DIY stereo upgrade for under $500.00

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greatone99

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so I need a zen ,549 , and amp ,is it a 6 channel I need ,the tweeters need new wires from there spot to the amp ,so I assume they need there own channel on the amp , so a half decent amp 800-1200$, and a sub woofer enclosure with subs 1000-2000$ , and all the little extras ,so it looks like when all said and done at least 4000$ as ive already done front components and rear coax. mind u this started out as just a front speaker upgrade lol
 

smurfslayer

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No, you can do a 4 channel main amp + sub or a 5 channel amp. Tweets go in the stock location but you run wires from the front channel crossovers to the tweet location in the pillars. I put my crossovers in the rear by the amps and just ran tweet wires in the door sill channel. You should be able to do this for parts at or under 2500 depending upon component choices, etc.
 

greatone99

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Wont the amp have crossovers built in?
As i just run the tweeters wires from there a pillar location to the amp . Or do I still need to use the crossover that came with them , as of now I do not use them as I have a cap in series with the positive wire
 

lateralis

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Wont the amp have crossovers built in?
As i just run the tweeters wires from there a pillar location to the amp . Or do I still need to use the crossover that came with them , as of now I do not use them as I have a cap in series with the positive wire

The crossovers built into the amp are pretty rough rheostats so you wont know exactly where the they are set unless you are using an oscilloscope with a test tone playing at the frequency you are trying to set it at. Also they might not have the range that you need for your tweeters. Still advised to use the crossovers that came with your speakers.
 

greatone99

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What I’m confused about ,The amp will get it imputes from the Zen , left , right
Back left right , and sub ,But the tweeters will just have wires run from the dash to the back , so do the tweeters wires just hook up to the output of channel 1 and 2 aka front left front right .meaning channel 1 and 2 will have both mid bass drivers and tweeters coming out of the outputs of the amp . Then to may be a crossover.
 

smurfslayer

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if you’re just using 4 main channels and a sub, you will run the front output to the crossover. The main crossover output will go to your door speakers, the tweets you run a new wire to the pillars.
 

greatone99

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Question , could I buy and amp with 6 channels and dedicate , 2 of the channels to the front tweeters only . I plan on buying jl I think it’s the vx 1000
With dsp built into it . R there pros ands cons to doing it this way ?
 
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dhmcfadin

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Question , could I buy and amp with 6 channels and dedicate , 2 of the channels to the front tweeters only . I plan on buying jl I think it’s the vx 1000
With dsp built into it . R there pros ands cons to doing it this way ?
That is called an Active Crossover Network. Each speaker gets its own dedicated amplifier channel. Tweeters would take 2 channels, midbass 2, rear 2. Then you would add a sub amp. The VXI can control any external amp you connect.
 
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