Hi, first thanks for any help I can get, what I'm trying to do is replace my factory speakers front and back with aftermarket, and add a sub to my 06 SS Monte. My question is with my factory amp that I have under my rear deck can I just wire up the new aftermarket speakers or do I need to do something else to make them work with my factor head unit/amp. Second I have a sub that I what to add to my sound system, the sub/amp has speakers level inputs on it so that make it a little easier to wire up. Where would be the best place to wire it up at.

 

I have the factory head unit with aftermarket speakers it will work. But I had and amp added and processor to give it better quality sound. I had it done at a sound shop. The sub I can't help sorry.

 

are you keeping the factory head unit? If not, you can run the SUB from the rear speaker wire's...I did this in my 02 Monte. Do you have a picture of the sub and amp? There are options and I want to make sure I advise the best I can....

 

I too like Mel,
am using the factory head unit... I have a complete MTX sound system. (Speakers and Amps) I am pushing 4000+ watts with a separate sub control. I had this all installed at an audio shop as well...
However,
I got lucky! MTX was there with 1 of there demo vehicles and since they heard I wanted a complete MTX sound system. They did the complete install!
In the 15 yrs I have owned this car with this sound system.. I haven't had any issues or problems with it... and yes it still sounds today as good as it did when it was installed!

It so happened also.. That a friend of mine owned the audio shop and was going to have his guys do it til MTX volunteered there services!




The Amps are actually attached to the back of the custom made sub box. that fits perfectly between the wheel wells.

 

you have to run a new VERY heavy lead from the battery to the amplifiers in the rear.
and heavy leads to the speakers.

here is why:

no amplifier is 100% efficient. but lets assume 100% overall efficiency just to make the point. lets say the rest of the electronics in the circuit is in the picture too - not just the fets in the output stage directly connected to the speakers.

4000 watts divided by 12 volts = 333.3 amps - welding cable like 2/0 minimum - id go 4/0 for good transient response and recovery. we want and need excellent transient response because the car amplifiers are direct coupled - so they can present pure dc to the speakers if you run into clipping.

lets be optimistic and calculate using 14.8 volts.`

4000 / 14.8 = 270 amps

next we need a source of power. you wont get it from the alternator. they are rated at about 150 to 180 watts and they have to run the car and charge the battery. so the only place you can get the current you need is the battery with a cranking power of lets say 220 amps for an hour before its about gone. when the battery voltage drops to 11.8 to 12.2 volts most alternators / generators start charging the battery.

when you drive an amplifier with the output of another amplifier with speakers attached to it, your sub amplifier will try to faithfully reproduce the signal, including its distortion and a phenomenon known as ringing. this is created by the impedance curve of the speaker loading the original amplifier and the voltage drop in the speaker wires themselves. since these wires are most likely not shielded there is a chance for "out of band" noise to show up in the sub amp.

now that our model system has everything in place including the subwoofers themselves lets turn it on and make some sound.

the secret ingredient here is a giant imposing looking capacitor. ive read of 1 farad and even banks of 1 farad capacitors all lined up with steering diodes on the 12 volt bus.
needless to say our model has a fuse at the battery at the front of the car and one at the back near those monstrous cans. these capacitors have to charge up to line voltage (11.8 - 14.8 as long as the alternator and charging circuit are happy) before you can produce much power for the subs.

so where does the 4000 watts come from? is it real? can our model produce 4000 watts all day long or just for a few seconds?

our model has 2 4 ohm speakers in parallel. so our load impedance on the amplifier is 2 ohms.

the math:

4000 watts divided by 2 ohms = 2000.
the square root of 2000 is 44.72.
so, 44.72 amps at 12 volts is 536 watts.

since there are 2 speakers thats only 268 watts per speaker.

so we have to get some voltage from somewhere. in comes the pulse width modulated switching mode output section. its a switching power supply like you can find in computers and almost everything these days. you take any voltage and chop it up so you can drive a transformer primary to get double your desired output voltage so you can rectify it back to dc and filter it to produce the voltage we need to make our fets draw enough current through the speakers to dissipate 4000 watts.

an additional circuit is used to take the audio input and modulate the power supply with it.
now we have the audio at the level we expect to the fully drive the speakers.

so now we have lets say 100 volts dc and we can draw 40 amps through the voice coils in the speakers. 40 amps x 100 volts = 4000 watts.

now we have a device that functions as advertised on paper.

except!!! there are 2 speakers and the power is actually taking a hit on efficiency because of mis matched impedance due to the 2 speakers being in parallel. it boils down to less than 2000 watts to each speaker meaning less than 4000 total. multiple speakers on the output of one amplifier will never produce the same output as a single driver.

so as long as you can provide 270 amps at 12 volts to our model, it will consume 4000 watts.
the alternator can give you 12 amps until it starts wanting to catch fire. the battery is drawing more and more current from the alternator as it discharges too. the running load to make the car work is probably around 15 to 20 amps too.

somewhere in the circuit 270 amps has to get inside the amplifier. the wire carrying that current has to be huge.

what really happens in the systems is, the output power drops off rapidly during even a single drum beat or sustained bass note because the current just isnt available for the length of time required before low level passages come along. all sources of power are quickly being consumed. the model relies on having time to recharge - like some science fiction photon laser beam.

theres yet another set of physics around heat loss and decay in under 30 seconds that effectively cuts the apparent power nearly in half. and yet another set of physics on thermal avalanch. where protection schemes start to show up.

i started out saying you need to run a large battery lead to your amp and got carried away with the theory to support the big car stereo model.

*kaboom*

 

Actually...
My system has AMPs that push over 4,500 Watts...
However.. we loose about 500 watts due to voltage ... IE; Battery/Alternator...
But the constant is 4000 watts... Since there in line with one another they have been Split ... 1 push's the subs... and the other powers the other 6 speakers!

I'm fortunate unlike some others...
This system has been in the car since I purchased it new in 1999.
15 yrs later:
It still sounds crystal clear and if you crank up the subs (I have a separate **** to turn them up and down) It will definitely not only vibrate your Brain! But your hair will feel as though theres a wind storm going on....LMAO..

I have maybe turned it up to do that maybe 2 or 3 times over the years..
I like it the way it is and plan to keep it all intact.

 

I have done this recently using the stock head unit, a Clarion amp to replace the factory amp, Infinity door & deck speakers, and an Infinity BassLink 10" powered sub to complete the system. It sounds incredible and cost under $500 total.

I ran a 4 gauge wire to the battery with a junction block in the trunk splitting two 8 gauge wires to the 2 amps.

The factory amp is internally preset to only send certain frequencies to each factory speaker - Not good for an aftermarket setup. It will not sound correct with your own speakers (I tried). You can tap into all of the signal wires at the amp plugs. Here are the color codes for the wires:

2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Car Stereo Wiring Diagram
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Red/White
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: The radio harness does not provide a switched power source. Run a wire to the fusebox for switched power.
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black/White
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Violet/White
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Purple/White
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: Pink
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: Pink
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: Under the rear deck in the trunk.
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: 6.5"
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: Door
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: 6x9"
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: Rear Deck
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue
Left Subwoofer Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue/White (at amplifier)
Left Subwoofer Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Green/Black (at amplifier)
Right Subwoofer Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Green (at amplifier)
Right Subwoofer Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue/Black (at amplifier)

 

i havent looked into the car stereo yet. (i got the car just in time for bad weather) i plan to get one of those "PAC" kits that plug in between the in dash part and the amplifier part. are all of the speakers driven by the amp in the back or does the front part have the amps for the front speakers?

i can see why they would just shove the amp for the whole system in the back and run speaker wiring back up to the doors.

mine is the 2004 job with am fm cd and a curious "BAND - CD/AUX" button. the PAC docs have me thinking once its all hooked up the 2 rca jacks will be switched in with that button. i just want to plug my ancient creative zen or tascam sd recorder instead of juggling cds around.

 

So what I have gather is I can't use my factory amp that is under my rear deck, so what would be my best chose to go a 4 channel amp with an aux output for my sub ( my sub is a self contained amp + sub in one box). Next what adapter would I need to come off the connector in the rear of my car before my factor amp.

 

Are the inputs to the sub amp rca or speaker wires? If speaker wires, just tap into the same input wires for your new 4 channel amp.
There is no adapter available to plug into the (3) factory amp connectors. You'll need to cut and splice...