Sound Advice...or wiring speaker.

[stuart]

Alright all you audio experts out there. When I bought my '88 last fall it came with a Kenwood KDC-S3009 CD deck. This unit sounds alright, manufactured in '98, and has a set of rca jacks for an external amp. The deck is rated at 35Wx4. The speakers are Kenwood 5 1/4 all around.

While I've got the interior removed to replace the carpet I thought I'd set the rig up for an eventual audio upgrade. Here's my thinking and associated questions.

I'm 40, an old man when it comes to my audio needs, no thumpin bass or sound competitions for me.

I'd like to add speakers to the rear doors and add an amp and subwoofer to the cargo area. My plan is to run the four door speakers with the head unit and the sub(s) with the amp. Because of this I don't need a huge amp, something I can hide in one of the quarter panel compartments.

I want to upgrade my speaker wires to 12 - 16 guage wire. How do I connect this thicker wire to the deck I have now which has a 16 pin connecter? Will a higher power deck have larger individual speaker connections like a home system? Is this all a waste and should I just live with the tiny (22 ga) wire the thing came with?

Have at it guys, but don't try to talk me into a wild system. I don't have a great ear and only want to make modest improvements along the lines described above.

------------------
Muchas Garcias, Stuart

<LI> 88 Grand Wagoneer 60K mi
<LI> Stock except...
<LI> Aftermarket Sunroof
<LI> Kenwood CD and speakers
<LI> Dupont Cherry Red Pearl paint
<LI> View my baby (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1340994&a=10041302&p=33310327)

[This message has been edited by stuart (edited May 01, 2001).]

[Ralph]

Stuart: since our last round of posts, this past weekend I switched my speakers around and pondered. That is, I put the 5-1/4" speakers in the back and the 6-1/2" speakers up front. I had to remove the mounting brackets up front and cut them so the speakers would fit.

In the meantime, I replaced the front vent window assemblies and lubed the window tracks. Then went about removing the rear door panels to lube those window tracks, as well.

Basically, I came to the exact same conclusion as you about where to put what. And, by the way, I'm also 40; but then I've been into car stereo forever and used to work for Hawk Electronics in Arlington, TX, before I joined the Army (1981). Those cavities behind the rear wheels will be perfect for placing 12" subs, but that will create a bit of a problem regarding where to put the jack and other tools I keep back there.

Another fellow who's on this forum once in a while, Mike Hannigan, actually removed all the guts from his tailgate, replaced the regulator assembly with a pair of tracked power window motors, and used almost the entire tailgate cavity for his sub enclosure. But then, he also has real wood paneling on the sides of his waggie...

I've got to do some body work and replace rusty panels before I get onto finishing the stereo project. But if you're not in a great big hurry wait for me and I'll go through the process of building us both a set of sub enslosures.

And I really like the idea of concealing the subs with stock-looking Accusound grills.

------------------
J ust
E mpty
E very
P ocket

[This message has been edited by Ralph (edited May 01, 2001).]

[stuart]

So Ralph what do you think about the larger speaker wire? The carpet goes back in tonight so I'd like to have all the prewiring I can done.

[River Beast]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by stuart:
So Ralph what do you think about the larger speaker wire? The carpet goes back in tonight so I'd like to have all the prewiring I can done.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The thicker the wire, the less resistance you will have, hence a better sound quality.

Also take into consideration the length of the wire.... the longer the distance traveled, the more resistance will build. You may not 'hear' the difference at first, but you are better off running a 12 gauge wire rather than a 16.

To run the sub amp, the same aspects apply to the power and ground wire for the amp. there IS a noticeable difference in the sound quality in an 'amped' system with a thick quality power and ground setup. I noticed a major difference jumping from 8 gauge power/ground to a 4 gauge wire setup
...FYI

Use a good 10 gauge for sub speaker wire...


------------------
Todd
"River Beast" (http://home.earthlink.net/~tjnkk)
http://home.earthlink.net/~riverbeast/rbthnl.jpg
14" of total Lift on 39.5" Swampers
44's locked with 4.89's
...and other stuff...
My Original FSJ site (http://www.geocities.com/spazz4life)
riverbeast@earthlink.net
"When approaching an intersection, remember...
the vehicle with the BIGGEST TIRES has the right of way..."

'93 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban...a.k.a. "FSJ Hauler"

[stuart]

Todd, how do you hood these larger wires up? The connectors have such small leads.

[Ralph]

Speaker wires have a very different purpose than wires used for powering stereo components. Heavier guage wires are needed depending on the amount of draw (amperage) the components need and how much wire is needed for the connection.

Electricity flows on the outside of wires in the form of a magnetic field, so the issue for resistance (impedence) stems from the greater surface area of larger wires. There is a reasonable range of wire sizes that will do all the work you need, and generally speaking 16 guage is good for 4-Ohm speakers and maybe a 12-14 guage for the subs. The benefits of expensive wires like MonsterCable or Streetwire is lost in a vehicle with as much ambient noise as a FSJ, but they do have pretty connectors.

At the bottom of the page on the link below is a chart for determining optimal wire size for high-draw components like amps: http://lalena.com/audio/faq/wiring/

The main issue with amps is to have adequate flow so as to minimize noise -- poorly grounded systems will have a high-pitched whine that will definitely drive you batty. Narnian, for example, has a 'Vette and experiences whining because the fiberglass body doesn't diffuse RIF very well.

Kenwood is very good about printing amperage profiles in the manuals. If you don't have manuals for your components, you can either go to their website or buy one from www.pacparts.com. (http://www.pacparts.com.)

------------------
J ust
E mpty
E very
P ocket

[stuart]

Glad you caught me Ralph, I was just on my way to the stereo shop to get another rca jack to allow growth in the amlifiers in the rear.

Speaker wire: I'm not planning on buying Monster cable, just 12-16 wire, I'm still at a loss as how to wire it to the head. Are there adapters? Even so the tiny pin connections at the back of the head seem to delete the good a larger wire might do?

[River Beast]

Stuart,

I use butt connectors (crimp type).. the short amount of small gauge wire (doubled up to fit in the connector for a good crimp) will not affect the good of the larger wire. As for hooking up to the amp... buy the appropriate connectors.

------------------
Todd
"River Beast" (http://home.earthlink.net/~tjnkk)
http://home.earthlink.net/~riverbeast/rbthnl.jpg
14" of total Lift on 39.5" Swampers
44's locked with 4.89's
...and other stuff...
My Original FSJ site (http://www.geocities.com/spazz4life)
riverbeast@earthlink.net
"When approaching an intersection, remember...
the vehicle with the BIGGEST TIRES has the right of way..."

'93 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban...a.k.a. "FSJ Hauler"