LOC explanation makes sense and I probably will take 19o4taco suggestion and go lc2 from audio control cause I'm only adding a sub and amp.

Crashnburn80 is the bass enhancer in the LOC a control? I'm just asking because I also seen a bass control knob on some JL amps. Are they totally different things? Just a little confused.

 

Please don't quote me, but I've heard that the non-Jbl HUs don't do strange stuff to the bass rolloff. ( https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-bbp-audio-build.430252/page-30#post-13480821 , post 584) JBL/premium ones seem to do exactly that.

With patience, you can probably ebay or cragslist an LC6i, which will offer easy future upgrades. Alternately, a $20-$25 cheapy loc would do the job for now, and I'm not sure you'd hear the hiss in the sub.

 

I see I see. You guys talk about LOCs like its still needed for an aftermarket HD. I only researched and saw that when using stock audio HD and system and just adding an amp and sub that i would need a LOC to deal with the bass rollover that the stock HD do.

As far as my plan goes i will be replacing everything in the future. I will be getting a new headunit/tweeters/speakers/5channelamp/sub hopefully by the end of the year. For now I have a sub that i want to use till then. I figure instead of wait a year i can buy a mono amp and loc to use this sub.

so saying all of that do can i just go with a LC2i that has 2 channels to go with the sub and amp im installing in the next month or so or buy a more expensive LOC (LC6i or different) to plan for the future speakers even though im buying a new headunit?

 

Oooh, sorry -- I missed the part about a new HU in the future... prolly I'd try a super cheap loc for the short term and see how it sounds. If it sucked, you could buy a LC2i. (Or maybe just buy the LC2i now and know you're gonna re-sell it in the future. Keep the box/instructions for more craigslist credibility.)

 

okay so you are saying that buying a more expensive loc is not needed if i am buying a new headunit. appreciate it man.

 

Just my two cents I added 2 amps and used high-level inputs to connect to the stock HU. No LOC needed for me and everything sounds great...

 

Exactly. When it comes time to get a new HU, you'll be able to find a good one with rca outputs. (So no loc needed.)

 

Ok so JL audio likes to run at a 3 ohm load, and JL is pretty much the only one that runs at that load also, so with that saying... if you want to buy a JL audio sub, they are best paired with JL audio amps.

Now... as far as finding the proper ohm load for a sub... that will depend on what sub(s) you get. Also the ohm load will determine how they will be wired.
Example: this is a single 4 ohm dual voice(DV) coil sub wiring (they also make single voice coil subs(SV), and 2 ohm load subs)

This is 2 4 ohm dual voice coil sub wiring

So you can see that wiring does make a difference. SV and DV subs are wired specifically for the amp to run enough power.
a kicker cx 1200.1 can run 1200w RMS @ 2 ohms, 600w RMS @ 4 ohms, and it doesnt say its 1ohm stable but i watched someone dyno the amp and it ran at just over 1500w RMS @ 1 ohm!

Now for the LOC...
If you are not going to swap you HU for an aftermarket one then you will not need a LOC, i have never seen an after market HU that didnt have RCA subwoofer outs...

A DSP is for many things, it is used for setting up a "front stage" in your car. DSPs can do time delay, you can adjust the gains, its an active crossover allowing you to set specific crossover points and slopes for each speaker and tune them individually, and it has a nice EQ! There is a lot a DSP can do, i have one in my build and i love it!

Let me know if you have any questions on any of this...

 

Thanks for the insight. I just ordered a lift and new wheels and tires so my audio adventure is on hold for now lol at least until I get back to O'ahu.

 

You have this Jl stealth box ?
I have it in my 16 even though they say it doesn't fit lol . My amp is Jl xd 600/1 v2.
Btw I'm also on Oahu , go see Bill at Progressive Sounds in Aiea he's awesome.

 

Yes I do. So I believe that amp is what I was looking at too. What's your setup? Is it all stock and then you have the stealthbox/XD 600? No LOC?

 

That sounds pretty sweet. Im all stock still and I think it's because I use the Bluetooth but I put volume to like 45 to hear good on the highway. How long have you had your setup?