Newbie Here Looking For Wisdom
 

Alright so I'm brand new to this entire scenario so please bare with me.I will keep it as basic as I believe I can to try and limit confusion.

Vehicle 2004 Jeep Liberty

Head UnitKenwood Excelon KDC-X395
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X395 CD receiver at Crutchfield.com

Sony xm1652z 1000w amp
2x 16" subs 325w

Sony xm554zr 4 channel 600w 65rms 2ohm amp
4x 6.5 speakers (unknown speakers, haven't ripped the panels back yet but they are aftermarket)

Now I know this is not impressive, this is going to be my dry run and learning experience with cheap gear (I payed less than $50 for everything above) setup and as I get money I will be buying better amps/speakers for my car, nothing insane though.

8awg wire (for battery to amps 20FT total, will also use for ground wire)
Shop 8-AWG Stranded Black Copper THHN Wire (By-the-Foot) at Lowes.com
This is actual copper and not cca or so I'm told.

12awg wire
Shop 12-AWG Solid Black Copper THHN Wire (By-the-Foot) at Lowes.com
This is to run from my amp to my sub (only going two feet)

Speaker Wire
I was told for runs less than 20FT pure copper wire wasn't that important unless you pump 75w+, is this true? If so I was thinking of this stuff


The core of my problem though is understanding how it all hooks up, the sub is easy as there are thousands of videos, but when it comes to 4 channel amps it seems very few videos out that actually show you step by step what to do. I imagine this is probably basic and stupid but I want to make sure I don't damage anything.

From what I gathered though this isn't that hard, I just need verification more then anything.
1) Speakers hook up to amp
2) RCA sends audio signal from unit to amp
3) You enjoy music.

If this is true then my question is this,
I was told for systems pulling less then 75w you could connect directly to the speaker wires from the head unit. So instead of having to snake wires you would only have to cut the plug wires at the head unit and run wire from there to the amp. Is this safe and should I? Reason I ask is my door grommets are PACKED with wires and if I damage the grommet I have to take the entire door out and cut/rewire all the electrical to replace it. Thank you for taking a few moments of your time to help me out.

From newbie to newbie..
 

I've done that before. I won't go off and say that's the best idea but simply had no one around me to tell me otherwise. Go ahead and disconnect from your head unit(as you mentioned above and run a separate set of wires from your new connection to your amp which I imagine is sitting back there next to your "subwoofer" amp. Just be sure to run those particular wires separate from all your other wires(Power/Ground/RCA) cause you're going to have feedback through your components. Hope this helps..