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Followup To
Question -
My brother in law (the person that installed my speakers and amp)told me that the amp is taking up all the power from my CD receiver. So basically all the power is going into my rear speakers and there is hardly any power for my front speakers. What would you suggest I do? I'm thinking about buying a Sub and connecting my amp (Boss Audio, 2 Channel, 600watts) to the sub instead of the rear 6x9s that it is connected to now. Then I would just have my CD receiver power all 4 of my speakers. Do you think this would have my system sounding good? I still have 2 factory speakers in the front, and like I said I have new Pioneer 350watt 6x9s in the back. My CD receiver is a Boss Audio, 4x50 watt system.
I'm just kind of upset because I have pretty much nothing coming from my front speakers anymore, even if I move the fader totally to the front. Granted, I bought the amp because I wanted to have more sound coming from my back speakers since they are more powerful and new, but there is absolutely no power for my front speakers. I think my system would sound better if I also had sound output coming from my front speakers. What would you suggest I do?
Thanks a lot for your help,
Brian Recker
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Followup To
Question -
Recently I replaced my rear speakers in my car with Pioneer 350 watt 6x9 speakers. I also had a new 600 watt amp installed to power the 6x9s. However, my two front speakers now hardly produce any sound at all. Is it because my CD player is sending all it's power to the amp that's powering my rear 6x9s? Even when I adjust the fader and put all the music to my front speakers, it is still hardly audible (very very quiet). Do you have any suggestions, or what should I do to get the sound quality back in my front speakers? Thanks!
Answer -
Hi,
If the deck is all that is powering the front speakers, the problem is likely just a lack of power up front (when compared to the 600 watts in the back). No matter how you stack it up in that configuration, the fronts will seem very weak due to the lessor power going to them.
But since you 'had' the amp installed.. that installation person would be the one to talk to 1st as to your situation. If it was a professional, it may be a simple problem to fix because they would best know what is in there and what to do to cure it.
I am sooo guessing here, as I do not know jack about your specific installation, the rest of the system components or its' setup, but:
IF the 600 watt amp is only a 2 channel design, I am sure they would agree that another dedicated 2 channel amp for the front speakers would be the best cure.
IF it is a 4 channel design, they can simply adjust its' outputs/settings properly and you will be ever happy.
If it wasn't a pro (and with these results, I am starting to doubt they are)... this would be a good time and reason to get one. Improper wiring can burn brand new vehicles to the GROUND [and I can gaurantee you that your insurance will not cover it]. If one spends less money to avoid a pro.. they will oftentimes end up with less than what they expected.... sometimes LOTS less. :(
The reality Brian, is that is very difficult to patch up something that is not explained to me fully. Even then, it may be easier [there] to start over with a full analysis of the gear you are using (by me) and a ground-up system rewire, but I would still need all the specifics (at a minimum...brand names and exact model numbers) of each piece of your system before I could start giving what I would call good sound advice.
Sincerely,
Jerry Mael
Answer -
well.. I am listening very closely and I do not mean to disrespect your brother in law! He obviously is not real fluent in this if that is all he can say.
HE needs to better define "the amp is taking up all the power from my CD receiver"
Amplifiers do NOT 'use up' power from the head unit.
Head units should only provide a small line level musical signal which the amp then 'amplifies' to a higher level using power from the alternator or the battery (uses battery only if the car is turned off).
I mean, as to the musical signal getting to the poweramplifier:
A) RCA LINE SIGNAL
If the amp has only two RCA lineouts.. then you can use a set of 'y' jacks to allow additional RCA connection to a second amplifier.
B) SPEAKER LEVEL SIGNAL
If the deck does not have RCA outs then you would likely be using the [rear] speaker wires from the deck to provide signal input to the new amp. If that is the case, you still have a second pair available for the fronts!!? (which should be as loud as they ever were [despite the new louder ones in the back]):P
So, I see no feasible reason for "the amp is taking up all the power from my CD receiver" to be the case.
If the input signal of the amp is wired in ANY other manner, then it needs to be redone.
Otherwise, you may have fouled up the receiver poweramps.
BTW you did not provide a single model number!!!
At this point making that amp do subsonics may the best and simplest route to good sound.
Sincerely,
Jerry Mael
Hi Jerry,
I am going to give you the info on everything I'm using. First off the equipment is in my '93 Chevy Cavalier. My rear speakers are Pioneer TSA6980R 6x9 4way 350 watt speakers. My amp is a Boss RT345 2CH 600 watt RIOT amp. My CD Receiver is a Boss 3125R In-Dash Receiver. My two front speakers are simply factory (only thing I didn't replace). I was thinking that the amp wouldn't be taking any extra power from the receiver so I was wondering why my two front speakers are hardly audible? Could it be wiring or could there be something wrong with the CD Receiver? Before I had this audio equipment put in, all I had was an old Pioneer CD receiver hooked up to my 4 factory speakers and that's it -- and the front speakers worked fine. It's like you said, the fronts should be as loud as they ever were, which they are NOT. Hopefully this info will help. Please let me know if there is any other info you need to help me solve this problem. Thanks a ton!
Answer
Of course I cannot find much info on the head unit since it only costs about 75.00.. typical :(
"Number of Pre-amp Outputs 1
RCA Connectors Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 )"
This tells me that the deck has only one pair of RCA outputs.
Does it also have subwoofer output?
This brings me back to what I already said about adding another power amp to run the fronts:
A) RCA LINE SIGNAL
If the amp has only two RCA lineouts (1 set).. then you can use a set of 'y' jacks to allow additional RCA connection to a second amplifier.
This should not affect the front outputs at all if wired properly.
They do not explain how the fader works in different configurations either. :( This equals a signifigant lack of information to help you wire it, sight unseen. But, the easist resolve now would be to use Y jacks on the RCA's and add a 30watt per chanel amp to the front speakers.
You will not be able to fade from the head unit, but can set the front to rear 'mix' at the amps. And mostly, the front speakers will indeed get louder.
I hope this helps.. I know it is not very in depth, but an in-depth lack of factory specifications by the manufacturer makes it even more difficult to give you the perfect answer.
Jerry
One other thing to check on the head unit before you go spend money on another amp.
It may have a small switch located on the side or on the back that is for different fader options. If it has no such switch.. see above.
