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BRZ Second-Gen (2022+) -- General Topics General topics for the second-gen BRZ


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Old 04-25-2022, 01:04 PM   #29
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A couple of comments on your comments. First, I thought the Hakone system was universally panned as sounding much worse than the Limited stereo out of the box - I mean barely usable. I just don't think the head unit has enough power to do the job on the door speakers especially considering they do the majority (all) of the job with respect to the low frequencies.

Specifically, I agree that the stock speakers aren't that bad and that the major problems with the system are stock filtering decisions and lack of power. In other words, I think that if there were a way to add a DSP in front of and replacing all built-in filtering, more power and, (for most) a subwoofer, while utilizing the existing speakers/wiring, you could end up with a pretty decent sounding system for as little money as you could expect to spend (maybe even $600-$800 or less if you could find used equipment). Problem is you can't and then you throw in the fact that all the speakers are 2ohm and you have yet another wrench in the system.

I think other than rewiring the whole car and replacing almost everything but the head unit, simply replacing the existing amp with a better one using the existing harnesses may be the best way to go
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83809

Second choice would be a plug-n-play subwoofer if it existed.

Just my thoughts.
I thought the same thing of just using the existing speakers and adding a DSP amp to fix the filter problem of the mid-range frequencies, but if I understand what you and soundman98 are saying driving more power to the 2 ohm door speakers could make it sound worse. I am guessing this is why soundman98 is recommending the speaker upgrade. Are you saying just adding the app would be so simple it is worth a shot to fix everything?
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Old 04-25-2022, 01:38 PM   #30
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I thought the same thing of just using the existing speakers and adding a DSP amp to fix the filter problem of the mid-range frequencies, but if I understand what you and soundman98 are saying driving more power to the 2 ohm door speakers could make it sound worse. I am guessing this is why soundman98 is recommending the speaker upgrade. Are you saying just adding the app would be so simple it is worth a shot to fix everything?
First, no offense, but you've got to get over this idea of - what can I do the cheapest/easiest to "100% fix everything"? We are talking about qualitative improvements that by their nature can't be defined as a percentage.

For example, you saw what joeymysterio did in order to improve bass response. It did nothing to improve the sound out of the door speakers. Second, I think you think there is some magic 5 minute plug 'n play solution. There isn't and there will never be. Even if the Kicker sub option were available, I still think there would be wiring solutions that would need to be done. The closest you are going to get will be the OEM+ solution which, at minimum, will require you opening up the door panels, rear panels and front grills and using a few tools. And frankly, for the cost, I am not sure it will be worth it.

In any event, you need to understand that the current set-up drives and filters the primary speakers (door) differently from the rear/fronts. I'm not even sure I have this right or that it has been verified as being identical for the Gen2, but in Gen1, the front/rear are driven and filtered by the head unit (although I believe the front tweeters have their own crossovers) whereas the doors are driven/filtered by the lame amp in the trunk. All of this makes it very difficult to simply and cheaply upgrade.

As for your DSP/Amp combination, I don't think the hardware you are talking about exists and, even if it did, wouldn't work anyway (without a complete rewire) as it would need more power than the existing AMP and would need to have unfiltered inputs from the head unit (which it has) but would then need to be wired up to the front and rear speakers directly (easy for the rears, and potentially doable for the fronts).

In any event, the link I provided simply uses an almost plug and play amp to improve the volume and clarity of the sound out of the door speakers.
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Old 04-25-2022, 02:01 PM   #31
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a thinner speaker wire might fit, i did my front doors with a much thicker/durable jacketed stuff, and it wouldn't physically fit through the boot. inside the boot on both ends, there's a 'tongue' that sticks out and the wire that goes through it is electrical taped on each end to keep it in place. makes it way more of a pain to pull anything through there. i ended up cutting an 'X' in the boot on both sides just smaller than the diameter of the cable i was pulling through, so the pieces of the X self-seal against the wire






i'm hesitant to put a % on the recommendations-- to some it'll be 10% because it's not sound deadened, or lacks an amp, and lacks a sub. to others, it'll be 200% better...

instead i'll explain the logic a little more. because the door speaker amp filters out anything above 350hz, and the dash midranges don't start until about 3khz, the point is to essentially start over with gear that is filtered in a way that there's no gap between the different types of speakers. the solution gets rid of the stock speakers, amp and their filtering, which is really what i feel is the root cause of all this. i think the components that are installed in these vehicles are of good quality, but the filtering choices made are poor. but there's no easy way to get rid of the filtering without major adjustments in the speakers.

the only filter that's easy to bypass is the door speaker amp filtering, but as i said, the stock speakers resistance level could pose a powering issue to the head unit that could result in bad sound as well.

so is it going to be better? i would and have run a similar setup in my car at one point, which is why i have no qualms about recommending this type of setup. it's good enough for those that weren't looking for seat-shaking bass most times.

could it be better? yes, just like everything else, throwing more money at it could make it louder/clearer/better. but this is about as easy/reversible as it gets without going into adding amps, line output converters, and/or a subwoofer.

fyi, i helped a tacoma forum member select some gear for a moderate sub install. just the box, wiring, 1-channel amp, and sub came to $510. so of your $1k budget, adding a sub would only leave about $250 if you were to want to change to a 5-channel amp, or run a larger power wire with distribution blocks ($) and install a 1-channel and 2-4 channel amp, plus additional speaker wire.

i would expect adding a sub to your setup would cost approximately the same as his did. so while it's still within your budget number, you would need to be the one to determine if it's worthwhile. i would recommend taking this step first and figuring out how satisfied you are with the cheaper alternatives. to many it's not worth it, to some it is.
I understand your hesitation to state a % "betterness". Sound is definitely relative to the one listening.
I think you understand what I am trying to accomplish and still keep it in my price range. To me the bass is there, it just gets garbled when the volume is turned to high. So your option without adding a bass should work well, and I could always add that later if need be. I am not willing to give up the space in the trunk at this time. I might consider one of those wheel-well subwoofers later.
Please give me a link to the 5-channel amp that you recommend? Nothing fancy, because anything would be better than what I have. The reason I might be willing to go the 5-channel amp route is that it sounds like I will have to run new wires everywhere. If I am going to do that I would be willing to put more money into it to make it right the first time. (And no sub will help keep the cost down as well.)
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Old 04-25-2022, 02:48 PM   #32
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First, no offense, but you've got to get over this idea of - what can I do the cheapest/easiest to "100% fix everything"? We are talking about qualitative improvements that by their nature can't be defined as a percentage.

For example, you saw what joeymysterio did in order to improve bass response. It did nothing to improve the sound out of the door speakers. Second, I think you think there is some magic 5 minute plug 'n play solution. There isn't and there will never be. Even if the Kicker sub option were available, I still think there would be wiring solutions that would need to be done. The closest you are going to get will be the OEM+ solution which, at minimum, will require you opening up the door panels, rear panels and front grills and using a few tools. And frankly, for the cost, I am not sure it will be worth it.

In any event, you need to understand that the current set-up drives and filters the primary speakers (door) differently from the rear/fronts. I'm not even sure I have this right or that it has been verified as being identical for the Gen2, but in Gen1, the front/rear are driven and filtered by the head unit (although I believe the front tweeters have their own crossovers) whereas the doors are driven/filtered by the lame amp in the trunk. All of this makes it very difficult to simply and cheaply upgrade.

As for your DSP/Amp combination, I don't think the hardware you are talking about exists and, even if it did, wouldn't work anyway (without a complete rewire) as it would need more power than the existing AMP and would need to have unfiltered inputs from the head unit (which it has) but would then need to be wired up to the front and rear speakers directly (easy for the rears, and potentially doable for the fronts).

In any event, the link I provided simply uses an almost plug and play amp to improve the volume and clarity of the sound out of the door speakers.
No offense taken. I am new to adding amps, so there is a learning curve for me. I have changed out head units and speakers, but never messed with amps.
I understand I cannot fix it to 100% without throwing a lot of money at it. I initially proposed to soundman98 that I wanted it 80% better. I realize if I wanted to go the last 20%, it would cost at least double that of the 80% better.
I do understand there is not a quick fix, but I am willing to put the time into myself. As with anything, I want to get the most for my time and money. I also realize when you get to higher-end equipment you pay a premium with sometimes very little gains. This is true with any high-end name brands stuff where you are paying for the name just as much as any cutting-edge technology.
I think DSP is an amp that uses “digital signal processing”. Again this is new to me so I might be wrong.
What scares me about your link is that they warn of driving more power to the 2-ohm stock speakers could cause it to sound worse. soundman98 solution replaces the 2-ohm speakers with 4-ohm speakers. Since I do have to run new wires everywhere, I want to put a little more money into it to make sure it is fixed well enough ( to 80%), but thanks for the suggestion. The more info I get the better decision I can make.
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Old 04-25-2022, 11:33 PM   #33
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I'm not even sure I have this right or that it has been verified as being identical for the Gen2, but in Gen1, the front/rear are driven and filtered by the head unit (although I believe the front tweeters have their own crossovers) whereas the doors are driven/filtered by the lame amp in the trunk. All of this makes it very difficult to simply and cheaply upgrade.
i don't believe it's been picture-verified either, but the parts diagrams show the locations as identical, and same sizes of components as well. so there's little reason to think anything has changed significantly.

on the gen1, the dash midrange, and tweeter have their own filtering--specifically a capacitor-type 6db/oct filter. the rear speakers do not have any filtering.

you're right. technically, it is possible to remove the filtering of the oem speakers, and build your own. it would require replacing/bypassing the oem amp, and unsoldering the capacitors on the tweeters and midranges. but the reality is removing and reinstalling the speakers is a good portion of the work involved in rebuilding the sound system with alternate components that are easier to integrate together. so the only real reason to keep the oem speakers really is going to be stubbornness.
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Old 04-26-2022, 12:24 AM   #34
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Please give me a link to the 5-channel amp that you recommend? Nothing fancy, because anything would be better than what I have. The reason I might be willing to go the 5-channel amp route is that it sounds like I will have to run new wires everywhere. If I am going to do that I would be willing to put more money into it to make it right the first time. (And no sub will help keep the cost down as well.)
tldr: it's getting late and i'm rambling...

admittedly, this is starting to get pretty far off topic. "ship of theseus" kind of off topic.

adding an amp is about the same as insisting that the best way to improve a vehicle is to replace the motor, transmission, differential, suspension, and tires. is it really still considered 'improving' anymore if you've gutted and replaced the majority of the car?

with the setup i recommended previously, only a 2-channel would be required if you wanted a little more oomph behind the speakers.

a 4-channel amp could be used, in 2 possible methods. first by amplifying the rear speaker pair and the front speaker pair, or second, a DSP would be used between the radio and amp to filter the signals, and each individual amp channel would power a single woofer/tweeter.

a 5 channel amp, the 5th channel is typically used for a subwoofer. unless you're running a sub, there's no benefit here.

but as you're aware, the level of complexity increases exponentially at every step of this process.

the method i recommended previously is the simple-straightforward method--speaker replacement off the oem head unit. the next step would be to either add a sub, or add an amp to those speakers-- either are relatively minor next-steps in that process, and integrating with the oem head unit is still relatively simple.


but once one decides to add a 4 or 5 channel amp, the difficulty increases substantially. there's really no benefit to maintaining the oem head unit anymore, as maintaining it requires additional equipment to possibly un-filter and pre-filtered outputs of the unit, as well as adapters and converters to alter the signal path to get it into the aftermarket amps, and many times, it's preconfiguration turns out to be a boon to system setup, which leads to even more workarounds.

an aftermarket head unit with better sound tuning options and RCA preout's becomes more useful for system integration at this point..

but then once you replace the headunit, the speakers, all the wiring, add power wiring to an amp, add the amp, and now we're quickly delving into programming a DSP to route signals where they ought to go...

all because the sound system sounded 'hollow'?

i like audio. i like talking audio. i like looking at audio devices. but there needs to be a point to all of it. there comes a point where it's no longer looking to attain a specific goal, and really just throwing money at things and hoping to succeed at a phantom goal that someone once told you about.

i appreciate your willingness to look into further options, but the real questions here are these:
if you 've never done something like this before, what's transpired to make you want all of everything now?

is all this extra gear something that you have an interest in maintaining, or do you have enough recurring disposable income to pay someone else to maintain it for you?

audio isn't all that different from tuning a motor. there's the oem tune that will work in all but the extreme scenarios, there's the subtle tweaks that one can make to the oem tune to work better for their use cases, and then there's the crowd that obliterates the oem setup, and enjoys spending their spare time logging, tweaking, and making their own tune.

i'm not opposed to helping anyone with a new hobby, but i just don't get the impression that your end goal is a new hobby. i get the impression that you're looking for a "one-n-done" setup that improves things, keeps the simplicity of the oem head unit, and 'just works'. and while every setup can be made to 'just work', the installation complexity, and time it takes to setup such a system that simply gets more and more complex the further down the rabbit hole one goes.

if you are suddenly interested in something more than just a speaker upgrade, but want/need to keep it as simple as possible, the oem+ would be an excellent upgrade path for that. everything is pre-configured to 'just work', and they have a support staff to aid in installation, with a documented well-sounding final product at the end of all of it.
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Old 04-26-2022, 06:03 PM   #35
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tldr: it's getting late and i'm rambling...

admittedly, this is starting to get pretty far off topic. "ship of theseus" kind of off topic.

adding an amp is about the same as insisting that the best way to improve a vehicle is to replace the motor, transmission, differential, suspension, and tires. is it really still considered 'improving' anymore if you've gutted and replaced the majority of the car?

with the setup i recommended previously, only a 2-channel would be required if you wanted a little more oomph behind the speakers.

a 4-channel amp could be used, in 2 possible methods. first by amplifying the rear speaker pair and the front speaker pair, or second, a DSP would be used between the radio and amp to filter the signals, and each individual amp channel would power a single woofer/tweeter.

a 5 channel amp, the 5th channel is typically used for a subwoofer. unless you're running a sub, there's no benefit here.

but as you're aware, the level of complexity increases exponentially at every step of this process.

the method i recommended previously is the simple-straightforward method--speaker replacement off the oem head unit. the next step would be to either add a sub, or add an amp to those speakers-- either are relatively minor next-steps in that process, and integrating with the oem head unit is still relatively simple.


but once one decides to add a 4 or 5 channel amp, the difficulty increases substantially. there's really no benefit to maintaining the oem head unit anymore, as maintaining it requires additional equipment to possibly un-filter and pre-filtered outputs of the unit, as well as adapters and converters to alter the signal path to get it into the aftermarket amps, and many times, it's preconfiguration turns out to be a boon to system setup, which leads to even more workarounds.

an aftermarket head unit with better sound tuning options and RCA preout's becomes more useful for system integration at this point..

but then once you replace the headunit, the speakers, all the wiring, add power wiring to an amp, add the amp, and now we're quickly delving into programming a DSP to route signals where they ought to go...

all because the sound system sounded 'hollow'?

i like audio. i like talking audio. i like looking at audio devices. but there needs to be a point to all of it. there comes a point where it's no longer looking to attain a specific goal, and really just throwing money at things and hoping to succeed at a phantom goal that someone once told you about.

i appreciate your willingness to look into further options, but the real questions here are these:
if you 've never done something like this before, what's transpired to make you want all of everything now?

is all this extra gear something that you have an interest in maintaining, or do you have enough recurring disposable income to pay someone else to maintain it for you?

audio isn't all that different from tuning a motor. there's the oem tune that will work in all but the extreme scenarios, there's the subtle tweaks that one can make to the oem tune to work better for their use cases, and then there's the crowd that obliterates the oem setup, and enjoys spending their spare time logging, tweaking, and making their own tune.

i'm not opposed to helping anyone with a new hobby, but i just don't get the impression that your end goal is a new hobby. i get the impression that you're looking for a "one-n-done" setup that improves things, keeps the simplicity of the oem head unit, and 'just works'. and while every setup can be made to 'just work', the installation complexity, and time it takes to setup such a system that simply gets more and more complex the further down the rabbit hole one goes.

if you are suddenly interested in something more than just a speaker upgrade, but want/need to keep it as simple as possible, the oem+ would be an excellent upgrade path for that. everything is pre-configured to 'just work', and they have a support staff to aid in installation, with a documented well-sounding final product at the end of all of it.
This is great feedback. Thanks for taking the time to explain this. I knew that I didn't know enough about sound systems to make a wise choice, and I could easily pay way too much for a result that sounds worse. You are right, I do want a "one-n-done" type of solution. My two choices are the $200-ish 2-channel speaker replacement that you suggested or the OEM+ that comes in around $1600 (not counting my labor as well) which is way more than I care to spend on a not half system already. I just thought there was something in the middle of these solutions that would work for me. I know now, that this is not the case. I did NOT know the complexity increased exponentially. I just assumed a linear increase in complexity, so I will stay away from getting a new amp and just go with your first solution of the 2-channel speaker replacement. I think your solution will fix 1) the hollow sound by "fixing" the frequency distribution and 2) "fix" the bass with a little stronger speakers, and fix number 1 should help the bass as well. Thanks again for letting me pick your brain. You have been a great help!
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Old 04-28-2022, 02:15 PM   #36
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I have OEM Audio Plus in my 4Runner and I like it. It's good for the money - I'd say it's a few notches better than the Harmon Kardon system in my wife's 2018 Outback.
I got the replacement speakers, DSP/amp, and subwoofer. I'm considering adding their dedicated subwoofer amplifier. I would say it's worth waiting for. It's the best you're going to get for a "plug-n-play" solution. If you want better, you'll either pay a lot more because of parts and labor, or you're going to have to do a lot of research on audio system design, installation, and tuning. My friends and I taught ourselves how to install in the late 90's and early 2000's. In the late 2000's I really started getting into system design and tuning. I met a guy who was really good at that stuff (he won sound quality competitions) who helped me build a Pioneer PRS based system for my RX-8. It sounded amazing, but after I sold that car I decided it took much time and money to keep building sound systems for new cars. :P
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Old 06-11-2022, 09:53 PM   #37
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the rear speakers are mounted like this:


they're literally just dangling in a massive open cavity.

my understanding is that the oem stereo does some filtering(unknown to the specifics, but a few reports) which already reduces the capability of the rear speakers. but regardless of the signal they get, to make any sort of use of those speaker locations, a baffle would need to be made looking more like this


and the interior plastic would also need to be modified with a larger grille to allow the sound to come out of the larger replacement speaker.

personally, i don't see much of a reason to fuss with the rear speakers-- it's a ton of work representing minimal gains, even if everything is thrown at them.

in fairness though, i'm biased against rear speakers. i personally prefer a more forward sound stage, where it sounds more similar to the band 'playing on the hood', so i rarely focus on doing much with any rear speakers.



ok, a few different thoughts. none are set in stone, and all could cost money to try.

hollow sounding to me indicates that there's something missing in the middle of the frequency range. i believe the dash speakers and door speakers are each independently filtered-- iirc, the dash speakers start working around 3khz, and the door speaker amp filters out frequencies above 350hz. so the vocal range from 350-3khz doesn't exist for these speakers. leaving things hollow sounding.



something that no one's tried that could help is to make and install a copy of the hakone amp bypass jumper that bypasses the oem amp and it's filtering, powering the door speakers directly off the radio.

all you should need would be the metra 70-1761 harness, and some time to splice the wires together.

picture of the harness to be duplicated is in picture 7b in this post:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...13&postcount=2

the upshot here is that it's simple, extremely cheap, and 100% reversible. the downside is that the door speakers are 2ohm speakers, which might not play nice with the radio, and might not sound any better because of it.

if all you're really interested in is full sound, it doesn't really seem like you want a subwoofer.

just about any 2-way component set ought to fulfill that need.

for a 100% reversible setup, i would suggest that amp bypass mod in tandem with these speakers
https://nvx.com/nvx-vsp65kit.html

you would also require these, or similar door harness adapters for the door speakers
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...a-72-8104.html

and you'd also need this tweeter wiring harness. this is required because the audio signal runs through the factory tweeters connector. disconnecting them kills the signal going to the midranges and door speaker amp.
https://tacotunes.com/shop/toyota-ca...ness-adapters/

at the bottom of the tacotunes page, there's a description that says the radio input to the tweeter connector is 2-/4+, with 1-/3+ going to the door speakers.


this idea would replace all the speakers in the front of the car, for just under $200 in parts. crossover would be installed inside the dash, under the tweeters, the tweeters would require a mounting idea-- possibly these, the midrange would not be used anymore. the crossover would be wired so 2-/4+ is the input to the crossover, the tweeter output would go straight to the tweeter above it, and the woofer output would connect to 1-/3+ of that tweeter adapter harness. the amp bypass harness, and speaker adapter harnesses would be required for a reversible setup.

you could alternately run wire from the crossover into each door as well, which would eliminate the amp bypass adapter, as well as the speaker adapter harnesses, it would just be more work.


i personally haven't added any major sound deadening to my '14, other than some in the trunk area to deal with rattles from the subwoofer. so extra money/time could be spent deadening the doors, but i honestly don't believe that it's going to have significant audio quality gains. YMMV.

that's a preliminary, easy setup. adding an amp and sub is going to be vastly more complex, and if you're comparing aftermarket to oem+ in terms of cost, their package is going to be cheaper and easier to install, though likely not as personally-specific as the aftermarket gear would be.
I got the speaker you suggested here https://nvx.com/nvx-vsp65kit.html. I will try them by themself at first, but if I want a little more power what do you think about adding one of these amps?

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500KTA....html?tp=35782

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108P60....html?tp=35782
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Old 06-11-2022, 11:27 PM   #38
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of those 2 options, my preference would be the infinity amp, specifically for the additional adjustment knobs.

there's also the kicker key amp with a built-in dsp, which can help make it sound even better
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20647K...7KEY200-4.html

i know some have insisted it's possible to run that alpine off the oem amp power wiring. regardless of that, i would still run new power/ground wiring off the battery. it's a decent amount of work to add an amp anyways, so adding a power wire really isn't that much more, pretty much all the same panels need to be pulled.
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Old 06-12-2022, 07:08 AM   #39
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OEM Audio Plus speaker upgrades are now available:

https://oemaudioplus.com/gr86-brz/

DSP/Amp/Sub still in development. The speaker upgrades should improve sound quality quite a bit. I replaced the speakers first on my 4Runner (non-JBL) with OEM Audio Plus and listened to that for a few weeks before installing their DSP/Amp and finally the subwoofer. Nice upgrade.
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Old 06-12-2022, 08:44 AM   #40
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of those 2 options, my preference would be the infinity amp, specifically for the additional adjustment knobs.

there's also the kicker key amp with a built-in dsp, which can help make it sound even better
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20647K...7KEY200-4.html

i know some have insisted it's possible to run that alpine off the oem amp power wiring. regardless of that, i would still run new power/ground wiring off the battery. it's a decent amount of work to add an amp anyways, so adding a power wire really isn't that much more, pretty much all the same panels need to be pulled.
You must have read my mind because the two amps that I picked were because they only needed a 15 amp fuse which the stock amp has already. Yes, I was trying to avoid running independent power to the new amp. Well, if I do run a new power line, this will open up my options to a lot more amp choices.

I also picked the two amps because, if I understand the car's wiring correctly, I need an amp that will take "speaker-level inputs". Am I correct here? Or is there preamp signal lines at the stock amp connector?

Another question at your level of knowledge, is there anything options that I will lose by replacing an amp for the door speakers? For example, I read something about some stock amps handling voice commands or hands-free phone calls. And I guess I will lose the music tuning options on the head unit?
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Old 06-12-2022, 10:42 AM   #41
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You must have read my mind because the two amps that I picked were because they only needed a 15 amp fuse which the stock amp has already. Yes, I was trying to avoid running independent power to the new amp. Well, if I do run a new power line, this will open up my options to a lot more amp choices.
yea, while it might technically work, i personally don't trust the oem wiring--it was designed around a lower power amp, and a lower power output level as well. could it work? sure. but is it worth it to install a $250+ amp over the course of roughly 2-4 hours, only to have to tear into everything at a later date because the factory wiring turns out to be too thin to offer the benefits of the amp you already paid for?

if you're going to amplify the speakers, the oem speaker wire is only something like 18-20gauge wire. i personally go a little overkill running 12-13ga, but i wouldn't push 50wrms into anything less than 16 gauge pure copper wire from a known-good supplier like crutchfield or knukonceptz. so once you're replacing the speaker wire to take full advantage of the amp, it's not even a full hop-skip-and-jump more to run a dedicated power line, as most of the panels that need pulled for the speaker wire need pulled for the amp cabling.

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I also picked the two amps because, if I understand the car's wiring correctly, I need an amp that will take "speaker-level inputs". Am I correct here? Or is there preamp signal lines at the stock amp connector?
there's some newer conflicting info on that.
on the .org /threads/sub-amp-install.1516/page-2#post-44632
remove donut has tested/measured the oem signal and says it's really just a low level signal. so any amp should work just fine. most quality amps are going to have a high level input option anyways.

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Another question at your level of knowledge, is there anything options that I will lose by replacing an amp for the door speakers? For example, I read something about some stock amps handling voice commands or hands-free phone calls. And I guess I will lose the music tuning options on the head unit?
the oem amp is a 'dumb' amp, it doesn't handle any specialty features, same as any aftermarket amp.
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Old 06-12-2022, 03:21 PM   #42
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there's some newer conflicting info on that.
on the .org /threads/sub-amp-install.1516/page-2#post-44632
remove donut has tested/measured the oem signal and says it's really just a low level signal. so any amp should work just fine. most quality amps are going to have a high level input option anyways.
Thanks! Maybe we can shed some light on this issue once I get all of my new equipment. I can do whatever test is needed as long as it's done with a multimeter or unplugging / plugging in a speaker.
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