first time amp install and...

[Roundeye02]

well this was the first amp i have ever installed.i am using the stock hu. i am also using speaker level inputs. the amp is a mrp-f200. i have infinity speakers so i know they can handle the power, but the problem is i can hear a lot of noise when there is no volume, like i guess from engine. like when i rev or soemthing i can hear it from the speakers. i can even hear the turn signal from the speakers, its totally freaking me out. but when i give it some volume the sound is incredible, and i cant hear any of those things. what am i doing wrong?

 

[Vulcanon]

is everything grounded properly?

 

[Roundeye02]

i grounded it right behind the back seat. i think it was for the seatbelt. how can i check if its a good ground?

 

[aydu]

First thing to check is your grounding for the amp. Try another grounding point. It's best to use a point on the pan of the car with the paint sanded off; a bolt, nut and star washer for maximum contact with the body of the car.

One other thing is to properly adjust the gains on your amp. The gains will amplify the whole signal. If there is low level noise, it gets amplified too. Having the gains set too high will make noise really noticable that was always in the signal at an undetectable level.

I have two amps with my factory head unit (one for sub, a 4 channel for the speakers). I found that I got the best sound quality with the amp gains set very low. Unfortunately, this also gave me less volume than I wanted from the amps.

I ended up using a high quality adjustable line output converter to convert the speaker level outputs from the head unit to a signal that could be handled by the RCA inputs on my amp. This tended to boost the head unit's signal without increasing the noise.

I don't know whether I just used a connector that just had better shielding than the speaker level inputs in the amp, but it gave me the combination of quality sound volume I was looking for. The device I used was the Navone Engineering N-774V adjustable Hi-Q 4 Channel Adaptor. It is sold on the net via Dave Navone at:

http://www.davidnavone.com/index.htm

I think this item is their special this month.

 

[The_Flamming_7]

First off, why the hell are you using speaker level inputs? What deck are you using, MSP- Kenwood? You need RCA cables instead dude. The amp gets a cleaner signal using RCA's, this is why the voltages on decks matter. A 4V signal is the most common and does not produce an out of the ordinary noise. Do yourself a favor and buy a cheap deck, even a cheap Pioneer from Sears or something, something that has RCA outputs. Having proper ground is key to the amp performing well. Gain should not have anything to do with the extra noise, try adjusting the low-pass filters to a lower frequency. Are you using this amp for subwoofers or mids? If you are using it for subwoofers then make sure that the amp is set to "Low"(the high/low pass filter) because the subwoofers should not be responding to notes that should be accepted by the tweeters and mids.

If you have done all this and still experience these extra sounds then contact E.T. and ask him what's up because your system is ****** up.

 

[Roundeye02]

thanks aydu for the advice, and the flamming, you just need to calm down. it is a stock hu from a protege sedan. i know rca's can give me better sound quality, but i heard speaker level inputs can give you good sound also. i have no sub right now, i am using this amp to power 4 infinity kappas... i will be checking the grounds today...thanks for all the help

 

[1sty]

Roundeye02
The ground can be part of it but there are other potential issues.

Ground:
Scraping the paint away from the ground spot is essentail. Only go for metal to metal contact.
The ground wire should be the same size as the power wire and for this amp both should be 8 gauge, 10 Gauge is on the small side but won't cuase this issue.
Grounds should aways be made on the floor of the car. No side panels or rear deck nonsens. your described location of a seat belt bolt is the same spot I use for my almost 2000 watt rms system and i have no noise at all.

Speaker level inputs:
Even though not as critical as RCAs speaker level inputs should still be run away from power wires. Never run them next to each other for any longer then you have too. make sure you don't have a bad crimp or connection. If you do even a 1 ohm drop across a connection can cuase this.
Unplug your speaker level inputs and see if the noise goes away. If it does then the speaker level inputs are bringing in the noise. If that doesn't stop it then the power or ground wires are to blaim.

Power wire:
Needs to be the same gauga as the ground wire.
Also again make sure you have a good connection all the way through. I would use a multimeter to check impedance from the batteries + terminal to the end of the power wire at the amp.

 

[Sir Nuke]

Roundeye....YOU CAN get a good clean signal using the speaker level inputs....as I have nearly the same set up as you....I too have a stock head unit...the only difference is that I am running the 5 channel alpine amp and I am driving a sub. however.....I have NO NOISE....

I ran the power to the amp down the drivers side of the car, put the amp under the drivers seat...grounded the amp to the rear outside seat anchor point....and all the speaker wires from the head unit and back to the harness are routed from the dash, down through the console and back the same way....

nice clean signal....I love the set up.

 

[Roundeye02]

well i too ran the power wire on the drivers side along with the remote wire. and ran inputs and leads down passenger, because amp is in the trunk. i havent had time to mess with it yet, but i will.i didnt sand the ground spot before i grounded it, so i am going to try that. i am running 8 gauge power and 8 gauge ground. thanks for the help.

 

[Roundeye02]

i was just thinking...could the way i connected the power wire matter? i didnt have any kind of terminal adapter thing. i just stripped it and put the wires to the post and clamped it with stock battery clamp...could that be it?

 

[1sty]

i was just thinking...could the way i connected the power wire matter? i didnt have any kind of terminal adapter thing. i just stripped it and put the wires to the post and clamped it with stock battery clamp...could that be it?

Not likely.
As long as you got all the wire into the terminal and noting is hanging or strands just loose then your fine there.

 

[slamprotege5]

thanks guys, i have been reading this thread and have learned a lot. I don't know what you mean "speaker level inputs"????
I have an audio art 10" sub, and audio art amp in my closet, and i have just not installed them yet. My question is, I assumed that all i needed was the thing from circuit city to attach to the H.U. with RCA cables and hook my amp to that?? I was planning on just adding one amp, and one sub to my factory deck. Not been much on stereo, more on suspension stuff (love the feel of an awesome handling vehicle) but lately I am needing something to do to the P5 with minimal costs. I think the thing i need was like $30 at C.C. Great thread though, keep it up

 

[1sty]

thanks guys, i have been reading this thread and have learned a lot. I don't know what you mean "speaker level inputs"????
I have an audio art 10" sub, and audio art amp in my closet, and i have just not installed them yet. My question is, I assumed that all i needed was the thing from circuit city to attach to the H.U. with RCA cables and hook my amp to that?? I was planning on just adding one amp, and one sub to my factory deck. Not been much on stereo, more on suspension stuff (love the feel of an awesome handling vehicle) but lately I am needing something to do to the P5 with minimal costs. I think the thing i need was like $30 at C.C. Great thread though, keep it up

There are 2 ways to get audio signal from the head unit to the amp. Either RCA's which is prefered or speaker level. Speaker level means using the speaker wires from a headunit (factory or aftermarket) to the amplifier. Some amps have speaker level inputs meaning just the speaker wires can be brought right into the amp and never need to be convereted to RCAs. Otherwise you need a line-output-converter (aka LOC) to convert the speaker level signal to a line level signal which flows through RCAs.

 

[aydu]

All car amps will accept RCA inputs. These are the round jacks on the amp, colored red and white. They accept standard RCA ended cables that are used in car and home audio.

Some amps also have inputs for speaker leads. These are the speaker wires that come directly from the head unit. Many amps have some type of plastic molex connector that plugs into the amp on one end and has wires coming out of the other end. You connect the wires to the speaker leads coming out of the head unit.

Basically, speaker level inputs do what a separate line level converter does - just within the amp instead of a separate unit.

If you have speaker level inputs on your amp, try them. If you don't get the sound quality results you want, you can always pick up a line output converter and insert it between the speaker leads and the amp..

I initially used speaker leads when I added an amp to power my sub. It worked fine, but I found that I didn't get the desired volume from the sub. I ended up getting an adjustable line output converter which enabled me to adjust the signal level to where I wanted it before the amp got the signal.

Plenty of boom with this method. All depends on what sound you want and what you will be happy with. Most people probably would have been satisfied with the sound generated by the straight speaker level connections to the amp.

My problem with all audio is that I always want "just a little bit more" out of whatever system I have. Kind of like Spinal Tap having their amps go to "11" for that last little bit of volume that puts them over the top on those guitar solos.

 

[slamprotege5]

man, you guys are great. thanks for the info

 

[mazda3guy]

Amp install using factory HU

I am going to install an amp and dual subs to the factory HU. My question is: Where are you guys tapping in for the remote turn on if using the factory HU. Where are you tapping into the speakers to send to the line in converter?

Where is the Mazda3 factory amp installed?

Thanks
Rob

 

[mazda3guy]

Amp install with factory HU

Where did you tap into the factory speaker wiring for the LOC? Where did you tap in for the remote turn on?

Where is the Mazda3 factory amp installed?

Thanks,
Rob

First thing to check is your grounding for the amp. Try another grounding point. It's best to use a point on the pan of the car with the paint sanded off; a bolt, nut and star washer for maximum contact with the body of the car.

One other thing is to properly adjust the gains on your amp. The gains will amplify the whole signal. If there is low level noise, it gets amplified too. Having the gains set too high will make noise really noticable that was always in the signal at an undetectable level.

I have two amps with my factory head unit (one for sub, a 4 channel for the speakers). I found that I got the best sound quality with the amp gains set very low. Unfortunately, this also gave me less volume than I wanted from the amps.

I ended up using a high quality adjustable line output converter to convert the speaker level outputs from the head unit to a signal that could be handled by the RCA inputs on my amp. This tended to boost the head unit's signal without increasing the noise.

I don't know whether I just used a connector that just had better shielding than the speaker level inputs in the amp, but it gave me the combination of quality sound volume I was looking for. The device I used was the Navone Engineering N-774V adjustable Hi-Q 4 Channel Adaptor. It is sold on the net via Dave Navone at:

http://www.davidnavone.com/index.htm

I think this item is their special this month.

 

[sam1]

best place to tap into the speaker wires for LOC is right behind the deck. for the remote turn on, you can just splice into any accessory wire or use a relay and a switch(which is the best way). you can even take a wire straight off the battery for the remote turn on(as long as it has a fuse & a switch). as for factory amps, i dont think the mazda3 has one, at least not the sedan, but the hatchback might. not too sure about that, but i know my 3 sedan didnt.

 

[baknaffekt]

best place to tap into the speaker wires for LOC is right behind the deck. for the remote turn on, you can just splice into any accessory wire or use a relay and a switch(which is the best way). you can even take a wire straight off the battery for the remote turn on(as long as it has a fuse & a switch). as for factory amps, i dont think the mazda3 has one, at least not the sedan, but the hatchback might. not too sure about that, but i know my 3 sedan didnt.

If a remote wire can be run directly off the battery, would it be possible to just run the remote wire off the power terminal of the amp and into the remote wire connection terminal on the amp? Seems like this would be more or less the same thing.

 

[chuyler1]

Umm...in theory yes...but you also need a switch or it will drain your battery. Here's what you do when you have the stock stereo system...

Find the fuse in the fuse box that goes to the radio cluster. Pull it out and figure out which end has power (use a multimeter for this). Strip about 1/2" off the end of the remote wire and wrap it around one leg of the fuse. Stick it back in and make sure the leg with the wire is the non-powered side when the fuse is not in. Got it? They also sell little clips that you can put on the fuse that will do this...I just can't find them when I need one.

With this setup, the amp will turn on when the radio gets power (basically whenever the car is no but you aren't starting it). When you turn the car off the amps will turn off. However, when you turn the radio off but leave the car running, the amps will not turn off. You would need a switch and a relay for this situation...but how often do you drive with the radio off?