Hey im looking for some addvice. I want to keep my stock ICC unit and run a woofer nothing big just 8'' or 10''. I have looked into running the RCA out the back of the ICC and I can understand the walktrough but I dont trust my soldering.

I was told by my mate there is antoher way to connect a sub without running an RCA but im not shore if his info is correct. he showed me some small sub in a box with a small amp. he said you run the power to the amp from battry and then link the speaker wire into the amp on the box and it will use the signal from the speaker wire to work the sub.

he sent me a link to a few on ebay ill post links. what id like to know if what he is correct? I realy dont want to get a head unit for alittle more bass I have 4 X 5x7 polk and they sould alot better just looking for some more kick. any help would be great cheers.

CAR SUPER BASS EQ SUB WOOFER AMPLIFIER HiPower BASS BOX - eBay Subwoofers, Audio, Video, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 17-Mar-10 18:31:49 AEDST)

FUSION REACTOR RE-SS18 ACTIVE SLIM LINE 8" SUBWOOFER - eBay Subwoofers, Audio, Video, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 22-Mar-10 14:50:55 AEDST)

you definitely can plug a speaker wire in to an amp. I have had a few that take either RCA or speaker wire. The difference is

RCA's =

pre-amp to the amp (sub)

if using speakerwire =

pre-amp to amp(speakers) to amp(sub)

so there will be an extra amp before the sub see's the signal.

I imagine this would lower the signal quality (not too important for a sub) but it would also mean the timing of the sub would be slightly delayed compared to the speakers, don't know if this is a substantial issue though..

Thanks for the Reply dash so it sould work but be delayed is that waht your saying? im not shore what pre-amp is?

Pretty sure if using signal from another speaker you would have to make sure the amp has a high powered input and use that (gain control helps here). It's been a while since I played around with car audio. Someone will be able to confirm it soon. I wouldn't use a speaker signal into rca input on an amp. Would sound like crap.

pre-amp is the first point where all the different sources are connected and usually set to a similar level. (basically the source of sound) before the volume is created by the inbuilt amp or an external amp.

To clarify, don't wire the speaker wire into the RCA inputs on your amp without professional advice.. the levels might not be right and could damage something..maybe..

Some amplifiers have speaker wire input separate to RCA, well they did a decade ago when I bought one.

with the delay, I'm not sure it would be significant, its only a few microseconds and if all the speakers run through a second amp it won't matter.

But sound quality would be the main comprimise, how significant? well its the bad bits from the ford amp and your aftermarket amp added together.. so

P.S. I'm sure there is someone here that is more qualified on the topic than me in here?

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd give my 2c,

I have a Clarion amp (mono) that runs speaker level input for a 12" sub. Like you said, just for a little more kick. Sounds good (I think anyway) with no noticeable delay.

GT

Most amps have high-level inputs these days. Probably for people wanting to retain factory head units. I don't see why the sound quality would be any different. With good power leads, quality wiring and well insulated connections, I doubt you'd notice the difference between high-level and RCA inputs.

I'm running front splits which are Polk SR6500 tweeters and crossovers and Morel Elate 6 inch mid-bass. A 12inch sub sits in the boot. The sub amp gets fed via the rear speaker cables coming off the factory head unit. The front splits get fed via the front speaker cables. I use the fader as sub volume control. SQ is good and there's plenty of volume. If I want to fit rear speakers for rear passengers, I'd run the RCA outs from the front amp to the new rear amp.

Ok guys thanks for the advice if anyone else has some info id like to know. I think ill give it a go and ill tell you how it goes cheers

No one has mentioned Line Level Converters ??? Little Box that taps into the speaker wires and has the RCA Plugs built in to run cable to the Sub. Some say the quality of the signal is not the best but being for a Sub shouldnt matter to much.

I guess you use the Bass Control on the ICC and the equalizer to tone it down or wind it up.

Most amps have high-level inputs these days. Probably for people wanting to retain factory head units. I don't see why the sound quality would be any different. With good power leads, quality wiring and well insulated connections, I doubt you'd notice the difference between high-level and RCA inputs.

I'm running front splits which are Polk SR6500 tweeters and crossovers and Morel Elate 6 inch mid-bass. A 12inch sub sits in the boot. The sub amp gets fed via the rear speaker cables coming off the factory head unit. The front splits get fed via the front speaker cables. I use the fader as sub volume control. SQ is good and there's plenty of volume. If I want to fit rear speakers for rear passengers, I'd run the RCA outs from the front amp to the new rear amp.

Nice system mate, similar to what I had in the BA, but 2 JL 12s, cadence mids, Audax tweeters, powered like yours