i like to think i know a bit about systems....but i gotta question...whats some general info about hookin a amp/sub up too a stock radio/cd player??? like will it still sound good and all that stuff....thanks

MattNificent

im not an expert on stereos either but im not sure how easy it would be to hook up and amp to a stock deck that old!!.........after you got it all hooked up it..all the stuff running out from the amp (i.e subs, 6x9's) would sound juat as good as if they were coming from a new $200 deck... i hope that helps!! Lee

ahh this aint for my elky....i gotta kenwwod in it.....my girl gotta ford focus(yeah yeah i know ford sux but what ya gonna do?) she dont really wanna different radio but she want some more bass......

o well then it is a newer deck so it would be plently easy to hook up an amp...just make sure you get one big enough...i have a 650 for my 2 10" subs and it is plenty but they will take more!! and also make sure you run all the wires so that they are unseen, but not all bunched up under the carpet....theres nothing worse than ugly wires stickin out or showing!!!! mines not perfect but i just got all mine and am still working to figure out how to make me a custom install!! also got through and look at some of the guys in the gallery's pics of their cars and stereos!! i hope it helps!! Lee

Hooking up an amp and sub to a factory radio will not give you the best sound quality. I'm not sure how many watts that factory head is pushing, but I can bet it's not enough to let your amp/sub live up to it's potential. It should sound decent enough until you can get an aftermarket head unit. I have a friend who just replaced his Silverado's factory head unit with an older Alpine and man, let me tell you, the difference was extremely noticable. He got better sound quality AND better bass. :cool:

But, to answer your question, the newer factory head unit in her Focus should be good enough if you want to just add an amp and a sub.

thanks yall....i been looking at the sutff and it says u get an adapter that uses the rear speaker wires....does this eliminate ur rear speakers or do you just splice it in????? cuz i dont think its gon sound that good with just speakers in the front and then alota bass in the back.....

If I understand what you're saying correctly, you shouldn't have to do away with the rear speakers. You'd just splice them and hook it into the adapter. Check and see if the manual says anything about the head unit having pre-outs. If it does, you're in luck. You'll just have to get an amp wiring kit for her car and run it from the head unit, under the carpet, back to the amp. If it doesn't have pre-outs, look into getting the adapter. It should come with instructions. Good luck! 8)

aight man thanks for the info....peace easy

MattNificent

They sell adapters that will adapt speaker wires run off the headunit to RCA outputs. They are not the best quality, but the best way to hook up an auxilary amp to a factory headunit. You can't just run subs off the rear channel speaker outputs that connect to factory speakers. There isn't enough power, and you will be playing full range through a low range sub. That would damage the voice coils. Look for speaker wire to RCA adapters, that is the best way to do it. -Matt

it's best to spend the extra 100 buck and be done with it. This is better than spending about the same in time and money to convert what you've got. Make sure that your head unit has rca jacks for the amp.

he makes a good point!! spend the money and get you a good deck!! then you only have to take it all apart once!! and it will save you alot of extra work!!! well i hope you get it all fixed up the way you want!!

i used to have a 89 cadilac that i hooked up 2 10's in a bandpass. i taped in to the rear speaker by splicing in new wires you don't have to give up your reatr speakers. the adapter is called a step down converter and it cost about $12 for 1. it didn't sound bad at all, because it didn't even degrade the rear speaker's sound. But i didn't have to take out the dash nor the deck, because i could get to those speaker's wires through the trunk. you won't be runing full range through subs if you get an amp with a built in crossover, which most amps come with now, even the low-budget amps.

ok i let her know...she dont want alot of bass but just more then what she got....i was thinkin like 2 10's in a sealed...

If you don't want a lot of bass just go with one 10" or 8" sub. I have a 10 and it is more than enough to give nice bass. Don't forget the elkies only have a small space that needs to be filled.

Since this is for a chicks car and she wants to just kick it up a notch, you could just get an 8" Bazooka (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Bazooka--Subwoofer-Tube--EL8A-/sem/rpsm/oid/14466/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) that already has an amp. It's only about $100 and wouldn't take up a lot of space. Check ebay for lower prices. :cool: