For the past few months I've been researching from scratch, learning a little bit about car audio at a time. I still have lots of trouble so I was hoping someone could help me out.

I've got a 2009 Accord EX-L Sedan and I'm interested in putting in an audio system. So far I've only installed the head unit, which is a Pioneer AVH-p3200dvd. I'd like to do the sub/amp next.

I'm nearly sold on Dual 10" Kicker L5 Solo-Baric subs in a ported enclosure.

The basic specs are:
900 Watts RMS (1800 peak) power handling; 4-ohm impedance

I've mainly been getting very confused when it comes to all the ways these subs can be powered. Browsing numerous sites I see people running them at different impedence levels, bridging their amps and whatnot. It leaves me a bit intimidated. I'm mainly looking for an amp that can solely power these subs for $300 or lower and still output good quality.

However, will having the subs hooked up to an amp yet not the speakers really overpower the highs? Will it sound bad? Any input you guys could provide me with would be greatly appreciated.

 

What you're looking to do is very common, add subs to a mostly factory sound system. Granted, the speakers in your Accord are better than years past, but still lack output.

If you have two Dual 4 ohm subs you have two logical options for wiring them:





if you buy a monoblock class D amplifier - rated for 1 ohm, you will probably get the most power for your money. An example is the Powerbass ASA1500.1 which can do rated power. With your budget, you can't expect to get much more than that.

Yes, your subs will be louder than your music. the speakers produce 98% of what you can hear, subs the other 2%. putting some effort and money into the speakers is what gives you a nice sounding system. Just adding bass gives you rattles and hearing loss.

in addition, the rear speakers will distort and eventually die from the increased pressure in the trunk. removing those rear speakers can certainly help increase bass in the cabin, while reducing the number of speakers you need to replace to 2. rear speakers would need enclosures to perform well with that much bass in the trunk.

what to get depends on your budget and expectations. A single sealed 12" located in the rear corner of the trunk (by taillights) can do wonders. You can maintain all of your trunk space and get loud enough to induce pain. This location works because it minimizes destructive interference and corner loads the sub. The result is pretty awesome and worth a try. If your goal is musical reproduction that is fast and accurate, it can deliver. But, if musical SQ is your goal - the SoloClassic12 would be better option than a L5. From a musical standpoint, i think L5's are pretty poor performers. The L5 is about loud bass at the expense of SQ (which is a popular option).

Don't let any of that discourage you. Get what will make you happy. Listen to as many well done setups as you can. Finding those can be tough - talk to installers at local shops. Ask to maybe audition a completed car. Once you hear what is possible, you will understand why some things are more important than others.

 

Great post with great information as usual Hope!

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Alright man, its really simple, Get the amp you want/can afford. For instance, I had two sony xplods in my old car, spent the money, got a 1000w amp, sure I could make it louder than a competitor, but you sound like your new to the car audio game, with that being said... If you go from stock speakers to that kind of power your going to hate it, if you get an amp that will maximize power, you'll have constant headaches, and with that type of power, things in your car will vibrate, including your side mirrors to the point you cant see, and it can be a lot to take in at once. So i downgraded to a 650w amp, and loved it, it still had the power, and gave me some time to ween into it, until I decided I wanted more power. My honest, experienced reccomendation... Get an amp that won't fully maximize your Watts, buy a used one, something non expensive until you decide whether or not, subs are truly a good fit for you, and your car.

When hooking up subs, its can be very simple. You can look at diagrams all day long, but if you don't know what your talking about, it can be like chinese symbols.

First off, Disconnect your Negative battery terminal, you don't want to electrocute yourself. First you must find the hole to run wires to you battery, usually located on the drivers side near the pedals. You must run your power wire, with a fuse attached to your Positive battery terminal. If you buy a combo pack with all the wire together the power is usually red. This wire will have to be run under the carpet, all the way to the trunk to your amp.

Next is your ground wire, it will be a short black wire, that you basically have to screw in to anything metal and this will provide the negative power.

Next you will have to hook up your aux. cables from behind your head unit, alllll the way back to the amp.

Finally, to be honest, i forget what the next wire is called. It'll be a little blue wire, and it will go in the wire casing for your headunit.

Put you head unit back in, set your amp to a safe level, and bump it up.

Hope I helped man.

 

Also to your second question, the bass from the subs will not overpower the treble even if you don't have aftermarket speakers in your car. Subs can provide a huge bass hit, but keep them tuned correctly and it will provide nothing but more of a live, personal sound.

 

To elaborate as "anything metal" is not accurate enough - the ground is actually the supply path for the amp's power - all you really need to know is that it's the most important connection you'll make. In a vehicle we use the metal in the car as the ground path. This connection to metal must be free of paint/dirt/etc., you don't want to use existing bolts (no seat bolts), you also want to use the thickest metal on the car - i.e. the floor or frame. Avoid thin metal supports that are bolted or welded.

The "aux cables" are called RCA cables. If you just add a sub, you'll have a pair of them running to the back. You can buy amplifier installation kits that include RCA's, or you can buy them separate.

The "little blue wire" is the remote turn-on and it connects to the blue/white wire on the back of your head unit.

When setting your gain, you should know what power level you're setting it to. We use a DMM and/or oscilloscope when we set gains so that we are sure we won't clip the amp. Amplifier clipping (google it) is responsible for blowing more subs than any other cause. There are methods of setting gain by ear, but it still requries you know what clipping sounds like to begin with.

When running cables - be very careful of any trim screws. When you go through the firewall, you'll need a wire grommet (streetwires has a nice one for cheap) to protect the wire from metal. Whenever a power wire passes through metal, it needs a grommet. You can see my build log for very detailed pics of how i've routed wires through the past few years.

For anyone new to the car audio field looking to DIY, research is key. You should understand how to apply Ohm's law, you should read all of the installation manuals, and include some of your own research. You need to learn what the symbols mean, etc. Otherwise, it ends up being cheaper to pay someone to do the work when you damage your new gear.

Don't be concerned about the subs overpowering your tweeters (treble). What you don't want the subs overpowering the midrange and midbass - most of the music. You want to hear the strings of an upright bass (regardless if you actually listen to that kind of music). You want to hear the bass guitar licks. Heck, just hearing vocals in general. And you don't want distortion - where it's so loud it sounds harsh and crackles. Common sense with the volume **** can prevent damage and distortion.

Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio, Hertz, Kicker, etc. have monoblock amplifiers that will suit your needs.

In the first post you mentioned some people recommending bridging an amp to the subs. To do that, you'd wire the two 4ohmDVC subs for 4 ohms like above, then use both channels on a 2 channel amp to power them in a bridged configuration. Bridging places a signal on both speaker wires, with one wire 180deg. out of phase. The result is two "hot" outputs, which provide a doubling of voltage (and a quadrupling of power). The problem with this is that finding the right amp for this is difficult, and usually more expensive. Sure, a 90's Orion HCCA could do 1 ohm bridged pretty well, but when you're new, you want things to be easy. Also, 2 channel amps are usually Class AB, much less efficient than Class D. While some may argue that Class AB sounds better - you'll never know the difference on the common sub install. Modern Class D monoblock amps are fairly inexpensive and are well suited for your needs.

 

I certainly don't want to sacrifice great SQ for bass. With that in mind I decided to check out the Kicker Solo Classic line and it seems to suit my needs better, thanks for the recommendation!

However, I'm mainly listening to hardcore/heavy rock with strong and fast double bass. Friends have always told me that I'd want to go with two 10" instead of one 12" and that the 10"s are more accurate in the first place. Would it be beneficial to get dual 10"s over one 12"?

The 12" would fit nicely in the trunk where you recommended yet the dual 10"s wouldn't. What would you suggest?

Thanks for all the help, you guys have been great!

 

your friends don't understand the physics of speakers. many people think larger subs are slower. that simply isn't true. 60Hz is 60Hz on any speaker. you can get SQ bass out of any size sub - 8's to 18's.

What happens is that people don't understand enclosure design, they toss large subs in the wrong box, give them too little power, then complain they don't "hit".

The SQ of a double bass requires a few things:
1. a proper recording and mix. the album must have dynamics, something of a rarity these days.
2. the sub must be in the optimal enclosure, with a Q around .707
3. the sub must be adequately powered by a clean amp that makes rated RMS.
4. the electrical system and wiring must be able to provide instant power without excessive voltage drop.

a single 12" in the rear corner can do anything you want it to do. the Solo Classic can fit the bill perfectly for you, just buy the right amp and make sure the enclosure is stout.

if you tossed a pair of 10's in the trunk facing back, as many do, you'll have less output and less SQ than a single 12 in the rear corner. just like real estate, SQ bass is all about location, location, location.

 

Alright, so would you still advise removing the 2 rear speakers when going with the 12" Solo Classic? Now that I'm going with a single sub would it be wise to buy an amp that can power both the sub and speakers?

Thanks for taking your time to help!

 

if you don't have an amp for your front speakers already, getting one is a good idea.

the single 12 will still pressurize the rear speakers unless you make enclosures for them. And then, you still want a path for bass. Given a limited budget, get the Dual 2 ohm Solo Classic and then get decent 1000W @ 1ohm Class D sub amp. (Such as a Powerbass ASA1000.1dx). Then invest in a 4 channel amp (Powerbass ASA600.4x) that can power front and rear speakers, or bridge the amp to fronts only. You could power the front speakers AND sub (wired in series for 4 ohm) off the 600.4x and see if 400W is enough for your tastes. But if you really want to FEEL the double bass you'll want enough power for dynamic punch. You could always start with the 4 channel and add a mono block later if you feel you need more power. You don't want to try to get every last bit of power out of the 4 channel as you could easily clip and damage the sub.

Just a thought. I would do exactly that if i were in your position. I would recommend those amps and that sub to friends. I've installed powerbass amps, i know their product engineer, i trust their product (despite being dirt cheap). they have decent engineering behind them.