Adding an Amp with Factory HU and one other question
07-08-2004, 03:07 PM
#1
0 Watt CAFz'r
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 25
Currently, I have my stock A4 head unit cause I love the look of the stock unit, with 2 Kaption SPL 10s and a Kenwood Amp 
setup. If I add an amp for the speakers, will it make much of a difference, keeping in mind I'm using the stock headunit.
My other question is this, I have an A4, and for those of you who don't know, the trunks are narrow but long. My father and I golf in the summertime and we can't fit a set of clubs in the trunk, with the subs back there, so therefore the clubs go down on the backseat. As a result of this, my amp is mounted on the roof of the trunk, out of direct sight, and looks awesome. The guy at ASD today said this was a bad idea because heat rises and it would screw the amp up, and to mount it on the backseat instead, and just throw clubs down on the backseat on top of the amp
So should I move my amp from where it is right now?
Now if I mount it on the backseat, and the seats are up, heat still rises to a side of the amp, right?
KM
setup. If I add an amp for the speakers, will it make much of a difference, keeping in mind I'm using the stock headunit.My other question is this, I have an A4, and for those of you who don't know, the trunks are narrow but long. My father and I golf in the summertime and we can't fit a set of clubs in the trunk, with the subs back there, so therefore the clubs go down on the backseat. As a result of this, my amp is mounted on the roof of the trunk, out of direct sight, and looks awesome. The guy at ASD today said this was a bad idea because heat rises and it would screw the amp up, and to mount it on the backseat instead, and just throw clubs down on the backseat on top of the amp
So should I move my amp from where it is right now?Now if I mount it on the backseat, and the seats are up, heat still rises to a side of the amp, right?
KM
07-08-2004, 03:15 PM
#3
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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Nothing at all yet
KM
EDIT:
He also said my amp wasn't enough to power the SPLs, so I dont know if he wants a sale or is telling the truth. As you may assume, I've got doubts about those people
KM
[ July 08, 2004, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: kontesto ]
KM
EDIT:
He also said my amp wasn't enough to power the SPLs, so I dont know if he wants a sale or is telling the truth. As you may assume, I've got doubts about those people
KM
[ July 08, 2004, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: kontesto ]
07-08-2004, 06:20 PM
#5
Well I have a slightly different opinion. An amp is designed to get hot, that said however an amp that is mounted upside down will heat up quicker than an amp that is mounted conventionally, thus it will go into thermal protection much quicker. Now when you couple the nice hot trunk in the middle of summer into the picture, bad things can happen to an amplifier. It may not happen right away, sort of like a slow leak in a tire, eventually the tire will need to be replaced.
I would keep the mounting location of the amp,just flip the amp over and give it a little breathing room, it should be fairly easy to construct an aluminum case for the amp to sit on that will also mount to different spots of the vehicle. This mount can be cavered in whatever fabric is necessary to hide it from view and maintain the stock look of the vehicle. A possible exception to this is an amp that relies on fan cooling such as the higher end XTANT amplifiers. It really doesn't matter too much whch way these amps are mounted, they have fans at either end of the heatsink to force a continuous amount of air over the heatsinks.
If you plan on upgrading the speakers, then I would look at an amp. The reason for an amp is simple, it is to get louder, protect the speakers by means of a crossover and gain control, improve tonal response at all volume levels. There is a chance that the speakers you are using might be a lower impedence than any aftermarket speaker is (BOSE uses 1 ohm speakers for example), thus throwing an amp on them could melt them almost instantly. It really depends on the speakers in the vehicle.
As far as the sub amp goes the risk you run by not using the right amp is simple. If the gain is set incorrectly you can almost guarantee a subwoofer is going to blow due to clipping. You canunderpower a sub all day long as long as you do not clip the signal. Should you want more control in your system I would recommend adding a couple of Audio Control components to the mix. First is a EQS - a six channel line driver, factory head interface and six channel equalizer. Second is a 6XS, a 6 channel crossover + sub level controller. This combination is a pretty potent start to a great sound system should you choose to step up to this level.
I would keep the mounting location of the amp,just flip the amp over and give it a little breathing room, it should be fairly easy to construct an aluminum case for the amp to sit on that will also mount to different spots of the vehicle. This mount can be cavered in whatever fabric is necessary to hide it from view and maintain the stock look of the vehicle. A possible exception to this is an amp that relies on fan cooling such as the higher end XTANT amplifiers. It really doesn't matter too much whch way these amps are mounted, they have fans at either end of the heatsink to force a continuous amount of air over the heatsinks.
If you plan on upgrading the speakers, then I would look at an amp. The reason for an amp is simple, it is to get louder, protect the speakers by means of a crossover and gain control, improve tonal response at all volume levels. There is a chance that the speakers you are using might be a lower impedence than any aftermarket speaker is (BOSE uses 1 ohm speakers for example), thus throwing an amp on them could melt them almost instantly. It really depends on the speakers in the vehicle.
As far as the sub amp goes the risk you run by not using the right amp is simple. If the gain is set incorrectly you can almost guarantee a subwoofer is going to blow due to clipping. You canunderpower a sub all day long as long as you do not clip the signal. Should you want more control in your system I would recommend adding a couple of Audio Control components to the mix. First is a EQS - a six channel line driver, factory head interface and six channel equalizer. Second is a 6XS, a 6 channel crossover + sub level controller. This combination is a pretty potent start to a great sound system should you choose to step up to this level.
07-08-2004, 11:43 PM
#6
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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Rob,
Wow you're so knowledgable. Too bad you're in BC! Is there anyway I can instant message you away from the boards to ask you a couple other questions?
With the casing for the current amp, won't that literally create a hot box for the amp, so the amp goes into this casing that'll get hot and create a steamy environment for it..isn't that a bad thing?
The speakers in there aren't even the BOSE upgrade, its the stock stock stuff.
Can you explain to me what the EQS and 6XS do specifically, i'm a newbie when it comes to car audio.
KM
Wow you're so knowledgable. Too bad you're in BC! Is there anyway I can instant message you away from the boards to ask you a couple other questions?
With the casing for the current amp, won't that literally create a hot box for the amp, so the amp goes into this casing that'll get hot and create a steamy environment for it..isn't that a bad thing?
The speakers in there aren't even the BOSE upgrade, its the stock stock stuff.
Can you explain to me what the EQS and 6XS do specifically, i'm a newbie when it comes to car audio.
KM
07-09-2004, 05:12 AM
#7
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 1,649
Amp components can "Wear" due to heat. So you can put that little audio investment into early retirement.............. so applying the "don't fix it if it ain't broke" concept isn't 100% applicable here.
Mounting the amp to the back of the fold down seat is an ok idea. Could easily enuf build a trim to go around it with a few bars over it to protect the amp from stray golfing gear. Or if you have some cash, flush the amp into the seat back
If you're going to get into an aftermarket amp to power the cabin speakers, I suggest getting an amp that has high level inputs and built in x-over if you're not wanting to add a ton of gear to the system and run up your costs.
Mounting the amp to the back of the fold down seat is an ok idea. Could easily enuf build a trim to go around it with a few bars over it to protect the amp from stray golfing gear. Or if you have some cash, flush the amp into the seat back
If you're going to get into an aftermarket amp to power the cabin speakers, I suggest getting an amp that has high level inputs and built in x-over if you're not wanting to add a ton of gear to the system and run up your costs.
07-09-2004, 08:06 AM
#9
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Posts: n/a
Alot of newer amps can be mounted upside down with no problems, I know MTX has been like this for years, and the newer Rockfords would be good for this. How you can tell, is by looking at how the heatsink mass is located. If it is on the top, mounting it upside down would be bad. If pretty much all the mass (thick heavy part) is to the sides, then upside down mountinig is okay.
07-09-2004, 11:27 AM
#10
Should you want to contact me direct, email me at forbidden@telus.net
There are lots of very very knowledgeable members here on this site, sometimes they will not offer their .02 if the topic has already been covered with enough detail, other times some of them will chime in and offer a couple of others things as well. The end goal though is to get you happy.
As far as the mount that I talked about, only the bottom is covered, not the ends, there is still more than adequate air circulation for all but the biggest of systems.
www.audiocontrol.com
The EQS will allow you to keep your stock head unit and convert the signal into one that the rest of the upgraded system can use. Right now you are using a device called a LOC, probably called a high level adaptor that is built into your amp. The EQS does not need this adaptor, all you do is take the factory leads from the headunit, be it a low or high level input, solder on the rca ends and plug them in - that's it - done. Next it allows you to gain 6 channels from 4. It then allows the user to adjust each pair of channels, front / rear / sub by means of an equalizer. It then uses it's built in line driver to up the signal voltage to for lack of better words, make the systems job of producing sound much more efficient. The higher the voltage (within reason) that the amplifers see, the lower the gain control and the chance of noise in the system. From the EQS the output goes to the 6XS, this is a 6 channel crossover with a much more precise functions than those built into most amplifiers. It also will provide you with a dedicated subwoofer level control by menas of a hard wired control ****. This **** will mount up front in your vehicle and allow you to adjust the output of the subs indipendent from the level of the front and rear speakers. Do some reading up on the Audio Control website for the full monty on these great items.
There are lots of very very knowledgeable members here on this site, sometimes they will not offer their .02 if the topic has already been covered with enough detail, other times some of them will chime in and offer a couple of others things as well. The end goal though is to get you happy.
As far as the mount that I talked about, only the bottom is covered, not the ends, there is still more than adequate air circulation for all but the biggest of systems.
www.audiocontrol.com
The EQS will allow you to keep your stock head unit and convert the signal into one that the rest of the upgraded system can use. Right now you are using a device called a LOC, probably called a high level adaptor that is built into your amp. The EQS does not need this adaptor, all you do is take the factory leads from the headunit, be it a low or high level input, solder on the rca ends and plug them in - that's it - done. Next it allows you to gain 6 channels from 4. It then allows the user to adjust each pair of channels, front / rear / sub by means of an equalizer. It then uses it's built in line driver to up the signal voltage to for lack of better words, make the systems job of producing sound much more efficient. The higher the voltage (within reason) that the amplifers see, the lower the gain control and the chance of noise in the system. From the EQS the output goes to the 6XS, this is a 6 channel crossover with a much more precise functions than those built into most amplifiers. It also will provide you with a dedicated subwoofer level control by menas of a hard wired control ****. This **** will mount up front in your vehicle and allow you to adjust the output of the subs indipendent from the level of the front and rear speakers. Do some reading up on the Audio Control website for the full monty on these great items.
