Adding extra speakers
#1
12-01-2015, 11:03 AM
Adding extra speakers
Howdy, I got a '94 4 door Jimmy and I want to add speakers. I just purchased Rockford Fosgate's for the dash and rear doors but I want to add a set to the rear quarters or maybe the tailgate? And a set to the front doors, so that's 4 extra speakers in total. My question is what do I need in order to do this I don't want to splice wires, I have a newer Kenwood head unit installed as well. Can I hook up an amp and run the extra speakers off of that? And an extra little side question, I've yet to install the new RF's but my dash speakers make no sound at all and the wiring from what I saw installing the Kenwood is good, any ideas? Thanks in advance
#2
12-01-2015, 04:06 PM
I wouldn't normally recommend anyone to run so many speakers spread out around the vehicle. It ruins any sense of soundstage and imaging in the music recording. However I also believe that everyone should do it the way they like it, so to each his own.
If you're not wanting to hook them all up to the HU, and you really shouldn't, then your only other solution is an external amplifier. Personally I would recommend putting ALL the speakers on external amps. They'll sound better with more dynamic range and less distortion than on the HU. Use care in the installation of the speakers along with at least a little sound deadener. That coupled with the external amps and I think you'll be amazed at the results.
As far as the dash speakers not working, since you've not installed the new ones yet I would venture to guess that the speakers are blown or not hooked up. The factory speakers are notorious for randomly dying, assuming the previous owner didn't do anything with them.
If you're not wanting to hook them all up to the HU, and you really shouldn't, then your only other solution is an external amplifier. Personally I would recommend putting ALL the speakers on external amps. They'll sound better with more dynamic range and less distortion than on the HU. Use care in the installation of the speakers along with at least a little sound deadener. That coupled with the external amps and I think you'll be amazed at the results.
As far as the dash speakers not working, since you've not installed the new ones yet I would venture to guess that the speakers are blown or not hooked up. The factory speakers are notorious for randomly dying, assuming the previous owner didn't do anything with them.
#3
12-02-2015, 09:26 AM
I wouldn't normally recommend anyone to run so many speakers spread out around the vehicle. It ruins any sense of soundstage and imaging in the music recording. However I also believe that everyone should do it the way they like it, so to each his own.
If you're not wanting to hook them all up to the HU, and you really shouldn't, then your only other solution is an external amplifier. Personally I would recommend putting ALL the speakers on external amps. They'll sound better with more dynamic range and less distortion than on the HU. Use care in the installation of the speakers along with at least a little sound deadener. That coupled with the external amps and I think you'll be amazed at the results.
As far as the dash speakers not working, since you've not installed the new ones yet I would venture to guess that the speakers are blown or not hooked up. The factory speakers are notorious for randomly dying, assuming the previous owner didn't do anything with them.
If you're not wanting to hook them all up to the HU, and you really shouldn't, then your only other solution is an external amplifier. Personally I would recommend putting ALL the speakers on external amps. They'll sound better with more dynamic range and less distortion than on the HU. Use care in the installation of the speakers along with at least a little sound deadener. That coupled with the external amps and I think you'll be amazed at the results.
As far as the dash speakers not working, since you've not installed the new ones yet I would venture to guess that the speakers are blown or not hooked up. The factory speakers are notorious for randomly dying, assuming the previous owner didn't do anything with them.
#4
12-02-2015, 11:31 AM
By my count you were looking to run eight, and yes 6 or 8 I would use two separate amplifiers. If it's 8 speakers then a pair of four channels, if it's 6 then you could get by with a four channel and a two channel. Or you could go ahead and get two four channels and bridge the leftover set of channels to run a sub in the future.
It's hard to know what to recommend as far as power is concerned without knowing what brand and model of speakers you're using. Otherwise, yes you would hook up your highs to the speakers the same way you would a subwoofer to a subwoofer amp. It takes a bit of extra work to run all those speaker wires to the individual speaker locations, but as I had already expressed it's well worth the cost and effort of doing this for the results you'll gain in the end.
Using splitters to get the signal to all the inputs for the amps should not be an issue. With the right amplifiers you should only need one set of splitters as some amps have the ability to internally split the 1&2 channels into 3&4. That will all depend on your budget and preference on brands.
It's hard to know what to recommend as far as power is concerned without knowing what brand and model of speakers you're using. Otherwise, yes you would hook up your highs to the speakers the same way you would a subwoofer to a subwoofer amp. It takes a bit of extra work to run all those speaker wires to the individual speaker locations, but as I had already expressed it's well worth the cost and effort of doing this for the results you'll gain in the end.
Using splitters to get the signal to all the inputs for the amps should not be an issue. With the right amplifiers you should only need one set of splitters as some amps have the ability to internally split the 1&2 channels into 3&4. That will all depend on your budget and preference on brands.
#5
12-02-2015, 02:14 PM
By my count you were looking to run eight, and yes 6 or 8 I would use two separate amplifiers. If it's 8 speakers then a pair of four channels, if it's 6 then you could get by with a four channel and a two channel. Or you could go ahead and get two four channels and bridge the leftover set of channels to run a sub in the future.
It's hard to know what to recommend as far as power is concerned without knowing what brand and model of speakers you're using. Otherwise, yes you would hook up your highs to the speakers the same way you would a subwoofer to a subwoofer amp. It takes a bit of extra work to run all those speaker wires to the individual speaker locations, but as I had already expressed it's well worth the cost and effort of doing this for the results you'll gain in the end.
Using splitters to get the signal to all the inputs for the amps should not be an issue. With the right amplifiers you should only need one set of splitters as some amps have the ability to internally split the 1&2 channels into 3&4. That will all depend on your budget and preference on brands.
It's hard to know what to recommend as far as power is concerned without knowing what brand and model of speakers you're using. Otherwise, yes you would hook up your highs to the speakers the same way you would a subwoofer to a subwoofer amp. It takes a bit of extra work to run all those speaker wires to the individual speaker locations, but as I had already expressed it's well worth the cost and effort of doing this for the results you'll gain in the end.
Using splitters to get the signal to all the inputs for the amps should not be an issue. With the right amplifiers you should only need one set of splitters as some amps have the ability to internally split the 1&2 channels into 3&4. That will all depend on your budget and preference on brands.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post