# small amp with no sub



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

OK,
I'm thinking of re-wiring my HU to my speakers. Here's my plan:

1) get a high quality, yet very small and inexpensive amp, to wire up my separates in my doors, and my coaxials in my rear deck.
2) place this under the passenger seat or somewhere similar (hope it doesn't get too hot).
3) Attach RCA cables to the amp and run them under the center console to behind the HU where I will pull out the tiny speaker wires, attach RCA connectors, and plug into the amp.
4) On the other side of the underside of the console I will run power to the amp. I don't know how much I need since I'm only running for the 8 speakers (4 tweets, 4 mids, although it's only 4 lines).
5) Of course I will run the RCA for the input under the console as well.

So I have 2 questions:
1) what is a good small amp (I don't intend on blasting the music, I just want a higher quality signal than the HU that will produce a more consistent sound) If not should I just forget the whole project?
2) do I need to wire though the firewall to the battery for this? Will I be drawing that much power?
I assume I don't need to unplug anything else from the HU so it still gets power, etc.

Seth


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

I'm guessing I'm going to need a 4 channel amp.

Seth


----------



## TheMadCheshire (Dec 30, 2004)

Speaker wires are not meant to have RCAs put on them. If you do this you can mess up the inputs on whatever amp you happen to get. What you wanna do is get a Line-Out Converter(LOC) and get RCAs that way. Basically an LOC takes the normal speaker lines and transforms them into a low-output RCA that the amp is meant to handle. Another option is finding an amp with "High-Level" input. The high level input will accept the speaker wires and no RCAs will be necessary(since you only need one input). However, the high level input will add money on the amp side, making it slightly more expensive. 
As for an amp. It looks like you'll need a 4 channel or a 2 channel capible of handling 2 Omh load.  Off the top of my head, can't think of any that are small and such. I know Alpine has a relatively small 50x4 amp for cheap. Now i donno if your speakers can handle that 50 watts, so thats another thing to consider when you look for an amp. The RMS of the speakers should be even or more than the RMS of the amp. Just remember, the RMS at 4 ohms is likely to be less than at 2 ohms Thus it is important to decided now so you don't overshoot your values later.


Edit: I forgot about your other question. Depending on what the amps current draw is(amps) you will need to get appropriate power wire. And yes, you will have to go through the firewall. There are grommets on both sides(Pass and driver) that can make this possible. I've run my power line on both sides at different times. I prefer diver side, but thats just because my battery is on my driver side. Thus, less wire, less expensive and i can spend a little bit more on that more-expensive wire that flexes nicely.


----------



## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

sethwas said:


> So I have 2 questions:
> 1) what is a good small amp (I don't intend on blasting the music, I just want a higher quality signal than the HU that will produce a more consistent sound) If not should I just forget the whole project?
> 2) do I need to wire though the firewall to the battery for this? Will I be drawing that much power?
> I assume I don't need to unplug anything else from the HU so it still gets power, etc.
> ...


Are you using an aftermarket or stock HU? What is your budget? What is the impedance of the speakers? Usually inexpensive and high quality are mutually exclusive, so I need some point of reference here. Yes, any amp other than a total POS will need a dedicated power wire running to the battery. Find something that goes through the firewall (like wiring/hood release cable or similar) and follow it with the power wire.


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Ok,
I'll be more specific:

I have a blaupunkt HU which has both RCA and speaker outs. The RCA are low level.
All my speakers are blaupunkt as well. I'll get the specific specs later tonight.
I don't plan on spending more than $50 on a used amp. The brands I'd like to stick with are JBL, Alpine, blaupunkt, kenwood, etc. no sony or pyle.
Ebay has a ton of choices.

The reason I mentioned rca for speaker was I was writing too fast and got confused. The speaker wires (probably 22 guage if I'm not mistaken) will not be re-wired, they will run straight to the amp. The RCA will only be between the HU and the AMP, and even then most amps have choices of RCA or not. I'll just have to extend the wires regardless.
I'm not going for a crazy high end system. I'm just looking to clean up the audio signal. If this won't do it, by adding too many cables and extensions in the line, then I'll forget about the whole thing.

Seth


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

OK,
blaupunkt hollywood C30. the speaker outs on the HU are 4ohm each.
I've got 2 red/white rca pairs out as well, plus a 12v.
http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/Products/Archive/Hollywood C30.htm


My rear speakers are PCxt652's. They are coaxials. 50w rms if you care but wattage means nothing (I do HT and 600w for a sub is monstrous while it's a pittance in car audio due to different design parameters). it's also 4 ohms a speaker. I have TS parameters if you care, but it's a free deck in the B14 so it doesn't matter.
similar but not the same:
http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/Products/Archive/TSx652.htm
fronts are similar to these, just the previous model year:
http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/Products/Archive/TSc650.htm

Seth


----------



## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Sounds good, but I am skeptical about a good amp (even used) for $50. Hopefully I'm wrong.


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

I'm really flexible there, but $50 was my ballpark. I don't care if it's an older model. Just as long as it's got the right connections and will fit under the passenger seat.
Check ebay now, show me what you would have in mind?

Seth


----------



## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

maybe something like this: this is new, ebay might be cheaper
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13987


----------



## TheMadCheshire (Dec 30, 2004)

My bad about the LOC. it souned like you needed one. uhh... As for amps: check ebay. $50 for a new one won't happen. But goodluck. I'll letcha know if i find something


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

yeah,
i'm not looking for new (with audio equipment it never really pays).

Here's a question. How important is it for it to be wired to the battery? I mean, laptops and emergency lighting and you can even jump a car from the cigarette lighter, so why can't I run it off that. THis won't be a high power thing, just in addition to the HU. I can still put an inline fuse but the cigarette lighter has it's own fuse.

Seth


----------



## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

sethwas said:


> yeah,
> i'm not looking for new (with audio equipment it never really pays).
> 
> Here's a question. How important is it for it to be wired to the battery? I mean, laptops and emergency lighting and you can even jump a car from the cigarette lighter, so why can't I run it off that. THis won't be a high power thing, just in addition to the HU. I can still put an inline fuse but the cigarette lighter has it's own fuse.
> ...


Ok, look at it like this... a 50 watt x 4 channel amp putting out full power is 200 watts. Any full range, inexpensive amp is likely a class AB, which means its probably 50% efficient. This means input requirements are around 400 watts in, divide by 12 volts is roughly 33 amps input. Now cross reference that against the length of wire you are tapping into and its gauge to know the total load that cable can carry without melting. Don't forget to add in everthing elses power draw that that cable is serving. Remembember too that whatever fuse is inline for that cable is likely to be the maximum safe fuse for the wire, put a larger one in and you might have a fire under your dashboard. But instead of doing all these calculations, I would rather just run to Lowes and buy 15' of 8ga cable (dirt cheap). Running this into the engine bay would make life easier, imho.


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Yeah,
I figured. I guess I'll see which grommet's I can use.

Seth


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

I think I'll save myself a trip and get myself a $20 amp wiring kit on ebay.

Seth


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Here's the total:
$60 Pioneer Premier Amp ebay
$30 RF amp wiring kit ebay
$10 second pair of interconnects for the front channels (since the kit was for 2 and I have 4)

Should arrive in a few days.

Seth


----------



## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

If you are gonna get a cheaper amp, you could go with a Scosche Wiring kit which is alot cheaper. They have it at Wal-Mart...

Also MTX makes some pretty good amps.


----------



## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Well,
I already paid above.

Seth


----------

