Installing a 12 sub w/o an amp

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Thugstyle

Member - Posts: 22

Joined: May 31, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: June 01, 2003 at 12:39 PM / IP Logged

is there a good way to install a 12" sub without an amp..im low on cash and i just want this setup to be temporary..could i hook the sub up as a speaker?

mkyriss

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: May 29, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: June 01, 2003 at 12:48 PM / IP Logged

no u dont want to do that just wait

soon2bealarmtec

Member - Posts: 12

Joined: May 23, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: June 01, 2003 at 2:33 PM / IP Logged

yea man you sure don't want to that then you'll go to the trouble in wiring from the factory speaker to much mess, just wait like mkyriss said.

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robHI

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Joined: August 22, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: June 01, 2003 at 2:33 PM / IP Logged

u are not going to get the sound u want out of it.

Xplocivic

Member - Posts: 26

Joined: May 19, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: June 01, 2003 at 5:38 PM / IP Logged

DON"T DO IT. There is a good chance that you will screw up your headunit. Just wait on the amp, or even get a cheap one at PepBoys. Anything would be better. If your credit is decent, Best Buy and other large retailers will finance you. Try that. Good luck

speedwayaudio1

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Joined: March 18, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: June 02, 2003 at 4:17 AM / IP Logged

you will hurt the sub as well.

Big Dave

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DYohn

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Joined: April 22, 2003

Location: Arizona, United States

Posted: June 02, 2003 at 7:52 AM / IP Logged

There is no reaso not to do this, if you do it correctly and build the correct type of crossover. Just know off the bat that you will not get that "big subwoofer sound" running one off the head unit.

A subwoofer is simply a specialized loudspeaker, and like any other speaker, any amp can drive it. Those who say you will damage your system are both right and wrong; if you do everything right, you will damage nothing. If you don't know what you are doing, you can easily blow out your head unit amps. A subwoofer can put huge demands on an amp and a dedicated amp is highly recomended. You can get a used amp off eBay for, oh, less than $50.

In any case, if you understand the limitations and the idea of using crossovers and want to power up your sub from your HU, build a two-way passive crossover system at 100 hz and the impedance of your sub (probably 4 ohms.) Run the rear speaker outs from your head unit through this crossover, connect the low pass to the sub and the high pass to your rear speakers.

shindaima

Member - Posts: 2

Joined: November 13, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: June 03, 2003 at 2:57 PM / IP Logged

It's not worth the effort. I've already tried. Head units don't put out enough power to run a 12 properly. Maybe an 8 would work though...

yodo

Member - Posts: 19

Joined: April 24, 2003

Location: Australia

Posted: June 03, 2003 at 3:45 PM / IP Logged

Or you could.... Hook up the crossover to the sub for the low pass. Than wire it up to the headunit using 1 of the rear channels. Have only the two front speakers connected with the sub, than tweak the fader to your desired sound requirements. Just make sure you put the sub in place of your head rest. After hooking it up, the grin on your face would look depressing compared to the joy of having an amp! Theres nothing wrong with using a tissue on a cut than wrapping it up with sticky tape. It's a bandaid without the fancy packaging!

wvsquirrel

Gold - Posts: 1,237

Joined: July 27, 2002

Location: Florida, United States

Posted: June 03, 2003 at 10:35 PM / IP Logged

It's a lot of effort for very undesired results. Save your money and get an amp. If you give us the make/model of your sub then we can suggest some amps for you. We can even help find you one at a decient price if possible.

Squirrel

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If its too loud, then you're too old

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Installing a 12 sub w/o an amp

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