Okay there have been several threads started questioning the ability to hook up a SUB to an exsisting STOCK Pioneer deck. Well I want to help out here a little and say YES you can.

You can find AMPS that have BOTH High level inputs and Low level inputs.

High level input amps get their signal from your existing speaker wires. So yes you can use your STOCK DECK.

Low level input amps get their input signal from RCA jacks.

For example go here and check it out. All KICKER KX series amps have both HIGH level inputs and LOW level

http://www.kicker.com/amps.cfm

Okay so now you will have to do your home work a little. Here is the Kicker KX .pdf file that will show you how to hook up to your existing stock speakers.

http://www.kicker.com/images/manuals...ch%20Brief.pdf

Particularly go to page 24 of the PDF file and look at the KX 550.3.

It runs off of your 2 rear speaker wires and will power your existing rear speakers AND then you can hook up a SUB woofer and it delivers 400 watts to the SUB.

Now the question is this...is Kicker equipment any good because I am thinking of purchasing this setup instead of the almost 500.00 Bazooka.

Brass

 

or you can just get a "LINE OUTPUT CONVERTER"


b/c yes the setup are talking about will work

 

No I would say the bazooka setup is not worth it.

It really doesn't make any sense that Pioneer didn't get in on the sub setup, even if it was like just a 10" sub with some 200 watt amp. Something that was setup specifically for each other.

Then again maybe they don't like pushing that kinda stuff as a stock option or the idea of hooking your amp up using speaker wire signals instead of rca jacks.

 

it's also a good way to deter amateurs from tearing apart their dash. . .

If you are a cheap SOB, also look into Kenwood amps, they usually have high level inputs.

Walmart has a cheapo $50 300w Single channel amp, but I question if it will last longer than two weeks.

Also look into Jensen amps. . .

These amps are all crap by industry standards, but the Kenwood is pretty reliable, as I have run many of their amps before with no problems. But with any cheap amp, don't expect to turn up the line level sensitivity and expect distortion free, clear bass. It will sound best at low levels (and can still sound great if you know how to tweak your settings). These setups are ideal if you aren't looking to blow the hatch off your car. And if you invest in higher quality components you will gain a LOT of sound quality. Talkin bladdy sound that will hurt your ears and vibrate your ___, vs smooth THX quality bass that pounds your heart. But if you aren't looking for anything extreme, these work well. And if you want monster bass, expect mandatory dynamatting or be ready for rattle issues, as quality components will deliver non-stop earth shaking bass.

 

Yeah pretty much true. You can get really good Amps that hook up to existing speakers though. So not all of them are junk.

For example Rockwood makes good amps...Orion makes amps that hook up this way...and as I showed Kicker makes a good product.

What you need to do is look at the Signal to Noise level...i believe greater than 90dbl is good and most amps I listed are at 100. Also most use Mosfet so cooling isn't an issue and pretty much all amps now a days can run at 2 ohm loads no problem.

Back in the day hooking up your stock head unit to an amp through the speakers was a bad idea and the sound did come out like crap. Usually these amps were bought from Radio Shack. But technology has improved greatly to assist with easier installations.

Really once you get 2 18" pumpin loud enough can the human ear really tell the difference?

 

definetly not bazooka thats a bad choice. But there is an upside easy install, less space required and it also depends really what your looking for as far as sound quality go.