So today I went to see if I could manage my first amp install without ever seeing one or having any help

Long story short, I failed, but whatever

My main problem is that I didnt realise my headunit only has 2 RCA ports, whereas I've got the wiring for 4
I dont know much about what each little bit does but I assume this sends the sound to the amp, before the amp sends it to the speakers?

Is it okay to have the 4 RCA's coming from the amp, then connect 2 reds through an adaptor so it goes into the one red plug hole in the h/u, and the same for the whites?
If this doesnt make sense: to join 2 RCA's into 1 RCA to plug into h/u
will this still do the job its meant to, and is it okay to do this?

sorry iv tried to explain as best i could which even I can tell is really bad, and i normally try make my posts really easy to understand, but I have no freaking idea when it comes to audio and electricals.

RCA's on a head unit are called Pre-outs, and yes it sends the sound to your amp pre-amplified, that way your amp is amplifying 'clean' signal.

Each RCA on the head unit is 1 channel, yours has 2 (1 white and 1 red) these usually correspond to left and right channel for the rears. (That is if you only have 1 preout)

If you split this into 4 channels, your front speakers and your rear speakers will have the same input signal, not the worst thing in the world, not the best though.

so your saiding your h/u has two per-outs? 2 red and 2 white? or one of each?
as said above one RCA wire will do a left and right channel, so you'll only need two RCA cables
the RCA's transfer the signal from the h/u to the amp
and i wouldnt try to make the RCA wire go from two connections to one to make it fit the h/u
if thats the case then just run the fronts off the amp and rears off the h/u

I assume two ports = one 'pre-out' or 'stereo channel'. If you want to one something apart from one pair of speakers, or one sub, and have it run off the amp, then you have to split the RCA connection, which is what you seem to be explaining. It goes into an adapter, and one red and white turns into two red and whites to plug into the amp/s.

Its not that bad to do, obviously its better two have 2 pre-outs on the deck so that you can control each one seperately. And by splitting you also lose some strength in the signal which means degraded SQ. But if you want to amp two things, which is better than not amping, your only choice will be to split the RCA signal, unless you upgrade your deck. Not that a big deal though, especially if its just running a second pair of speakers, you should be able to make most of the adjustments you want on your amplifier anyway.

Hope this helps ya

Ollie

As others have said - it depends if you mean your head unit has 2 RCA pre-outs, as in, two reds, two white's, or it only has one pre out, one red, one white. Which has been said, is left and right.

Yes you can use an RCA splitter This just means you wont have front/rear fade control.

opilot87 - you wont lose SQ by using the splitter, the voltage drop between an RCA thats been split will be somewhere around .1 volt. In other words - bugger all. Especially if you use gold/platinum connectors which have a lower resistance.

You could also use the output on your amp, and send that to the input on the next amp, if you are using two amps. Never done this before - so cant comment on the quality of the signal.

...You could also use the output on your amp, and send that to the input on the next amp, if you are using two amps. Never done this before - so cant comment on the quality of the signal.

I am actually going to agree with this and is a better optiom than using a splitter (assuming your amp can do this)

As signal travells over a distance it will become less 'clean' as in the quality will be reduced, a splitter itself can introduce this noise, as will running the distance of your car.

By using the amps output, and using a short rca, looping the signal will ensure that the signals exact.

A splitter means you will have to worry about the noise that is introduced to both sets of rca, as apposed to one !

- damox

Yes the RCA outputs on amps work very well - do NOT assume that it will automatically bypass all xovers though. Check to see how the output signal will come out...

Splitting will work fine, as said it will sound just as good. Don't worry about losing the ability to fade front to rear as with a properly tuned set up, you should not have to worry about that via the gains. If a sub is going on the second amp ( or rear channels ) you should definately consider getting a remote sub control to mount up front. Most decent amps will have the option, if not provide it.