# Don't install aftermarket headunit in 280 watt system!



## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

Hey guys,
Just to let you know if you have the 280 watt, 9 speakers system the only way you can install an aftermarket headunit in it is to get an integrator and go down to 4 speakers, unless you get one with enough RCA outputs and amp everything and rewire everything. Most of you probably already knew this, so I'm just sharing it for the other guys that had never tried putting an aftermarket headunit into a car with amped speakers,  . Damn you Rockford Fosgate!! haha.


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## ccroaddog (Jun 20, 2002)

hmmmm i dont really know why u think this but i swear i heard a couple of guys over on b15sentra.net that put a new deck in and it still uses all 9 speakers


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

ccroaddog said:


> *hmmmm i dont really know why u think this but i swear i heard a couple of guys over on b15sentra.net that put a new deck in and it still uses all 9 speakers *


Well, I know that you could do it. Only, you would have to use an aftermarket amp or figure out some way to only send signal from an aftermarket headunit that is amped. But, then you would have to rerun all of your wires and such. I asked the installer at best buy and he told me I could buy what's called an integrator but that I would just unhook my factory amp and the integrator would allow me to power 4 of the 9 speakers from my aftermarket headunit. I don't know, I'll check out b15sentra.net and see. Thanks for the tip!


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

Hey everybody, 
I went to b15sentra.net and I found a post regarding the Rockford system and I thought I would share it with everyone. The guy that posted it thinks that it might be possible but it would be difficult. Here's what he said.

AUDIO FANATIC: 

The SE-Rs with the "Rockford Fosgate Audio Fanatic" package are a little bit more complicated than "lesser" B15s, but it's not too bad. The easy way to tell whether you have this package or not is to look at your radio...does it have the RF logo? If not, you don't have the RF package. The deck is different internally, too. More below... 

What makes the A/F package so special is the amp in the trunk. It's mounted on a bracket that gets bolted almost exactly where the 6.5" sub would go (driver side, under the tray, visible from the trunk but not the passenger compartment). I don't recall the output wattage of this amp, but it ain't great. It takes the pseudo-line-level signals from the deck, splits them a little bit, and sends a high-wattage signal to all "9" speakers; the four front components, the two rear coaxials (counted as 4 drivers by Nissan; how lame), and the 8" sub. Don't get me wrong, the A/F package is a nice kit, but it ain't worth the $600+ you probably paid for it. It is very nice for an OEM system, but for the same money, an aftermarket system would blow it's doors off. 

The RF package includes a special deck that does not have an internal amplifier. The physical plug on the back side of the deck is exactly the same as every other '95+ Nissan deck, but it doesn't carry speaker-level signals, it's some bastardization of the line-level standard. It's nearly 6v, which is weird, but it's not amplified enough to just run speakers. You cannot just plug this deck into a non-A/F Sentra and expect it to work. If you replace this factory deck, there is little harm in simply plugging it in as you would have with the "other" systems, but it won't be 100% right. You'll likely experience buzz, hiss, and pops because you're double-amping the signal; once in the deck and once at the amp in the trunk. Some of this can be tuned out with additional electronic gear, but you're adding cost and not improving sound quality. 

The best thing to do is to bypass the amp. There are two ways you can do this, I figure; bypass it entirely or bypass the main sections and keep your subwoofer. If you bypass the whole thing, remember, the sub will stop working, because it gets it's signals from the A/F amp, not from the deck. I'd propose that you build a wiring harness that goes between the chassis-side harness and the amp, but I have no idea how. The '02 Sentra FSM should have complete wiring diagrams, but it doesn't have a complete description of the plug's physical aspects, so this may be a lot harder than it sounds. 

Another interesting idea that has worked before is to use the aftermarket decks's RCA outputs to feed signals to the factory amp. A person with a good amount of electrical aptitude should be able to do this, but if you can't handle a soldering iron, you probably shouldn't do this yourself. Basically, instead of wiring the speaker pins of your adapter harness to the speaker pins of the deck, you wire those pins in the harness to some RCA-type pigtails. I'll draw a picture later.


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## Sentra_Industies (Oct 31, 2002)

Whenever you deal with factory amplified sound systems you have to spend a lot of money to upgrade it. They dont want you to do that.


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

Sentra_Industies said:


> *Whenever you deal with factory amplified sound systems you have to spend a lot of money to upgrade it. They dont want you to do that. *


It is quite difficult to figure out but I might have found a way. If I can get it all to work then I will post what I did so others have the option. I got sound today from my aftermarket headunit and all I've bought is the mounting bracket. Any ways, I'll keep everyone posted if I figure it out.


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## omega (Jun 27, 2002)

Well I don't know why the guy at that Best Buy told you integrator unless he was refering the the "Premium Factory Amp Integrator" which will take that signal from the aftermarket headunit and lower it down to a signal the factory amp can handle without any signal degradation or burning up the amp, which is standard policy for Best Buy to use on cars with factory amps.


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

omega said:


> *Well I don't know why the guy at that Best Buy told you integrator unless he was refering the the "Premium Factory Amp Integrator" which will take that signal from the aftermarket headunit and lower it down to a signal the factory amp can handle without any signal degradation or burning up the amp, which is standard policy for Best Buy to use on cars with factory amps. *


The guy told me that the integrator would take the system down to a 4 speaker system. He never really said what the integrator would do as far as like lowering the power or somehow bypassing the amp or what. I guess I could call and ask. Let me know if you have anymore info on how this would work. Thanks a lot!


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## omega (Jun 27, 2002)

well come to think of it the integrator is only designed for four speakers, but i'm guessing you could buy two and split the load on the headunit but thats trickey, no don't do that because that's not stable, i have to think about this one


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

omega said:


> *well come to think of it the integrator is only designed for four speakers, but i'm guessing you could buy two and split the load on the headunit but thats trickey, no don't do that because that's not stable, i have to think about this one *


Haha, now you see the dilemma I've been dealing with for a week and a half,  .


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

I got it to work, but the thing is that it is not as clear as the factory headunit was. I'm running all 9 of them from one output from the aftermarket headunit so it's not running enough power to really distort and make the speakers pop but they aren't as clear as they should be.


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Buy the smallest 6ch amp you can find and some passive 2way-crossovers. 

Then just cut all the speaker wires at the factory amp or where ever they are.

I'm only going on the description from the previous posts but I think it would work.
The hard part is finding the crossover points so you know what passive x-overs to buy. 
A little research is all... and maybe an electronically inclined friend or two.


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## FletchSpecV (Nov 26, 2002)

Sethticlees said:


> *Buy the smallest 6ch amp you can find and some passive 2way-crossovers.
> 
> Then just cut all the speaker wires at the factory amp or where ever they are.
> 
> ...


Haha, I think it's easier and cheaper just to put the factory headunit back in. Thanks though!


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## jmbernard73 (Apr 27, 2003)

the 8 inch sub carries a 15 watt rms load i found out from my buddy who owns a audioshop and the 280 is peak power handling for those who care


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