Amping the front set (non-bose) in an 8P sportback

[turtlebreath]

I want to power my front speakers that I've swapped out for focal components with a mini-amp like the Pioneer GM-D1004 which can run on 12v from the console. Where should I take the ignition live and the always on power from?
I've done a lot of searching, but haven't found much.
I've left the tweeters stock and I'm wondering whether they can handle the additional power from the amp, or if I should install the bulky crossovers that came with the focals and the tweeters.

Any input or pictures are much appreciated!

 

[henkkeumus]

What MJ year is your sportsback? (ISO or Quadlock connector behind the radio).

Front speakers and tweeters are originally amped by the HU (headunit).
You can take a live 12v and switched 12v from the connector behind the HU.

I'm not sure why you want the frontspeakers amped by a seperate amplifier? Most aftermarket radio's have enough power to AMP both frontspeakers and tweeters by themself. You can just splice the wires of the tweeters into the front speakers since they all go over the same + and - LINE OUT.

 

[turtlebreath]

What MJ year is your sportsback? (ISO or Quadlock connector behind the radio).

Front speakers and tweeters are originally amped by the HU (headunit).
You can take a live 12v and switched 12v from the connector behind the HU, but I'm not sure why you want the frontspeakers amped by a seperate amplifier?

Thanks for your reply.
It's a 2008 with a concert III.
The soundstage now is dominated by the amped rear speakers and I want to get a more balanced sound with more mid bass.

 

[henkkeumus]

Thanks for your reply.
It's a 2008 with a concert III.
The soundstage now is dominated by the amped rear speakers and I want to get a more balanced sound with more mid bass.

Not something you can do with the settings?
I don't think over amping your front speakers and tweeters will solve that problem, you have BOSE?

 

[henkkeumus]

And if you are pretty sure you want to do this, a Concert III has a quadlock connector.

So, this image will not correspond 100% to your situation since you don't have an RNS-e fitted from factory, so the pintout will be slightly different.
But, you can take a switched 12V from connector D #13. And you can take live 12V from connector D #16 or #15 not sure which one is live anymore, but measure it and you know it .

 

[turtlebreath]

And if you are pretty sure you want to do this, a Concert III has a quadlock connector.
So, this image will not correspond 100% to your situation since you don't have an RNS-e fitted from factory, so the pintout will be slightly different.
But, you can take a switched 12V from connector D #13. And you can take live 12V from connector D #16 or #15 not sure which one is live anymore, but measure it and you know it .

Thanks a lot for this! I am satisfied with the sound of the rear speakers, but I also want good sound from the front and the non-amplified front set can't produce the punch and dynamics I'm looking for. I listen to a lot of music with fast and technical kick drum parts and you need some power to get the right "oomph". The $30 bluetooth dongle was a great investment, but left me craving more detail in the front.

 

[henkkeumus]

Thanks a lot for this! I am satisfied with the sound of the rear speakers, but I also want good sound from the front and the non-amplified front set can't produce the punch and dynamics I'm looking for. I listen to a lot of music with fast and technical kick drum parts and you need some power to get the right "oomph". The $30 bluetooth dongle was a great investment, but left me craving more detail in the front.

But the front speakers are amplified, but the are amped by your headunit (which in most cases isn't that powerfull no). I'm not sure what the AMP output of the Concert III is but I'm very satisfied about the RNS-e .

 

[turtlebreath]

But the front speakers are amplified, but the are amped by your headunit (which in most cases isn't that powerfull no). I'm not sure what the AMP output of the Concert III is but I'm very satisfied about the RNS-e .

Yes, the head unit produces like 5W RMS and the rear amplifier does 20W. With the add-on amplifier I will get 2x90W rms and can bring the focal components to life. I've also sound deadened the entire car, so this is the next logical step. I'm a drummer and addicted to the sound of thunderous kick drums . I hope the stock tweeters won't blow up though, so I don't have to go through the potential nightmare of wiring crossovers through the a-pillars.

 

[henkkeumus]

Yes, the head unit produces like 5W RMS and the rear amplifier does 20W. With the add-on amplifier I will get 2x90W rms and can bring the focal components to life. I've also sound deadened the entire car, so this is the next logical step. I'm a drummer and addicted to the sound of thunderous kick drums . I hope the stock tweeters won't blow up though, so I don't have to go through the potential nightmare of wiring crossovers through the a-pillars.

Ah I see. Well I'm not an expert on this subject but you can just easily splice the tweeter cables into the speakercables right?

 

[turtlebreath]

Ah I see. Well I'm not an expert on this subject but you can just easily splice the tweeter cables into the speakercables right?

The tweeters run off the same cable as the front speakers and have a capacitor that serves as a high-pass crossover from what I've gathered.
I just spoke to a helpful installer at the car audio shop and he said that the stock tweeters would hold up fine with the amp, but that my ears would thank me for going through the effort of installing the focal tweeters. I'm all set now and looking forward to getting the amp.
Any excuse I can get to tinker on the car is like Christmas for me

 

[henkkeumus]

Seems like you have a fair bit of knowledge about audiosystems.
Maybe you can help ME with my issue .

I have an A3 which came with the Chorus audio set (only the front speakers + tweeters and no sub). That's just plain ***** so I bought myself a subwoofer from the scrapyard and installed it.

I've wired the sub from the HU with plain speaker cables (2MM) and the sub works like a charm and gives already a fair bit more life to my soundsystem.

For the second stage though, I want to install the reardoor speakers and tweeters. I've installed them and hooked them up on the subwoofer with just plain speakercables (2MM). I've wired them and hook them up to my sub, when wiring I always tried to lay the wires as far away from other cables to not interfere with them as they can cause disruption I guess?

Now, when I put the key on ACC and play music the speakers sound perfectly normal. But when I shut the key down and pull it out I hear a little coil whine and tickles from the speakers. This keeps on going for a few minutes and then stops. Same thing as when I run the engine. When running sounds normal but when I shut the car down you can still hear a high pitch noise and some crackling/ticking in the speakers for a few minutes.

Is this something to do with the speakercables nog being shielded? Or does it interfere somewhere? I've layed all the power cables (constant live feed and return AMP on) to the left side of the car and the RCA (RR RL to the sub) on the right.

Want to test some more this weekend but if this story makes sense in why it would fail I'd like to know since I'm not an audio expert unfortunatly .

Thanks anyway!

 

[turtlebreath]

Seems like you have a fair bit of knowledge about audiosystems.
Maybe you can help ME with my issue .

I have an A3 which came with the Chorus audio set (only the front speakers + tweeters and no sub). That's just plain ***** so I bought myself a subwoofer from the scrapyard and installed it.

I've wired the sub from the HU with plain speaker cables (2MM) and the sub works like a charm and gives already a fair bit more life to my soundsystem.

For the second stage though, I want to install the reardoor speakers and tweeters. I've installed them and hooked them up on the subwoofer with just plain speakercables (2MM). I've wired them and hook them up to my sub, when wiring I always tried to lay the wires as far away from other cables to not interfere with them as they can cause disruption I guess?

Now, when I put the key on ACC and play music the speakers sound perfectly normal. But when I shut the key down and pull it out I hear a little coil whine and tickles from the speakers. This keeps on going for a few minutes and then stops. Same thing as when I run the engine. When running sounds normal but when I shut the car down you can still hear a high pitch noise and some crackling/ticking in the speakers for a few minutes.

Is this something to do with the speakercables nog being shielded? Or does it interfere somewhere? I've layed all the power cables (constant live feed and return AMP on) to the left side of the car and the RCA (RR RL to the sub) on the right.

Want to test some more this weekend but if this story makes sense in why it would fail I'd like to know since I'm not an audio expert unfortunatly .

Thanks anyway!

I'm by no means an expert but I'll give it a shot
Are the rca cables properly shielded and do you have a good ground for the amplifier?

Are any of the cables in contact with the chassis?
Is it a factory audi amp that you're powering the rear speakers with?

I've always just used plain speaker cables with a thin plastic coating with no problems, but shielded mid price RCA's.

Do you have a multimeter to check that you have a good ground on unpainted metal? (sand the area you connect the ground to). Here's a checklist that might be useful
https://learn.sonicelectronix.com/how-to-eliminate-engine-noise/

 

[henkkeumus]

I'm by no means an expert but I'll give it a shot
Are the rca cables properly shielded and do you have a good ground for the amplifier?

Are any of the cables in contact with the chassis?
Is it a factory audi amp that you're powering the rear speakers with?

I've always just used plain speaker cables with a thin plastic coating with no problems, but shielded mid price RCA's.

Do you have a multimeter to check that you have a good ground on unpainted metal? (sand the area you connect the ground to). Here's a checklist that might be useful
https://learn.sonicelectronix.com/how-to-eliminate-engine-noise/

The cables are layed under the carpet and yep the stock sub with build in AMP.

I've used the ground points that are already on the car (under the steeringwheel is one), Audi uses those as proper grounding points.

But, I've read something about a ground loop but could not make good sense out of that, I can't ground the sub and amp on the same place?