[livingword26]

Well, I've Got my new speakers in, and they sound 10 better than the original ones. I would like some amplification though so I don't have to crank the stereo up so high to get the volume I would like. In the old days I would just put an amp/equalizer in line with the speakers. But with the bridged outputs, crossovers and warning sounds, I must admit I am a bit out of my league. I don't want sub woofers, or extreme volume, just clean sound. Any links or advice would be appreciated.


2006 Impala ls
Non-Bose
Stock Stereo
6 Speakers
40-50 watts RMS
92 sensitivity

 

[jtrosky]

Look into the Alpine KTP-445U 45Wx4 class-D amp. It's smaller than a red brick and is relatively easy to install. Highly recommended!

Sent from my HP SlateBook 10 x2 PC using Tapatalk

 

[NY13LTZ]

Back in the day I was such a huge fan of the Pioneer Super Tuners. The Alpines were out of my league. Pioneer Super 3 in the dash, 12 band EQ mounted under the dash and some great speakers in my 77 Buick Regal. Wiring was so simple then.
Aldo Nova cranked to full volume!

 

[Revo2Maxx2016]

It kind of depends on what your speakers are. Then what the True RMS and Max RMS.

I don't want to say that Any speaker upgrade to the Factory speaker is an UPGRADE. However that is the Fact.

So you say your speakers are in and it sounds better! That is great and a good start! Did you use any type of Frame or did you Seal the Gaps?


IF this was my car and I was doing the UPgrade... Here is what I would do. Not saying you have to by any means....

Upgrade the Wires for the Speakers with 16awg. wire. (I would pull in new wire if I was going to do a new head unit to the dash.) If Amp install to the Amp Location. So There is going to be more wire needed for going to the AMP...
Next there is a Need for a Crossover for the Front Stage. Seeing the Car OEM radio runs them crossed from the amp n the trunk....
you can get the crossover for passive or active both will work well...

Then there are other things that you can factor into your new install... Do you want just normal 4ch or would a 4Ch Bluetooth better suit your needs? If you don't want to add a new Bluetooth deck or use a FM modulation for your Bluetooth then there are some Bluetooth Amps on the market... One if your speaker is able to take the power is REAudio BT-900.4 It will do 80 Watts a Chan or more running 2 ohms and even more Bridged. They are nice amps but there are many options out there... I have been a Fan of REAudio since back in the day when they were USAMPS. They have Great THD and the watt ratings are not based on what we would call ILS... IF Lightning Stikes lol... I mean when an AMP says it can do 400 watts and you connect it to a Speaker that can take 400 watts but can't even power the poor thing...

In the end. How many watts can the speaker take? Brand of Speaker and type of sound they should produce. Don't go cheap on a Amp or an Amp install. Treat your Speakers nice and they will treat you nice back To low of power can be just as bad as to much for a Quality Speaker.

James

 

[livingword26]

It kind of depends on what your speakers are. Then what the True RMS and Max RMS.

I don't want to say that Any speaker upgrade to the Factory speaker is an UPGRADE. However that is the Fact.

So you say your speakers are in and it sounds better! That is great and a good start! Did you use any type of Frame or did you Seal the Gaps?


IF this was my car and I was doing the UPgrade... Here is what I would do. Not saying you have to by any means....

Upgrade the Wires for the Speakers with 16awg. wire. (I would pull in new wire if I was going to do a new head unit to the dash.) If Amp install to the Amp Location. So There is going to be more wire needed for going to the AMP...
Next there is a Need for a Crossover for the Front Stage. Seeing the Car OEM radio runs them crossed from the amp n the trunk....
you can get the crossover for passive or active both will work well...

Then there are other things that you can factor into your new install... Do you want just normal 4ch or would a 4Ch Bluetooth better suit your needs? If you don't want to add a new Bluetooth deck or use a FM modulation for your Bluetooth then there are some Bluetooth Amps on the market... One if your speaker is able to take the power is REAudio BT-900.4 It will do 80 Watts a Chan or more running 2 ohms and even more Bridged. They are nice amps but there are many options out there... I have been a Fan of REAudio since back in the day when they were USAMPS. They have Great THD and the watt ratings are not based on what we would call ILS... IF Lightning Stikes lol... I mean when an AMP says it can do 400 watts and you connect it to a Speaker that can take 400 watts but can't even power the poor thing...

In the end. How many watts can the speaker take? Brand of Speaker and type of sound they should produce. Don't go cheap on a Amp or an Amp install. Treat your Speakers nice and they will treat you nice back To low of power can be just as bad as to much for a Quality Speaker.

James

Speaker Specs:
kfc-69652 kenwood 6 x 9 (Rear)
Sensitivity (1W at 1 meter) 92
Frequency Response 30 - 22k Hz
Minimum RMS Wattage 2
Maximum RMS Wattage 45
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 400
Impedance (Ohms) 4



ts-a1673r pioneer 6 1/2 (Door)
Sensitivity (1W at 1 meter) 91
Frequency Response 37 - 25k Hz
Minimum RMS Wattage 2
Maximum RMS Wattage 35
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 220
Impedance (Ohms) 4


Pioneer TS-T110 (tweeter)
Sensitivity (1W at 1 meter) 90
Frequency Response 2500 - 30k Hz
Minimum RMS Wattage 2
Maximum RMS Wattage 40
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 120
Impedance (Ohms) 4

Rear speaker, used factory mounts. Door speakers bolted to door, but used several layers of tape between. Haven't installed the tweeters yet.

No Amp installed, Just factory head unit. Don't need any Bluetooth

 

[Revo2Maxx2016]

I am not sure. But with your speakers and a Factory Deck, I would if this was my car again. Only if this was my car... Sorry Don't know your Budget. But with Christmas around the corner now is a good time to Treat yourself....

I would again only me.. Buy a Rockford Fosgate Prime R250x4 Shouldn't be much more then 140.00, Buy a Amp kit 8Gauge or better, to install the Amp, (Buy a Line level Converter (However you don't have to with this Amp really if you don't mind using the one that is in the amp already, help save some money)) It is just at my Max for THD but it is a Quality Amp and I think would do good for your set up. The Amp is Ratted at 4X40 and don't need to max out your Level Gains. I would start it around 1/4 gain and work up to what is good for you.

I am not sure as I haven't worked on every Impala Model out there. However I have not worked on one that didn't have a Factory Amp in the Trunk. IF your car has the Factory Amp (I know you said you don't have an Amp Some people don't know they have one) then you would want to install your new amp close to that location to use the Factory Wires if that is your plan...

You could T Tap the Wires for Imput to the NEW Aftermarket Amp. OR if you are going to cut the Factory Harness for the amp to use the incoming and out going wires for your speakers. I would make sure to leave enough that it could be put back in if you ever sale the car and don't want to leave your NEW Amp in it... Also I would only cut out the Wires that were needed for your install and leave the wires not used connected and tie it up out of the way to keep your new install Clean. Also keeps the Connector at the area so it don't get lost....

I would connect your Front Speakers and check for proper Ohms level! IF when you connect the front together and they change to 2 or 8 ohms depending how you connect them I would say get a Passive Crossover to keep your input 4 ohms that the amp needs... One reason is most times if running 8 ohms you would have lower amp output 2 ohms higher amp output and could blow your speakers...

About the Tape on your Door. I don't want to say that it isn't going to work. But Tape not sure what type you used. However in most cases don't like the types of temps and moisture that will be in your door over time. Before long it will start to make a bad noise on the lower notes as Air passes through the tape. Unless your Talking about using the Dynamat Tape that is around 10bucks for a 30 foot roll.... However if not using some type of Dynamat or Hush mat over time you may not be very happy with the sound you will get. Also could even be a sound like you have blown your speakers... OR I would get a XTC or Boom matt Baffles made of Foam. They also keep water off your speakers and keep the sound facing the listener and not the people outside THe Foam baffles are the cheaper choice between Dynamat and baffles...

In my 00 and 03 Impala you can only hear the Bass out of the car Not much of that either. If I turn off my Bass Amp and only run my Mids and Highs you can't hardly hear it out side the car with my windows up and door closed. Once the doors open it is a different story and I use Dynamat Dynaliner in my doors, trunk on the roof and floor of both the cabin and trunk of my Impalas. I also use the Foam baffles but my Audio setup isn't the Norm either. I will say this for sure. Looking at my 6 1/2 in my doors they look like they were installed yesterday, No rust or dust on the backs.

James

 

[livingword26]

I am not sure. But with your speakers and a Factory Deck, I would if this was my car again. Only if this was my car... Sorry Don't know your Budget. But with Christmas around the corner now is a good time to Treat yourself....

I would again only me.. Buy a Rockford Fosgate Prime R250x4 Shouldn't be much more then 140.00, Buy a Amp kit 8Gauge or better, to install the Amp, (Buy a Line level Converter (However you don't have to with this Amp really if you don't mind using the one that is in the amp already, help save some money)) It is just at my Max for THD but it is a Quality Amp and I think would do good for your set up. The Amp is Ratted at 4X40 and don't need to max out your Level Gains. I would start it around 1/4 gain and work up to what is good for you.

I am not sure as I haven't worked on every Impala Model out there. However I have not worked on one that didn't have a Factory Amp in the Trunk. IF your car has the Factory Amp (I know you said you don't have an Amp Some people don't know they have one) then you would want to install your new amp close to that location to use the Factory Wires if that is your plan...

You could T Tap the Wires for Imput to the NEW Aftermarket Amp. OR if you are going to cut the Factory Harness for the amp to use the incoming and out going wires for your speakers. I would make sure to leave enough that it could be put back in if you ever sale the car and don't want to leave your NEW Amp in it... Also I would only cut out the Wires that were needed for your install and leave the wires not used connected and tie it up out of the way to keep your new install Clean. Also keeps the Connector at the area so it don't get lost....

I would connect your Front Speakers and check for proper Ohms level! IF when you connect the front together and they change to 2 or 8 ohms depending how you connect them I would say get a Passive Crossover to keep your input 4 ohms that the amp needs... One reason is most times if running 8 ohms you would have lower amp output 2 ohms higher amp output and could blow your speakers...

About the Tape on your Door. I don't want to say that it isn't going to work. But Tape not sure what type you used. However in most cases don't like the types of temps and moisture that will be in your door over time. Before long it will start to make a bad noise on the lower notes as Air passes through the tape. Unless your Talking about using the Dynamat Tape that is around 10bucks for a 30 foot roll.... However if not using some type of Dynamat or Hush mat over time you may not be very happy with the sound you will get. Also could even be a sound like you have blown your speakers... OR I would get a XTC or Boom matt Baffles made of Foam. They also keep water off your speakers and keep the sound facing the listener and not the people outside THe Foam baffles are the cheaper choice between Dynamat and baffles...

In my 00 and 03 Impala you can only hear the Bass out of the car Not much of that either. If I turn off my Bass Amp and only run my Mids and Highs you can't hardly hear it out side the car with my windows up and door closed. Once the doors open it is a different story and I use Dynamat Dynaliner in my doors, trunk on the roof and floor of both the cabin and trunk of my Impalas. I also use the Foam baffles but my Audio setup isn't the Norm either. I will say this for sure. Looking at my 6 1/2 in my doors they look like they were installed yesterday, No rust or dust on the backs.

James

I like the R250X4, looks like about what I have been looking for. Believe me, there is not amp in the back deck, top or bottom. I just had all that apart today to replace the speakers. There is a great big wire harness plug on top, but nothing hooked to it, and it only has 2 or 3 wires going into it. Besides, the wiring is all going to have to be upgraded anyway. As far as the Ohms on the 4 front speakers, I have been wondering about that myself. The only crappy wiring diagrams I have found just show the tweeters teeing off of the door speakers. I will probably have to pull the deck and Ohm it out. Even if there is a cross-over somewhere, it is probably designed for the factory head unit, and won't survive the higher power. So I'm not sure where that leaves me on the crossover for the front.

 

[Revo2Maxx2016]

Strange. In that model year your right with the Back tray off to replace the speakers you could see it. (MORE power to you lol I remember my first time replacing the Speakers in both the 00-05 model and the 06 on.) Depending on the Rear seat type to what one is going to take the longest lol. Even after years of working on these I always seem to find something different in one way or another lol... Even though main access is like in the 00-05 from trunk.

So your going to run new wiring for the speakers? As I stated in my other post I like that Idea Now for the next thought? LOC or the LLI? If it was me and I had to run speaker wires from the front to the back anyway I would just do the LOC and run 2 sets of RCA's to the trunk... Run the Power wire down the Passenger side of the Car and the RCA's down the drivers side. With the RCA's I would bring the Remote turn on along. It would be cheaper to bring a pair of speaker wires from the radio to the trunk to do the Line Level Input connection but really might as well run 2 pairs for both Front and Back.... MY thought there is then both front and back would have same type of speaker wires to keep with same signal loss running to the amps input...

Parts,
Amp, Amp install kit (8 gauge wire power, 8 gauge ground, Fuse holder and Fuse and Blue Remote turn on wire) 16 gauge Speaker wire from AMP to speakers. 16 Gauge speaker wire from Radio to Line Level Input on the Amp.

Option 2
Amp, Amp install kit (8 gauge wire power, 8 gauge ground, Fuse holder and Fuse and Blue Remote turn on wire) 16 gauge speaker wire from Anp to seakers. RFHLC4 4 Channel Line Output Converter and 2 sets of RCA's. I think this option will make it sound better but also cost more...

Time for bed Night lol...
James

 

[impaler]

Look into the Alpine KTP-445U 45Wx4 class-D amp. It's smaller than a red brick and is relatively easy to install. Highly recommended!

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That is the amp I have in my truck powering my Polk speakers and it sounds great. Very easy to install and set up.

 

[livingword26]

Sure sounds easier to me to run 2 sets of speaker wires to the back, and install the amp up front somewhere, instead of running power and ground back to the amp, then 2 sets of speaker wires back to the front for the front speakers?

 

[jtrosky]

Honestly, the more that I think about this - I wouldn't go the amp route. I would just buy and install a used Rosen GM1010 touchscreen, DVD/Navigation, plug-and-play, OEM-look headunit! You can get an entire kit for under $200 right now on Ebay (I posted a list of what you need - let me know if you want a link to it). Not only will that increase the amount of power you have (substantially), but you'll also have a MUCH nicer system as well. This unit fully supports ALL factory functions (OnStar, warning chimes, steering-wheel controls, XM, etc), plus gives you a fantastic navigation system. To top it all off, it would actually be easier than installing an amp too (100% plug-and-play, no wire cutting or splicing needed)! Plus it sounds much better than the stock head-unit.

If interested in more info, let me know. Many people here have installed this unit and everyone speaks highly of it. For the prices that you can get them for now, it's a no-brainer, IMO.

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[BobX2]

Back in the day I was such a huge fan of the Pioneer Super Tuners. The Alpines were out of my league. Pioneer Super 3 in the dash, 12 band EQ mounted under the dash and some great speakers in my 77 Buick Regal. Wiring was so simple then.
Aldo Nova cranked to full volume!

Ah yes, the old Pioneer Super Tuner 3. I might still have it in a box somewhere. The massive rectangular FM stereo/8 track player. Big round radio dial on the right (I think it was on the right) and the rest was 8 track player. Those were the days.

 

[livingword26]

Buy a Rockford Fosgate Prime R250x4 Shouldn't be much more then 140.00, Buy a Amp kit 8Gauge or better, to install the Amp,

James

I have an ohm question about this amp, or amps and decks in general. Here are part of the specs:


Rated Power
(RMS Continuous Power):
40 Watts x 4 @ 4-Ohms
60 Watts x 4 @ 2-Ohms
125 Watts x 2 @ 4-Ohms Bridged


I have 4 ohm speakers on the rear channels, and 4 ohm door speakers, and 4 ohm tweeters on the front channels. Now if my front speakers door and tweeter speakers are just hooked in parallel, then I will have 2 ohms on each side of my front channels. My Question is, for this amp and others like it, can I have 2, 4 Ohm channels, and 2, 2 Ohm channels, or do they all have to be the same, I can't seem to find this on any spec sheets.

 

[Revo2Maxx2016]

In theory you will be ok. Issue may be that the Front stage will need less Gain to drive the speakers to the same output level for the Rear Stage. I know some Amps can drive different Ohms per Stage. However if your 4 channel amp only has 1 gain control for both front and back could be an issue.

Your Tweeter has a 6db HPF and should keep out the unwanted mid and bass notes that are for larger speakers. One thing I wouldn't do is install the amp in a area that don't have a good amount of space to keep the free flow of air to pass. Like don't install under your seats or in an area to close to heat vents you may find most amps will go into protection mode if they get to hot...

Another thing that people do, have done. is run multi Amp setup. Some people use the 2 channel amp to drive the rears and the 4 channel to drive the fronts... Others prefer to use the 2 channel for the Tweeters and the 4 channel to drive the Mids... It is all up to what is wanted and the budget of the end user.... At times when people are planning the system setup they may even choose to just buy a system like TS-A1605C that is component set and has a passive crossover that keeps the ohms at 4

James

 

[impaler]

That's what is good about the Alpine power pack, 45w per channel x4, separate gain controls for front and back, separate adjustable high pass filters for front and back, runs off the same powered wire for the radio as long as it is 15 amp fused, and doesn't require much room for air flow. You can also set it to 2 channel mode and get 90w per channel out of it.

 

[jtrosky]

^^Also, it works with line-level or speaker-level outputs, which is nice. That Alpine amp really is a great little amp.

However, like I mentioned above, instead of adding an amp to the stock head-unit, a much better solution (IMO) would be to just replace the stock head-unit with a Rosen GM1010 head-unit. It's already much more powerful than the stock head-unit (so no amp would be needed) and also GREATLY improves the functionality and sound-quality of the stock head-unit. In the end, instead of ~$150 for an amp, you could spend ~$180 for the Rosen and end up with a touch-screen, DVD/Navigation, plug-and-play, OEM-look headunit instead of the crappy stock headunit. Plus, installing the Rosen would actually be easier than installing an amp (it *really* is plug-and-play). Chances are that with the Rosen, you'd have more than enough power without needing an amp at all.

Definitely the way that I would go if I were in this situation.

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[livingword26]

However, like I mentioned above, instead of adding an amp to the stock head-unit, a much better solution (IMO) would be to just replace the stock head-unit with a Rosen GM1010 head-unit. It's already much more powerful than the stock head-unit (so no amp would be needed) and also GREATLY improves the functionality and sound-quality of the stock head-unit. In the end, instead of ~$150 for an amp, you could spend ~$180 for the Rosen and end up with a touch-screen, DVD/Navigation, plug-and-play, OEM-look headunit instead of the crappy stock headunit. Plus, installing the Rosen would actually be easier than installing an amp (it *really* is plug-and-play). Chances are that with the Rosen, you'd have more than enough power without needing an amp at all.

Definitely the way that I would go if I were in this situation.

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I like the idea of the GM1010, but the only place I can find one is on ebay. Several are being sold, but they are all from the same guy. He is selling the unit and all the wiring and gps gear separately, for a total of $250. Which would be ok, but for practically no warranty, and being used, I am a little weary.

 

[jtrosky]

I like the idea of the GM1010, but the only place I can find one is on ebay. Several are being sold, but they are all from the same guy. He is selling the unit and all the wiring and gps gear separately, for a total of $250. Which would be ok, but for practically no warranty, and being used, I am a little weary.

I don't want to "push" the issue, but you can get it for much less than $250. If you just get the head-unit, wiring harness and GPS antenna, you can get it for ~$175 (or less). Now if you add an iPod harness and backup-camera harness, that will add to the cost, but those are "extras" and not really needed (and can always be added later).

For the head-unit, submit a best offer of $80 or $90 - he'll most likely accept (you don't have to pay the "buy it now" price of $119).

Also, while there is no warranty, he will exchange a unit that has any issues when you receive it (he has no way to fully test them). Also, I must say, in the 4 or so years that I've been dealing with these things (all used), I've run into VERY few issues - these things are rock-solid in terms of reliability. Of course, there is some risk with used equipment, but for these prices, I think it's worth the risk (these things retailed for $1299 new originally)! If you're really worried, but an extra head-unit (~$90) to have on-hand if the original ever fails. If you keep your car for many years, the total cost over the lifetime of the vehicle is ridiculously cheap for what you are getting! Hell, the navigation app alone is worth the cost of these things (it's a *fantastic* navigation app!). Throw in all of the extra functionality, the power increase and the sound quality improvement and it's a no-brainer...

Also - since these unit's don't come with the GPS app SD card, I will supply that (I'll provide a .zip file that you unzip onto a blank SD card, which cost about $5). Do NOT buy a used Rosen GPS SD card for $50+ - it's old, outdated and doesn't contain anywhere near the stuff that I'd provide (which also includes the latest US, Canada and Mexico maps).

Again, I don't want to keep pushing, but if you ask any of the 12+ other members that have went with the GM1010 (all used, whether from me or from elsewhere), I think that they'd agree that it's WELL worth the cost and risk.

Here is a link to a post I made that includes links and prices for the individual parts you need:

http://www.impalaforums.com/showthread.php?p=3097489

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[livingword26]

I don't want to "push" the issue, but you can get it for much less than $250.

Oh I don't feel pushed at all. I am very grateful for other peoples experience here on these forums. As well as the links. I really only want something to drive my new speakers better, but my wife decided she has to have the navigation and backup camera. Putting all those together gets pricey. Just about the only thing I will have to sell my wife on is appearance. Even though our Impala is 10 years old, it is a cream puff, the interior is perfect, and we want to make sure that what we put in there doesn't look worn. I will do some more investigating on ebay. Thanks again for the information.

 

[jtrosky]

Oh I don't feel pushed at all. I am very grateful for other peoples experience here on these forums. As well as the links. I really only want something to drive my new speakers better, but my wife decided she has to have the navigation and backup camera. Putting all those together gets pricey. Just about the only thing I will have to sell my wife on is appearance. Even though our Impala is 10 years old, it is a cream puff, the interior is perfect, and we want to make sure that what we put in there doesn't look worn. I will do some more investigating on ebay. Thanks again for the information.

You definitely don't have to worry about the Rosens looking worn. Almost every one I've seen still looks as good as new. And trust me, these things look like they came in the car from the factory (backlighting is the EXACT same color and they fit perfectly). It's not like an aftermarket unit where you need a "fitment" adapter to make it fit the hole. These things fit perfectly and retain ALL factory options without any adapters whatsoever. So the end result looks (and acts) 100% stock. If you read through the Rosen thread, I'm sure you'll see that everyone who has purchased one of these absolutely loves it. They really do "stand the test of time" very well.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that - but don't hesitate to reach out if you have ANY questions!

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