15 Inch Subwoofer Install on MY05?

[jfoti1993]

Hi, I have a 2005 Subaru Liberty GT, i'm not an expert with what amp to get or what head unit to get so i am a bit puzzled.

I currently have a Blaupunkt 15inch Subwoofer:
http://www.continentalimports.com/odwa1500.html


The reason i am using this subwoofer is a family friend just passed it down to me, and i don't exactly want to purchase one, i do realize that you may be able to get more powerful ones for a reasonable price but i honestly don't want to purchase one. My question is:

I have the Mcintosh sound system for the liberty, now, getting an amp that will power the sub really well, one, what amp would be good to just power the sub by itself and 2, i would definitely need to upgrade the head unit? i know it may be a stupid question, and if i do need to replace it is a touch screen the only way to go? Thank you.

[mihai]

I have the Mcintosh sound system for the liberty, now, getting an amp that will power the sub really well, one, what amp would be good to just power the sub by itself and 2, i would definitely need to upgrade the head unit? i know it may be a stupid question, and if i do need to replace it is a touch screen the only way to go? Thank you.

1. In regard to what amp to power the sub, you would need to look at any amp that can provide at least (but preferably more) than 500W RMS into whatever impedance it is rated at. I can't find the impendance of the coils online, however if for example each coil has a 4 ohm impedance, then you would want an amp that can provide 500W RMS into 2 ohm (4ohm in parrallel with 4ohm gives 2 ohm total impendance). If you can measure the impedance of each coil and get back to me then I can give you a slightly better answer. (To do this, just get a multimeter out, set it to ohms and connect the probes to one set of positive and negative terminals. Repeat on second set to make sure they are the same and report back).

2. You dont NEED to upgrade the headunit, but it is advisable to upgrade the headunit. And you can use a single din headunit (ie non touch screen) however then you would require a single din pocket or blanking plate. Most people go for double din touch screen as it seems to look more factory than having a pocket or blanking panel. The other thing is that if you do upgrade the headunit, you will need to replace the amp under the seat that powers the rest of the speakers. Which will mean you will be running 2 amps (a 4channel and a mono block). HOWEVER! If you are going to replace the headunit, and you do need to replace the amp, then i would recommend getting a 5 channel amp. This will be enough to power all your speakers in the car and the sub that you linked above (provided you get the correct 5 channel. At the moment, the only 5 channel that I know of that will provide the power required by that sub is the Alpine PDX-V9. The beauty of the V9 is that it outputs the same power to a 2ohm or 4ohm load. Here is a link to the alpine site: http://alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=273

Personally, I'd upgrade the headunit to something with a bit better sound quality and more features and chuck in the above PDX-V9 amp. Then you will be set!

[deadlegs]

Having gone through this process myself you don't actually have to get a new amp to replace the factory one or replace the head unit. All the info and advice mihai gave you is good and I would upgrade the whole lot too if I had to do it again but, I bought some good pioneer component speakers for the front and some rockford fosgate coaxial speakers for the rear (waste of time.... the rears aren't worth changing....) and ran them off the factory amp and they sounded great. I think you would have to be a real audio guru to not be happy with how it would sound.

Upgrading the sub, however, was a bit trickier. I ended up going with a alpine 420 watt mono block amp that could convert the already powered signal from the factory amp into a usable signal for the alpine amp. I'll have a look at what type it is in the morning (I'm at work right now). After having all this installed the alpine amp had no trouble powering a single coil 4 ohm 15 inch MTX sub woofer.

Having said all that though, my sub wasn't 500 watts RMS! It was only 350 or there abouts......

Just saying that there are ways to get a good to great sound from the factory mac system without coughing up big dollars to upgrade everything. Where do you live Joseph? Your best bet would be to ring or go and see a good installer, not jb hi fi or auto barn, and ask their opinion.

Good luck
Adam

[mihai]

Upgrading the sub, however, was a bit trickier. I ended up going with a alpine 420 watt mono block amp that could convert the already powered signal from the factory amp into a usable signal for the alpine amp. I'll have a look at what type it is in the morning (I'm at work right now). After having all this installed the alpine amp had no trouble powering a single coil 4 ohm 15 inch MTX sub woofer.

What Adam is talking about is 'High Level Inputs' or 'Speaker Level Inputs' to the amp. Some amps have them, most do not. If the particular amp you buy doesn't have these inputs, then you will require a Line Out Converter (LOC) to convert the 'High Level Output' of the McIntosh amp to a pair of RCA's that can then go to the amp.

[deadlegs]

Upgrading the sub, however, was a bit trickier. I ended up going with a alpine 420 watt mono block amp that could convert the already powered signal from the factory amp into a usable signal for the alpine amp. I'll have a look at what type it is in the morning (I'm at work right now). After having all this installed the alpine amp had no trouble powering a single coil 4 ohm 15 inch MTX sub woofer.

What Adam is talking about is 'High Level Inputs' or 'Speaker Level Inputs' to the amp. Some amps have them, most do not. If the particular amp you buy doesn't have these inputs, then you will require a Line Out Converter (LOC) to convert the 'High Level Output' of the McIntosh amp to a pair of RCA's that can then go to the amp.

That's the one! Thanks mihai

[deadlegs]

I just had a look at my old amp, it's a Clarion APX 1301, not Alpine
But it did the job really well.

[Jap_spec]

Sorry to dig up an old thread.

I just bought 2004 GT, and I want to upgrade my sound system.
Iv got subs and mono amp and 4 ch amp which taken out of my old car.
I just don't really feel like doing the whole head unit work, so is there any chance I can run those goods without replacing a
Stock head unit?

Thanks

[<GB>]

im looking at doing this with my car as I don't really want to remove the stock unit I will be using the http://www.audison.eu/index.php?page=product&id=42 its expensive but really good you can get other brands cheaper

[Scratchy]

Sorry for bumping this thread, but all this Gen 4 audio stuff seems a little daunting...

I've found a fair bit on the sub and amp installation but im a little confused how it goes into the existing headunit if i choose to keep it. I'd really like to re install my kicker 2x12' sub and amp from my gen 3 into a gen 4 should i buy one next weekend, are there RCA outputs in the headunit? How would I go about it? When everyone says "or just buy a new headunit" can you get any double-din? Presuming you have to spend loads on a facia in this situation.

The car in question for me is a 2006 3.0R-B

[seanmau5]

No there isn't any RCA outputs in the McIntosh head unit, you need a line out converter.. It says so up there^^^

The fascia is around $400 and will house most standard double din head units.

[erks]

If you have the basic soldering skills its really a simple task.
I opted with keeping the Mcintosh head unit (with Anycar link), using a LOC put in a new amp.
If you go with that option you get to keep the steering control functionality.

http://nzlamb.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/ ... formation/
This should help with the wiring up of the LOC