i need some info on contructing a simple system without a head unit

[dickie]

i drive my miata frequently enough that i would not mind being able to use the speakers to listen to music. i want something very simple, mp3-player compatible and invisible to would-be thieves.

i thought about adapting an idea my friend came up with that would basically entail wiring a female audio jack into a generic 4-channel stereo amp and then to the speakers. i could hide the amp under the dash and run the cable to a convenient spot in the center console.

is this feasible with whats available on the market? is there a source for an amp like this that is not meant to handle full-blown system duty?

[Rex]

In theory this should work. You'd need to set up a toggle switch for the trigger, or maybe just use a switched power supply??

Another idea would be to use a cheap powered EQ, with either RCA's feeding the rear or possibly a 1.5mm jack on the front. I'm talking about a $15-ish thing from a Flea Market. Let me see if I can find some examples/pics.

[Rex]

Correction, the "proper term" is booster.

You could put it anywhere, and simply run a cable to the front input or rear RCA's.

[dickie]

that looks awesome and probably cheap too. got a link to something like that? google is giving me a lot of trash.

[Warped161]

you can actually just buy a mini phono jack to rca wire, then just plug that into the amp and there you go.

[dickie]

what im looking at is the simplest, cheapest setup that will sound ok. im not upgrading speakers, and road noise within the car means i dont need anything spectacular.

[Rex]

that looks awesome and probably cheap too. got a link to something like that? google is giving me a lot of trash.

Click the pic

[dickie]

oh, you!

thanks a whole heap rex.

[the converted]

You really don't even need that. If you just get a cable with a 1/8" headphone jack on one end and rca on the other end. Get a rca splitter (I may still have some here) and your all set. You can control volume right from your mp3 player.

[dickie]

so i wouldnt need some kind of amp or booster to split it to the 4x stock speakers without running into any problems?

[Rex]

You really don't even need that. If you just get a cable with a 1/8" headphone jack on one end and rca on the other end. Get a rca splitter (I may still have some here) and your all set. You can control volume right from your mp3 player.

Unless I missed something he wants to run the car speakers off his iPod. I'm pretty sure he'll need some kind of "power" and I was simply suggesting a booster as it would be cheaper than an amp + RCA's to mini-jack, etc.

Of course if he already has an amp ...

[the converted]

Well poop, I didn't realize that was an amp as well, thought it was just an EQ. For that price it's stupid not to buy. Love the website though, qualitycaraudio.com and they are selling pyramid

[Warped161]

yeah i misunderstood i'm going to be doing a similar system, no head unit just a source and an amp.lol i thought he was talking to me...man i'm tired.
Modified by Warped161 at 12:30 PM 9/7/2008

[Rex]

Well poop, I didn't realize that was an amp as well, thought it was just an EQ. For that price it's stupid not to buy. Love the website though, qualitycaraudio.com and they are selling pyramid

Yea, they called 'em "boosters" back when I was big into car audio and we laughed at anyone that had one. My guess is it would give him the same "power" and entry level radio would.

Yes, the URL and the products = oxymoron .

[dickie]

i think i might keep my eyes out on craigs for a used amp as this doesnt appear it will ever be in stock...

[Rex]

i think i might keep my eyes out on craigs for a used amp as this doesnt appear it will ever be in stock...

Flea markets and swap meets.

Craigslist or ebay should work too, they're kind of the current/e-version of garage sales

[EW]

Very simple. 1. 1/8" to RCA cable2. Toggle switch3. Amp4. ?????5. Profit

I have done quite a few systems that are similar except we used an XM/Sirius tuner for the audio signal.

[dickie]

i probably found an amp this weekend.

i dont do car audio at all, a simple 2 channel should be fine to run all 4 speakers right?

[Looneybomber]

i probably found an amp this weekend.

i dont do car audio at all, a simple 2 channel should be fine to run all 4 speakers right?

More than likely.

[dickie]

so i bought a cheap *** amp from vatozone ($30) and ran all the wiring to the speaker connections in the front of the car, ran an rca male to 1/8" male stereo cable from the rca inputs on the amp to the "hidden" compartment in my passenger compartment and i just plug in the iPod (or whatever) and I'm good to go.

I had my friend fiberglass over the hole in my dash to hide the wiring splices and it looks pretty good.

My goal of having cheap iPod integration that leaves nothing of value in my car when I leave it was a success. Thanks for the help!