GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Ok, im a little confused as to how all this works....at some point i might want to put a new headunit in my vibe...now i have moon and tunes so right now the headunit has no power....the power is coming from the amp....so if i put a new head unit in that has lets say 50w X 4channels or somthing then what happens to the amp...how does all that work....are then any complications if i want to add new speakersBASSIs there an easy way to add a sub? my buddy has wires running from his battery all through his car to his trunk and then another running from there back to his seat to control the amount of bass....this seems like so much clutter...and i really dont want to go digging up moulding and carpeting....??? how would a sub tie into the amp....w/stock system and w/new system...any differences between the twomaybe i could have the head unit power the speakers and the stock amp hooked up to a sub????????i know nothing!!-phil

yeah...that was a lot of questions...i just dont know how this stuff works....i do have two real nice $90 6.5 inch pioneer speakers that i would like to put in eventually....the only thing stoppin me is that i have these rattleing door panels right now and if i touch them they wont be under warranty....on the flipside i have major doubts that the dealer will be able to do anything about them.i know they CAN but i assume the WONT....(b/c they SUCK!)-Phil

P.S: silver...did u see that...i just became a member!!

yeah...its just scary for me to void parts of warranty...i took out the 100,000 mile warranty about a month ago....so im pretty sketchy about all this.phil

uhhh...he says he's great but i dont believe a word of it....he put $1800 of stereo in his Alero....i dont think it sound $1800-GOOD....and there are wires everywhere.....yuck-phil (im a member now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yey!)

quote:Ok, im a little confused as to how all this works....at some point i might want to put a new headunit in my vibe...now i have moon and tunes so right now the headunit has no power....the power is coming from the amp....so if i put a new head unit in that has lets say 50w X 4channels or somthing then what happens to the amp...how does all that work....are then any complications if i want to add new speakersIf you want to keep the 200w factory amp, you'll have to use the pre-amp output from your HU (RCA), not the powered one.quote:BASSIs there an easy way to add a sub? my buddy has wires running from his battery all through his car to his trunk and then another running from there back to his seat to control the amount of bass....this seems like so much clutter...and i really dont want to go digging up moulding and carpeting....??? You don't have to carpeting. My wiring (12v from battery, remote and RCA) are passing under the plastic moulding or the door. Very easy to pull out.quote:how would a sub tie into the amp....w/stock system and w/new system...any differences between the twoWith a new head unit, you will be able to use the Subwoofer output of it, instead of hooking up your sub amp on the speaker. It will give you more option to adjust the sound.quote:maybe i could have the head unit power the speakers and the stock amp hooked up to a sub????????All is possible but to do this you will have to do a big wiring job. Plus, I'm not sure you will be able to put the 4 channels together and drive 1 sub without causing damage to the amp.The best way to upgrade the sound system when you have the 200w amp, it is to use the RCA output from the aftermarket head unit and buy another amp. for the sub. Otherwise, it will be a pain to do (but not impossible).

quote:The best way to upgrade the sound system when you have the 200w amp, it is to use the RCA output from the aftermarket head unit and buy another amp. for the sub. Otherwise, it will be a pain to do (but not impossible).ok...is this where you have a new head unit that then runs to the old stock unit which then runs to the amp and then to the speakers.....so you have to hide the old HU away somewhere...ive heard of that but thought it was too weird to be right.

like you have to run the new head unit through the old one in order to use the amp or somthing like that.......i dunno

i believe thats what you have to do..........i have heard you can hide it away in your trunk or behind the glove box.......i just dont know if this is neccesary.......you would think you could buy a bypass or somthing.....we need some stereo brains in here!

quote:ok...is this where you have a new head unit that then runs to the old stock unit which then runs to the amp and then to the speakers.....so you have to hide the old HU away somewhere...ive heard of that but thought it was too weird to be right. Just remove completly the stock head unit, buy a wiring harness and hook the RCA output of your new HU on their respective speaker. By that way, you will use the 200w amp under the passanger seat without causing damage to it and avoid dsitortion.Just put the stock HU in your shack.

Agreed! The wiring harness will allow you to use the factory amp because you will connect your new HU's speaker leads directly to where the factory did. Simple as all get out. One thing though, you have to connect the remote turn on lead to the factory harness manually as the wiring kits do not supply a direct connection for it (well, at least when I got mine they didn't).

quote:You don't have to carpeting. My wiring (12v from battery, remote and RCA) are passing under the plastic moulding or the door. Very easy to pull out.I haven't looked at it yet.... but how and where did you take off the moulding?

The molding down my the bottom of the doors should pop right off. if you are not sure about wiring a new head unit into the factory amp the best thing to do is talk to someone at a stero shop. I would NOT suggest going to a Best buy or Circut CIty or anything like that but a small shop that specilizes in car steros they can prolly hook ya up with answers ya need. It is possible to run a stero without seeing any wires sometimes it just takes a lil creativity.

quote:You don't have to carpeting. My wiring (12v from battery, remote and RCA) are passing under the plastic moulding or the door. Very easy to pull out.I haven't looked at it yet.... but how and where did you take off the moulding?There's 1 plastic screw beside the dead pedal to remove.Then it is only clipped. Pull it and that's it.

ok....its been a while since i started this thread and i still no nothing about audio systems....i have a question though. I have a small amp ans a low powered sub. can i hook this up to the stock headunit?? how and where does it hook up to it?

if you don't know what to do and you've never done it before, you are better off letting someone be physically there to help you or just take it to an electronics store (best buy, circuit city, etc.) and have them install it for under $100. pro install is sweet - no visible wires and if any of the plastic or whatever breaks durring install, it is replaced for free.

quote:if you don't know what to do and you've never done it before, you are better off letting someone be physically there to help you or just take it to an electronics store (best buy, circuit city, etc.) and have them install it for under $100. pro install is sweet - no visible wires and if any of the plastic or whatever breaks durring install, it is replaced for free.ok...well i know a little more than that.....i have installed a headunit before aswell as 4 door speakers....i just have a basic knowledge...but if my sub and amp CAN be hooked up to the stock head unit then i could do it...but i havent looked behind the stock unit and i dont know if an amp can be hooked up to it.......anybody know?

Yes, you just have to use line convertors. The stereo does put out power, because it is the exact same stereo that you get if you don't get moons N' Tunes. The line convertor changes the high outputs to RCA's for your replacement amps. It would actually be pretty easy to do.

so this is done on the back of the head unit?...not on the amp right?and this would not affect the speakers? is there nothing already connected to these "line outputs"?

quote:so this is done on the back of the head unit?...not on the amp right?and this would not affect the speakers? is there nothing already connected to these "line outputs"?The current amp is connected to them. I was under the impression that you were going to replace the factory amp. This would still work if you only want to add a sub amp, then you just piggy back onto one set of the speakr wires.

If you are getting a new amp for the sub- Use an RCA converter box. You can buy an RCA converter or a converter box. The box will cost more money but it is adjustable. I hooked up a subs and amp to my stock head unit. i ran a power wire trhough the hole already in the fire wall ( I had to bore it out a little bit) and hooked the RCA converter box up to the Speaker wires ( found a good spot under the plastic panel next to the drivers seat where the seat belt is) then ran it all the panel to the back and under the seat into the storage somparment in the back hatch area and used a pre-existing hole to bring the wires up- The most difficult part was finding a useable ground. I had to use one of the tie dow hooks bolts. Hope that works- If you have any questions just let me know

quote:If you are getting a new amp for the sub- Use an RCA converter box. You can buy an RCA converter or a converter box. The box will cost more money but it is adjustable. I hooked up a subs and amp to my stock head unit. i ran a power wire trhough the hole already in the fire wall ( I had to bore it out a little bit) and hooked the RCA converter box up to the Speaker wires ( found a good spot under the plastic panel next to the drivers seat where the seat belt is) then ran it all the panel to the back and under the seat into the storage somparment in the back hatch area and used a pre-existing hole to bring the wires up- The most difficult part was finding a useable ground. I had to use one of the tie dow hooks bolts. Hope that works- If you have any questions just let me knowi still have the factory M&T, that is exactly the process circuit city used on mine!

My Vibe came with some Westcoast package or something like that that included a 200 watt sound system but it isnt enought bass to rattle. Im just getting 1 15inch Kicker Solo Baric (dont want speakers taking up all the space) like the picture and Best Buy installs for like $50 bucks. I rather let them deal with it in case **** hits the fan...http://www.kicker.com/Closeup.cfm?menu= ... HS12L7.jpg

IS the $50 for the labor or for parts and labor?

quote:Im just getting 1 15inch Kicker Solo Baric (dont want speakers taking up all the space) like the picture and Best Buy installs for like $50 bucks. I rather let them deal with it in case **** hits the fan...I hope you meant 1 12 inch SoloBaric... a 15 is definitely going to take up most of your trunkspace... That..and probably blow the back hatch off..! Good luck with BestBuy...Try to find one that's dealt with a Matrix/Vibe before...

won't really matter if they have done one before, mine was the first CC did an install on (of course that was back in april 02)i wouldn't go with a 15", you'll miss a lot of bass between that and the factory door speakers, i never have been impressed with 15"s, they only hit very low bass and nothing else

I only say that because BestBuy ripped a rather ugly hole in the firewall of my Probe...though the Vibe doesn't have that issue...I agree on the size, however. I have two 10". Enough to rattle the car plenty..but not too much that it isn't nice, tight bass.

Well I have 2 12 inch MA Audion Speakers from my sebring I traded in for the vibe and they take up a lot of room so I would like to go with 1 sub. thats why i said a 15 in. but is a 15 too much? would 1 12in kicker do the trick? Also I have the 800 watt amp keep amp get new 1?

a 15 is a big (removed) speaker, it will take up a lot of room. unless you just listen to bass cd's, you're going to want something smaller. i have never heard a 15 that had a good freq. range or even sounded very good for that matter.

I would also not recomend a 15. Especially a 15 solo baric- that is an enormous sub that needs a ton of air space- it would be very loud but the clarity would be horrible

I never heard or used a bazzoka. Anyone know if its good? Better than a regular subwoofer in a box?? Instalation is same?

Bazookas aren't horrible. They're cheap and easy to install. In fact, I believe there are several threads on them. I think they're an option on the Matrix...

so just stick with regular subs on a box. is that what i should do? I have 2 12in MA AUDIO subs with 800 watt amp. the problem is it takes up a lot of trunk. so was looking for something smaller. maybe 1 12in in a box instead of the double speaker box. that might work.

So the inverter under the driver seat is for the plug or does it do anything else? I have half the mind to take it out if it just powers the plug.Desi

I got a line level converter for like $20 at walmart(quit laughing)ran my wire from the battery through the firewall and along the drivers side trim,ran all my wires up to the cover right behind the rear seats where the car seat anchors are.I also ran small wires from the rear speaker wires at the bottom of the b-pillars up to that tray,put the converter there along with the battery wire.Hooked a ground wire to the bolt on the car seat anchor I wasn't using.Oh,and an ignition feed wire from the fuse block to that tray too.So now I have three wires coming through one of the anchor covers going to my amp (fosgate)mounted to my box with 2 10" kicker xpls.I have to turn the gain way down or all you hear is plastic buzzing.I have the 6-disc factory head unit,and I ordered the tweeter trim for the front doors from gm($20)and put bose tweeters in them(also gm)