fair point, I'm just being a grumpy guts cos I'm feeling rubbish. A browse never hurts.
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| Car audio - the fun part http://x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1861 |
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| Author: | ProfessorF [ Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:32 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
| fair point, I'm just being a grumpy guts cos I'm feeling rubbish. A browse never hurts.
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| Author: | HeatherKay [ Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
I would like to big-up Halfords, actually. We bought a head unit from them a while back, for our manky Vectra. We were sold an extra cable, which it proved we didn't need once we'd opened the box so I got a refund. Anyhoo, turns out the cable was required because of Vauxhall's wiring, since it switched the circuit to maintain power to the unit with the ignition off. So, I troll off to another branch to purchase said cable... Spotty youth, once I explained why I needed the thing, told me which wires on the back of the unit to swap, thereby saving me £20 and more bruised knuckles. He didn't have to tell me that, he could have made a sale. So, they might not be the cheapest around, but they do seem to have started getting enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. |
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| Author: | snowyweston [ Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:05 pm ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part | |||||||||
Arr see being an ex-retail monkey myself I'd have to say that's got nothing to do with the company - it's more than probable said acne-ridden yoot is quite disenchanted with his sales-driven-existence and wanted to see someone leave happy for a change! It's certainly how I conducted my time behind the cashier counter of Burton, Topshop, Topman, HMV & Virgin! 
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| Author: | Nick [ Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:47 pm ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part | |||||||||
Well, they've got 25 and 30 amp fuses in them. My basic understanding of the electrics (having done no research lol) is that I'm going to need a 55amp fuse close to the battery with some real juicy power cable to a distribution block which doesn't have to be fused? From there, two power cables (which don't have to be so juicy) running to the amps. I've really not looked into wiring yet, so I'm going to have a browse around 106owners.co.uk (yeah, I know  ) to see what I can find in terms of wiring guides. Hopefully I will uncover some gem of a thread with the best way to get the cable through the firewall to the battery, and an easy way to feed the power and RCA down the sides of the car.
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| Author: | saspro [ Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
Feed audio down the side of the carpet where the petrol tank is on & power down the other side to avoid interference and for safety. I'll have a look to see if I've still got my disty box & any other wiring in my lockup. |
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| Author: | Nick [ Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
Took a little trip down to MDC (motorist's discount centre) today and got the rest of the stuff. Got home and realised I had forgotten a ring for connecting the power cable to the battery! So tomorrow is the big day - I'm gunna go and get the connector, then get everything wired up!  I'm gunna pull out the front passenger seat and stash the distribution block and amp for the fronts under there, then figure out how to run the cables down to the boot from there. 
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| Author: | snowyweston [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:01 pm ] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Author: | Nick [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:39 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
Argh!! Neither MDC nor Halfords had the battery ring connector in stock today (quite possibly why I forgot it lol).  Don't worry snowy, when I do get the connector I will make sure there's a nice connection. I'm going to get some solder in there to make extra sure. I now have the new speakers in place, and the speaker cable running under the seat along with a remote cable. The only snag is there is no power cable.  Hmm, a good point about storing the amp up front. It won't fit under the passenger seat, but I could potentially have it under the hot-seat. I could screw the distribution block into the under-side of the dash and run power cables from there. I also have a question (mostly aimed at Veato, but I'm sure others will be able to answer it). Because I only have one output on my head-unit, that feeds into the amp for the fronts, and a pass-through takes it on through to the amplifier for the bass. That's not going to cause any sort of noticeably latency is it?? If so then I'll keep the amp for the bass in the back as it will mean shorter cables. |
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| Author: | snowyweston [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:58 pm ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part | |||||||||
Personally I would have gone the simpler route of using a Y-splitter for two runs of RCA cables - but then you could always try both (a splitter will cost only a pound or so) If you go the daisy-chained-amp route, the first frontend amp could (it depends on the circuitry and settings) be adding an additional layer of signal processing before it sends out the sub signal - which could colour/distort the signal feed to the sub amp (remember you want to keep all paths in hifi as short and as uncomplicated as possible) - but that's the fun of all of this - having a play to see what works best to suit you. Just be careful with your gains for the first few days - and believe in the audiophile mysticism of "running in" - it can't hurt to be cautious.
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| Author: | saspro [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:41 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
Spend £1 tops for a Y-splitter. You're not exactly going audiophile are you? I've still got loads of power disty stuff if you need it. |
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| Author: | veato [ Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:37 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part | |||||||||
Snowy thw Alpine has some pass-through jobbie (technical eh?) so you can run one RCA to that and a then one from the Alpine to the Kenwood. I had everything in the boot which meant I only needed a tiny RCA to reach from one amp to the other and a standard one from the HU to the boot. |
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| Author: | Nick [ Wed Aug 19, 2009 7:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
I know it's a looong time since the last post in this thread. But I've finally (what, a month later??) got the fronts and Alpine amp wired up. It sounds awesome compared to the 15 year old originals (surprise surprise) but I am looking forward to getting the sub in the boot. It took me foreeeever to get the power rings for the earth. In the end I had to go to a local electrical wholesaler who charged me £0.11 each. The only problem is that the amp doesn't fit under the seat *face palm*. I had been assuming all along that there would be enough space under there, and there isn't! Right now it's half under the seat and half in the rear passenger foot-space. There is one bar on the sub-frame stopping it from going in, and it's curved. I'm going to pop round to my mate who has a welding machine and ask him nicely if he would mind taking the bar off, then refitting it upside down.
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| Author: | veato [ Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:06 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part | |||||||||
Ah yes, the 106 But really, is it easier to cut up your car than just move an amp 
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| Author: | saspro [ Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:16 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
Fit it in the boot. |
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| Author: | Nick [ Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Car audio - the fun part |
Naaa, it's staying under the seat. For now it's sat covered infront of the rear bench rather than under the seat. Hopefully it won't be like that for too long!
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