New Subs wll come with questions

[gmcjohn]

I met with my dad's mechanic the other day and he has 2 basically brand new JL 10" subs already in a box. He says he wants $200 for them (from my research it seems like a very reasonable price.) I am buying them and a new head unit- the kenwood ddx514 refurb from crutchfield for $410 with a 5 year warranty inculded. All I need to figure out is my amp situation. I know nothing about how much power I need or how much they should cost. I am planning to run two amps- one to the subs and a second to the speakers. I have read installation guides and what have you but I am unsure of some pretty basic details. If i hook up one of the amps to the headunit will it power the door speakers without me running lines to the door speakers or do I have to run wires from the amp to anywhere I want the sound?

 

[BlueTahoe2001]

I met with my dad's mechanic the other day and he has 2 basically brand new JL 10" subs already in a box. He says he wants $200 for them (from my research it seems like a very reasonable price.) I am buying them and a new head unit- the kenwood ddx514 refurb from crutchfield for $410 with a 5 year warranty inculded. All I need to figure out is my amp situation. I know nothing about how much power I need or how much they should cost. I am planning to run two amps- one to the subs and a second to the speakers. I have read installation guides and what have you but I am unsure of some pretty basic details. If i hook up one of the amps to the headunit will it power the door speakers without me running lines to the door speakers or do I have to run wires from the amp to anywhere I want the sound?

Had the same issue with mine. Just installed a Sub and Amp as well.

Where are you getting your aftermarket HU from? Crutchfield? If so they will provide the installation gear needed to adapt the new HU.

Now, There will be a Blue / White striped wire from the back of the head unit harness that will need to be attached to the Blue Wire on the adapter plug from the GM harness. Make sure you also attach the AMP/Power wire to that same place as well. So 4 wires in all should be attached then use a crimp cap to tie them together.


Hope this wasn't too confusing. lol...

If you need any help shoot me a PM and I can give you my phone number to help you out and make it a little easier.

 

[vatahoelt]

I met with my dad's mechanic the other day and he has 2 basically brand new JL 10" subs already in a box. He says he wants $200 for them (from my research it seems like a very reasonable price.) I am buying them and a new head unit- the kenwood ddx514 refurb from crutchfield for $410 with a 5 year warranty inculded. All I need to figure out is my amp situation. I know nothing about how much power I need or how much they should cost. I am planning to run two amps- one to the subs and a second to the speakers. I have read installation guides and what have you but I am unsure of some pretty basic details. If i hook up one of the amps to the headunit will it power the door speakers without me running lines to the door speakers or do I have to run wires from the amp to anywhere I want the sound?

i just picked up the same DD off amazon. hopefully it gets here soon.

if you're going to use 1 amp to power the door speakers, you're going to need to run all new wire to them. also, i thought i had read somewhere that they 1ohm. so make sure you're amp can handle the weird rating.

 

[pittmanb8]

I have the head unit you mentioned and it is a good deal. In fact, Crutchfield has it in the outlet for $369.

As for the amp and speaker question- I would suggest a killer amp that crutchfield has on sale right now- Polk Audio PA1100.5 This is a 5 channel amp that will run your door speakers and sub. I would suggest that you run all new speaker wires to your door speakers.

 

[vatahoelt]

I have the head unit you mentioned and it is a good deal. In fact, Crutchfield has it in the outlet for $369.

As for the amp and speaker question- I would suggest a killer amp that crutchfield has on sale right now- Polk Audio PA1100.5 This is a 5 channel amp that will run your door speakers and sub. I would suggest that you run all new speaker wires to your door speakers.

how do you like the ddx514? what, if any factory options did you keep when you put it in?

i'm debating on steering wheel controls or just getting a remote.

 

[ROBERTOcritser]

what subs are they exactly? W0, W1, W3, TW5, W6, W7 (I doubt W7's) Knowing this is pretty crucial to what amp you need.

 

[TnTahoe]

First off I would look elsewhere for audio equipment because crutchfield is pretty high, check out onlinecarstereo.com, If you are not gonna replace the door speakers then I would just run them off of the headunit, but if you do decide to use an amp for the door speakers then yes you would have to run wires to all of the speakers, and as far as finding an amp for the subs, I usually look for an amp that can meet or exceed the rms for the subs, so say the subs can handle 150 rms each then I would get an amp that can supply 300 rms or more, and i typically use mono amps for my subs, and you also have to keep in my the different wiring options of the subs as well so if you can give more info on the subs that would be helpful

 

[fatnlowtahoe504]

First off I would look elsewhere for audio equipment because crutchfield is pretty high, check out onlinecarstereo.com, If you are not gonna replace the door speakers then I would just run them off of the headunit, but if you do decide to use an amp for the door speakers then yes you would have to run wires to all of the speakers, and as far as finding an amp for the subs, I usually look for an amp that can meet or exceed the rms for the subs, so say the subs can handle 150 rms each then I would get an amp that can supply 300 rms or more, and i typically use mono amps for my subs, and you also have to keep in my the different wiring options of the subs as well so if you can give more info on the subs that would be helpful

X2 but you really dont have to run all new wires to the doors, you really only need to if your going to be putting alot of power to them, and you can just catch the wires behind the radio to run to the highs and amp, you will have to use 2 sets of RCA cables (one out of the high output and one out of sub output). also as said only put a amp on the speakers if your going to change them out, you will blow the factory ones out the door. Crutchfield is expensive as said so you will save a **** load of money if you just find a place on caraudio.com but as far as sub amp goes you need to tell us what JL subs they are so we can tell you what a good amp to go with is....

 

[pittmanb8]

I really like the DDX514. I ended up not keeping any of the factory options. At first I tried the Bose interface but didn't like the whining sound that I could not get out- I tried different grounding, ground loop isolators, etc. After that failure, I ordered new speakers and ran new speaker wires from the head unit to all new speakers. I have never used steering wheel controls so I don't miss that one bit.

 

[gmcjohn]

Thanks for the info fellas. I am still uncertain of the subs because the guy didn't know what they were and was planning to take them out and have a look. If I just run the door speakers off the head unit will the bass from the subs drown out the rest of the music?