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Kyle Wathen
Tinkerer
Vic
GTTL

Posts: 27
Reg: 02-2007

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 - 05:45 pm, by:  Kyle Wathen (Cspot) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I bought my Soarer a few weeks ago its a GTTL with factory sub, amp etc and aftermarket headunit.

So currently the only speakers working are front left and rear right. The rear left crackles (so i guess thats gone ), the front right just doesn't work (no sounds at all form it) and of course the factory sub is no longer working.

Im thinking that the guy who installed the head unit may have had no idea how the soarer stereo works when its got the factory amp etc and as a result had no idea how to wire it, hence the front right not working at all due to incorrect wiring?

Big stereos isn't my thing so my plan is to have a decent sounding system at a reasonable price (anythings better than 2 speakers )


Headunit:
I am keeping the aftermarket headunit that came with the car - Pioneer DEH-P4850MP specs below;

http://www.ryda.com.au/Pioneer-DEH-P4850MP-Car-CD-Tuner-p/dehp4850mp.htm

Front:
If i can get the front right to work, i'll amp the fronts with Jaycar crossovers and supertweeters.


Amp:
Not sure? Something to power the sub and fronts.


Rear:
6" rear fill

Sub:
Jaycar 10"

I want to try do all this for around $500 so i can spend money on more important things, like intercooler and e-manage



Question 1: What amp should i get? Want to try keep it around $250 if possible.

Question 2: Do i have to run two RCA cables to headunit (one for sub and one for fronts? If so can i do this with my headunit?

Question 3: Any ideas on the best way test if the front right speaker actually works?


Any comments or reccomendations appreciated.
Brian Timms
TryHard
New South Wales
TT Soarer Goodness.

Posts: 173
Reg: 12-2006

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 - 06:01 pm, by:  Brian Timms (Turbo_brian) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Are you trying to power all speakers plus sub, or just front speakers and sub???

Best option for you at the moment I think would be to plan on front speakers plus subwoofer, as I know the Pioneer DEH 4 series only has RCA for front and subwoofer, no RCA for rears....

Get a decent Amplifier wiring kit, and then get what ever 4 channel amp you can afford with the left over money from that.

Run a dedicated power from the battery to the boot (or where you want to install the Amp).

Run your 4 channel RCA leads, plus remote wire form head unit to the amplifier (run the RCA on the other side to the power cable to avoid interference).

Ground the amp at the section where to Stacker fits, remember to scrub the area with some sandpaper first so you have a good clean connection.

Then look to run new clean speaker wire from the Amp to your speakers.

You can Mount another 10" subwoofer back in the stock position (I have an MTX 10" in mine, fits nicely, but some have monster magnets that dont fit) and then run the cables for that back to the amp as well.

If you connect it all up properly, you will have a very nice sounding system.

And for the rears, if you get rear speakers, you can run these off the rear feeds from the headunit, as the rears are only for fill unless your looking at a 5.1 surround, in which case an amp for $250 wouldn't be worth looking at.

Question 1 - The best you can afford!
Question 2 - It's best to do this, and much more reliable.
Question 2 - Best way to test is to pull the door trim off, inspect the speaker, and connect a sound source to it without the Soarer system turned on.

B.
Kyle Wathen
Tinkerer
Vic
GTTL

Posts: 28
Reg: 02-2007

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 - 06:27 pm, by:  Kyle Wathen (Cspot) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks for the quick reply Brian!

The amp will be used to power the front speakers and sub only.

The rears i will just run new wires for off the headunit.

Now just have to figure out what amp will be suitable for my setup.

I'm guessing ebay specials like this amp are just useless?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-3200-Watt-Mosfet-4-Channel-Car-Amplifier-Amp-Audio_W0QQitemZ290100087594Q QcategoryZ130668QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Damian Ware
DieHard
Victoria
UZZ32

Posts: 517
Reg: 10-2005

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 - 09:48 pm, by:  Damian Ware (Frozenpod) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I doubt the quality will be great.

Eclips amps are good might be a touch out of your budget, jaycar amps are not bad.
Brian Timms
TryHard
New South Wales
TT Soarer Goodness.

Posts: 177
Reg: 12-2006

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007 - 01:23 pm, by:  Brian Timms (Turbo_brian) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I tend to stay away from Ebay specials, you cant garantee they work, let alone work and have quality.

For a budget of $150 ($250 - $100 for a proper cabling kit), your best off going to Strathfield or JB HiFi, or places like that.

Also look at Jaycar, their amps are pretty good quality, and have decent power.

Get a 4 channel amp, front 2 channels for the front speakers, and rear 2 channels for the subwoofer.

Make sure the Amp is bridgable, and you will be sweet.

B.
Kyle Wathen
Tinkerer
Vic
GTTL

Posts: 29
Reg: 02-2007

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007 - 07:59 pm, by:  Kyle Wathen (Cspot) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Decided i will go with the Jaycar amp (AA-0426).

Can pick it up for $255, going to JB HiFi tomorrow but if nothing else looks good ther im just going to get the Jaycar amp.


Specifications:
Power / channel @ 4ohm 14.4V: 130WRMS x 4
Power / channel @ 2ohm 14.4V: 190WRMS x 4
Power / bridged @ 4ohm 14.4V: 380WRMS x 2
Signal/Noise ratio: >90dB
Input sensitivity: 200mV to 5V
Low pass filter: 50 - 500Hz @ 12dB/octave
High pass filter: 50 - 500Hz @ 12dB/octave
Pass thru RCA: Yes
Dimensions: 400(L) x 258(W) x 50mm(D)
Ben Socratous
Goo Roo
SA
I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!

Posts: 1410
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007 - 09:12 pm, by:  Ben Socratous (Socrates) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jaycar amps all the way mate!

You wont find anything at JB that comes close to those specs for the price! I have used Jaycar amps in a few installs and have had no complaints yet.
Brian Timms
TryHard
New South Wales
TT Soarer Goodness.

Posts: 180
Reg: 12-2006

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Thursday, April 05, 2007 - 08:21 am, by:  Brian Timms (Turbo_brian) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Bang for Buck, Jaycar amps are the better alternative.

They hold very decent build quality (haven't heard a single complaint on power/quality about them), and they dont look to bad on the eye either.

Yes, you can spend mega bucks and buy a brand name, such as Kicker, Pioneer, Clarion, Rockford, Schnieder, etc but power/dollar, the Jaycar are at the top (they just dont go as high as some of the other names do).

Dont forget, the amp is only a section of the installation, there is also the proper running of the cables, the correct earthing (otherwise you will get engine buzz), and setting up the amp to sound right on your headunit.

I cant stress enough the importance of grounding the amp and the headunit as well, because if not done properly, it wouldn't matter if it was a $30,000 setup, it will still sound ordinary.

B.
Kyle Wathen
Tinkerer
Vic
GTTL

Posts: 32
Reg: 02-2007

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Thursday, April 05, 2007 - 01:16 pm, by:  Kyle Wathen (Cspot) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Any recommendations on the best point to ground the headunit and amp too?

I was thinking of running the power down the driver side of the car and the Speakers/RCA cables straight down the middle under the console then into boot through passenger side of car.

Then once its all connected i will have to spend a bit of time playing around with the settings.
Brian Timms
TryHard
New South Wales
TT Soarer Goodness.

Posts: 184
Reg: 12-2006

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Thursday, April 05, 2007 - 01:58 pm, by:  Brian Timms (Turbo_brian) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Grounding on the Amp, depends on where you mount it, I tend to try and limit my grounding length to 1 meter, onto the chassis.

Grounding for the head unit, I usually leave to the antenna cable, as this grounds the unit quite well.

I also like to make sure the grounding cable from the battery to the chassis is getting good contact as well.

B.
Chris Wright
TryHard
Victoria
Soarer

Posts: 101
Reg: 01-2007

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 03:59 pm, by:  Chris Wright (Extremelanos) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but I just installed a new headunit, and my old Kenwood unit had a wire going from it for a remote antenna wire, which was attached to a blue wire. My new headunit doesn't have one, and so I left the blue wire unconnected. Now I have been getting bad reception in places, and I'm not sure if it's because the blue wire isn't attached to anything? Can anyone help me?

Thanks.
Simon Triantafillou
Goo Roo
NSW
Soarer Turbo

Posts: 1169
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 05:37 pm, by:  Simon Triantafillou (Soarer) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Remote/Antenna wire (usually blue) is generally used to turn on the amplifier when the car get switched on. The only "antenna" cable you need to plug in to make the radio work correctly is the thick black one.
Chris Wright
TryHard
Victoria
Soarer

Posts: 102
Reg: 01-2007

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 06:53 pm, by:  Chris Wright (Extremelanos) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have that blue wire which is wired to my amp, the remote wire. But I also have another blue wire for a remote antenna wire, so I'm at a loss as to why it was plugged into my old headunit and I had good reception and now my reception isn't so great with this new headunit because the wire isn't plugged into it. :-(
Rob Andreacchio
Goo Roo
Victoria
Supercharged VT Calais & 1991 JZZ30

Posts: 2820
Reg: 01-2005

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 07:11 pm, by:  Rob Andreacchio (Reepa) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

maybe it was plugged into power rather than trigger, and its now not powering up causing signal loss...
Chris Wright
TryHard
Victoria
Soarer

Posts: 103
Reg: 01-2007

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 08:29 pm, by:  Chris Wright (Extremelanos) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So maybe I should just plug it into a 12v source?
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 2969
Reg: 10-2005

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Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 06:14 am, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Did you adjust the reception screw? Don't know about the current generation of head units, but they all used to have a screw on or in them somewhere that you had to turn to adjust to get the best reception.
Chris Wright
TryHard
Victoria
Soarer

Posts: 104
Reg: 01-2007

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Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 06:02 pm, by:  Chris Wright (Extremelanos) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I never saw a screw... Hmmmmmm. I just want some good reception, shouldn't be this hard.:-(
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 2976
Reg: 10-2005

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Friday, September 07, 2007 - 06:32 am, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The screw is there to adjust the receiver to the properties of your antenna - I believe its basically a signal gain adjustment. Take a look and see if you can find it and turn up the gain (clockwise) and see if that helps.

Of course its so many years since I installed a stereo that maybe they use an automated system these days.

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