thoughts?

[T-MaKK]

ok, so im looking to buy a VX commodore shortly.
im looking at acclaim or better (essentially because i want power windows)

a friend of mine is selling his sound system.
12" 1200 pioneer champion series sub.
800watt pioneer 2 chan. amp.
sony Xplod 6x9s.

for $300

im pretty sure thats a decent deal.

im woundering if i would be able to run these ok off the stock HU.
i would like to run the 4 door speakers straight off the HU and the sub/6x9s off the amp.

is this possible?

buying a HU will be happening a bit later on, but if i can make do with the stock one, itll save me some coin for a while.

thanks.

[holdenboy]

I dont know how many times we have to say this, but if you have a sub/s, you DO NOT need 6x9s. The only reason they make them is to cater for people who want extra bass but dont want to add a subwoofer etc.

So get rid of them, you will not need them. Not to mention you wont be able to run them off the amp as its only 2 channel (you'll need to bridge those channels to power the sub) So basically youre buying a 12" subwoofer and a 800w max 2 channel amplfier. I suppose its not bad deal, but not extremely cheap. Im sure for another $100 you could buy them all brand new.
Anyways, you will be able to run the amp/sub from the stock head-unit with the aid of a line out connverter or the high level inputs (if the amp has them). You'll need to "tap" into the rear speaker wiring and run these to your LOC / amp.

[T-MaKK]

yeah, thats prty much my thought on the 6x9s.. but hes doing me a favor selling me cheap, so im doing him a favor taking them off him.

all this sorta stuff doesnt really make logical sense to me.

in my mind id be running the 6x9s off one channel and the sub off the other?

[HamaTime™]

6X9's or a sub. Not both.

[holdenboy]

1 channel means 1 speaker, in theory you could run both 6x9s off one channel and run the subwoofer off the other.....but it will sound like crap, not to mention the 6x9s will only be receiving the left/right (depending on which channel you use) signal, and the sub the other signal.

As HamaTime said, you can either run a subwoofer or 2 speakers from a 2 channel amplfier.

[StoneX]

Buy it all and sell the 6x9's to someone else.

[T-MaKK]

if i ditched the 6x9s, would the sub + the stock speakers/HU sound alright?

[holdenboy]

It should ok, although upgrading the fronts to spits and an aftermarket head-unit will see a big change.

But thats something for the future

[T-MaKK]

in not up with car audio lingo.

are slits just like your standard $100-200 6" speakers you grab from JB or something alike?

[holdenboy]

Splits are like a normal speaker, but instead of having that little speaker (tweeter) mounted in the centre of the speaker it is seperate to allow you to mount it higher up on the door trim / dash or off axis (so its on a different angle to the woofer). They also have a dedicated crossover to "split" the different sounds to the woofer and tweeter.

Basically the end result is much clearer sound, i could go into detail about why splits are better than coaxials but i think you probably wont understand

Heres a link to some on Ryda:

Ryda Car Audio - 6" Component Speaker Store

[T-MaKK]

ok, so what im thinking is..
ill buy the sub off this guy for $110.. i think thats what he said. (in box)

and ill purchase a 4 channel sub from where ever.
bridge 2 channels for the sub and have the other 2 channels free for some splits when the time comes to purchase them.
ill run the amp/sub + the stock speakers off the stock HU. just untill i find a HU i like thats in my price range.

does that sound alright?

could you suggest an amp that will feed the sub? probly $250-350.

thanks.

[T-MaKK]

or would it be sensible to buy the 2 chan amp with the sub, bridge it at 800watts.

and when it comes time to buy the spits buy another chan amp?

im not sure how that would be wired to the HU tho? is it possible?

[bezz]

Stock h/u doesnt have rca pre outs to plug an amp in. You can get convertors to connect to the speaker wiring to plug an amp in but itd probably cost the same as getting a new head unit anyway.

[T-MaKK]

righto..

this shit gets expensive prty damn quick..

edit: the sub and amp for $250.

[T-MaKK]

ok, so what im thinking is..
ill buy the sub off this guy for $110.. i think thats what he said. (in box)

and ill purchase a 4 channel sub from where ever.
bridge 2 channels for the sub and have the other 2 channels free for some splits when the time comes to purchase them.
ill run the amp/sub + the stock speakers off the stock HU. just untill i find a HU i like thats in my price range.

does that sound alright?

could you suggest an amp that will feed the sub? probly $250-350.

thanks.

or would it be sensible to buy the 2 chan amp with the sub, bridge it at 800watts.

and when it comes time to buy the spits buy another 2 (4???) chan amp?

im not sure how that would be wired to the HU tho? is it possible?
Yesterday 10:10 PM

thoughts again..?

[holdenboy]

If you just want to purchase the one amp, a 4ch. would be the way to go.

Yes, run the sub off the rear channels (bridged) and leave the front channels free for when you get a pair of front speakers (splits).

This amp from Jaycar is a great model, its not the digital version which people have been having problems with. Its puts out 130wrms x 4 or like you'll be using it 130wrms to each of the front speakers and 380wrms to the subwoofer. Its a little overkill but that just means it wont be working as hard.
Response Car Amp 4x100WRMS - Jaycar Electronics

A little cheaper, but only 50w x 2 and 180w x 1:
Ryda Car Audio - Kenwood Car Audio KAC-8404 Car Amplifier($236.95)

Soundstream, 60w x 2 and 180w x 1:
Ryda Car Audio - Soundstream PCX4.360 Picasso - Amplifier($275.00)

Clarion, puts out similar power to the Jaycar, 100wrms x 2 and 320wrms x 1:
Ryda Car Audio - Clarion Car Audio APX4361 4 Channel Car Amplifier($357.95)

[T-MaKK]

ok cool.
so would any of these power the sub perfectly?

if i were to get the kenwood apposed to the response car amp, would i hear a noticeable difference?

[holdenboy]

I would imagine yes, because the Kenwood produces less than half the power of the Jaycar.

Any of those amps will power the sub fine, but the Kenwood and the Soundstream wont power it "as good" as the Jaycar or the Clarion. Its like buying a car with just enough power to get you from A to B, as opposed to buying a car that has more power than you "need". I know which ones going to last longer and do the job better...same can be said for amplifiers.

[T-MaKK]

to find the Ohms of the sub, will i just have to look on the back of it somewhere?
or is a general rule when it comes to that sorta thing.

[holdenboy]

It may have it written on the magnet, just look for a number with ohms on it or the symbol, it looks like the attached pic.

If it dosent then just give us the model number (also on the back of the sub) and we can tell you what impedance it is.