Sup everyone, I just went to an audio shop in San Diego and talked with the installer about upgrading my system. Basically I told him I want to get rid of everything Bose except for the head unit. He basically said that I could either go with the LOC or go with a thing called EQS by AudioControl.

1)I'm not an expert on car audio, so I was wondering how effective an EQS would be? He basicallly told me it'll turn my factory head unit into an aftermarket one, true? Anyone use the LOC like it?

2)How much would it cost to get a 2 channel amp to power 2 10" subs? Or what would be the minimum spec requriements for the amp to power two 10" subs?

 

Depends on what kind of amp you want, for best-bang for the buck..I would say go with a Rockford Fosgate PUNCH amp. It's not the minimum spec on the amp as much as the RMS on the Speaker and AMP....the Punch 360 I have, will blow speakers up to 800w MAX..if it is turned all the way up and you keep cranking the stereo....

 

you can read about the eqs here... http://www.audiocontrol.com/caraudio.htm . in my experience over the past weekend, i connected a 4.1 eq to the head unit and got the same sound quality as connecting a loc to the bose amp.....of course the advantage of having an eq is it makes the output of the sound more flexible meaning you can increase the volumes of different frequency ranges. i have a loc and it produces minimal hiss at very low volumes...not noticeable when driving and listening to music. i wanted to connect the 4.1 to see if the eq/line driver would eliminate the hiss. it didn't....so i ended removing the eq and just sticking to loc. plus it's much cheaper just using a loc....unless, like i said earlier, you want to be able to adjust the volume of the different frequency ranges...than go with the eqs.

 

IcyCL, how about remove the LOCs all together. I think it would help you get rid of the hiss.

 

Cool thanks for the info. I got a question another question Icy. When you added the EQ were the LOCs still connected or did you take the LOC off and connect the EQ? Also when using just the LOCs are you required to use the Bose Amp or can you just scrap it and replace it with an aftermarket one? Also I was reading your link and wasn't sure which EQ you were tried out, can you elaborate which one of the EQ products you tried out? Oh and finally I was wondering what subs you guys have and what amp you use to power them? Hopefully I can reach a decision soon on what I want to get.

 

when i connected the eq...it's the 4.1 by audio control....i connected rca cables to the outputs of the stock head unit. the way i connected the rcas was i stripped some monster rcas and connected the stripped wires to the outputs of the head unit. i totally bypassed the loc and the bose amp. when connected, i was still getting the slight hiss. so i decided to not install the eq. the reason being: i was kinda hesitant cutting that piece over the stock radio....you know that pad and pen holder thing. and my thinking...when in doubt, don't do it! so now, i'm back to my original set up which is..... i have the loc soldered to the OUTPUTS of the bose amp then from the loc, i connected an alpine amp to power the main speakers. i'm still getting that slight hiss at low volume...but i do not hear it when driving or playing my music. in essence, i'm still going through the bose amp to get the signal. so for now, this set up will do me good....until i can afford a decent 6 in dash cd player with real line level outs like the one nakamichi has.....and can afford to pay someone who can make me a good faceplate to hold the player in....so as to look as stock as possible. know what i mean. also, some people in this board have tried to connect loc at the outputs of the HEAD UNIT, not the bose amp, but say they were getting too much noise. i have not done this so i cannot verify.

as for subs....note: i do not have an expensive set up..but i think my set up sounds much better than the stock bose speakers. i think anything will. i have a 1 12 inch mtx sub...8000 series in a q logic box. doesn't eat up much space and gives me the bass i'm looking for to play my jazz. as far as the amp to power the sub, i have an mtx amp as well....i think it's like 300 watts or something. nothing like the alumparos, or phoenix golds, jl or extants that other folks have, but to me this good enough for now.

hope i explained it enough for you. let me know if you have anymore questions. silverknight is also a good source of info as well as other guys here....you might want to visit silverknights links to see how he wired his sub and other stuff.

one more thing......if you intend on changing the main speakers inside the passenger cabin, which i recommend, you might want to consider getting another amp to power them. the bose amp has some strange impedence thingy...ergo....you wont be getting the full potential of your aftermarket speakers.

 

moomaster_99:
No offense man, not to call you a liar...but there's no way in hell your 360a2 will push 800 watts. It's impossible. I'd love to see the birth certificate rating it....

a7lee:
Check my sig man...you'll see what I use in my system...rockford fosgate and JL baby...all the way

Austin519

 

I can see you already made it here .

I doubt the 360.2 would make 800 too.

 

Silver:
Yep...exactly...I've previously owned one of the higher rated 360a2's, and it only went to 540 watts...you usually won't find an amp rated at more than 50% of nominal. RF says it's impossible for them to be rated at any more than 75% over, and that's with them trying hard...you're talking about an amp rated at over 120% over the max rating...good luck!

Austin519

 

Thanks for the info Icy. Well i finally got my system installed. I ended up getting IDQs, Phoenix gold XS, and Diamond M5. I hear the noise but I'm not sure exactly where its from. I'm pretty sure I need an EQ, its too annyoing to keep adjusting the settings in the trunk. I e-mailed AudioControl on wheter to get a 4.1 or 3.1 and they told me I needed a 3.1. I heard you had a 4.1 but said it didn't filter out the hiss. Maybe you should try the 3.1. I'm probably gonna install that in once I have time.

 

right now, as you already know, i'm NOT using the 4.1 cuz i decided against cutting the pad holder thing on top of the stock stereo. so basically, i'm back to using the LOC. what i did though, from sivlerknights suggestion, is i lowered the outputs of the LOC to it's very minimum and jacked up the gain on the after market amp. the hiss is way less....still there....but, IMO, significantly lower. i'm waiting for the jlaudio 300/4 i ordered last week and use that instead of the alpine amp i have now.

what noise are you getting? are you getting any hiss at this time? what settings do you constantly need to adjust in the trunk? you may not need an eq unless you want to be able to adjust the volume of the different frequency ranges. let us know how you have yours set-up!!!

 

The hiss or noise is on all the time. When I turn down the volume all the way you still hear it. I'm not an expert on all this audio stuff but the hiss reminds of the noise you hear from an old record player or tape. I assume that noise comes with every stereo except this one is a little louder than before or more noticable since I'm paying extra attention to sound quality than before. However, when I turn up the volume it pretty much blends away. It takes a really picky ear to hear the hiss during the music.
Also the reason why I want an eq is exactly what you said. I'd like to be able to adjust the bass and other sound factors while in the car and not stop and adjust. I listen to a wide variety of music so some songs require tweaking. But I'll check out the 3.1 and let you know how it goes.

 

you're still using the stock head unit, right?

that's the same hiss i and a few others here have. that's always the experience i've had whenever i use LOC. and the hiss will only be heard when used with the main speakers...not the subs....because the frequency of the hiss is at higher end. i feel to really get rid of the hiss, i would need to get an aftermarket hu with rca connectors.

now if and when you do add the eq and you're still getting the hiss, i would try what silver told me to do....about lowering the gain on the LOC (i'm assuming you're using one ) or the eq. i have one of those schoche(sp?) LOC and i have the gain of the this LOC barely making the first 1/4 and, like i menitoned earlier, lessened the hiss. but i had to race the gain of the aftermarket amp to make up for the lower input....this is the reason why i am getting the 300/4. you might want to even try it now and see if it makes a diff. i'm waiting to hear what silver has to say too about his hook up. let us know how the 3.1 turns out.

 

still working on it. I'm putting a lot of work into my system and it's no where near complete ... hopefully, I can give you the answer in a couple of days.

 

I was talking to an audiocontrol guy. He told me the reason why I need a 3.1 is because it has stero level inputs. The question I have is, is there a difference between line level output and stero output. I believe reading on this board that the factory head unit from Pioneer outputs at line level. Or are line level and stero pretty much the same thing?

 

to tell you the truth, I never heard of "stereo" inputs. But my knowledge is limited, so I dont know what it is. Sorry, cannot help you with this "stereo" inputs.

 

My bad he said speaker level not stereo level. I'll just assume they mean the same thing. Makes more sense now.

 

If that is the case then what the guy said is not may not correct. I heard the outputs from the HU is line level (I'm setting up part of my system based on this theory, will let you know how it turns out). The outputs from the BOSE amp is speaker level. If you keep the BOSE amp then you need the 3.1, otherwise, you dont need it. IMO, the BOSE amp is just a piece of crap, so tiny, so light yet too expensive (through Acura dealers) . I wouldn't pay 50 bucks for it. I heard they charge 800 for it so y'all better hang on to it even you decide to keep it out of your system.