YACTRadioT

[Zysoclaplem]

Okay, in my Volvo I have a 6 speaker setup.

I removed my stock radio, and replaced it with an aftermarket radio.

I bought a harness to do this.

But in the original radio, there were two harnesses. One for the two front dash speakers, and one for the 4 door speakers. One on each door.

The four door speakers utilize a factory amp, and being that they are on a seperate harness, they do not directly plug into my new headunit.

Can I splice the wires coming from those speakers through that factory amp and connect them to the two wires that do connect to my new headunit?

Would I have to remove the amp?

If this belongs in a different forum, let me know and I will move it accordingly.

 

[mrchan]

You're best off not using the factory amp. Just ditch the middle two speakers.

 

[Heisenberg]

The amp is probably designed to use line-level, not speaker-level inputs. If the headunit has a preamp out you might be able to make/find a connector to hook into the amp that way.

Edit: They also make speaker to line-level converters you can buy. Basically you need to find out what kind of input the amp uses and go from there.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
The amp is probably designed to use line-level, not speaker-level inputs. If the headunit has a preamp out you might be able to make/find a connector to hook into the amp that way.

Edit: They also make speaker to line-level converters you can buy. Basically you need to find out what kind of input the amp uses and go from there.

I think it does have a preamp out. But I have to find the damned amp first. Where did Volvo hide it. Ugh. Somewhere behind the dash is the only clue I have.

 

[bmacd]

what does crutchfield offer for your car ?

-=bmacd=-

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: bmacd
what does crutchfield offer for your car ?

-=bmacd=-

Nothing that can help me in this situation.
I'm not even sure where the amp is. I've been looking for some guides on how to do this online, because obviously it's the same with other 940s, but I cant find much that helps.

 

[JustinGoodie]

here's what you do, figure out what sizes the speakers are that are in your car, and replace them... i don't know the locations of them, but there's 3 possibilities: rear sill, back doors and front doors; rear sill, front doors, dash; back doors, front doors, dash. chances are good that it's the first i listed.... in which case i would get a decent 4 channel amp and coaxial speakers for the rear and a set of components for the front with the mids in the doors and the tweeters in the dash...

edit: in this situation, you would need to use the preouts on your head unit and run new wires for the new speakers you would be putting in. and while this is far from the simplist thing to do, it is the better way to solve your problem.

furthermore, i've got a car that had 6 speakers, (6x9's in the rear sill, 5 1/4's in the front doors, and 3 1/2's in the dash) i replaced all of them with 3-ways in the rear and front doors and 2-ways in the dash, and i just love the soundstage i get in the front; i also have 2 12's in the trunk to fill in the bass. don't get me wrong, i don't have a ghetto-blasting "booming" system, i was going for sound quality, and getting good midrange speakers and running them off an outboard amp (not off the cd-player or "head-unit") is key.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: JustinGoodie
here's what you do, figure out what sizes the speakers are that are in your car, and replace them... i don't know the locations of them, but there's 3 possibilities: rear sill, back doors and front doors; rear sill, front doors, dash; back doors, front doors, dash. chances are good that it's the first i listed.... in which case i would get a decent 4 channel amp and coaxial speakers for the rear and a set of components for the front with the mids in the doors and the tweeters in the dash...

edit: in this situation, you would need to use the preouts on your head unit and run new wires for the new speakers you would be putting in. and while this is far from the simplist thing to do, it is the better way to solve your problem.

furthermore, i've got a car that had 6 speakers, (6x9's in the rear sill, 5 1/4's in the front doors, and 3 1/2's in the dash) i replaced all of them with 3-ways in the rear and front doors and 2-ways in the dash, and i just love the soundstage i get in the front; i also have 2 12's in the trunk to fill in the bass. don't get me wrong, i don't have a ghetto-blasting "booming" system, i was going for sound quality, and getting good midrange speakers and running them off an outboard amp (not off the cd-player or "head-unit") is key.

Well I know where the speakers are, and the size I need.
I have one on each door (4-door car), and two on the dash.
5 1/4 for all 4 doors and 3 1/2 for the dash.
I need to find the factory amp, and bypass it.

I found some info on a volvo forum not too long ago.
I am going to replace all 6 speakers and run them straight from the head unit I guess.

 

[JustinGoodie]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem

Originally posted by: JustinGoodie
here's what you do, figure out what sizes the speakers are that are in your car, and replace them... i don't know the locations of them, but there's 3 possibilities: rear sill, back doors and front doors; rear sill, front doors, dash; back doors, front doors, dash. chances are good that it's the first i listed.... in which case i would get a decent 4 channel amp and coaxial speakers for the rear and a set of components for the front with the mids in the doors and the tweeters in the dash...

edit: in this situation, you would need to use the preouts on your head unit and run new wires for the new speakers you would be putting in. and while this is far from the simplist thing to do, it is the better way to solve your problem.

furthermore, i've got a car that had 6 speakers, (6x9's in the rear sill, 5 1/4's in the front doors, and 3 1/2's in the dash) i replaced all of them with 3-ways in the rear and front doors and 2-ways in the dash, and i just love the soundstage i get in the front; i also have 2 12's in the trunk to fill in the bass. don't get me wrong, i don't have a ghetto-blasting "booming" system, i was going for sound quality, and getting good midrange speakers and running them off an outboard amp (not off the cd-player or "head-unit") is key.

Well I know where the speakers are, and the size I need.
I have one on each door (4-door car), and two on the dash.
5 1/4 for all 4 doors and 3 1/2 for the dash.
I need to find the factory amp, and bypass it.

I found some info on a volvo forum not too long ago.
I am going to replace all 6 speakers and run them straight from the head unit I guess.

do you know which wires in the harness are for each speaker?? (positive and negative wires for each speaker) i know there are six channel amps out there, and i would highly recommend one to run all your speakers. you have to understand that it's not just about giving them more power, it's more about giving them clean power...

now because your largest speaker is only a 5 1/4, you very well may need a subwoofer or two, it depends on what type of music you listen to. but that also depends on how much money you want to put into your audio system....

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: JustinGoodie

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem

Originally posted by: JustinGoodie
here's what you do, figure out what sizes the speakers are that are in your car, and replace them... i don't know the locations of them, but there's 3 possibilities: rear sill, back doors and front doors; rear sill, front doors, dash; back doors, front doors, dash. chances are good that it's the first i listed.... in which case i would get a decent 4 channel amp and coaxial speakers for the rear and a set of components for the front with the mids in the doors and the tweeters in the dash...

edit: in this situation, you would need to use the preouts on your head unit and run new wires for the new speakers you would be putting in. and while this is far from the simplist thing to do, it is the better way to solve your problem.

furthermore, i've got a car that had 6 speakers, (6x9's in the rear sill, 5 1/4's in the front doors, and 3 1/2's in the dash) i replaced all of them with 3-ways in the rear and front doors and 2-ways in the dash, and i just love the soundstage i get in the front; i also have 2 12's in the trunk to fill in the bass. don't get me wrong, i don't have a ghetto-blasting "booming" system, i was going for sound quality, and getting good midrange speakers and running them off an outboard amp (not off the cd-player or "head-unit") is key.

Well I know where the speakers are, and the size I need.
I have one on each door (4-door car), and two on the dash.
5 1/4 for all 4 doors and 3 1/2 for the dash.
I need to find the factory amp, and bypass it.

I found some info on a volvo forum not too long ago.
I am going to replace all 6 speakers and run them straight from the head unit I guess.

do you know which wires in the harness are for each speaker?? (positive and negative wires for each speaker) i know there are six channel amps out there, and i would highly recommend one to run all your speakers. you have to understand that it's not just about giving them more power, it's more about giving them clean power...

now because your largest speaker is only a 5 1/4, you very well may need a subwoofer or two, it depends on what type of music you listen to. but that also depends on how much money you want to put into your audio system....

Well as it stands, I only have two speakers working. The two front dash speakers. Both 3 1/2 inch. As you may have guessed, the sound is somewhat less than impressive.
I am thinking about phasing out the two dash speakers and just using the 4 door speakers for now.
Removing the factory amp, connecting new wires to the wires that connect to my factory amp.
And then it's time for a trial and error run on my headunit. I have no clue which speaker wire goes where in my aftermarket head unit, as I do not have the wiring book that came with it.
I'm going to get 4 pioneer 5 1/2 speakers for the doors, and possibly an amp and sub for the trunk.
I really dont want to run new wire to each speaker.
I'm not very adept in the car audio department. But I have time and the will to learn...so I guess we shall see what will happen.