Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior CAR AUDIO HELP NEEDED!

Heres my situation. Ive got the Premium 3-in-1 AM/FM/Cassette/CD with 8 speakers factory sound system in my 02 GTS. Im trying to install an aftermarket HU, but to do so its necessary to bypass the factory amp. What I want to do is run the front tweeters + mids, and the rear speakers off my HU, then get an amp to power the door woofers and potentially a 10 inch sub in the trunk.

What Id like to do is get a 4 channel amp, around 300w. I want to bridge 2 of the channels for the sub, and then use one channel each on the two door woofers. All the 4 channel amps Ive found so far allow for 2 regular speakers, + a bridged sub channel. I dont think I want to do this because I really want to hit the bass on the door woofers and not just reduce them to being mids or so.

Does anyone know of an amp I can use that has some kind of 4-sub-channels, + bridgeable? If my idea is flawed, feel free to offer suggestions there as well. All help is very appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Use seperate amps. Use a 4 channel for your front woffers and rear woofers. Use a mono block amp for your sub/subs.

If you want to use a single amp buy an Eclipse 5channel amp, which will still underpower your fricken sub. Underpower=Blown sub or speakers.

front and rear woofers? I only have the 2 front door woofers as of right now. you're suggesting using a 4 channel amp only on those 2 woofers and then getting a mono block amp for the sub?

also... 2 amps would be nice, but i'm kind of looking for a more cost effective solution for now... so if 1 amp is possible, that would be best

Well cost effective...then just save up. Systems arent cheap...Im saying upgrade your 4 speakers...latter on get a 4 channel amp...amp those 4 speakers...later on get a mono amp and a sub...there you go.


Then you wont end up with shit fake subs and amps. Buy quality.

okay, i like the idea. does anyone know where i can get some info on what speakers are in there already? namely, size and wattage max of the factory speakers?

I just started with my system, and like everyone else is saying... This shit ain't cheap. I've got a GT, but i'm going to assume that the speakers of the GTS premium package definitely aren't wonderful speakers. My stock GT speakers were 17.5W... I'd definitely say upgrade your speakers with your HU. However, if you're low on cash, you can just upgrade the front speakers and leave the back's stock. They can act more of fillers, and you can always upgrade them later. I powered my stock rears with my HU, then powered my new fronts and tweeters with a 300x4 JL Audio. I'm not all too familiar with the GTS stock system, so sorry if I'm just throwing out irrelevant info. Just know what you're getting yourself into, especially with installation fees if you can't do it yourself.

actually I think the gts premium sound system sounds pretty good. it's deffinately one of the best stock sound systems I've heard. it's got a lot of power for bass and the sound is pretty clear and doesn't distort when you crank it. the only reason i'm going to be updating my sound system soon is I got an amp and subs for xmas and want to make a cool looking enclosure in the trunk and I want to be able to play mp3's so going to be getting a new HU as well soon. but I think the stock system sounds great. I'm actually afraid that if I bypass the factory amp it won't sound as good.

I also noticed when I had a different car and replaced my HU there was a very noticeable increase in sound quality on stock speakers. I later replaced the speakers as well but not as noticeable of a difference as the actual HU replacement so I think what is powering the speakers is at least twice as important as the speakers themselves. I also think it's important to match the speakers to the amp. I bet if your stereo sounds like crap and you add new speakers without replacing the HU or AMP your stereo will still sound like crap.

id agree w/ u, celicatuner. granted, it doesn't stack up to an aftermarket system, but compared to other factory systems, it's not bad. i'd keep it myself too, but i'm hardwiring my ipod to my aftermarket HU and there's no aux on the stock HU.