Head Unit keeping current HU and installing amps and sub etc

[nik nunez]

Hi

i want to upgrade my cars ICE but do not want to go down the line of changing the headunit and this seems to be very expensive

i have read that you can use a line level converter? i have no idea what this is but i gather you put in two speaker wires? ( any speaker wires?) and it outputs a normal amp input (rca) if this is the case can it be any speaker wire? can i just take the wire from the back speaker to save removing the dash?

do you lose sound quality doing it this way? are there any problems?


i plan on either getting some nice component speakers for the front and a sub and have no rear fill, or getting a midbass speaker for the back for some rear fill, but not sure as yet just want to see if i can do anything with the current head unit

[FWH]

Originally Posted by nik nunez

i have read that you can use a line level converter?

Yes. A so called LOC.

Originally Posted by nik nunez

i have no idea what this is but i gather you put in two speaker wires? ( any speaker wires?) and it outputs a normal amp input (rca) if this is the case can it be any speaker wire?

Yes, that´s it. It converts "speaker level" signal to "line level" which you can then connect to the regular RCA connectors on an amp.

You need left and right obviously, but it does not matter if you take it from the rear speaker connections or the front.

Originally Posted by nik nunez

can i just take the wire from the back speaker to save removing the dash?

Yes.

Originally Posted by nik nunez

do you lose sound quality doing it this way? are there any problems?

No real problems. If there was a line out on the head unit it would have been better to use that from a sound quality point of view, but there isn´t.


Also see the Wiki FAQ section on ICE:
In Car Entertainment - Civinfo Wiki