TragicMagic

Alright,

Here's few pics of the new amp for my fiancee's system-in-progress. I probably shouldn't host them off my Face-Book page, cause it destroys the picture quality.





Thanks for the amp Zotman21. Can't give you feed-back until its installed though. But so far so good.

That power wire you see in the pic is Lightning Audio Storm, 4AWG, 1666 Strand, SQ2 Liquid Crystal Power Cable. It was thrown in with the amp. Is it good stuff?

Okay, there's a chart in the manual that shows the recommended minimum cable gauge based on the length of the run. From 1.5-4 meters it calls for 4AWG, anything over 4 meters (12 feet) it calls for 2AWG. I'm assuming it'll take more than 12 ft to get from the battery to the amp in the trunk. Now, assuming I opt to go with a 2AWG wire, the manual also states that the Power In terminal accepts 4AWG.
I'm quoting the manual here:

Amplifier Installation Kit: If available, buy an amplifier installation kit. If contains normally all you need. This is what you have to buy if you buy the items separately.
~ 20-25 ft power cable
~ fuseholder for appropriate fuse (80Amp)
~ 20 ft of 15AWG wire for remote turn on for H.U
~ 20 ft of required RCA cable
~ 2 ring crimp terminals - one for connection at battery, and one for amp ground
~ wire ties and grommet

My first question is if we need to go with a 2AWG wire? The amp only accepts a 4. Do we run a 2, then at the amp get something that'll take 2AWG in and go 4AWG out, and add another fuse there?

MR2NR said in another post that there's no need to replace the vehicles ground, but to simply add another ground in with the larger gauge. If we have enough of this 4 gauge remaining after the amp is connected to the battery, will this Lightning Audio wire be okay to use as a ground from the battery to the chassis? Or is there something more suitable?

I think the only thing that will likely be 'expensive' will be the RCA cable. What brand, and where to get it would you guys recommend?

Thanks all.

I'm also going to draw a picture for an odd install idea. I took a picture of the bottom of the amp to show the hole locations for mounting. And that there are slats on the bottom panel. I'm thinking of elevating the amp off a MDF mounting surface using .5" steel tubes. Using longer bolts threw the amp base, tube, and MDF with the nut on the back of the MDF. I'll do a quick sketch...

TragicMagic

I'm sure this isn't an original idea, but it might help to keep the amp cooler.

The amp also has a power source for a 12V fan. I could mount the fan on the side of the board, blowing across the length of the amp...



I would router out holes deep enough so that the nuts on the bottom are flush with the bottom of the MDF board. Then the board will be attached to the back of her seat, assuming there's room for the amp there.

So there would be a 1" space between the amp bottom and MDF. For the cost, I'd do it anyway, even if there were no real affect on the amp. It wouldn't be that hard a project, and one I could handle.
What do you think?

John__Taylor

iTrader: (3)

Hey there Tragic, nice purchase!

Run some big fat wire to a distro block, then run a small length of 4awg to power the amp.

I posted somewhere else about the power loss in large runs of 4 awg. Spent a lot of time doing it too, but you would be surprised.

Dint forget to run the same size big fat ground wire as well.

Any good quality RCA will be fine and if you buy a kit will probably be included.

Keeping the amp cool is always good, but to be honest, do you really need to hook up a fan?

So far I've found that my little 4 or 2 channel amps (in the past) actually get warmer than the sub amp because if the sound is setup correctly, the subs should not be pounding away overwhelming the rest of the music.

That amp is one giant heat sink! Talk about gorgeous though, what a beautiful amplifier. Dint hide that sucker, or mount it on crappy wood dude.

Excellent purchase man.

John

Oh, this is what im going to do

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

You run a 4awg power wire from the battery directly to the amp with 125A fuse at the battery. No need for 2awg. Add same wire from the battery negative to chassis. The wire you have is good. Connect the remote wire from head unit to the amp. Obviously use ring crimp terminals for the grounds and power wires. There are many good RCA's available, and you can always look for something on sale. Monster Cable, Streetwires, Knukonceptz, Fosgate, Kicker, Phoenix, etc. Anything around $50 will get you premium quality, just try not to pay full retail, find something at a discounted price around that amount. There is no need to do any modifications to keep the amp cooler, it will be just fine if you mount it where there is some air flow. Back of the seat is fine. Just dont place the box right next to it, give it a few inches. DLS is overkilling it with the fans, and all that cooling stuff. Plus you won't be running the amp at 1 ohm, so overheating wont be an issue. There is nothing extraordinary about your install, just like any other, so there are special considerations, just make sure to do a good job.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Well, it's all good advice. However, he does not need a bigger than 4 gauge by far. Not to mention added cost of bigger wire and distribution block, and the block will serve no purpose in his set-up, and only will add resistance, and added unnecessary labor. 4 gauge ground add-on will suffice as well, cause the power wire is same size, and the ground is a much shorter run, so it will be much more efficient.

If he buys the whole kit, he will be getting extra gear that he already has like power wire, he may just be better off purchasing what he needs now piece by piece custom taylored to his needs. I am sure he can figure out which is more cost efficient. Also, I would like to see a 125A fuse for the wire, and the kit may not come with this size. Forget about the 80A manual tells you to use. 4 gauge that length will take 125A, so use that. 80A will work fine, but I myself would use 125A.

And yeah, John, DLS Ultimate is one my very few favorite amps. Sweet rack by the way. Your amps I mean

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

By the way, you simply have no idea how good your timing was with Zotman21. You're now in the league of Arc SE's, TRU Billets, Steg K's, and bigger higher end Audisons, which are all on my very short list of most favorite amps, my top5 sort of speak. You must love your lady. I am sure making a lot of hype, but I assure you the amp will live up to the expectations. Just very happy for your purchase.

And the amp will do around 100 watts a side at 14.4 volts, but it will sound like more, as the stage on these things is just wide as hell.

John__Taylor

iTrader: (3)

Aww, Sasha, I'm crushed man....you dont like my rack?? LoL

Anyway, thats not mine. I'm going to use his idea except with 4 amps.

Tragic wanted to know about how to run the big wire when the amp only takes 4 awg, thats why I mentioned the block.

When he decides the DLS piece of art is not pwerful enough on the sub stage, he will have power waiting for him right there

Cheers

John

Been reading on STEG....out of my league now, but man oh man.....

TragicMagic

If my fiancee isn't happy with 500W @ 2 ohms, then she's on her own after that. lol

Sasha, I don't recognize a single brand that you listed, other than the high end Audison. This is all new to me. I only know the brands you'd find in most audio shops, and those carried by FutureShop. I've seen more brands mentioned that I've never heard of, than ones I recognize since joining this forum. I really hope the hype you're creating for me holds true after install.

As far as the fan hook-up in concerned, the amp actually doesn't send power to that connection unless the internal temperature reaches 70 degrees. So it wouldn't be on all the time. I have an old computer tower, I thought that the case fan from that would hook up properly, but I have no idea. I planned on wrapping the base in carpet too, so it didn't look unprofessional. I'm even thinking about putting some blue L.E.Ds under the amp so it glows from the underside. Super cheesy, but it'd look sharp.

John, I like your rack. If I was there, I wouldn't be able to stop twisting your nipples... er, *****.

So I'll stick with the 4 gauge. Funny, my system is 80W x 4, and 620W x 1, and that's coming through a 50Amp fuse at the battery. Its usually 420W on the mono, but I've recently hooked up a buddy's 2 ohm TypeR. From what I understand, the best fuse rating is one that is slightly less than what the maximum is the amp can draw. The lower the fuse rating, the better things are protected. If the amp drew more than 50amps, I'd keep blowing fuses all the time. Right?

I'd like to try a lower fuse rating on hers at first, say 80, to see if that'll do the trick. If the amp burns it out, I'll go up to 100, and so on. But her system will only need enough amperage to output 670W, and that'll never happen.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Ok, you can do all that fancy stuff, I am just saying there is no need at all. If you can pull all this off without it looking cheesy, by all means, unless you're going for cheesy And the fuse at the battery has nothing to do with your amps, it is to protect the wire in a bad case scenario, or havent you learned this already during your forum escapades? Your amps have their own fuses for their protection. You have been sadly misinformed, or you just misinterpreted something down the line. Stick to 125A on 4awg that length.

Also, the fuses dont blow right away as they reach their max, they can still hold for a while depending on the percentage of the overload, and what can be happening over time, if the fuses overheat, and start to melt a little, therefore changing the physical properties, but most importantly for car audio this change adds resistance in the fuse, which in turn restricts easy flow, and at this point the fuse becomes the weakest link in your electrical supply, and start to slow down the electrical current demanded by your amps, so your amps may not be getting what they are asking for, unless you're barely push your system beyond 50A, then you're fine, but if not, then I would suggest put a proper ANL type fuse, and see your system come to life. If you have a glass fuse, they are really bad design, and many are faulty, and do not last long in proper working condition, so I suggest to use only ANL, which does not fall short due to design flaws like its counterpart. Bottom line, if you're using 4awg on your car and your girlfriends, use only ANL type fuse of 125A. I hope I made this clear. No more on this! Kidding of course, if you need more explanation, thats what we are here for. This is good info though - happy processing!!! I wish I had an emoticon for this, but I am not into emoticons.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Links for you...

FUSES

WIRE