alright guys, I've heard of two main ways to wire a mono sub amp into the stock Scion xB head unit. either

A. You can buy the RCA adapter which is probably the easiest or

B. You can splice into the rear speaker wires and send them to your amp's high level input

Which of these would sound the best and offer me the most control over the sub?? BTW I plan to buy an amp with a remote bass control to mount on the dash.

Thanks guys!!! You've never steered me wrong b4 lol

 

option A. and the bass level controller is yer easiest way

 

I agree. If you splice into your rear speakers, your gunna lose some clarity. Not to mention the chance of messing up your rear speakers real bad.

 

I'll assume the rca adapter you're referring to is what we call a hi-level, or line out convertor. It converts hi-level speaker signals to rca's then you plug into the rca it gives you to the amp. If you're going to buy a quality line-out convertor (such as JL Audio's Clean Sweep (retails at about $300), Audio Control's LS6, Phoenix Gold's model) then this is the best method. If you're buying one of the $30 dollar models, you won't notice a difference in the sound. The hi-level amp inputs will sound better because it'll save you about $30 bucks, but the quality won't be any better.

 

A.

 

they should sound the same. i'd go option (A)

 

a. a good friend of mine is hardcore into sounds and electronics and he told me rca is measured in volts while speaker outputs are in watts. the converter, converts the watt output into volts for the rca inputs. so i bought the converter.

 

If your amp accepts high level input, it's better to use that feature than pay for additional LOC's. Unless you spend good money, LOC's usually employ cheap transformers that are not great for audio applications.
The CleanSweep will give you an electrically flat signal which is important if you plan to add aftermarket speakers. The DSP in the Scion is pretty asstastic when combined with decent speakers. OEM's figured out early on that it's more cost effective to add DSP to the system to make the $1 speakers sound decent and protect them through the warranty period. It's pretty easy to change the radio in the Scion, the CleanSweep was created for people who have no choice. I elected to keep my OEM deck because so many aftermarket decks are a lateral move at best.

 

I like the cleansweep because it allows you to keep the integrity of the factory dash with the stock radio in there. It's pricey, but worth it, IMO if you don't want the factory dash to appear messed with, plus it's like a bonus security feature. What theif would look into a car and see a factory radio adn want to steal it?

 

they're the same.. amps with the high level input basically do what the converter does. the only real problem lies in the level of the input signal. if it's too high and u amp it, the signal will top off and sound like farty noises (this is called "saturation"). other than that, ur ear won't b able to tell the difference. unless ur a robot, and in which case i'd like to b a robot too please.

 

I prefer option A

 

I'm running option A, but the quality will depend on who's
circuitry is better, since both options are doing the same thing!!

 

You cannot convert watts into volts. They are two different forms of measurement. Watts=Volts X Amps

 

I know this isn't the popular answer here but..........

Option B is the best highest output, lowest noise option.

Running straight from the deck(speaker wires) has the benefit of really LOW output IMPEDANCE which simply means it will "drive" a noise free signal all the way out to your amp/processor.

Just simply add some RCA ends onto your speakerwires and plug them into your amp. Or hook up to the high level inputs if your amp has them but the previous option is prefered.

The output VOLTAGE from these deck isn't very high(for high level) so your amp should be able to handle this. The gain of your amp will probably need to be turned nearly all of the way down and it will still put out full power as well as reduce any chance of noise being injected into it(no engine noise!!). As long as you are using the RCA inputs.

Simple Line ouput converters(LOC) REDUCE your voltage output and increase impedance so there is more chance of noise in your system. It is not a better quality of sound either!!! The higher end like Audio Control will do a good job though and are more expensive, but they still raise ouput impedance.

If you decide to use a LOC, mount it as close as possible to your amp and run a short pair of RCA's to your amp.

I am using the high level outputs straight out to my amp currently going to my mids/highs and have zero noise and a very high quality of sound.

Try it, all you will be out is the cost of those two RCA tips from Radio Shack.

 

 

thanks a lot for all your input guys... I think I'm going to go with this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SCION...QQcmdZViewItem

 

^^^ but why spend the extra $50 if it's going to sound the same or worse than using High Level Inputs?!?!?!

 

you could probably buy some offbrand cheap head unit for 80 bucks that has preamps on it and would sound way better then using a converter or splicing speaker wires.

 

I doubt it, if you use the high level outputs(speakerwires) then most current OEM decks speck out the same or better as most NAME BRAND aftermarket decks, even the "competition" decks.

I realize that will be hard to believe for most, but there are benefits to using the high level outputs on an OEM deck.

Even with an aftermarket deck that has a high output voltage(which is good), most still do not have a low enough output impedance to match your OEM deck.

If you simply like the features that an aftermarket deck offers then by all means you should go for it!!

 

so you guys think i shoudl go with that adapter?? I'm not trying to rig anything half-assed, that's why I was going with this one even though it's like 50 bucks