Celica Forums General Discussion Interior Subs with stock stereo

Hey guys

Im new around here and i had a question ...
I will be getting my ride ... 2000 GTS in a day or two and i was wondering if it is possible to wire a sub to the stock headunit and have like a separate (external) control like a knob or something to control the bass ... coz i want to keep the stock look.
you guys got any guide to go about doing that ?? coz i really dont have too much money to for professional help and i'd like to do it myself ... will feel a lot better and learn to appreciate it ...

Thanks

I'll try to help you out. It is possible to hook up subs with a stock headunit. You still need to run your power wire from the battery, ground wire from the amp to a ground. You need to connecy the remote wire from the amp to the accesory wire of the radio(giving the amp power only when the radio is on), or to another source of power with a seperate switch to turn your amp on and off. And last, you need an RCA adapter that will tie into your rear speaker wires, and then plug your RCA's from your amp into it. As for a bass control knob, you'll probably need an amp that has the output for a seperate bass controller. I've done this setup before, and altough it doesn't sound as good as an aftermarket headunit, it still is better than nothing. Hope this helps.

Get a CD player and do it Euro style. That would give you a simpler look then even
factory. I like the stock look also but that's what I'd do. Also get ground control wites they might help you out with a factory stereo to sound better

*ground control wires

Thanks racergts03, that was real fast ... and when you say it doesnt sound as good as an aftermarket HU ... how bad are we talking about here ??
Coz in my last ride (rav4) i had a sony HU which totally spoiled the look even though it was fabricated very beautifully with wood wrapped in black leather ... the jazzy lights from the HU just ruin the clean look. Besides i did'nt want it to be too noticeable... just like a neat knob to control the bass ... probably on the auto window control console ...
anyway once i get my ride i shall try to hook it up ... and thing is i listen to mostly metal and a little bit of rock and i noticed that the clearer the speakers are the worse that kinda music sounds ... especially metal. It sounds best on stock speakers ... the bass i prefer something that its crisp and hard hitting (feels good while listening to constant double bass on the drums)... not something that is loose but with a lot of bass...from what i noticed hip-hop/ trance/techno sounds best on clean speakers ...

I say it doesn't sound as good because of the fact that your rear speakers are playing out of the subs too. It just takes some time to adjust your sound levels to get it sounding the way you like it. If your just wanting that little extra bass in your music, it will work fine.

Um the aftermarket units put out from 50 to 60 some watts and factory is like 35 to 40 or something. And it just isnt as clear and sound as good. Um just find a after market headunit you like. Up to you man, to find the right box for factory cd player it is called cheater box. Just ask normal audio place. Hope it helps Chad

Actually...

Parts you need are called:

Preamp-Its a box that you wire into your speaker wires giving you rcas to connect your subs to.

Ground loop isolater-depending how the wires were ran/installed. Youll find out later if you hear a "poping" sound when your stereo turns on or off etc.


On a side note...
Aftermarket head units claim 50-60 watts max power, realistically the true (rms) power of the head units are 17-22 rms power. the factery systems built in amp isnt bad at all.

To adjust bass level:

In order to adjust your bass sepertly you will need to get an amp with a bass knob, such as rockford fosgate, some jls, some mtxs etc.


I install stereos for a shop, just pm me later if you need help on the install.

i have this setup done from my stock layer right now and it sounds fine just 2 kicker comp 12 inches and a 300 watt rms amp pioneer just spliced into my back speakers with the output convertor its cool, also on a side not, my wife has a mustang that she wanted to keep looking classic but wanted a better headunit so what she did is lef thte current headunit in the console and wired in the cd player that hides in the glovebox so that may be another way to go

10celica10:
Thanks dude ... thats kinda what i wanted to know ... how to wire it up .. ill PM you later on once i get the subs for the car

celicadragon:
How good is the output ??
I'm not too sure but of the limited knowledge i have i was under the impression that if your headunit does not have a direct sub line ... the only other option will be to wire it through the rear speakers ... now one of my friend did this and he was having a problem with the output on the rear spkrs whenever he turned the volume up coz the rear spkrs arent capable of handling that much bass ... which means i will not be able to actually get a good thump... is there anyway of getting around it ?? like using some kinda filter which will route really low frequencies through the sub and mids and not too low freqs through the rear speakers...

mine sounds fine, ive done it with the same system in my last 2 cars and i have no issues, all i did was cut the back speaker wire and used some 10 g wire to connect to the converter box i used and attached to the amp, i never touched anything with the head unit

i got a 8" powered bazooka bass tube in the rear, and they do offer a volume control that you can remote mount. the price would be approx 250-275 for the speaker and the control, more for the install if you dont do it yourself. it sounds good in the car, can hear it very little outside. it is very efficient, and small in size, so you still have most of your trunk to use. and because they use smaller drivers, they have better musical transients than if you try a 12 or 15

they call it either a "speaker level converter" or "low-level converter" that sends the audio input into the amp. no, it is not as clean, because you are taking the semi distorted analog signal from the stock deck and then working with that. if you are looking for an audiophile sound quality, you need a new deck with RCA outputs, but for what you are looking for is just recreational listening, it is much more cost efficient.

I have an Infinity Basslink in my car with the factory head unit. Sound is crystal clear on both the high and low end. It wont rattle your brain but if your looking for clean highs and tight bass this is the way to go. It comes with a wired control knob. All you need is a speaker wire to RCA converter to the sub, a power wire to your battery, and power-on wire to your factory stereo's ACC on wire, and ground into body. There is no thump at turn on. I still have plenty of room in my trunk too...