Stereo configuration question for stereo dudes
 

For the stereo gurus:

If you had a 4 speaker receiver, 4 x 10 watts, with a DIN pre-amp output that drives 2 speakers, how would you wire the system? (Assuming that the 4 speakers were good, 5.25ish size modern coaxial speakers, and you have a 2 x 50 watt amp).

1. Drive the front two speakers directly out of the receiver, and the rear two speakers through the DIN output and the amp?

2. Same as 1, but the front speakers driven by the amp and the rear by the receiver?

3. Run the speakers serially so they are all driven by the amp?

I think this depends more on perference. This is my next planned project. I plan to use the amp for the front speakers and a sub. I'll drive the rear speakers from the head unit.

I would buy a second 2 channel amp and run splitters (1 into 2, radio shack) off the din, but then you won't have a F to R fader.
If that's not an option, I would go w/ choice #1.
If you run the speakers in series, you may run into impendence(sp?) issues. You would basically cut the sound quality in half, w/ speakers that small, you may be able getting by with running all four pos to pos and neg to neg.....If I recall correctly.
SG

Brian,

I'm just now updating the tunes in my rig as well. A high-end shop is doing the install and has recommended the following:

1. Keep head unit (Blaupunkt 35w x 4) - they didn't try to sell me a new one! :)

2. 4 channel Amp to drive sub and door speakers (2 channels to speakers 2 channels combined for the sub)

3. Head unit to drive the rears

As the majority of the sound comes from the doors they suggested amping those rather the rears as I had thought.

By the sounds of it (no pun intended) your amp might be a little anemic to run the doors. I could be wrong.......

Good luck.

I'd say go with option 1. You really do want to have the front/rear fading capability, and the rears usually end up running at a higher level than the fronts -- so put your amp there. If it's a good quality head unit, 10 watts is a decent amount of power if you're not trying to rock out the world with massive bass.

Another option is to get a line level converter for your front channel and then a second amp. The line level converter will take your 10 watts and drop it down to under 2 watts which is an appropriate input level to run via RCA cables into a second amp. This will allow you to retain your F/R fading.

Thanks guys. Buying/installing another amp is not an option!

No. 1 was my plan - I'll go with it.

I'm not really big into stereos, most of my cars have had total crap. This setup is slightly better than most I've had, but that's about it.

I'm not buying any new stuff, this is just reconfig work.

Thanks again!

Oh - one other question. With 5.25 speakers, is it really worth running the amp at all? Or should I just plug the 4 speakers into the back of the receiver and call it a day?

If the receiver were like the one's I've had before (35 x 4) I'd just skip the amp. The 35 x 4 sounded plenty good for me. But a 10 x 4 receiver . . . is that really low power that needs an amp?

If you have an amp use it. A 10 x 4 reciever is good for talk radio.........

10 x 4 usually will mean 20 x 2 or there 'bouts, use the amp and two.

Unless its just for principle or funds are really tight, I'd due as echrisconnor suggest with one difference: buy an inexpensive namebrand amp with low THD from Walmart with high level inputs. Its not audiophile but more amps will be a LOT kinder to the speakers and less likely to blow one with the windows down on the highway.

This is unless your just doing talk radio and then 1. would "work".

Definintely use the 2x50 to run the front speakers, deck power to the rear. Use the size of the fronts to get the volume and frequency response.

Wiring everything in parallel (all 4 off of two channels) will effectively limit your output to what the rear speakers are capable of handling and be annoyingly tinny. In fact I wouldn't even bother with rear speakers, not enough cone surface to contribute anything useful - effectively a limiting factor in sound quality.

rjp