Speaker Upgrade

[squishfly]

Hello, I have a serious question.
I want to keep the stock Monsoon head unit in my new beetle because of looks and the fact I have a Zune cable that runs to the back of it, but I've already blew a couple of speakers.
I want to upgrade the speakers to Alpine type X SPX-17PRO component speakers, and I want to put a single 10" Alpine type E sub in the back.
Can I do this? I've read on here somewhere that you can plug a sub into the HU, but can you guys please explain this to me? also, can I run the type X speakers (100W RMS) through the Monsoon amp, or should I get an aftermarket amp?
One last question, saying that I can get some sort of sub output on the head unit, I'm looking at an Alpine 5 channel amp. Can i plug my speaker output from the head unit directly to the amp and run that to the speakers/sub?
I'm lost when it comes to these kinds of things that Volkswagen loves to challenge us with.
Thanks a whole bunch in advance, Dylan.

[dmbluebeetle]

There is no sub output on the HU itself, only the normal 4 channels. The sub channels are in the Amp only.

[kaiser]

becarefull when upgrading door speakers, many aftermarket speakers need more juice then the monsoon can provide and in turn sound worse than stock.

[squishfly]

Originally Posted by dmbluebeetle

There is no sub output on the HU itself, only the normal 4 channels. The sub channels are in the Amp only.

So you're saying that if i want to keep the stock HU, then I have to find an amp that has no sub input but at the same time, has a sub output?
What a nightmare!
Thanks guys
any more info on the system or any Ideas of how i could get the 4 OHM 100W RMS speakers and sub to work with my stock HU will be greatly appreciated.

[Toad]

I got this amp a few months ago: PowerBass ASA1100.5x (asa11005x) - 5-Channel Car Amplifier/Amp - Sonic Electronix

Until the 80-90 degree heat wave this week (and its only getting hotter!), i was in love with it. Now it overheats after about an hour of loud usage. My previous amps were fan cooled so i didn't have this problem. Im gonna find a way to mount some cpu fans (yay for computers being 12v inside!) or something else to the move air around the heatsinks, or just give my ears a treat and not blast the music 24/7.

I still totally recommend it, its got awesome power output for its size and price! And it has a switch to select how many channels your using for input.

[dmbluebeetle]

Originally Posted by squishfly

So you're saying that if i want to keep the stock HU, then I have to find an amp that has no sub input but at the same time, has a sub output?

Yes, The sub woofers are separated in the monsoon amp into dual outputs.

[squishfly]

Ohh well. Does anyone have the output of the factory Monsoon amp?
I read somewhere that it has 20W per channel output, but I hope it's a lot higher than that. Unfortunately, However, I didn't find anything on sub output for the amp..

[dmbluebeetle]

Originally Posted by squishfly

Ohh well. Does anyone have the output of the factory Monsoon amp?
I read somewhere that it has 20W per channel output, but I hope it's a lot higher than that. Unfortunately, However, I didn't find anything on sub output for the amp..

According to my literature the Monsoon amp puts out 220 Watts total through 8 speakers. The radio is 20W per channel by itself (80 watts)

[middknight1]

the best thing you can do is purchase a signal processor and run your factory speaker wires to it. buy 2 amps, a 4 channel for you rounds and a mono for you sub. that way you can keep you factory look but have a mush more robust audio system. looks like with the system you would chose to run i don't believe you will need a cap. to store some extra juice when your amps need it. just for grins you should relocate your battery to the trunk and run an optima yellow top. when i finally get around to doing my audio system i will relocate the battery. good luck and let us know what you end up doing! we all have our own unique style when it comes to audio.

[squishfly]

Originally Posted by middknight1

the best thing you can do is purchase a signal processor and run your factory speaker wires to it. buy 2 amps, a 4 channel for you rounds and a mono for you sub. that way you can keep you factory look but have a mush more robust audio system. looks like with the system you would chose to run i don't believe you will need a cap. to store some extra juice when your amps need it. just for grins you should relocate your battery to the trunk and run an optima yellow top. when i finally get around to doing my audio system i will relocate the battery. good luck and let us know what you end up doing! we all have our own unique style when it comes to audio.

Alright but I only want to put a single 10" Sub into my car (two subs are a little much for my listening style), So I was thinking Alpine's new 5 channel amp is best for me, and not to mention the pocket book. It has 75W per speaker channel and 300W for the sub, i believe.
But anyway, what I'm asking is can I use the Alpine amp with the stock head unit because of the stock HU being 2 OHM and the amp being 4 OHM?
Also, hoping that I can use them together, where would I put the sub? I mean, the amp would be set up for it, but there's no input off the head unit for the sub.

[middknight1]

Originally Posted by squishfly

Alright but I only want to put a single 10" Sub into my car (two subs are a little much for my listening style), So I was thinking Alpine's new 5 channel amp is best for me, and not to mention the pocket book. It has 100W per speaker channel and a little more for the sub, i believe.
But anyway, what I'm asking is can I use the Alpine amp with the stock head unit because of the stock HU being 2 OHM and the amp being 4 OHM?
Also, hoping that I can use them together, where would I put the sub? I mean, the amp would be set up for it, but there's no input off the head unit for the sub.

yes you will. because you are running the factory wires straight into the signal processor which in turn makes them into a RCA preout. fromthe processor you run into your amp. ohms are then determined by the type of speakers and how you have installed them. (yes you can run other speakers in parallel not just subs) i am more a a 12" sub guy myself. but i know space in our lil trunk is very tight as it is. the 5 channel amp will work good too! you have to understand, for every pair of factory speaker lines you are making 1 rca preout with a signal processor. so you will have 2 rca outs. i know most 4 channel need to rca inputs to run front or back. you can bridge and if you have a triway capable amp you can bridge 2 of the channels and use the other 2 for speakers.

the set up i used in a 1991 mitsubishi montero was similar. i used an aftermarket stereo pushed 60 watts rms to the 3.5's in the dash and added 6.5 com to the doors using the front for the dash and rear for the doors. then using 2 rca outs one for the rear and the other fo the sub ran back to a legacy gold 4 channel 1000w amp, bridged chan 3 and 4 for the sub had a infinity kappa perfect 12 sub, and chan 1 and 2 went to pioneer 4 way 6x9's. that set up was sooo sweet. i had sound engineers sit in the back and tell me it was louder than the concerts that they set up. stick to basics and build from there. i am sure a 10 will do great in the back as a matter of fact i know it will. had some thieves break into betty but i did run a kenwood 10 with a 2 channel bridged together with a kenwood stereo. it rocked prob why it got stolen! lmao! anyways i hope this helps anymore questions throw them on here!!!!

[squishfly]

Originally Posted by middknight1

yes you will. because you are running the factory wires straight into the signal processor which in turn makes them into a RCA preout. fromthe processor you run into your amp. ohms are then determined by the type of speakers and how you have installed them. (yes you can run other speakers in parallel not just subs) i am more a a 12" sub guy myself. but i know space in our lil trunk is very tight as it is. the 5 channel amp will work good too! you have to understand, for every pair of factory speaker lines you are making 1 rca preout with a signal processor. so you will have 2 rca outs. i know most 4 channel need to rca inputs to run front or back. you can bridge and if you have a triway capable amp you can bridge 2 of the channels and use the other 2 for speakers.

the set up i used in a 1991 mitsubishi montero was similar. i used an aftermarket stereo pushed 60 watts rms to the 3.5's in the dash and added 6.5 com to the doors using the front for the dash and rear for the doors. then using 2 rca outs one for the rear and the other fo the sub ran back to a legacy gold 4 channel 1000w amp, bridged chan 3 and 4 for the sub had a infinity kappa perfect 12 sub, and chan 1 and 2 went to pioneer 4 way 6x9's. that set up was sooo sweet. i had sound engineers sit in the back and tell me it was louder than the concerts that they set up. stick to basics and build from there. i am sure a 10 will do great in the back as a matter of fact i know it will. had some thieves break into betty but i did run a kenwood 10 with a 2 channel bridged together with a kenwood stereo. it rocked prob why it got stolen! lmao! anyways i hope this helps anymore questions throw them on here!!!!

This is where I feel stupid. Hah. I'm sorry, I understand a little about electrical until I talk to somebody who knows what they're talking about, then I just get lost. So what I want to do is run my speaker wires from the head unit to the amp, and the amp will take care of itself? So confused.. where does the sub come into play? Alright, can you pretty pretty please dumb it down for me?
so I take the speaker wires from the 2 OHM Head unit and plug them into the amp (It's an Alpine PDX-5. 75 watts RMS x 4 + 300 watts RMS x 1 at 4 or 2 ohms.) and from there I take new wires to the Type X speakers, which are 4 OHM?
Where's the sub?

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by squishfly

Hello, I have a serious question.
I want to keep the stock Monsoon head unit in my new beetle because of looks and the fact I have a Zune cable that runs to the back of it, but I've already blew a couple of speakers.
I want to upgrade the speakers to Alpine type X SPX-17PRO component speakers, and I want to put a single 10" Alpine type E sub in the back.

Hey, can you tell me how you did that?? I just got a 30GB Zune and i'd like to use it in the car, but I have no idea where to start other than to get a Tape deck and run the tape aux thing from back in the day.

[middknight1]

Originally Posted by squishfly

This is where I feel stupid. Hah. I'm sorry, I understand a little about electrical until I talk to somebody who knows what they're talking about, then I just get lost. So what I want to do is run my speaker wires from the head unit to the amp, and the amp will take care of itself? So confused.. where does the sub come into play? Alright, can you pretty pretty please dumb it down for me?
so I take the speaker wires from the 2 OHM Head unit and plug them into the amp (It's an Alpine PDX-5. 75 watts RMS x 4 + 300 watts RMS x 1 at 4 or 2 ohms.) and from there I take new wires to the Type X speakers, which are 4 OHM?
Where's the sub?

okay so basically your speaker wires from the head unit runs to a signal processor. from the speaker processor run rca cables to the amp. your amp will take care of your car stereo speakers, however, you will need to run new speaker wire back to your speaker locations from the amp. the amp will drive your sub and speakers. i looked up your amp to see the specs on it and it will require 3 sets of rca inputs, you would only have two. if you went with Alpine PDX-F4 (speakers) you will have a rca output to run a monoamp like Alpine MRP-M500 (sub) which gives you more control over your overall sound and solving only having 2 rca inputs. 1 set will be your front channels and the other the rear. the rca out from the PDX-F4 will go into the rca input for the M500. (you will still have the same power but will have spent more setting it up this way). i hope this clarifies for you??

you will need a large gauge supply thats why i said move your battery. you don't want that running through your car or underneath it. if i had to chose from those i would run underneath and up through the spare tire well. you will need to drill and grommet the hole, i would throw some silicon sealant on there too just for good measure. you would also need a power distribution block so that way you can split your power cable safely. there are plenty of grounds in the back of the car. just make sure you use the correct inline fuses. i would say if you bought a multi amp cable kit go with gives you a good amount of 4 gauge power cable. the PDX-F4 needs a 4 gauge cable to it and the M500 only needs an 8. that would give you a good start and has most everything you need. just gotta get the rca cables and the signal processors.

[middknight1]

been trying to upload a .bmp with all wiring and where things would run but i can't get it below 817 kb which exceeds the max file size for .bmp files sorry

[middknight1]

well here it is basically hope its not too confusing i had to remove a lot of info of this rendering

the blue is the front channels, the green the rear from the stereo. light blue and gold are the rca outs to the amp. dark green is rca amp to amp. purple is your front from the amp to the speakers. gray is the rear from amp to speakers. red is you 12v power black is the ground. there will prob be a remote wire already in place from you factory stereo to the factory amps that you will need to use as well. was not shown on the rendering due to size limits.

[squishfly]

Thanks a whole bunch. I finally think I get it. I'm really grateful. I got my new Alpine sub today, I was all smiles. now all I have to do is get the amps. I like your Idea of having the two amps better than my idea, although the idea of moving the battery scares me a tiny bit..
I'll be sure to keep you updated on my project

Originally Posted by Fl_bug

Hey, can you tell me how you did that?? I just got a 30GB Zune and i'd like to use it in the car, but I have no idea where to start other than to get a Tape deck and run the tape aux thing from back in the day.

It's a zune interface kit made by a company called Soundgate. all it does is plugs into the back of your HU (into the same space as the cd changer, i believe) and charges your zune and plays it. Mine also turns the zune on and off with the ignition. My mother drives an 02' Mini Cooper S, and I was very sad to see that the zune interface kit for the Mini also lets use the steering wheel controls to control your zune.

SOUNDGATE VWZNAUX1 VOLKSWAGEN 98-05 ZUNE CAR KIT NEW - eBay (item 400112861891 end time Apr-11-10 16:54:13 PDT)

Also, for about $100 less, you can get the same Zune interface kit that plugs into an existing AUX input jack if you got one... not as nice, but far more practical if you have already got a jack.

[sean_fabanich]

told ya not to buy that powerbass toad....althou im sorry i was right.

[Toad]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

told ya not to buy that powerbass toad....althou im sorry i was right.

Hey, ballin on a budget has its consequences, so i'm alright with it.

I know it's a compromise amp, my other choices were to spend 2x as much for a 5-ch and have worse audio quality but no heat problems (full range class d, ewww), or spend 3x as much on a 5-ch to have something that has a little bit better audio quality and doesn't overheat, or spend 2x as much on a 4ch that wouldn't match my sub amp.

If giving it a little airflow doesn't help it, i guess i'll just get my 4ch audiobahn repaired and put that pair back in. Damn, i wish they were still in business.

[middknight1]

Originally Posted by squishfly

Thanks a whole bunch. I finally think I get it. I'm really grateful. I got my new Alpine sub today, I was all smiles. now all I have to do is get the amps. I like your Idea of having the two amps better than my idea, although the idea of moving the battery scares me a tiny bit..
I'll be sure to keep you updated on my project




It's a zune interface kit made by a company called Soundgate. all it does is plugs into the back of your HU (into the same space as the cd changer, i believe) and charges your zune and plays it. Mine also turns the zune on and off with the ignition. My mother drives an 02' Mini Cooper S, and I was very sad to see that the zune interface kit for the Mini also lets use the steering wheel controls to control your zune.

SOUNDGATE VWZNAUX1 VOLKSWAGEN 98-05 ZUNE CAR KIT NEW - eBay (item 400112861891 end time Apr-11-10 16:54:13 PDT)

Also, for about $100 less, you can get the same Zune interface kit that plugs into an existing AUX input jack if you got one... not as nice, but far more practical if you have already got a jack.

you can always run the cable underneath, just make sure you find suitable places to run. do not run near the fuel lines. place the power cable in wire loom for extra protection. running inside the car with that big of a power cable will start to interfere with audio giving you the whine you hear in your speakers when the radio is down and even off. if you do run inside keep the power as far away as possible from the rca cables, speaker wires, or the signal processors.