Hiya, what kind of amp (brand, model) would suit my boxed sub:

Kicker EX124 12"
125W RMS / 250W Peak
4ohm

Its in a proper Kicker ported box too. The sub is nothing special, I think it is quite an old model but its never been used and might as well whack it in the boot. What wiring would I need for this too? There is nothing of interest on the net about this particular sub

just get something with a similar wattage i guess, it's only a small sub so it shouldn't matter too much. ive got a 140WRMS 10" pioneer and i just went to JB and bought a kenwood they had on clearance. if i was you i would grab one of the two amps that are for sale in the classifieds section atm.

for wiring, you can usually pick up a sub wiring kit from supercheap or JB.

you'll need:
an RCA cable (headunit to amp)
speaker cable (amp to sub)
power cable (battery to amp)
power on cable (headunit "power antenna" wire to amp "power on" connection... to turn the amp on with the headunit)

I am presuming this would be ideal? http://au.kenwood.com/Car_Entertainment/Power_Amplifiers/KAC-M525

yeah that'd be fine man, pretty much the same as what i got! (kenwood kac-5203)

for $100 though you cant go wrong with SH00Ts old amp...

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68771

thanks alphabet, you have been much help :)

sick! no worries :D

Save your Pennies and just get a Response Amp

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AA0424&CATID=24&form=CAT&SUBCATID=595

Bridged will give you 500W RMS... More then Adequate to drive your sub...

You could also Get away

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AA0420&CATID=24&form=CAT&SUBCATID=595
Bridged for 200 W RMS...

dont think he wants to spend $200... as he said, he thought he might just whack it in the boot

Yeah as much as I would like to get some nice new stuff, my budget won't extend that far at the mo. I want to get it up and running tomorrow, dean/life is giving me some help wiring it up.

Also, I have an Alpine CDE9874E headunit which has 2 pre-outs. That should be fine to wire in a second 4channel amp at some point?

If you wanted to run both the clarion amps, I can give you a 4 ga to 8 ga Stinger distributor and some 8 ga leads. You would just need a 4 ga wiring kit. All $200.00 Posted.

Probably should get a 150watt to 300 watt amp for that sub. 4 channels for fronts or fronts and rears.

Yeah as much as I would like to get some nice new stuff, my budget won't extend that far at the mo. I want to get it up and running tomorrow, dean/life is giving me some help wiring it up.

Also, I have an Alpine CDE9874E headunit which has 2 pre-outs. That should be fine to wire in a second 4channel amp at some point?

you'll be surprised at how good that sub will sound, my old 10" pioneer is great and runnning at about 150W, sounds killer for me, and friends hate it when i blast it haha

yeah cant wait to get it running!

Well I got sh00t's Clarion 4ch amp. It should be able to power the following pretty well right?

MTX Thunder Dome-Axial TDX6502's - http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/speakers/dome_axials.cfm
MTX X-Thunder XT693 - http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/speakers/indexXThunder.cfm

Amp - http://www.clarion.com/us/en/products/2005/audio/amplifiers/APA450/us-en-product-pf_1133851137331.html

There's my Pioneer Mono thats fs atm in the fs section too, it'll give you 300w rms @ 4ohm, maybe a touch overkill for a 125w rms rated sub, I'll probably also have my Pioneer 2 channel up for sale soon which will be under $100, gives 150w rms for a sub, which is what I used it for originally. I can keep you posted on that one if you like.

Edit: check the clearance section at your local JB's too, all my local ones have a few Coustic 2 channel amps that give about 200w rms bridged which would be good for your sub, they're around $100.

There's my Pioneer Mono thats fs atm in the fs section too, it'll give you 300w rms @ 4ohm, maybe a touch overkill for a 125w rms rated sub, I'll probably also have my Pioneer 2 channel up for sale soon which will be under $100, gives 150w rms for a sub, which is what I used it for originally. I can keep you posted on that one if you like.

cheers Lugo, will see how I go tomorrow with Ers' sony amp :D

Edit: went into my local JB and the cheapest one was Cadence at like $180.

If your interested i've got a kicker amp sitting in the cupboard here, been waiting to put it in my car was going to either run a 12" Alpine Type S or a Pair of Hertz/Focal splits with it. But I want a Type R 12" Alpine sub and this amp wouldnt suit. Its a 70wrmsx2@4 Ohms stereo or 200wrmsx1@4 Ohms mono, good little amp, its in as new cond, was taken out of my TH sports when I bought it. Perfect amount of "headroom" for that sub without melting the voicecoils.

Model is a Kicker KX-200.2 - here (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_2096_Kicker+KX200.2.html)

Wherebouts in NSW are you located? I'd send it for $110incl reg postage if interested.

LOL you lot aint fair! Kicker amp would certainly match the sub. Are you likely to hold onto it for a while? I think dean is interested in the Sony amp i am acquiring tomorrow. In a month or so I should be in a position to look for another amp.

Yeah man, as said, its just sitting in the cupboard. As it has been for the past 3 yrs! lol

Currently looking at selling the Ford Escape I've got and getting either a VRX or a KJ Rada. Miss my Magna something fierce. So I most likely won't be putting a better system in it(came with ford's premium audio stacker and 5x7's in all doors anyway).
Drop me a PM, when you may want it. As I said its just sitting there in a anti static bag.

Depending where you are, I will be in Wagga in the next mth or so too.

Luke

ok mate I will keep it in mind

Yeah man, as said, its just sitting in the cupboard. As it has been for the past 3 yrs! lol

Currently looking at selling the Ford Escape I've got and getting either a VRX or a KJ Rada. Miss my Magna something fierce. So I most likely won't be putting a better system in it(came with ford's premium audio stacker and 5x7's in all doors anyway).
Drop me a PM, when you may want it. As I said its just sitting there in a anti static bag.

Depending where you are, I will be in Wagga in the next mth or so too.

Luke
Sorry to drift from the original topic here, but this isn't the first time you've gone away from Magna's then had to come back is it? lol

Well I've had 3 3rd gens in the past 5yrs and in between had the displeasure of owning a EF and a VT for short periods. Not by choice though....

power on cable (headunit "power antenna" wire to amp "power on" connection... to turn the amp on with the headunit)


it will be the power remote wire from the headunit not power antenna, if hook up to power antenna it will only turn the amp on during radio mode

both wires are very simliar, power antenna is blue with white stripe and power remote is solid blue in most case not all

it will be the power remote wire from the headunit not power antenna, if hook up to power antenna it will only turn the amp on during radio mode

both wires are very simliar, power antenna is blue with white stripe and power remote is solid blue in most case not all

sorry thats what i meant :D

well its all in! Just need to tidy up the wiring tomorrow and get the bass pumping hehe.

Big thanks to Ers for the amp and bits and Life for being a champ with the install :D

Pics !
Should have done an Install Blog...

lol its nothing special.

Big thanks to Ers again this morning for helping tune the sub, I am a total n00b. Heaps better sound now. Once I get the Clarion 4ch amp for my other speakers it should sounds heaps good!

Build pics. Note Dean's tidy wiring :P

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/cybermonkey24/Mitsubishi%20Magna/20062009109.jpg

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/cybermonkey24/Mitsubishi%20Magna/20062009110.jpg

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/cybermonkey24/Mitsubishi%20Magna/20062009111.jpg

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/cybermonkey24/Mitsubishi%20Magna/20062009112.jpg

Nice....
Good to see the wires on opposite sides of the car

Its gone to **** a bit today, I was unable to find a suitable ground in the boot. Ground cable too short and all the bolts in the boot floor are lined with frigging plastic grommet thingys.

I used the Remote Boot release/ Power aerial Mount as my earth...

I used the Remote Boot release/ Power aerial Mount as my earth...

So did I and I burnt my earth tracks.

Now drilled into floor near chassis rail.

Make your own! Self tapping screw anywhere in the boot, using a ring type cramp connectors. Then just give it a quick spray later on with some fish oil to stop the rust..... Why did you rip the whole centre console area out, ie vents, heater controls etc to fit the H/U? Never found a need myself.

Make your own! Self tapping screw anywhere in the boot, using a ring type cramp connectors. Then just give it a quick spray later on with some fish oil to stop the rust..... Why did you rip the whole centre console area out, ie vents, heater controls etc to fit the H/U? Never found a need myself.

didn't fit the headunit, it was already installed. Had to plug in the RCA's, we ran them down the middle of the car underneath the centre console and glovebox.

Oh ok, I saw the box for the deck in one of the pics and though you were installing it.
Even more reason for no need to remove all that stuff, not a big deal, just a pain in the ass to get the vents etc back in properly.

the reason it came out was because i fitted a single DIN tray underneath, and passed my ipod cable through it so my ipod has a proper home. The DIN tray needed to be screwed to the stereo mount

Ahh kewl, makin sense now. Good stuff man, happy with the end result? How does the sub go?

Sub goes alright :P

If he wants more punch, I'll chuck him my Fusion sub (worked well with that amp too)....

Still a bit miffed at that Sub control Dave, you guys sure there isnt a 3rd set of pre-outs on that deck?

Definately only 2 pre-outs on the CDE-9874E. Rated @ 2v

Looks good, wiring is nice and tidy. Your lucky being able to run that wiring down the centre of the console like that, can't get away with that in my car, the body deadener they use sticks the carpet to the floor lol

yeah as said only the 2 pre-outs. Hopefully with the second amp we should have more control over the system. Problem is dropping the bass across the front and rear speakers without affecting the sub. If there are any Alpine know-it-alls on here that would be helpful. The manual is bloody hopeless at explaining the options for outputs

With every alpine deck i've had 5-6 of em, you can always set one of the preouts to be non-fading.

Dave the head unit has subwoofer control, so provided the correct RCA is connected dropping the bass will not effect the sub out at all. :)

hmmm i might have to try both RCA's and see if it makes a diff.

I daresay you'll find in your headunit settings that one pair of rca's will be front/sub or rear/sub switchable. Flick whichever one it may be over to sub, and connect your rca's to the corresponding rca connections. Then you can run your hpf for the speakers without affecting the sub.

If you don't have that option you can buy HPF/LPF units which run inline and do the same task. OR use the HPF/LPF on the amplifier presuming it has that feature.

NFI mate, I want to give it another go when i get home tonight

Here's (http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee217/SH00T/apx13006.jpg) a Pic of the Amp Connections

sh00t, i dont think there will be a problem with you amp. I just remembered (with the help of Ers) that the RCA plugs on the back of the HU were labelled SW and EXT. I presume that refers to Subwoofer and External amp.

Another problem I might have at the moment, 4ga wiring onto that sony amp is a damn tight fit on the connectors so I went and bought 4ga ring connectors but i think they will be too big to fit in the gap on the amp. We will see! Also have to try and fix the ground tonight. So it should be ok to put a self tapper straight into the boot floor and screw it down tight?

You use a self tapper and I swear I'll rip off your head....

Use a 1/4" Stainless steel bolt (careful as to where you put it). Use a 1/4" SS washer, 1/4" SS split washer, and a nylon nut.....

If you wait till you put the next amp in I has all of the above.

As for the terminals, angle grinder or hack saw the sides of the connector down. That generally works.

Yeah self tappers are failures at this kind of stuff. A mate did that in my car when we did my first install, and it was useless, came loose in a week and couldn't be removed.

Ive always used them and never had a earth come loose on me yet, I've done over 10 big installs....

Ive always used them and never had a earth come loose on me yet, I've done over 10 big installs....

Ditto...

Ive always used them and never had a earth come loose on me yet, I've done over 10 big installs....

This may sound harsh, but....

What stops you from doing it properly?

A nut/bolt/split washer costs around $1 and takes 5 minutes to do.

Alternatively, if you cant be bothered to crawl under a car - you can use a nutsert, also about $1 and 3 minutes of work.

Whats wrong with self tappers being used as earth bolts?
They are not bolts for one.
They will rust around the screw, eventually breaking the earth down.
If you happened to rust proof the area by putting the screw in, undoing it, prepping the area, then re-screwing it - you should know the screw wont hold as good second go.
Bolts can be taken out, re-used. Self tappers cant.

I dunno, I always saw this as being good enough. Never had a bad connection so stuck with it.

Also a matter of ease, you've never seen how big I am dude, I wouldnt fit under my car lol

I dunno, I always saw this as being good enough. Never had a bad connection so stuck with it.

Also a matter of ease, you've never seen how big I am dude, I wouldnt fit under my car lol

Try these - ebay.co.uk will have kits for around $60 landed with some 60 nutserts and tool.

http://www.prifast.co.uk/nutserts.htm

**** yeah they look the go.
Would be useful for a heap of things.

Clarion 4ch amp received today, on the home stretch :D

well with the awesome help of Ers, it is finished. All that is left to do is get an RCA splitter for the amp.

Hows she sounding now?

Hows the sound system aswell? :P

lol i had to get early to clean it first

sounds great,got the rca splitters put on, only problem is the 6x9s overpower the front heaps so got the fader set to +5 to bring the sound forward

lol i had to get early to clean it first

sounds great,got the rca splitters put on, only problem is the 6x9s overpower the front heaps so got the fader set to +5 to bring the sound forward

That can be fixed by adjusting your gains to give the rears less power.

lol i had to get early to clean it first

sounds great,got the rca splitters put on, only problem is the 6x9s overpower the front heaps so got the fader set to +5 to bring the sound forward

Up the gains on the fronts by a touch.

Reduce the gains on the rear.

You dont have a fader control as you've split the front RCA signal into two front signals.

Up the gains on the fronts by a touch.

Reduce the gains on the rear.

You dont have a fader control as you've split the front RCA signal into two front signals.

If the fronts are already well balanced I wouldn't recommend adjusting them to be more, otherwise you'll end up with a flat-spot at higher volumes.

If the fronts are already well balanced I wouldn't recommend adjusting them to be more, otherwise you'll end up with a flat-spot at higher volumes.

HUH?

A flat spot......caused by what?

HUH?

A flat spot......caused by what?

If the front gain is set too high, won't it cause a flat-spot in high volume usage? I know this happened with my sub.

I am yet to hear of a flat spot being created by gains. Maybe your sub box was not properly sealed.

His system was tuned as follows:

80Hz HPF on Front and Rear (off headunit)
75Hz HPF on fronts (on amp, just in case).

Front gains @ 1/2
Rear gains @ 1/3
Sub LPF 80Hz
Sub gains 3/4.

His gains on the front are far from too high, if I had time to actually tune it (and missing the RCA splitter) I would have been able to tune with the rears actually working.

P.S - when soldering, make sure you get enough heat into the wire.

I am yet to hear of a flat spot being created by gains. Maybe your sub box was not properly sealed.

His system was tuned as follows:

80Hz HPF on Front and Rear (off headunit)
75Hz HPF on fronts (on amp, just in case).

Front gains @ 1/2
Rear gains @ 1/3
Sub LPF 80Hz
Sub gains 3/4.

His gains on the front are far from too high, if I had time to actually tune it (and missing the RCA splitter) I would have been able to tune with the rears actually working.

P.S - when soldering, make sure you get enough heat into the wire.

ok thanks guys, I will have a fiddle when I get home tonight, as well as look at the amp settings for front/rear gain :|