Once again I am calling the audio gurus

[bOOOOstedAudi]

I have a 2000 A4 without bose. I want to put 1 10inch sub in the bad without changing out the stock hu. How do I do this the least complicated way? I know its alittle more involved because of the stock amp in the rear powering the rear speakers.

[kris_tdi]

Originally posted by bOOOOstedAudi
I have a 2000 A4 without bose. I want to put 1 10inch sub in the bad without changing out the stock hu. How do I do this the least complicated way? I know its alittle more involved because of the stock amp in the rear powering the rear speakers.

i did this exact thing yesterday.
i got an adapter from the local audio shop which plugs in the back of the headunit instead of the one which goes too the rear amp on the speakers.
this allows you to use 2 rca's from the stock headunit.
i have 3 amps, the front rca powers the front speakers, the rear rca is split in 2 using a y lead one which powers the rear speaker amp and one which powers the sub. all running from the stock headunit

[kris_tdi]

obviously then you have too run the rca down the side of the car, plus power cables etc....
took me a few hours too do and mount the amps etc.. but it sounds so much better, well worth it, plus looks stock too any passer by.

[bOOOOstedAudi]

was i hard to do and how long did it take. do i need more then one amp. was hoping to just use one small one. after all it is just 1 10

[kris_tdi]

no, you only need 1 amp for the sub, i just plumbed more in for the speakers which i have changed too. small amp will be fine unless you want crazy bass. in theory it should only take an hour too do, but you probably know as well as me things always take 3 times as long as you think.

[bOOOOstedAudi]

i think may try today thanks

[nramsey]

What adapter did you use? I am doing the same thing (sub amp to stock Symphony deck). Where on the back of the deck does it plug in? Any model or part number of this adapter?

[kris_tdi]

it wasn't an audi specific part, it was an autoleads adapter, ill try find a pic of one.
if you take the stock headunit out there is 3 plugs cliped together all different colours, i think, one is blue, one red and one yellow. this replaced the yellow one (which is what sends the info too the active speaker amps) and clips intop the other ones. give me a few mins and ill find it on the web.

[kris_tdi]

http://www.autoleads.co.uk/head_unit_adaptor.html

the exact one i got, its called "mini iso too rca adapter".
hope this is of some help, i imagine its a part you can get from most car audio shops.

[IndieRockSteve]

anyone know how the sub on the Avant is connected/amp'd?

[4ingDrive]

Originally posted by kris_tdi
http://www.autoleads.co.uk/head_unit_adaptor.html

the exact one i got, its called "mini iso too rca adapter".
hope this is of some help, i imagine its a part you can get from most car audio shops.

I've got a bunch of these if anyone needs one. I've sold them to a few Az'ers already.

[4ingDrive]

Originally posted by IndieRockSteve
anyone know how the sub on the Avant is connected/amp'd?

The amp for the Avant is attached directly to the sub box. If you remove the right compartment cover where your changer is you can see the top half of the amp.

[buck]

Originally posted by kris_tdi
... the rear rca is split in 2 using a y lead one which powers the rear speaker amp and one which powers the sub. all running from the stock headunit

kris_tdi - how do you like the overall sound of your stereo with your factory rears still hooked up?

I was thinking of just disconnecting the rears when I put in my new front stage.... some guys here say that the stock rears aren't required with a decent front stage.

[4ingDrive]

I have no rears. Stereo music is mixed in the studio with only two speakers. Rear speakers are only for passengers. Rears also ruin your front stage.

[ColumbiaDeath]

Ok for this whole thing i needed no adaptor- no nothing. I used the AW DIY http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec29.shtml and followed that. I used 'T-Taps' for all the wiring and stripped some old RCA's for the amp leads. AOL IM me if you have questions (ColumbiaDeath)

[4ingDrive]

That's another way to do it, but I have little faith in t-taps.

[Quattrocket]

how do you do this on a bose system???

[4ingDrive]

Same way, but you have to defeat the Bose equalization or your sub will be real boomy.

[ColumbiaDeath]

Originally posted by 4ingDrive
That's another way to do it, but I have little faith in t-taps.

ok then- take a razor blade, slice along the wire- twist wires togather and tape up....is that a stronger way for ya? If it works, it works.

[4ingDrive]

I should have added to solder the wires. That's a bit more reliable if done properly.

[kris_tdi]

Originally posted by buck
kris_tdi - how do you like the overall sound of your stereo with your factory rears still hooked up?

I was thinking of just disconnecting the rears when I put in my new front stage.... some guys here say that the stock rears aren't required with a decent front stage.

at the moment im running stock hu and cd changer, stock fronts, and alpine sub and amp. i disconnected the rears. it sounds much better than it used too, as the bass is turned too zero on the headunit it makes the fronts seem much better as they arent distorting. mind you i have 2 sets of alpine type r speakers to go in, the 5 1/4's will be amped in the front, the 6 1/2's will be amped on a very low level, just for a bit of fil, not using the tweeters in the rear, just the mids.

i highly recommend disconnecting the rear stock speakers if you have an aftermarket sub though.

[kris_tdi]

Originally posted by ColumbiaDeath
Ok for this whole thing i needed no adaptor- no nothing. I used the AW DIY http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec29.shtml and followed that. I used 'T-Taps' for all the wiring and stripped some old RCA's for the amp leads. AOL IM me if you have questions (ColumbiaDeath)

its another way, but nowhere near the best, the factory wiring is so thin. i suppose you used some 16 guage power cable too? if you plan on putting anything half decent in, do it properly as above. not just pilfering of the rear channels.

[nramsey]

Originally posted by 4ingDrive
I've got a bunch of these if anyone needs one. I've sold them to a few Az'ers already.

That looks like it would work great. Will these work for a 2001 w/ Symphony non-Bose HU?

[ColumbiaDeath]

Sounded just fine to me...nothing bad about it- and No...I brought the gauge size down (bigger wire).

[IndieRockSteve]

Originally posted by 4ingDrive
The amp for the Avant is attached directly to the sub box. If you remove the right compartment cover where your changer is you can see the top half of the amp.

ok, then I'll assume it has a linelevel signal from the HU, does it use RCA's or some all-in-one type connector that I'd have to figure out how to splice for the signal?

this is good though. I found a shop in the area that can do a CF sub enclosure for that area and then I'll match it to a nice 10" or 8" sub and amp, hopefully enough room on the other side to run two amps for the fronts, rears and sub...

lovin' tha Avant more and more...

[4ingDrive]

Originally posted by nramsey
That looks like it would work great. Will these work for a 2001 w/ Symphony non-Bose HU?

Yep it'll work.

Originally posted by IndieRockSteve
ok, then I'll assume it has a linelevel signal from the HU, does it use RCA's or some all-in-one type connector that I'd have to figure out how to splice for the signal?

this is good though. I found a shop in the area that can do a CF sub enclosure for that area and then I'll match it to a nice 10" or 8" sub and amp, hopefully enough room on the other side to run two amps for the fronts, rears and sub...

lovin' tha Avant more and more...

It uses some 22g wires in a harness for signal. It's pretty easy to splice a signal off behind the deck or at the amp.

CF is a bad choice for a sub box mainly due to it's cost. A sub enclosure should be as thick as possible to reduce flex and resonance. Fiberglass is a better choice, with mdf being even better. There's no room on the other side for your amps.

[IndieRockSteve]

oops, yea, I meant fiberglass, just all the CF talk had my mind somewhere else....

u happen to know if theres a pic somewhere of the harness and what the wires are? If not don't worry, I can figure it out with my oscilloscope.

[4ingDrive]

I don't have it on hand right now. Pm me later in case I forget and I'll look it up.