Pioneer GM-X352 amp

I need help from some more experienced dudes. I just got an amp for my '95 Accord. I have an Alpine CDA-9813 head unit and my factory speakers (I like the way they sound so far!) Anyway, I just got a bridgeable 2- channel Pioneer amp (its an older model GM-X352) and I was wondering if I could get some suggestions on the best way to wire it up. I haven't gotten my sub yet, I'm still shopping for those. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm kinda new at this!

Dave

Thanks for your help. The friend of mine that gave me the amp had it hooked up in his '95 civic until he sold the car and bought a new system. He gave me the amp and the RockfordFosgate power wire. He said he also has the ground wire, the remote wire, and the RCA speaker input cable, so it sounds like I'm all set and won't have to buy anything but new connectors for the ends of tha cables. Now, I know how to run the power wires on opposite sides to eliminate the electrical interference, but I still have a couple of questions:

1.Am I only hooking up the two rear speakers or all four speakers to the amp? (It's two channels, so that's two speakers, right? (I warned you i was new to this!)

2. What does bridging do, and does it apply to my setup?

3. I may add a sub later. Will I have to rewire anything, or will I be able to hook the sub right to the amp?

I hope this doesn't seem like a lot of questions; I understand electronics, but I want this to sound as good as possible with the equipment I have. Thanks again for your help and for being so patient with the newbie!

Dave

Just connect to a pair of left/right speakers, and you'll keep the amp at 4 ohm stereo.  Sound is best coming from the front.  Don't bridge the amp for speakers.  The amp will try to output more power and the quality will seriously degrade.  You see bridging being done to power subs, where the lower frequency range limits the ill effects of the lower ohm load. 

Your factory speakers are fine with the slight amount of power the head unit provides, but the amp may provide more power than they are capable of reproducing.  Look for a set of replacement speakers for your car.

When you are ready to upgrade the system to include a subwoofer, another amp will be required. 

Thanks again for your help guys, I think I understand a lot better now. I also have 4 Pioneer 6x9's from from my friend's system. He had FOUR 6x9's in the rear deck of his civic, courtesy of a hacksaw and lots of patience! I'm going to put two of those in my accord and look for a pair of front speakers that I like, then I'm going to hook up this amp and see how it sounds. If I don't like it, I'll sell the amp and buy a nicer, larger one that can power a sub when I get one, because I really don't have room for more than one amp the way I'm planning to hook this up. I don't mind if it's bigger, though. Thanks for the info. I'll be back if i run into trouble. Feel free to keep feeding me ideas, though!

One more thing:

Does it matter if the amp's upside down? Another friend of mine has a '95 accord 4dr and he has his amp hanging under the REAR DECK between the 6x9's. It's completely hidden, it's installed really well, and it sounds great! He said he'd help me set that up, but I wasn't sure about it. That sound OK to you guys?

Dave

Sure, it's ok as long as you drive your car upside-down, too.  No, your friend is lucky (so far).  Heat rises, and if you look at the amp you'll see how the heat is supposed to leave the amp.  Vertical usually works fine, other than the normal horizontal position.

Keep at the learning, dude, and you'll outclass your friends in short order.  (...four 6 X 9's in the rear, upside-down amp...shakes head like forbidden would...)

Whoa. Never even thought about that, he oughta know better! I think I'll use his idea of monting the amp under the deck. but I'll make some brackets, a rack, or use some longer screws so that I can mount it facing up! Just so ya know, that was two different dudes I was talkin about. One had the four 6x9's in his '95 civic,the other had the upside-down amp in his '95 accord, but sometimes I think they're BOTH idiots!

Thanks for the tips, and if my friend is nice to me, maybe I'LL help HIM fix the amp problem he doesn't even know he has (yet)!

Dave