my search for a powered subwoofer for my car.
can i put a sub and an amp in my car without changing my headunit?
i know that it is a horrible head unit, but i dont have the money to switch it out yet.
so is it possible?

 

and will the ipod cable in the dash still be usable?

 

I'm using a Basslink with my stock hu.
There're a bunch of other similar units that can be hook up to the factory hu either by speaker level input or using a line converter.
The aux input will still work.

 

Yeah, absolutely - like Fitting said, speaker level inputs or line converters work alright.

But my $.02 . . . upgrading the head unit is a much bigger bang for the buck improvement in SQ than an amp and subwoofer. I've done both - and most of the time I don't even bother keeping the sub in the car (until I can fiberglass up a space efficient enclosure for it, that is).

 

so if i do something like this:
Rockford Fosgate Bass Package Punch P300-1 mono subwoofer amplifier Two Punch Stage 1 12" 4-ohm subwoofers at Crutchfield.com

and get a line converter, i can put these in without changing my HU

 

I suppose you could but why? With the stock HU and speakers and a pair of 12s all you will hear is BASS. And not in a good way either, unless you are into that sort of thing.....

 

Well, I can understand wanting to add a sub. But like the above post, I wouldn't do something like at a 12 inch or anything. You simply won't hear anything other than the sub. If you really want to do a sub with the stock HU, then just do an 8inch Basslink. Those are pretty good considering what you're putting in. It can certainly hook up to the stock HU and not affect it's function, and it won't overpower the rest of the stock system.

But that'll put you $200 deep or so. Like everyone else has said, save that $200 and wait till you have a bit more to do an aftermarket head unit and an sub/amp combo. You will be ten times happier after that. But if you never plan on upgrading the stock HU, then go ahead and do a small sub. It'll be worth it in that sense. Spending $200+ right now when you plan on spending more later doesn't make sense.

 

I certainly wouldn't spend money on TWO 12" subs either. Sheesh

I mean if all you want to do is rattle the crap out of the car and you want everyone to hear your muddy thump, then sure go ahead and buy that first.

I'd spend the first $200 on some sound deadening. Then a nice headunit. Then some nice speakers up front. Then a subwoofer/amp.

 

Same here, I upgraded my HU and speakers, HUGE differences. The sound itself is beefier, and has more bass than stock speakers. then I added my 2 12"s in the back, and that rattles the car, and I can still hear the higher frequency stuff. it's all modular. But you're going to overwhelm your hearing with pure bass if the HU isn't upgraded.


Any subamp/sub combo unit has speaker line inputs, it's a standard thing. All amplifiers i've ever seen on the market have them too. Pioneer, alpine, miami sound, etc... they all have a form of input from the speakers.

 

Not the high quality units

 

how high quality.... I've never seen one without the ports (even the high end ones have them hidden away on the inside, with a panel that needs to be unscrewed...)

examples pls!

 

I agree that upgrading the HU first is the way to go. I added a powered Bazooka 8" bass tube to my stock Sport system, and the sound was much too bassy. I either had too much bass or hardly any. Speaker level control using the factory HU doesn't provide enough sound control. I had a Pioneer AVIC-U310BT installed a couple of weeks ago and the sound quality is SIGNIFICANTLY better - like night and day. I recommend a double din aftermarket HU to fill all the space in the dash.

 

Ironically enough, from my experience at least, the only amps that I've seen without speaker level inputs were dirt cheap ones that come with a box, two 12 inch subs and amp for $125 from Pepboys. Now that's not saying ALL have them, but most all the ones I've seen have them. Does that mean I'd recommend using them? No way in hell! Every time I've had a customer have me do this, even with me telling them it'll sound horrible, they always come back the next week and have me do a LOC and run RCAs.

Not only that, but I've had plenty of customers that come in after having an amp installed by other shops using the high level inputs, only to have the amp fry after a year. I really don't think that many amps are actually engineered to be used that way, they simply add it on so that potential customers don't have a reason to not buy their amp.

Tonight, if it isn't still 90F at 10 o'clock after work, I'll be installing my 4 channel amp and subwoofer amp. I'll be posting pictures and writing a short DIY if people are interested.

 

can i get some pics of your aftermarket HU's?
im just afraid it would look like crap because the stock system is built into the dash and takes up so much room.

 

Yes, please

 

Sure, I'll do that when I do my amps. And maybe I'll actually make my own thread about it instead of hijacking everyone's!

I've said this before, but I don't know what thread it was in. I used the Schosche dash kit, runs around $100, but you can find it cheaper many places. Color is right on, literally perfect. Fitment, not so much. The upper right corner isn't completely flush, and the upper left corner has a small gap. These problems aren't HUGE, maybe in the vicinity of 1 or 2 millimeters. This was the reason I waited a year after having my Fit to upgrade the HU, because I was afraid of how the dash kits would look. But, even though it's not perfect, it doesn't matter to me at all because I can now actually HEAR my music.

 

And you can find plenty of dash and HU pics in the "show me your dash and Hus " thread in this forum....