Audio noob here...need help with amp/subs and sirius satellite radio

[MM BOOST]

Alright, to start off, I am somewhat of a noob when it comes to audio, at least for the mazda anyways. I put my amp/sub/headunit in my eclipse with the help of 2 of my family members. But to save myself costs in labor, I am wanting to tackle this by myself. I am purchasing 2 12's and a 2 channel amp (although I may still go with just one 12 with 2 channel amp, but depends on pricing as I found a nicer package price for the 2 12's). I have a 2007 speed 3 GT with the bose system in it and I still have everything as factory. What I need to know is other than the amp/subs/box, what do I need to buy in terms of wiring hookups? I've never installed amp/subs on a stock stereo, and its my understanding the bose doesn't have the rca outs on the back of the headunit, correct? If someone could show me/lead me to what I need to purchase and maybe a brief write up on how I can install it, it would be greatly appreciated. This is a christmas present and I am wanting to install it myself, and really stay from getting ***** on install costs.

Now, my 2nd question. I am also wanting to get sirius satellite radio in my car to go along with it. I bought this car used in NC and had about 6,000 miles on it when I got it. I've noticed since I got it that it had what looks like to me to be sirius satellite receiver antenna in the right hand corner of the dash at the base of the windshield and then there is a long wire in the glove box that looks like it is being ran from that antenna....am I right or am I completely wrong? And does this mean that this car has the sirius satellite factory option or did the guy before me put it in and just left the antenna? If this is the case, what do I need to purchase in order to correctly run the sirius satellite and is there a link for installation?? Again, I would like to do this by myself if I could?? Here is the unit I want to get...yes I know its cheap and not anything fancy, but I am not trying to break the bank, just want to listen to Octane damnit...lol. We don't get radio reception in the mountains where I go to school.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SIRI...91070/catOid/-13091/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Any help is GREATLY appreciated...I tried searching but I couldn't quite find what I was needing.

 

[MM BOOST]

I am going today at about 3 to circuit city to look at sirius satellite receivers and packages, so the sooner the better for me to receive feedback on this. Thanks guys!

 

[TheRealDefman]

Tons of threads on "How to add an amp" in this group, use the search button or scroll through the posts

 

[Alexsered]

Alright, to start off, I am somewhat of a noob when it comes to audio, at least for the mazda anyways. I put my amp/sub/headunit in my eclipse with the help of 2 of my family members. But to save myself costs in labor, I am wanting to tackle this by myself. I am purchasing 2 12's and a 2 channel amp (although I may still go with just one 12 with 2 channel amp, but depends on pricing as I found a nicer package price for the 2 12's). I have a 2007 speed 3 GT with the bose system in it and I still have everything as factory. What I need to know is other than the amp/subs/box, what do I need to buy in terms of wiring hookups? I've never installed amp/subs on a stock stereo, and its my understanding the bose doesn't have the rca outs on the back of the headunit, correct? If someone could show me/lead me to what I need to purchase and maybe a brief write up on how I can install it, it would be greatly appreciated. This is a christmas present and I am wanting to install it myself, and really stay from getting ***** on install costs.

Now, my 2nd question. I am also wanting to get sirius satellite radio in my car to go along with it. I bought this car used in NC and had about 6,000 miles on it when I got it. I've noticed since I got it that it had what looks like to me to be sirius satellite receiver antenna in the right hand corner of the dash at the base of the windshield and then there is a long wire in the glove box that looks like it is being ran from that antenna....am I right or am I completely wrong? And does this mean that this car has the sirius satellite factory option or did the guy before me put it in and just left the antenna? If this is the case, what do I need to purchase in order to correctly run the sirius satellite and is there a link for installation?? Again, I would like to do this by myself if I could?? Here is the unit I want to get...yes I know its cheap and not anything fancy, but I am not trying to break the bank, just want to listen to Octane damnit...lol. We don't get radio reception in the mountains where I go to school.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SIRI...91070/catOid/-13091/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Any help is GREATLY appreciated...I tried searching but I couldn't quite find what I was needing.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...erter&lp=6&type=product&cp=1&id=1218015169429

you will need this, you just splice it in the rear of the head unit with the speaker wires. Make sure you ground it too. It comes with instructions on what to do.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Memphis-Line-Dr...temQQimsxZ20081127?IMSfp=TL081127111007r29883

you will need this (line driver) to boost the signal so it actually sounds good. You basically have an RCA input and output, it boost the signal from 1.5v to about 6v, which is a very big difference.

I'm pretty sure you understand how to wire up the amp (power,ground, speakers) the tricky part is connecting the remote.

There is a fuse box behind the glove box, I tapped into the cigerette lighter fuse and ran that as the remote to the line driver and the amp, since the cig. lighter turns on and off with the car.

This is the set up that I am running, and if it wasn't for the line driver, it wouldn't sound nearly as good. hope this helps.

 

[MM BOOST]

wow very helpful information, thank you man! Did not know that. See I had searched quite a bit the past few weeks but I thought people was talking about splicing off the rear speakers? So instead of doing that, I just need to splice off the back of the headunit?? I have no problem with that. so I won't have any problems wiring everything up after I splice into the back of the headunit? Yeah on my eclipse I had a switch in my console that I installed with an LED that would turn the amp on and off, incase the amp ever overheated and turned off. Of course that amp sucked ASSHOLE, the one I am getting is a 700 watt amp, the one I had was like a 300. can't I just splice into the cig lighter in the center console wires while I have the dash out hooking everything up??

Can anyone offer any information on the sirius satellite for me? That is where I am a total noob. Like how do I hook something like that up...do I plug that antenna thats on my dash with that wire coming from it into the unit I buy and then that has a wire that plugs into my stock headunit or what?? That is where I am definately in the dark!!

 

[MM BOOST]

oh and I've never seen one of those line drivers...where exactly do you install that?? So that keeps the amps from working too hard and using too many volts?? I don't want to purchase from ebay, so I searched on yahoo and found a few. Would either of these work, or do I need a specific type/brand?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_5266_PAC+TURBOX.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_13857_Phoenix+Gold+TLD22.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_5259_PAC+TURBO-1.html

I like that last one because it mentions it helps with the external satellite radios, which is what I plan on installing at the same time I do this. Or does all of these have that feature?? Total noob here, forgive my lack of knowledge, lol.

 

[Abilor]

I think we are in similar situations. I have an amp to install that accepts pre-amp/line out or speaker level inputs. On the sticky in the how-to, they recommend tapping under the seat. That's where the bose amp is, and with a wiring diagram, you can tap the pre-amp signal or the post-amp (to speaker signal).

You CAN tap the pre-amp under the seat, no? I would appreciate if someone could clear that up for me, as I'd rather not buy the LOC if I can just tap pre-amp with T-taps to RCA Female connectors...

 

[Abilor]

From TippyTheHippy's post below (and the guy who posted this who I forgot but deserves cred)

Right Rear - Input 15 WT/BU
Right Rear + Input 16 YW/GN
Left Rear - Input 17 YW/BU
Left Rear + Input 18 BN/BU
Right Front - Input 19 GN
Right Front + Input 20 RD
Left Front - Input 21 L.GN
Left Front + Input 22 VT
Amp Remote 23 BU


So I was going to tap front and left right and the remote (19-23). Aren't these pre-amp levels, since they're inputs?

 

[MM BOOST]

ok So I went to circuit city today and talked with a technician there about the subs/amp and the sirius satellite. This is what he told me I needed to purchase.


-Subs/box (1,000watts) and 2 channel amp (800 watt) (this is the package I have picked out from the get go because of the price)
-In-Line Converter
-Monster Cable Set
-RCA Cables

They are trying to say it would cost me $200 for installation + all the wires I need....which is steep!! Can someone show me the best place to buy all these things I need, I am trying to spend as little money as possible!

As for the satellite radio, he said all I needed to buy was the sirius headunit itself since I have the sirius antenna already ran in the car. He told me all I had to do was buy the headunit, plug that antenna into it, and then put my radio on 88.1fm and put the sirius radio unit on 88.1fm and it will sync and then just get my subscription signed up and thats all? So for you guys who have experience, I don't need to do anything else for the sirius??

 

[Abilor]

Whoa pardner. Slow your roll.

Stay AWAY from circuit bad and beast buy. You're better off buying rims in a back alley with blood on them as a more legitimate transaction.

First, I recommend going here:

http://www.bcae1.com/

Read. STUDY. All you will need to know, and you will be able to school the beast buy boys with this knowledge.





Read some more...







Did you read it all?

Good. Now go back to section 16, and pay close attention to the System Power Design Assistant. This will fill you in on the mundane needs of your system, and help you find your bare necessities as far as wire gauge (beware that smaller is thicker, with 0 gauge being as thick as your thumb), fuses, etc. You MUST have a wire with a thick enough gauge and a FUSE leading off the positive tap of your battery. If you don't fuse, and the wiring shorts, it creates a situation where the amp draws infinite current from the battery. While mathematically interesting, the end result of this outcome is bursting into flames in the engine bay and in your vehicle's carpeting where the wiring runs - your friends will be impressed so long as they are in the car next to you.

The hardest thing here is routing the power lead through the firewall of your car, which threads from the engine bay to the interior. Then you have to get the power lead to the amp, then the amp to the woofah, and don't forget to ground the amp to the car chassis (usually there is a BIG nut for this under trunk carpeting). Phase two is getting signal from the head unit to the amp. Phase three is making it tidy.

You will NEED to get more detail and ask more questions about the above process, but that ought to get you going.

That said, are you just going for bass? If so, I would recommend strongly going monoblock/1 channel rather than 2. Stereo bass is not necessary for those just looking for some grunt, as the rest of the stock speakers will create the proper stereo "image" or "stage" as some audiophiles call it. Monoblocks are more bang for the buck in the boom-boom dept.

And in seriousness, as one who loves power, explosions, tits, and the like, even only 300 watts off a monoblock woofer powering one 12" sub is a LOT of boom, esp. if you haven't had it before. My current setup will draw about 500 - 700 watts RMS off a D-monoblock (look that up) powering a boston acoustics 12" woofer in a 1 cu. ft enclosure, which favors tight, accurate bass over say, a vented enclosure which favors mroe volume/boom over accuracy. Your mileage may vary.

If this seems like a lot of info, well, it is, but if you devote only five hours to really reading and having fun reading specs and FAQs as you shop, you will have a really great experience getting into car audio. Your peeps will love the sound as much as you do, but when you start helping them design their own systems, then the hobby really starts to get interesting, as spare parts and spare cash from builds you do piles up. Even if you fly entirely solo, it's worth getting into and posting in forums...

 

[Abilor]

-Subs/box (1,000watts) and 2 channel amp (800 watt) (this is the package I have picked out from the get go because of the price)

Be careful here too. There's a lot more things to consider than just wattage. Frequency range, for one thing, and distortion for another. I'd take a 250W 10" JL any day over a Sony Xplod 500W 12". The difference is in the quality and durability of the parts, and the final sound product. I don't know what you're going for, but I like systems that can do classical jazz and symphonic orchestra in addition to butt-thumping classic rock, with all the power I need for trance/electronic and mind-blowing beats from really good gangsta rap with a hot bassline. Don't settle, good systems do it all.

And the best way to do this on a dime is through big outlets selling at rock-bottom e-bay prices. All mail-order man, resist the buy-it-today urge. Sonic-Electronix on ebay is a good catch-all bargain basement, with a lot of other deals besides. Avoid most of craigslist though, as it's usually guys who put together poor systems or blew their good systems to bits.

 

[Abilor]

Sorry, one more, as far as Sirius, that is accurate. What I would do personally though is get a good, catch-all head unit. JVC has a GREAT one that tunes HD out of the box and has an input jack, I can link if you PM. Then get a sirius unit that plugs into the jack, and wire antenna from there. Getting a sirius HU is certainly fine though, and then you just run the antenna through the car (along with the rest of your wiring) and plop it usually under the rear windscreen. It's fairly easy compared to the rest of your growing experiment

 

[strytnyne]

Be careful here too. There's a lot more things to consider than just wattage. Frequency range, for one thing, and distortion for another. I'd take a 250W 10" JL any day over a Sony Xplod 500W 12". The difference is in the quality and durability of the parts, and the final sound product. I don't know what you're going for, but I like systems that can do classical jazz and symphonic orchestra in addition to butt-thumping classic rock, with all the power I need for trance/electronic and mind-blowing beats from really good gangsta rap with a hot bassline. Don't settle, good systems do it all.

And the best way to do this on a dime is through big outlets selling at rock-bottom e-bay prices. All mail-order man, resist the buy-it-today urge. Sonic-Electronix on ebay is a good catch-all bargain basement, with a lot of other deals besides. Avoid most of craigslist though, as it's usually guys who put together poor systems or blew their good systems to bits.

yep stay away from retail stores when it comes to that stuff

 

[MM BOOST]

first of all, I didn't need all that information about how to run wires and such. I hooked up a bad system I got for cheap in my eclipse and it came out sounding fine, so i know about the wiring and all that. I just needed to know about the in-line converters and such, everything else I can take care of. I am going with the 2-channel amp because its a package deal, the one channel amps were more expensive than the amp and subs combined, and I am a college student on a strict budget, so I'm trying to keep everything as low as possible in terms of price. Preach quality all you want, but I had bad components in my eclipse and they more than did the job, and the ones I am looking at now is 10 times better than what I had. I listen to rock mostly, sometimes rap, and just want to feel my music. I am a metal head, so I wanna rock out with my cock out, ya know what I mean? lol. As far as purchasing a new in-dash headunit, that is not an option. I don't have that kind of money to spend and I enjoy the OEM Headunit. I've been reading up for a few hours through search and it looks like all I need to do is buy the satellite radio/receiver I want, mount it, connect the sirius antenna that is ALREADY in the car (mounted on the upper right hand top of the dash near the windshield) and then I read something about plugging it in through the AUX input jack in the arm rest and get a ground loop isolator to prevent alternator hum/buzz. I am not worried about having my factory headunit and my steering wheel controls working with the sirius, so I am not going to get the $150-$300 mazda adapter thats needed for that. Thanks for all the information guys, really helps. Basically all my questions are narrowed down to making the sirius satellite work, I have someone who is gonna help me with the subs/amp install.

*EDIT* OK I thought of a question...what gauge wiring kit do I need for the following setup?

Subs
• Dual 12" subwoofers
• 2,000 Watts peak power
• 600 watts RMS • Polypropolene cone
• 2Hz-2kHz freq. response
• Single voice coils

Amp
• 2/1-channel amp
• 400 watts x 2 peak power
• 2 or 4 ohm operation • High/low pass filters
• 93 dB sensitivity
• 5Hz - 50kHz

Here is where I am looking at:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Bs4pxpVvCEq/g_711/Single-amp-Wiring-Kits.html?o=v&tp=2919&avf=Y&l=

And in regards to the satellite radio...The Aux jack in the arm rest (I have a 2007 ms3 GT)...what exactly is plugged in there from the satellite receiver?? Power chord?

If you guys can guide me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!!

 

[Abilor]

*EDIT* OK I thought of a question...what gauge wiring kit do I need for the following setup?

Sorry to preach and drone about quality sound at bargain basement prices, but you didn't even follow that link I gave you, did you? You say you don't need basic info, and then ask for.... BASIC INFO.

Section 16 - Plug your setup into the power designer, and it will TELL YOU YOUR NECESSARY GAUGE.

 

[MM BOOST]

Sorry to preach and drone about quality sound at bargain basement prices, but you didn't even follow that link I gave you, did you? You say you don't need basic info, and then ask for.... BASIC INFO.

Section 16 - Plug your setup into the power designer, and it will TELL YOU YOUR NECESSARY GAUGE.

I was in a rush earlier when I posted that and completely forgot to look. Going to look at that link now, please forgive me.

 

[MM BOOST]

man, that is some crazy s***...I feel like I am taking an online class for understanding gauge, wattage, and volts. I get a headache trying to read it.

 

[Abilor]

Miller Lite Commish forgives you.

 

[Rotus8]

Since I didn't see this posted in this thread, if you get the Mazda Sirius receiver, it will be integrated with your stock head unit. And aftermarket Sirius receiver will have a separate tuner thingy you have to put somewhere. I am not saying you have to do this, just that the factory unit is a much cleaner install.

 

[Alexsered]

I used to be heavy into stereo competitions, going from SPL to SQ, I had more money in the my stereo at one point than my car was worth. So I knew a thing or two about stereos. So take my word for it when I say to get the wiring kit from WAL-MART yes, I said Wal-mart. Recently they started selling a wiring kit that is actually pretty high in quality, and for a very very cheap price. Go buy either a 8 guage or a 4 guage wiring kit from walmart and they have everything you need to wire up your stereo.

Did you have any more questions about hooking up the amp/sub?

The line driver is just hooked up by running the RCA from the head unit, to the LINE DRIVER and that from the LINE DRIVER to the AMP. That little LINE DRIVER will make the absolute biggest difference in your stereo, trust me.