Buying and installing a Sound System
 

Alright, so I'm planning to completely upgrade my sound system in my 95 accord lx. I plan on getting two amps, a problem I'm having an issue contemplating is whether it would be better to get a monoblock amp for my jl 13w3v3-4 and a four channel compact amp for my 6.5's and my 6x9's, or a 2 channel compact amp for my 6.5s and an amp for my 6x9s and subwoofer. which would be better? Also, I know how to set up a basic subwoofer by just running everything through the amp but I'm trying to do my vehicle the more advanced and correct way to get all the bang and quality for my buck. I would need someones advice on how to hook this system up. Do you think it would be necessary or wasteful to get a capacitor? If so how would I go about hooking the capacitor up? Would I hook it up to both amps or just one which one etc etc?

I would get a four channel amp for the speakers, and a monoblock for the sub. hooking all the wires up is pretty basic. makes sure the grounds are in a good location. try to attatch to a piece of metal that goes directly to the frame without any additional welds. The best bang for your buck out of your subwoofer is going to depend mostly on the box you put it in. the box is the biggest part of how a sub sounds.

I wouldnt waste my time with a capacitor. they do have their uses but your basic 1 farad capacitor you see everybody using is usually not hooked up for the correct reason and is usually just limiting the system. if you want extra power storage (which I would suggest) add a secondary battery.

I was wondering if I would need it so my lights don't dim out on me. I wouldn't want a second battery and my set up look a little on the ghetto side. Also, do the 6x9s and 6.5s have to draw the same watts because my 6.5s will draw 140 RMS watts and won't the four channel amp push the same amount of amps to each channel so if my 6x9s are different from my 6.5s somethings going to be lacking, right?

the front two channels of the amp are adjusted seperately from the rear channels. they can put out different amounts of power.

why would a second battery look ghetto? that is the correct way to do it.

a single farad cap, like the one you are more than likely looking at is not enough power storage to help you. it is just going to limit the amp draw to the amplifier which will minamilize dimming but also hurt the amperage going to the amp. in turn causing issues in the stereo. the battery is really the way to go. or a cap bank with a bunch of capacitors.

I just don't want to use another battery I haven't even looked at capacitors due to not knowing what to look for but moving on how would I go about hooking them up just hook the two separate amps to the battery, bridge them{I wouldn't think so right?), and how would I hook it up to the head unit it you know would I have the rear going to the monoblock or the compact, splice them to go to both or what?

powering the amps:
you hook up each amp like you were only hooking that amp up.

so hook up the four channel just like you werent going to put the mono block in. then you hook up the mono block just like there wasnt a 4 channel in there.

connecting to head unit:
Are you running a factory head unit, or are you running an aftermarket head unit? if aftermarket, I need to know how many pre-outs it has (rca plugs on the rear)

that's not how speakers work. speakers are rated for how much power they can handle before they melt.

amplifiers increase voltage at the speakers and provide a source of current. use of the volume control determines voltage and thus how much power is delivered. low-level volumes mean low voltages and thus low power - like a few watts.

you can install a 4 channel amp and a monoblock amp with stock electrical and be fine as long as you are smart with the volume control. research the big 3 and perform that upgrade.

I am using an aftermarket head unit and it has 4 preout RCA's top to go to the front and bottom two are rear-sw control. Also if I was adding a crossover only one is necessary right? And it would be an active crossover by the way. I was thinking of getting a power distributor that way I have one lower gauge wire coming through the firewall and the separate amp wires with their fuses plugged into it along with the crossover.

thats two pre-out. (4 plugs) 3 pre-outs woud be 6. I have never seen 4. it depends on how many inputs the crossover has and it settings to be able to say that you would only need one. if you got an eq you could for sure make it work with one set.

a power distribution block will not allow you to run a smaller wire through the firewall. you would need 1 larger wire that is then split into two smaller after the block.

The lower the gauge the larger the wire. How would I hook the preouts to separate amps