Car stereo install and design questions.

[EDiT]

Well, I have all of my new car stereo gear on the way, and am trying to figure out how to best mix it with my existing gear. I'm looking for the best sound I can get out of my equipment without buying (much) more. Here's what I have:

1 Kenwood MP3 deck with Front & Rear pre-outs
1 Sony XES-M3 Mobile ES Amp (500W RMS I think. Don't know any more than that)
1 Kenwood KAC-849 Amp (50x4 @ 4 ohms, 75x4 @ 2 ohms)
1 Sony 30x2 @ 4 ohm amp (Not worth using anymore?)
2 Infinity Kappa 60.5CS 6 1/2" Component speakers (Front)
2 Infinity Kappa 42.5l 4" speakers (Rear)
2 Fosgate Subs in a Bandpass box
1 AudioControl 2XS two-way crossover
1 1.2 Farad Cap
2 long RCAs
18 ft 4GA wire w/ 60A fuse
125 ft 16GA monster cable for the speakers


Now for the questions:

1. I'm not sure how to best leverage my crossovers, since there is one in the Kenwood amp, plus my 2xs, plus the one for the Kappa components. I believe the Kenwood amp has sub out, so should I run my sub amp off there?

2. How should I wire the power? I am thinking 4GA to a distribution block, one 8GA to the Kenwood, another to the Cap, and from the cap to the ES amp? I'm guessing, so please tell me if there is a better way? I've never used a Cap, so it's all sort of new to me. Also, any good places to pick up a distribution block? I'm over budget, so I'd like to hear other options than the $25 one from Ultimate Electronics if there are any.

3. I've always heard talk of bridging, and different ways to maximise power. Any thoughts on this? Particularly, I'd like the best sound possible from my sub, but do not know how to achieve it. It was previously hooked up mono with two wires on each terminal on the amp, one going to each sub. Is this bridging?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[bmacd]

i'm too lazy to respond. Bump for the weekend crew.

-=bmacd=-

 

[rival]

i duno jack about stereos, but that seems like overkill, 3 amps for a car? cmon man, and #4 wire for it? dayum thats like 100 amps or sumthin

 

[T2T III]

Not to get into your other questions, but does your Kenwood head unit have a subwoofer pre-out? If not, have you made plans to control the sub levels by another method from the driver's seat while driving your car? I only ask this because my last 2 head units have had subwoofer pre-outs and I liked having the ability to control my subwoofer levels from the head unit itself. When making purchases, I have looked past the Kenwood head units because they didn't have this feature.

Good luck with your installation - you've got a lot of equipment on the way. Take your time during the install and I'm sur things will look (and sound) real sweet once you're done.

 

[virtuamike]

Here's how I'd run it if the Kenwood deck has only front and rear outputs:

Run the front output of the deck to the Audiocontrol crossover. One output of the crossover goes to the Kenwood amp, the other goes to the Sony. I'd bridge the Kenwood and run it as a 2channel to power the fronts (check the manual on how to bridge it, they should have wiring diagrams). The Sony would power the rears. Use the Audiocontrol highpass to fine-tune the fronts and rears (I'm guessing the fronts can play down to 60Hz, the 4" prob can't get past 120Hz). Disable the crossover on the Kenwood and Sony amp.

Run the rear output of the deck to the Sony ES amp and use that to drive your subs. Set the crossover on the ES amp to around 80Hz, that should sound decent. You'll lose the ability to fade between front and rear but you gain the ability to controll your bass output.

I dunno if you'll even need the cap, but if you insist then put it before the Sony ES. Your sub amp should be drawing the most power. And yes, get a distribution block to run your power.

As far as your sub goes, I'm assuming the Fosgates are wired in parallel (should give you a 2ohm load if they're 4 ohm drivers). Parallel means postive from driver 1 goes to positive on driver 2, negative from driver 1 goes to driver 2. Run them in mono with your ES amp and you should be fine, it should be able to handle a 2 ohm load.

** edit **

wje - The higher Kenwood models have subwoofer output. I've been shopping for an MP3 deck for my car, most likely I'll end up with the KDC-X659, only 299.99 + shipping at etronics.

 

[EDiT]

Thanks for the layout virtuamike. I only have a couple of questions about it.

The Audiocontrol has high pass and low pass outputs. I don't know if there is a way to tweak the frequencys. If not, where does that fit in then?

Also, the ES amp does not have a crossover built in(that's why I originally bought the AudioControll).

I am reading this on the Infinity site: "Computer-Optimized Voice-Matched Passive Crossover ? Each Kappa multi-element loudspeaker comes with an outboard crossover that has been voice-matched to ensure that it will integrate seamlessly with other Kappa models." Does that mean I don't neccesarily need a crossover, or am I misunderstanding that. Link

Let me ask this, what if I change your design a little by running the front straight to the Kenwood, and let its internal crossover and/or the one that comes with the Kappa components handle those speakers. Then run the rear to the AudioControl, run the low pass to the ES amp, and the high to the other Sony? Would that make sense?

Another concern would be if the 30x2 will be enough to drive the rear speakers. They're rated at 50 RMS, 150 Peak, so I had previously thought the 30x2 would be too little. Do you disagree?

Since I do like fader control, and don't mind using the bass level controll in my deck to adjust the sub level, how about this layout? Run front and rear to the Kenwood. Power front and rear off that, using the kappa passive crossovers and the amp built-in one as well? Then run the sub rca output on the Kenwood amp to the audiocontrol, than to the ES amp?

Sorry for all the questions. I believe I know enough to be dangerous, but not enought to pull this off without some advice from you guys.

 

[EDiT]

wje - The higher Kenwood models have subwoofer output. I've been shopping for an MP3 deck for my car, most likely I'll end up with the KDC-X659, only 299.99 + shipping at etronics.

Looks like a nice deck. I got mine for Xmas last year from my wife, so I can't trade up to a new one any time soon. Do you know if it has audible fast-forward on MP3s? I don't think I'll buy another MP3 deck unless it does. Mine doesn't, and it takes 3-4 seconds before it starts fast-forwarding, so I just keep ending up where I started.

 

[EDiT]

Bump for anyone who can answer my last couple of questions.

BTW, This is for my WRX. Very fun car.

 

[EDiT]

OK. Could someone at least please tell me what spacers are and where I could buy them? A few people have said I would need them to install my front door speakers, but no one will tell me what they are.

Thanks.

 

[NutBucket]

Alright. The crossovers that come with the component Infinity's is for the tweeter/midrange seperation. They will not high pass the any frequencies. Therefore, you still would need a crossover to prevent everything say <60hz from reaching them.

30x2 is plenty for rear fill. Just remember that the 30W coming out of a component amp is much cleaner then the 20 or so coming out of your HU.

For your last bit there, you would want to use your AudioControl X-Over between the kenwood amp pass through and your sub amp since you say your ES amp lacks any crossovers.

 

[EDiT]

Thanks NutBucket. I appreciate the help.

BTW, do you know what spacers are? I still have no idea where I can pick them up.