So today I went and bought new speakers for my 01, I went with Alpine SPS-600C's for up front and SPS-609 for the rear deck as well as an Alpine head unit with the KTP-445 power pack. Now i only had time to install the back speakers, the head unit and the power pack but I can already tell i'm needing an amp (i think anyway). The speakers are much much quieter and i'm assuming they aren't getting enough power. Also the hooks ups to speakers were different than stock, do I need to splice the two wires or what??

Shouldn't the KTP-445 be boosting the stock amp or do I have to bypass it to work? I was thinking about just scrapping the power pack deal and getting a 4 channel amp, i'm just not sure what to get. The front speakers are rated 80 watts RMS while the backs are 85 RMS. Any suggestions? How do I bypass the factory amp or should i completely replace it?

I should also mention that i might be running a sub or two in the trunk at some later point, so how should I prepare for this?

 

I did the same thing thing.... all new alpine speakers and the factory amp couldnt handle all of them.... only two ended up working because of the lack of power. I ended up running a seperate 4 channel amp to run them and Im glad I did. They sound a lot more crisp and you get the true power out of them! Hope this helps!

 

Assuming you're running off the stock deck and amp- check the impedance of your stock speakers vs your new ones. For example, if your stock speakers are 2 ohms, and your new speakers are 4 ohms- then you've just cut the power output of the amp in half.

Secondly, make sure you did not install the speakers out of phase with each other- this kills sound output as well.

Yes- you always have to. I've never seen a factory speaker hookup that plugged right into an aftermarket speaker. They do sell adaptors (so its all plug and play and tells you what wire is + and -)- but IMO, its just as easy to tap into the stock wires and solder the connections.

 

Definitely bypass the factory amp. If you haven't, you're basically amping the signal to the factory amp, which makes no sense to do lol. The factory amp will still put out the same amount of power that it did before. Bypassing it is easy. You can either run your own new speaker wires and just totally forget about the stock system, or you can take the wires at the stock amp and connect the in and out wires for a specific speaker together. Then you'll just leave the factory amp unplugged altogether.

To bypass it with stock wiring, use the following link for wire colors. Basically you'll take the wires labeled line level output and connect them with the corresponding amplifier output wire. For example, you'll take the left front + line level output wire (tan) and connect it to the left front + amp output (dark blue/white).

Link: http://mymonte.com/discussion/index....dpost&p=193503

 

Now what if I wanted to completely remove the factory amp and replace it with a 4 channel alpine, could I just splice the wires going to the factory amp as long as I could match them up?

 

If you run an aftermarket amp, you'll have to run a new power wire to the battery, run RCAs from the headunit, and run a new ground to somewhere in the trunk.

With that power pack you got for your headunit, your aftermarker speakers should sound at least as good as stock I would think. Your current problem is that you left the factory amp hooked up. Get your power pack wired up correctly to the speakers (no stock amp) and see if you're satisfied with the sound. If not, then consider a real 4 channel amp.

 

Did that and they sounded pretty good, but not what i'm looking for. Bypassing the factory amp was a huge improvement by the way, thanks!! I think that i'm going to buy this: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPF...00.html?tp=115

The one thing that has me confused is the adapter kit I bought to keep all my chimes and what not has the four RCA cables connected into the head unit, what do I do about that??

 

That's a nice amp! Alpine makes some good stuff. But a 50 watt rms to drive 80 watt rms speakers might be a bit to low. You may want to look at a few other amps that can be a better match for the aftermarket speakers installed, so as to avoid overheating the amp, or distortion from speakers, if you decide to push it a bit. Check this one out:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_489AP10...40.html?tp=115

Make sure you use the correct gauge power wire/quality RCA cables if you install the amp in the trunk, or if you are installing a multiple amp set up (I read you might go with a sub/s as well). I use 0 gauge from the batt. to a distribution block for my multi amp set up. Run your power cable separate from the RCA's to avoid Electromagnetic Interference and use a heavy gauge wire for your ground to avoid Ground Loops. Have fun with the Installation!

 

I went with the Alpine F-300, i'm looking more for sound quality than loudness per se, trying to go on the conservative side here with consideration the battery, speaker life and overall quality of the sound coming from my system. i'd def tweak it a bunch, and whenever I get around the the sub/s i think it would complete the system? so would a little lower rated amp be better for quality versus overall loudness?

 

I wasn't recommending the bigger amp for loudness, but it's always better for the speaker/amp set up to match them close to their rms. It's not written in stone but a good idea for the extended life of the components.