How to connect the amplifier in the car? How to connect a sub to an amplifier? How to connect the amplifier to a radio tape recorder

Automotive subjects, like no other, are especially close to most of the male population of our vast Homeland. Many of us spend a lot of time and money, bringing their "iron friend" to the maximum possible perfection. This is especially true when it comes to automotive music and acoustics. In addition, we always want to try somehow to save by doing at least part of the work with our own hands. Moreover, everyone ever does something for the first time. But once again we remind that it is better to measure seven times before doing something. This approach will save you a lot of time and money.

Today we will talk about how to connect an amplifier in a car. We believe that this topic will be of interest to you.

Suppose that you have already managed not only to choose a suitable model, but also to clear the place for installation in your car. Now we have to make a good wiring for powering the amplifier, then connect it to the acoustics, and also to throw the cable to the radio. However, let's talk about everything more thoroughly.

Power the amplifier

Beginners, who first encounter automotive sound, are struck to the depth of the soul by the thickness of the wires, which is rarely found in everyday life (well, unless you are used to using welding machines or something like that in your work, then this parameter will not surprise you).

Contrary to common misconceptions, amplifiers consume from the onboard network currents of a decent size. So, a four-channel device with 50 watts per channel will consume almost 17 amps. Not bad, is it? Of course, that for the power supply will have to use wires with a really large cross section. So before you connect the amplifier in the car, visit the specialized stores.

Classic Edition

Let's analyze the classical connection scheme. In this case, the wiring directly hooks to the car battery. It's no secret that in most cases the battery is under the hood, while the amplifier is located inside the car. Accordingly, the plus cable goes almost through the entire interior of the car. And therefore it is extremely important to protect the wiring with a quality fuse, and it should be located no further than 30 cm from the battery.

So before you connect the amplifier in the car, visit also the electronics store and buy a normal fuse.

A little bit about isolation

In addition, do not forget to additionally insulate the cable, since with 17 A jokes are bad. Especially neatly protect the space between the engine compartment and the cabin, since the cable there is often rubbed. As a rule, there is a rubber gasket, but there are exceptions. If this is so, it will not hurt to use plastic sleeves made of durable and sufficiently thick plastic. Responsibly approach this issue, since it is clearly not worthwhile to let the exposed stranded cable get on the metal of the body!

Wire through the cabin must also be pulled, not allowing it to fall under its movable parts. There have been occasions when people pushed the cable under the sled for the seats. To what this can lead to the consequences, you can come up with yourself. So how to connect the amplifier in the car?

Choose a cable

Do not forget about the golden rule: the less connections, the higher the safety! The abundance of wires with different cross-sections is fraught with high energy losses, and in terms of fire safety it does not look the best.

In addition, the cross-section of the negative wire should be equal to that of the positive cable. The current in the network is one, its value is constant. If the wires have a different cross-section, they will overheat, which again is fraught with a fire in the car.

Let us recall once again that thin cords are a high resistance. Do not save on the cables that go from the battery to the amplifiers, as we have already talked about the current that passes through them.

A little bit of physics and mathematics

First, check what the maximum current consumption of the amplifier you are using is. To do this, look at the fuse (or fuses). Suppose that your amplifier can theoretically withstand 100 A. It is better to place it in the trunk. For a typical car it is preferable to take at least five meters.

I = 100 A; L = 5 m.

Even with the maximum use of current, the voltage drop at the positive end of the wire should not exceed 0.5 V. We recall the simplest school formula for calculating the resistance, after which we perform a simple calculation:

R total = U / I = 0, 5 V / 100 A = 0, 005 Ohm.

Thus, the cable resistance should not exceed 0, 005 Ohm. Since we plan to use five meters at once, it is necessary to calculate the resistance on a piece per meter:

R meter = R Total / L = 0, 005/5 = 0, 001 Ohm.

As you can see, we need a wire with a line resistance not higher than 0, 001 Ohm / m. And now you can take a catalog of any manufacturer, then choose something suitable.

Cable connection

After you have laid the wire in the passenger compartment, you can connect it to the positive terminal of the amplifier. Minus the same cable connect directly to the body, and for this you need to use an instance with the same cross section as the plus. Do not use self-tapping screws! To fix it is possible only with bolts, and the connection place must be cleaned as much as possible from the traces of paint and other impurities.

The positive wire from the battery should be connected to the + 12V terminal, and the negative wire to the GND (ground, ground). Before connecting the amplifier to the radio, find the remote contact, because it is designed to engage the wire that is just coming from it. It is in it that the same 12Vs appear, and therefore the radio tape recorder and can control the functions of the amplifier. Most often this cable is blue (or blue with a white stripe). It would be nice to install a capacitor in the system.

Pull the cable from the radio

We continue to disassemble the question: "How to connect the amplifier to the radio?" Now we need to lay a cable through which the signal will go from the player to the amplifier. As a rule, it comes from a line out (Line Out), marked with "bells" on the rear panel.

We draw your attention to the fact that the radio units of different models and from different manufacturers can have a different number of line outputs. Most often there are three pairs, but in professional players there are more. These are the following outputs: Front, Rear and Sub, designed to connect front, rear sound systems, as well as a subwoofer. Which one you need depends on what kind of amplifier you've got into the car.

It is connected by an interconnected cable, which is characterized by an enhanced shielding. In fact, the choice of such a wire is quite pulling on the topic of a separate article, so we will limit ourselves to one piece of advice. Do not save on it, get the products of only well-known and reliable suppliers.

Before connecting the amplifier to the car stereo, it will not be superfluous also to read the instruction manual. This will help you avoid many problems.

Connect the cable to control the amplifier

We have already said that it is necessary to lay wires to control the amplifier itself. By the way, it is advisable to do this by laying the inter-unit wire. Moreover, many models have a special cable for this purpose. At one end, it is attached to the amplifier (we again remind that it is painted in blue or blue-white color), and the other - to the radio. Advice: when buying an amplifier in a car, be sure to purchase all the wires together with it, since it is better to immediately consult the seller about them.

It is not necessary to buy a cable with a large cross section, since very small currents will pass through it.

Very Important Remarks

An extremely important point: do not lay the inter-unit cable near the power cables! For example, if the power wiring goes to the right on the cabin, then the control wires should pass to the left, as long as possible from the power supply !!!

In addition, you can stretch them under the carpet of the cabin, because in this case, the maximum probability is not to "catch" the noise. If you decide on the world's stupidity, laying all the wires end-to-end, then when you work the engine will listen to the cracks, howls and other noise in the speakers. Another way, except how to completely redo the entire work, in this case will not. Since to connect the amplifier in auto - work is long and tedious, it is not necessary to hurry.

In especially severe cases, the wires still have to be pulled under the ceiling, masking them under the upholstery of the passenger compartment. This is especially true of ultra-modern cars, which are literally "stuffed" with a different kind of electronics. In this case, interference is so much that you sometimes have to use special shielding.

Differences in the connection of different types of amplifiers

If you put a dual-channel amplifier, then you need a similar inter-unit cable. If four-channel - a pair of double wires, or a special four-channel.

And how to connect the amplifier to a radio tape recorder, if only a couple of line outputs are on it, and the amplifier itself is four-channel? In this case, special Y-adapters (splitters) can help you. The cunning Chinese created a device that gives a pair of outputs for each input. Thus, from one stereopair we get two at once. Convenient, do not say anything. Of course, doing so with the acoustics of the highest price category is not worth it, because the sound quality is noticeably reduced.

There is another way. All normal models of modern amplifiers (Audison, for example) are equipped with the function of internal parallel distribution of inputs. In a word, in this case you will not need any splitters.

If there are no line outputs at all, you can connect it directly to the speakers (high-level signal). Almost all normal devices currently have the appropriate terminals (Hi level input). The connection uses the most ordinary acoustic wires, and it would be better not to confuse the poles.

We connect a single-channel amplifier (it's a candy bar)

Single-channel amplifiers have only one function - connection to a subwoofer. They have very decent power, and also have the ability to work under low-resistance load. What is it, by the way? In conventional car speakers, the resistance is only 4 ohms, and all other equipment has much lower characteristics (3 ohm, 2 ohms, 1 ohm). This is called the low-resistance load. All these amplifiers belong to the D-class.

Today they all have a built-in LPF filter that cuts all frequencies above those that you set as the maximum for a subwoofer. The scheme of its connection to the outrage is simple. Subwoofers are connected in parallel or in series, or only one speaker is mounted. In parallel, you can connect even more than two low-frequency drivers at once, but it is important to take into account that not all subwoofer models can cope with significantly increased resistance.

We give the simplest and most common scheme of installation. The linear signal from the radio tape recorder goes to the amplifier, is summed up and amplified. The connection diagram of the control and transmission wires should be found in the instructions from your manufacturer.

How to connect a two-channel amplifier?

And now we will learn how to connect the amplifier to the radio, if it is a two-channel model. Devices of this type are for many a launch pad in the world of automotive sound. This is explained not only by its low cost, but also by its simplicity. These amplifiers are often used to connect to a front speaker system or subwoofer. Let's talk about each of these options.

Connecting the front speakers

If you plan to use the amplifier to "swing" the front or rear speakers, it is connected in stereo mode. So, how to connect a two-channel amplifier?

The signal is applied at a low or high level. It is desirable to connect a low-pass filter (HPF), which is especially important for this installation scheme. In this case, the load per amplifier can be up to 2 ohms. Thus, each channel can be hung on one speaker system by 4 ohms.

Connecting the subwoofer

Very often there is a device connected by the so-called "bridge" version. Before connecting the subwoofer to the amplifier, make sure the device is "fresh": almost all new models use this mode perfectly. Accordingly, their instructions have detailed schemes that clearly show where and how to connect the plus and minus wires. In this case, the power is added up, and the sound is more juicy and saturated.

In addition, there are icons on the back panel that indicate the connectors for the power cable, ground, and also the compartment for wires to the speakers. It is not difficult to understand. Here's how to connect the sub to the amplifier. Not too problematic, is not it?

Other models have a special switch, with which you can transfer the technique to mono-mode. It is very important: when using the bridge mode, remember that in this case almost all "amplifiers", with rare exceptions, will not work under a load of less than 4 ohms! Before connecting the subwoofer to the amplifier, the LPF filter must be turned on at the last. Otherwise, all frequencies above 50-100 Hz will go to the subwoofer, and this will ruin the sound hopelessly. It certainly will not appeal to people who do not have everything in order with a musical ear.

Four channels!

And how to connect a 4-channel amplifier? In general, in this case there is absolutely nothing complicated. We pull the plus cable from the battery, following the above instructions (take the wire thicker and as high as possible).

The line outputs on the radio tape recorder (RCA - tulips) should be four pieces. If there are 2 of them, buy a splitter, which we mentioned above. The lines are connected to the player and the amplifier. When you intend to connect the amplifier to a regular receiver, do not forget to disconnect the battery, since you can burn the fuses.

Then the control cable (remote) is pulled between the audio tape recorder and the amp. As we have already said, it is very thin and in great need of high-quality screening. Then the acoustics is connected, its adjustment is carried out.

How to connect a single-channel amplifier?

This type of equipment is the actual connection of single- and dual-channel models in one housing. Accordingly, it is possible to connect several subwoofers to it, and to hang up the front and rear acoustics to the remaining outputs (marked with the appropriate pictograms).

How to mount multiple amplifiers?

And how to connect two amplifiers? If you plan to install several blocks of this nature in the machine, there are two ways to do it. The first is simply to stretch one thick cable from the battery, and then through the splitter to send current to the amplifiers. Note! If the wires are longer than 40 centimeters, and also have a smaller diameter (in comparison with the main cable), it is extremely important to protect them with fuses.

Option number two. Draw from the battery as many wires as you have amplifiers installed. Despite the seeming technological complexity of such a solution, in practice it is not so scary. The fact is that a couple of relatively thin wires can be thrown much easier than one thick one. And most importantly: in this situation, you need to think only about how to connect 2 amplifiers. And you can not worry about fuses at all.

We pull the wires to the speaker system

Let's talk about the features of connecting amplifiers and speakers. As we have already mentioned on several occasions, it is necessary to use special wires for this. They can be stretched, without fear of interference from other electronics in the car. But on crossover acoustic "pickups" to catch quite realistically, so the cable should be placed as far as possible from sources of possible interference.

There is only one difficulty. It's about pulling the cable in the door. So how to connect the amplifier to the speakers? In most cases, manufacturers do not forget about consumers, leaving special connectors for laying cable channels or embedding rubber sleeves for them. But often this kind of gifts from the car industry can not wait, and therefore have to drill additional holes.

Do not forget to disconnect the terminals from the battery before carrying out work!

Other Tips

If you carefully read the article, you have probably seen references to fuses. Which models are best used to protect the system?

The head unit can be protected from combustion with a conventional flasher safety device . Since it is located directly under the hood, you need to buy the holder in the most moisture-resistant version. For medium-power systems, fuses of the AGU type are excellent, having a characteristic appearance resembling large round cones.

But here powerful acoustic systems where it is more reasonable to protect elements ANL (they are flat, in the form of tablets). As an alternative to such devices, one can take automatic circuit breakers, which will immediately de-energize the system in the event of a short circuit or a sudden increase in voltage. Following these tips, you will keep your technique in the best possible condition!

So we looked at how to connect the amplifier to the speakers. Carefully read the instructions and correctly select the wires! Good luck!