I just purchased an Infinity Basslink online. It's basically a 10"sub with a 200watt amp built in. I got it because well, I only wanted a little more bass as my stock system was lacking it.
I decided to get it installed at the local Sound shop. What they did was connect it to only one of the rear speakers. However the instructions supplied call for it to be connected to both front and rear speakers, I assume to get all the lows it can. As it is now I can't crank it like I used to without getting some pretty bad distortion on the rear speaker the sub is connected to.
My question is, did the pro connect it correctly, meaning is this a "stock" setup, or should I take it back and have them connect it to the front and rear speakers?
did they connect the sub directly from the deck (assuming you have a sub-out)? Because if the sub has a 200watt amp built in on it, all you should need is the signal (the RCA cable)...i wouldnt know what that has to do with the front and rear speakers, unless you are using a crossover or something?
but As for your speakers (not just the sub?) getting distoreted at lower volumes makes no sence to me...so maybe they did hook it up wrong...but its pretty hard not to hook this kinda thing up correctly...but then again those local sound shops...who can trust those?
My deck has no "RCA" or "Sub-out". What they did is take an RCA cable, plug it into the subs rca inputs and then just "connected" the other end to the rear right speaker wires.
HellBent
Unregistered guest
Posted on
yea, in reality thats all they should have to do, sounds like it is properly hooked up to me.
ERR! no the reason you are getting distortion is that the amplified line signal sent from your deck to your rear right speaker is higher that the level input of the RCA input on your subs amp therefore it is being limited(clipped) by the amp and resulting in distortion. RCA inputs are usually about 4volts max your speakers will be puttin out more that that
Solution if your amp has a high level input then you should use that instead of the RCA input. if not you need to look into getting either some sort of device to drop the line signal on the RCA cable or look into gettin a new deck with set of RCA outs
you should go and tell the monkey in the shop that hes done int wrong and it needs to be looked at. youd have thought that if it was a specialist shop they would maybe know this already?
Hmm, Thanks for the info. It would seem though to me at least that since the amp has connections for speaker level inputs and the deck only has speaker outs, that they should be used for the best quality under the circumstances. The way it's hooked up now, only the lows from the one rear speaker are going to the amp. Now this is where I could be wrong (and by all means correct me if so) but shouldn't ALL the speakers be feeding this thing instead of just one?
Hey Mike, I see what you're getting at but the answer is no. Think of the Basslink as just an amplifier. It needs to receive some kind of signal from an outside source (headunit) that it can amplify and play through the subwoofer. The signal can come directly from the headunit by way of RCA's (line level input) or indirectly using speaker (high level) connections. If your headunit, which is probably factory, does not have a preamp output for RCA's then speaker level connections can be used. In order for speaker level connections to work appropriately, only one rear speaker needs to be used. Like I said earlier, the Basslink just needs to receive a signal from the headunit in some way, whether directly or indirectly. One speaker level connection will give the Basslink the signal it needs to work properly. I have had experience with several Basslinks and have never had any issues. Honestly, I can't believe a shop tried to hook up an RCA cable to the rear speaker. They should certainly know better. Actually, your Basslink should have come with a little plug to be used with speaker level connections. It is a little gray plug with white and black wires coming out of it. That is what you should use if you still have it. Otherwise, a shop should have something comparable, althoug I don't know if I would trust the same shop as before. Let me know if this helps.
Thanks for the "simple" answer. It's clear(er) now! My confusion is somewhat still present however... If I hook the amp to only one speaker, lets say the right rear speaker, how does it know when bass is coming out of the other speaker? Suppose I crank up some rock and a bass drum solo (I know, but I'm just trying to make a point) switches from the left to right side of my car, how will the amp even know it since it is connected to only one side?
This doesn't "seem" like a stupid question, but I gotta know!
Oh and the Basslink came with 2 plugs, each with two wires to hook up to all four speakers. This also is somewhat confusing since vendors usually don't add anyhthing extra if they don't have
FYI - Below is the response from Infinity. I'm not sure why fade has anything to do with it but I would be a fool not to at least install this as per the vendors reccomendation. So, thanks for all your help everybody. I'm going back and asking them to reinstall it as per Infinitys requirements.
"The Basslink should have a stereo input, not just one channel. If your head unit does not have RCA line outputs, then the speaker connectors must be used and all four should be used if you have front and rear speaker applications with a fader. The speaker level connections should not be connected using an RCA jack. This is only for line level connections."
I agree that you would need right and left inputs. Especially in a stock setup, were the rear speakers are stereo. I don't really see a need for the front speakers. You won't miss out on that many low end freqs, just using the rear speaker lines.
IMO Your best bet is having a line out converter conected to both rear speakes and then use the rca input on the basslink, and stay away from the shop you took it to.
My confusion is somewhat still present however... If I hook the amp to only one speaker, lets say the right rear speaker, how does it know when bass is coming out of the other speaker? Suppose I crank up some rock and a bass drum solo (I know, but I'm just trying to make a point) switches from the left to right side of my car, how will the amp even know it since it is connected to only one side?