OEM audio gurus

[Dano]

I have a 95 base model, i'm trying to use an OEM S14 cd player, replacing an OEM tape deck. however, when i installed the cd player, i only got about 1/4- 1/3 of the max volume of the tape deck... my ideas... the cd player runs off of the factory amps? (i dont have any being a base model) ...anybody have any ideas for me?

-Dan

[DominickJ30]

That could be your problem. But if the head unit itself has no internal amplifier you would not hear anything.

[Dano]

true, can any1 offer any more help on this? thanks for your input Dominick!

-Dan

[Simmsled]

The cd player, since it is supposed to run the amplifiers, has a lower output than the tape deck, which has adequate built in amplification for stand-alone operation. You are correct in your assumption. To improve output, you can buy an amplifier for your speakers and use a high/low converter (or 2 if you want to fade front/rear) to power everything. Otherwise you will just have to deal with lower output.

[Dano]

thanks a ton for the confirmation! What's this high/low convertor you speak of... i don't know if i'm familiar with those.

-Dan

[elwesso]

Sinces its all line level (RCA-ish) couldnt you just buy a line driver to turn up the gain a little???

[Dano]

Sinces its all line level (RCA-ish) couldnt you just buy a line driver to turn up the gain a little???

any1 have an answer to this?

-Dan

[elwesso]

From my (limited) experience with this kind of stuff, id say yes...

You can get them on ebay for like $20... You plug the RCAs in there (may need a splitter) and then adjust the gain...

i think thatd work nicely!

[Dano]

can u link me to exactly wat your talking about? thanks.

-Dan

[Rex]

I haven't chimed in until now, as I don't know much about the OEM S14 system, but what Wes is suggesting will only work if you're sending a low level (RCA type) singal to another device that expects a low level input. It allows you to match the volts or milli-volts between devices. I'm afraid what Dan will need is an amp, and something to convert what looks like speaker wires coming out of the HU into RCA's for an amp.

One other option is to find some "Active" speakers from an S14 and use those, but I'm not sure what additional work would be required, as each speaker would have it's own amp (similar to the Q), and they'd need more than just the speaker wire (power & trigger).

I wish I could be of more help, but I'm just not familiar enough with the S14 OEM stuff .

[Dano]

ugh, this looks like its gona be more work thn its worth to have an OEM cd player. Maybe Wes will chime in with wat he was talking about.

-Dan

[elwesso]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...&rd=1

Thats the thing I was talking about...

personally it seems stupid to get an amp, amplify the signal, then bring it back donw.. why not leave it down and then optimize it.... its kinda like going left to go right, going north to go south......

I take it this setup is an amp on speaker setup, similar to other nissan BOSE systems...

[Simmsled]

okay dan, here we go.

You have the factory cd player that was not intended to be used as a stand alone unit.

THEREFORE>>> you do not have a source of sufficient amplification to drive your speakers.

SO>>> you need to amplify to get your speakers playing louder. You DO NOT need to amplify your signal, all you have to do is get what is coming out of your factory cd player into your speakers.

Since what comes out is a lower level signal (the wires that are connected to your speakers right now) you need to turn those wires into RCA plugs. You do that with a high/low converter. It basically takes the speaker wires coming out of your cd player and turns them into RCA plugs. This makes it so that you can use an aftermarket amplifier in your car. This will be MUCH EASIER than trying to get a bunch of inferior Nissan "Active" speakers and amplifiers.

For optimal performance, you would buy this stuff

High-Low converter $20, probably could be found cheaper2 or 4 channel Amplifier $150+ (depending)Amp wire kit $25 +/- but not expensive

I have done this many many many times and it works.

[Rex]

... personally it seems stupid to get an amp, amplify the signal, then bring it back down...

Where was this discussed? The issue is his old system had "power" in the HU and the new HU doesn't. You could use a gain, but it won't "boot" th esound enoug, that's goig to require actual amplification.

...I take it this setup is an amp on speaker setup, similar to other nissan BOSE systems...

It is and it isn't. In the "it is" category, much like Maxima's and other Nissans offered Bose & non-Bose, which is what he's combining you can't just plug and play. In the "it isn't" category, the Q and most Infiniti's didn't offer Bose or non-Bose, so the compatibility between them is greater.

[Rex]

... Since what comes out is a lower level signal (the wires that are connected to your speakers right now) you need to turn those wires into RCA plugs. You do that with a high/low converter. It basically takes the speaker wires coming out of your cd player and turns them into RCA plugs. This makes it so that you can use an aftermarket amplifier in your car. This will be MUCH EASIER than trying to get a bunch of inferior Nissan "Active" speakers and amplifiers. ....

I was only offering the "active speaker" ideas as one alternative, it's not a goosd one, but may be cheapest if he has the active speakers avaialable to him free.

[Dano]

yeah i dont have amps per speaker, and hadn't ever planned on going that route, especially with OE speakers. I have 2 aftermarket speakers, thats all i need, just wanted normal volume out of them, guess ill look into the high-low convertor route.

thanks guys

-Dan

[Simmsled]

Its cool Rex. Freebies are great! Especially when it is something you can use/need.

[Silvia2b]

The S14 has as system more similar to the Altima or G20, there are two separate clarion amps that mount under the rear deck lid. the speakers are not active like other speakers. The SE model comes with the six speaker system (which included the front tweeters, front door mids, rear co-axial drivers) one amp was for both rears the other for the front runs mid/tweet separates. If you got the Factory S14 cd for the premium six speaker system, you would need; the factory amplifiers, the wiring harnesses and the factory speakers. Not aftermarket speakers! This is because the factory speakers are 2 ohm impedance, half that of most aftermarket speakers, this can also be especially bad if you tried amplifying the factory speakers with an amp that wasn’t designed to be connected to low level voice-coil impedance speakers.I hate to say this but the effort to do what you are asking is wasted when for less $100 you could buy and aftermarket brand head unit that would accomplish you goal ( two speakers and some decent volume with the capability to play discs. The cost of finding all the e-bay components to make you S14 CD player work will likely exceed $100, when you include shipping and the entire system of components required. If you are still going to make an attempt, I’d offer my assistance in trying to figure out, but it seem like your asking for a headache.