what to look for in hu

[nas786 10+ year member]

hey guys, 1st post

i wanna ask, how important is an aftermarket hu if i'm going to run my speakers through amps anyways. people tell me to still get one, but what is the need for it?? if its wiring, isn't there some way to just add something on to my stock hu? btw, i have a stock bose unit, w/ 6 disc changer, which is y i would wanna keep it.

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[Depression 10+ year member]

Well in my opinion this has changed alot over recent years..I remember when it was STUPID and not reccomended to even try and run amps off you stock H/U...NOW..it is very common and saves alot of money in your budget to maintain the stock H/U and put your money in speakers and amps..plus factory H/U have improved alot over the years//If your Vehicle is 2000 or newer ..odds are your car has a decent H/U..... like yours

BUT.........Personally I would want a aftermarket H/U...I look at it as the BRAIN behind everything..It may not even be that noticable in sound..but when you have a decent Aftermarket H/U..you have more flexibility in tuning..Better functions and the peace of mind that your system is being driven by equipment that was intended to do so..But as I always say at the end of my post

"OTHERS MAY HAVE DIFFRENT OPINIONS"

AND YES YOU CAN DO IT EASY...There is something called a Line driver that uses the Speaker wires of your H/U to send signals to the amps...BUT..You must make sure your Amps have "Line Level Inputs"...Most amps do..Some very high budget amps don't because the manufacturers assume that if you are getting a $500 amp..you probably have a H/U that has multiple RCA outputs to send signal

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

AND YES YOU CAN DO IT EASY...There is something called a Line driver that uses the Speaker wires of your H/U to send signals to the amps...BUT..You must make sure your Amps have "Line Level Inputs"...Most amps do..Some very high budget amps don't because the manufacturers assume that if you are getting a $500 amp..you probably have a H/U that has multiple RCA outputs to send signal

If your amp has Line Level Ins, then nothing extra is needed. You can use the adaptor that came with the amp (most have a plug-in style dealy thingy) and tap right into the speaker wires. If your amp doesn't have Line Level Ins, then you need a Line Out Convertor (which is different than a line driver //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif ) which basically converts the speaker outputs into RCA outputs.

Some of the newer cars have very nice headunits in them that you could just do as above and not upgrade. If your car is older, I'd suggest getting an aftermarket HU for sure.

Also, for little money ($400 or less, not all that expensive) you can get a nice HU with a ton of helpful features.

 

[nas786 10+ year member]

i see

if i want to do a pretty high quality sound set up (focal's and jl w6, same level quality amps....and yes, i know this is not HIGH quality, but u know wha ti mean) would it be bad if i put in a hu that has dvd player and screen w/ it too.....like, does it somehow take away from the audio part, u know, by draining the system or something??