kericr

Yesterday I finally got around to transferring the stereo equipment that I had in my Buick into the Lancer, and after attempting to get everything working and failing miserably, I have several questions.

First, is there a difference between the 04 S&S and the 05 S&S? I honestly don't know and I can't find anything on the forums. I thought mine had the S&S because it has a sunroof, but I don't have a factory sub or CD changer. I do have a factory Infinity amp powering my speakers that appears not to be compatible with aftermarket decks.

That leads me to my next question. It appears that the stock unit actually does not have an amplifier built into it, and instead is connected through a proprietary DIN cable to the external amp which is designed to power all of the speakers in the car. Does that DIN cable provide power to the amp as well, or just signal, and is there some kind of adapter that would allow me to hook up my deck to either the DIN or to the amp directly so that I can continue to take advantage of the additional power over my Deck? (My aftermarket deck has a 19W RMS x 4 @ 4ohms, I imagine this to be considerably less then the stock amp).

My third question relates to an amp problem. My amp seems to have a short in it; whenever I power my system on, my sub seems to start thumping repeatedly out of beat with the music, about 2 hits a second steady. My wiring is correct on my sub and amp. Anybody experience this specific problem before, and if so, what the faulty part was? (and if you remember specifically what the fix was that would be even better)

This question kind of goes back to the amp. My aftermarket deck has 4 RCAs, 2 'front' and 2 'rear'. I'm currently running my sub amp off the rear channel. I'd also like to power my speakers; I've installed aftermarket speakers without an amp before and just powered them off my deck (on three different cars) and every time I've done this, the sound seems to actually get worse; the speakers are noticibly more distorted then stock ones when made louder, and the sound as a whole doesn't sound as full, I've attributed this to stock speakers having an RMS between 15W-25W, and aftermarket speakers usually having an RMS of 40W or more (and w/a 19W RMS deck, it simply cannot power aftermarket speakers effectively). With only 4 RCAs on my deck, is there a way that I can power all four speakers (6 if you want to count the components) and the sub without replacing the deck?

Finally, a question about where to buy audio equipment. I used to work at Best Buy, and for those who don't know, Best Buy (along with Circuit City and Sound Advice) has Super-Saiajin 3 foot spiked rotating demon kak relentlessly pounding you from behind markup on all of their audio equipment (120-350% over their cost), and Crutchfield ranges from slightly better to significantly worse than that. Is there a place where I can buy car audio equipment at more reasonable prices?

Any and all answers would be appriciated.

DiamondWhite

to be honest if you're going aftermarket you'll prolly have to rip out the amp and deck...

I would suggest getting CDT components and Tweeters from www.Thezeb.com
Going with an Eclipse Head unit.
Pheonix Gold Amps
And Finally Adire Audio Brahma's....

THat should still keep you prolly in the 1k range...
But those are some of the best equipment you can get!

otter

iTrader: (14)

An easy way to solve a couple of your problems is to buy a 4 channel amp that has a set of preamp outputs, then plug your sub amp into those outputs.

OC_Ralliart

ya thts the only thing tht sucks about the s&s...the amp as to go but if u get a system and a good deck it wont really matter.

Sportback79

OK, keep in mind, u are talking to a complete moron when it comes to stereo upgrades. My RA has the factory 140w 6 speaker setup. I replaced the rear speakers with 2 way 6.75" Sony Explodes. They just don't sound much louder then the stock speakers, even when I adjust the power more to the rear. Is this because the factory unit just isn't powerful enough to run them? How hard would it be to add the Infinity amp to this system, where is the amp located, and how expensive would it be to buy? If this is a bad idea, what would be a good cheap amp to buy and where is the best place to install it? Or would it be a better idea to simply trash the original unit and buy a real nice CD player and not mess with amps? I'm not looking for super sound quality, just a better sounding stereo with more power.

Azure

What I did, and obviously not optimal for enthusiasts or true car audiophiles, was spliced the rear speaker signals to a signal 'cleaner', then to a line convertor and signal booster, and then ran it to my amp to power my rear subs. This maintains a complete stock interior look but adds necessary punch and tight, loud bass. Rears are Phoenix Gold speakers and still maintain plenty of power, as well. Fronts have not needed any tweaking yet, I'm suprised how well they've kept up.

fifty1fifty

You can get an adapter to go from your deck's RCA plugs to the factory amp at www.soundgate.com The amp has one connector that has (at least in my '04) 2 black ground wires, 2 blue power wires and speaker wires, 14 of them. I ran all my speaker wires from the aftermarket amps to under the seat and soldered them to the stock speaker wires. Seemed a lot easier than running wire to each speaker. If you want the colors of all the speaker wires, PM me.

kericr

Wow, this adapter would help a hell of a lot, but now creates a new problem; a lack of RCA outs (4 on the deck 0 on the factory amp, leaving my mono sub amp without RCA outs). I would much rather use this adapter then to run an assload of speaker wire through the carpet and splice the hell out of a proprietary factory connector. I could run wire from the factory amp to run my sub, but my sub is a RF 12" dual coil and 400W RMS, there's no way that amp can adequately power it. I also need to find out what the S&S amps output and speaker RMS is to determine if I really need to upgrade it; I'm not an audiophile, but I do want my stereo system to sound better then stock.

otter

iTrader: (14)

Another option that would work well is to purchase a deck with 3 sets of pre-amps (front, rear, and non-fading for subs). Use the soundgate adapter to plug the front/rear set into the stock harness for the stock amp, then get your sub amp signal from the third preamp out.

waxwozax

on the 04 models , the S&S package didnt include the cd changer but it should include the factory sub with the infinity amp under the driver seat. on the 05 model , the sun & sound package comes with the cd changer ...... its not an option....

brooks1005

Concerning your amp thumping repeatedly-check the gain knob.If too much voltage is dialed in,this will cause the rapid thumping. Experiment with the gain to see if this cures it.

natenet

iTrader: (1)

sorry but your incorrect - i just got an 05 w/S&S - no cd changer - it is still an option

Volkmann

iTrader: (1)

^ Yeah my car doesn't have a changer either. 2005 with every available option.

sobe

iTrader: (1)

Sony explodes are one of the worst car audio brands out there. Compared to the stock infinity ones, these sound tinny and muffled... well for the S&S.

Ralliart_Leo

the 04 models also had the amp and sub