Car Stereos: stock stereo, line output converters, car audio accessories

Question
i have a 2002 buick lesabre i dont want to get a new head unit i like the stock one thats in there. can i hook up an amp to my stock radio?

Answer
Hi John,

Sorry about the delay in answering your question.  You can certainly connect an after-market amplifier to a stock head unit.  There are two common ways to do this, but both involve making connections to the factory speaker wiring.   In your vehicle, the easiest places to get to the factory wiring are the kick panels, where the door wiring enters the conduits to run into the doors; and the speaker harnesses under the rear deck in the trunk.  Unlike many vehicles, your LeSabre probably doesn't have any accessible speaker wiring behind the factory radio, so there's no point in removing it.

Many amplifiers are equipped with "high-level" or "speaker-level" inputs, in addition to the standard RCA input jacks.  In this case, you can simply run wiring from the high-level inputs directly to the factory speaker wires.

If your amp doesn't have the high level input feature, or if you want a little more control over the input level, you can purchase a device called a line output converter.  This connects to the factory speaker wiring and converts the high-level audio signals to a low-level output that can be connected to the amplifier's RCA input jacks.  Many line output converters include built-in level adjustment, which can help match the factory head unit's output level to your amplifier.  More expensive models include built-in signal processing features, so you can play with the sound quality as well.

Line output converters can be found at just about any store that sells car audio accessories.

Hope this helps!

Brian