gsteigerwald

Wow, I haven't been on here in a couple months and I love to see that this thread has helped some people out and taken off.

By the way, I am loving the pictures of the installs that others have done on here.

smilinsteve

Finally got my customsubenclosures box. Ordered November 30th, received December 22. Not as fast as advertized, but no big deal really. It is a quality box and fits perfectly. When I position it in my trunk it feels like it fits so well it will stay in place without any attachments. It's fairly low profile and doesn't stick too far out into the trunk. I think a little industrial velcro on the back and bottom will be all it needs to hold it in place.
Wire connection is on the bottom of the box. This box is made for a 10 inch kicker sub.
It will be installed next weekend and I'll post pictures.

smilinsteve

Can anyone help me with which wire to use for the amp on signal to my new sub amp?

There is #20 - white - which is the "amp on" input from the head unit to the Bose amp,
or there is #22 - gray - which is the "amp on" output signal from the Bose amp to the Bose woofer amp. Or will either one work?

Would you just splice into this wire and run it parallel to its existing termination and also to the new amp?

Thanks.

smilinsteve

It looks like the op used wire 22 for the amp on signal, and ATL _G and Crime used wire 20 (see posts 59 and 60 of this thread). So I guess either one works.

CRiME

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I went with 20. 2011 w/ bose. I would recommend using 20 as a future proof hookup, just in case if you ever decide to pull the bose amp and overhaul the entire system. I found that I got no voltage from 22, and wasn't sure why. Now that you've pointed out that it is the amp on signal from the bose amp, it makes sense. I had the harness disconnected from the bose amp at the time. Thanks

JT2014

iTrader: (6)

And neither might work depending on your amp. My Kicker ZR amp would not kick on with either wire. I had to run a actual turn on wire to the fuse box at the drivers side kick panel.

smilinsteve

Makes sense to use 20 then I guess. Thanks for the tip!

smilinsteve

Yikes, I wonder why not? Someone posted something about not getting a good connection with the small wire or something. I'll be installing a Kicker CX 300.1 so I hope it works.

RA081224

It has to do with the amount of current the head unit can source to cause the voltage change in the amp-on signal versus what your amp requires. In general I suggest using a slave relay circuit back in the amp rack to handle the turn on on duties.

Agillg37

I finished my sub install the other day, and when I incresase my volume, the base diminishes, I'm not sure why its doing that. I read something about a hi-low converter but I'm not sure. What should I do?

smilinsteve

So I took my stuff in to be installed today, (Bestbuy), and I pretty much explained to him everything he needed to do based on what I have read here. He said he would not splice RCA's into the 23-26 wires, that it was not a connection they could warranty.

He said he needed to use an LOC. I questioned him whether that made sense to put line level wires into an LOC since the thing is designed to drop speaker level down to line level. He said that the LOC is just a way to convert those wires into an RCA connection and it will do the same thing as splicing but more professional. Does this make sense?
Now I have the car back, and it sounds ok, but I'm not sure how its supposed to sound. I'm thinking of ripping that LOC out and doing the splice.

smilinsteve

Here are some pictures of my finished sub install.
First, I really like the custom sub enclosures box. Looks very nice and takes up little space. Here is how it fits:

smilinsteve

I put the amp on the opposite side wall, and the bass control **** way under the dash, where it is reachable if I bend a bit, but it isn't visible when getting in the car or when sitting in the driver seat:

smilinsteve

A couple more pics to show how much the sub and box protrude into the trunk:

RA081224

Hes a commercial installer. His goal is to get installs done in the least amount of time possible, not make them sound better than average, not to make them prettier than most.....just get them done. A lot of installers use the LOC converters to take bare wires (or wire taps) from line level signals and convert them to RCA's rather than make their own connections. They will turn the amp gains up to compensate for the LOC. The problem with this is by turning the amp gain up you reduce your S/N ratio and introduce all manner of noise to the amplified signal. The signal level from pins 23-26 is at best 4.5 -5V which is well within the line level tolerance of most modern maps. Your sound pressure level (SPL) will likely not improve by removing the converters (depending on how he set the amp gain) but your sound quality will.

This is reason 13,609 why I don't use places like Best Buy, Circuit City, Car Toys, etc to do my audio work. Pick an installer that is willing to work with you to achieve what you want and educate you if necessary; not combat you with warranty restrictions because he does not understand the particular car you've brought him.