The BIG Car Audio Reference Thread

[Tiger]

OK, instead of me pinning about 68,415,976 topics about stereos, I figured to put up a thread with basically all the references I go off, if I can't answer questions on my own knowledge.
If there is anything I have left out.. by all means, either shoot me a pm or post up here and I will ammend the thread ASAP.


I hope this proves to be of great benefit to all those curious about sound in their vehicles.


PDF File (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) Basic DC Electronics - Important to know the basics of electronics before you start messing around with wires and computers in your car. (Source: Install Doctor)

PDF File Car Audio Basics (Source: Install Doctor)

PDF File Head Unit Comparisons Differences between Single Din/Double Din/"Shafted" Radios (Source: Install Doctor)

PDF File Parellel VS Series Wiring Diagrams (Source: Install Doctor)

Web Page T/S Parameters (Source: Electronix Warehouse)

Web Page Impedance Matching A guide to choosing the right speakers for your amplifier (Source: Elite Car Audio)

Web Page Making Door Pods

Web Page Kick Panels The know-how with kick panel speaker placement

Web Page Technical on Under/Overrated Power Ratings and Battery/Alternator Voltages (Source: Car Audio Australia)

Web Page Glossary of Car Audio Terms (Source: Car Audio Australia)

Web Page Music and the Human Ears This is just to give people the medical facts and issues involved with what's REALLY happening when we listen to music (Source: Art Ludwig's Sound Page)

Web Page Sound DeadeningBasic Pictorial on a method of improving your midbass in your doors and keep road noise out of your car and music inside your car... how it should be (Source: Parts Express)

Web Page Fibreglassing For Fibreglass Noobs


Web Page More Fibreglassing In-depth tutorial on Fibreglassing

Web Page Subwoofer Design Theories More complexed enclosures (Advanced Reading) (Source: Audio Innovation)

Web Page Subwoofer Box Calculator (Source: Custom Car Stereo)

Also A DIY Car Audio Resource Very handy to know.

If all else fails.. Car Audio Australia has been my home forum since October 2002. Never let me down... so what I don't know... these guys definitely will... with over 12,000 members... someone is bound to give you answers

Have I left anything out?

[stradlater]

Looks good, I was going to go through it to try and find the answer to my question, but it wasn't there.. So, I'll ask you anyway. If I have a head unit with ONE set of RCA outs, and I want to run TWO amps, how do I do it?

[matt86sx]

Just use an RCA splitter, which is simply an RCA connector wire with on input and two sets of outputs.

Alternatively, some amps have a set of output RCA connections which then allow you to take the HU output signal to a second amp. It's just the same as using a splitter or having a HU with two RCA outputs, it's just that the RCA connections are located in the first amp in your system instead. Connecting amps in this way is sometimes referred to as 'daisy chaining'.

Not sure how many amps have this feature nowadays, but my Alpine one has it.

Matt

[stradlater]

Yes, but it'll halve the 2V RCA lineout signal, or possibly load up the head unit too much, and I'm a little concerned it might damage something.

[Jorrs]

nice thread

[The Witzl]

splitting the RCA signal from the head unit does load up the headunit's pre-amp, just the same as putting a 2ohm load vs a 4ohm load does on your amplifier.

Most head units can hack it, especially those with a higher-than-normal voltage pre-out (above 1.2Vp-p)

[stradlater]

If we think it's going to handle it fine, then I won't worry.

[Tiger]

It shouldn't be a drama, dude. Use RCA splitters. I haven't heard of any trouble in the past before with having to use 2 amps of the 1 RCA output via splitters.

[river]

Hi,

I got an audio question so I may as well throw it out here...

Can you run a splitter or something to feed your single antenna input into two radios?

I have a nice under dash CD/MP3 unit that's all connected and sounds lovely, but I'm putting the original radio back into the car. The original radio sits in the dash and has it's own single speaker above it. When I put in this unit it will have a connection to power and the speaker, but the antenna is connected to the under-dash unit.

It'd be nice to have the original unit fully operational, but it will need an antenna input for that.

Naturally, if there is a degradation of the signal that will affect the under-dash unit, then it's something I won't be doing.

seeyuzz
river

[arctophile]

I have a tip for anyone aspiring to put decent speakers in the doors of a JDM AW11 - you can't. Not without relocating the power window control boxes anyway, which would be a major pain.

I recently found this out the hard way half way through an installation - my car's an 85 model BTW.

HTH

//Adam F

[Tiger]

If you aren't running amplifiers and you don't have some form of crossover setup happening, I wouldn't recommend having 2 separate units that are piggy backing the same speaker connections, let alone splitting the antenna to run them off. Bluntly putting it, the sound from the speakers are stuffed and powering becomes an issues. The head units do funny things! haha I personally have never experienced the need to install a double connector for an antenna. There is one, but they are a dodgy item in car installs

I'd steer clear from it. Thumbs down from me.

Hope this helps

[river]

Hi,

Yeah, it helps. However, the original radio has its own power connection and it's own speaker. The only thing it needs is an antenna feed.

The under-dash unit is standalone - I have no amps or boosters or stuff like that. THe speakers run straight off the unit. I don't want it so loud that it drowns out the sound of the glorious 18RG!

seeyuzz
river

[Squid]

River - I have seen an antenna splitter in tricky dickies, but im not sure how quality it is....

[Bananaman]

Wouldn't this be much like splitting a TV antenna signal? You can do that using a splitter box with fine results, i shouldn't think that splitting the signal of a car antenna would render worse results, and i think the only time i ever noticed any variation in signal quality was when both were on at once, and even then it wasn't much - you're obviously not going to be using both radios at once.

[river]

Hi,

you're obviously not going to be using both radios at once.

No. I'd only turn on the original radio at car shows when people say "Hey, does that old JDM radio work?"

seeyuzz
river