BradSk88

If that's all that's available, yes.

Although typically (not always) the fronts will have full range sound while the rears will have a reduced frequency output, for whatever acoustic reasons.

LOCs like the reQ 5will take up to 9 inputs, interpret their outputs and give you front/rear/sub outputs with 20Hz-20kHz response if it can, by summing the inputs together.

But you usually only need that in vehicles with complicated 'premium' setups.

I would bet you'd get better sound quality if you tapped into the fronts.

TheTechMan

I think my front factory speakers are components with tweeters in the corners of the dash near the windshield. So that will be a total of 4 channels for the front if that is the case (FL tweeter+midrange and FR tweeter+midrange).

The lc2i is only a 2 channel loc so I guess I will be tapping into the FL and FR midrange speakers and leaving the tweeters powered off the factory headunit (if possible).

wasted911

iTrader: (2)

the LC2i is a summing LOC as well. If you are running components off of the amp they will only use up 2 channels.

BradSk88

that's where it gets tricky. I can't remember how it is set up in that car, but I think the mid actually gets full range but just doesn't do a good job of playing it. So if you tie in to the mid you might get full range out.

You could also tie into the front outputs at the deck.

TheTechMan

I'm not sure what summing is so I looked it up and the answer I found was that summing is taking all of the speaker leads and feeding them into the same input (in my case the lc2i) of the appropriate polarity.

My speakers are coaxial so I won't be summing.

TheTechMan

I would LOVE to find a harness that would allow me to hookup my loc to the factory headunit without having to cut any wires. I'm not sure how long I will have this car and if/when I decide to sell, I want to be able to easily disconnect my gear and hook the factory stuff back up with no problems.

The problem I can't seem to grasp is how the wiring would work with a harness hooked into the factory headunit with my loc somehow tapped into the wiring while still allowing the rear speakers to be fed from the factory hu.

BradSk88

An LOC is almost entirely passive. It has such a high impedance (thousands of ohms) that it has virtually no effect on how the deck or speakers behave. All you need to do behind the deck is basically "T-Tap" into the speaker leads. No "mangling" really, just a clean, simple wire tap.

I do it every day, and that is how it's meant to work.

BradSk88

Summing takes the outputs of multiple speakers (front, rear, mid, tweeter, whatever) mixes them so that any lost frequency response is recovered, and then puts out that mixed signal to an RCA output which you patch to the amp. In which case it doesn't matter of you're coax or component.

Mr.DatSubishi

I'm not a big fan of T-taps. They have a very small contact patch with the underlying wire and are easily corroded. I've fixed multiple jobs done by others where they are the cause. Spend the extra and get the proper harnesses, you'll have a much more dependable and easier to integrate finished product. 100% reversable

TheTechMan

I think I'm going to use butt connectors and heat shrink to tap into the front channel with my lc2i while keeping the rear channel running stock. I think I will have to cut wires regardless if I use a wire harness or not.