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Speaker wire to RCA help



If you're just wanting to cut the high input plug and splice in rca ends...dont. Then you'd be plugging a high level signal into a low level input. If you wanted to go that route, just add a line out converter and that will change from high input to low. But you'll still not have any sub control through your HU. Just get about 25' of rca's and that will be plenty to run from your sub preouts on your HU, down either side of the car and to your amp inputs. Then you can use your subwoofer control to adjust the subs.
 
Wrong. You will be sending a high level signal to a low level input. You need a step down converter (line out converter) to do that. It will step down the high level to low level. But you might as well leave it be if you're going to do that. You wont notice any difference. To get sub control from your HU, you need to connect rca's from the sub preouts on the back of the HU to the rca input on the amp.
 
That is what I am saying.. use two adapters and just put one on each end...and I dont care if its done the "proper" way, I'm eventually going to get monster wire heard good about it...but , its cold out, it's not going to be a perm job, just something temporary over the winter until I have more free time and better weather
 


You'd only need one LOC. What are you trying to do? Changing from the high level input to an LOC will probably sound worse. Especially if it's a cheap LOC.
 
It was 50* today. Its not that hard to run RCA cable. Seriously, take 30 minutes put on a coat and gloves if you have to and do it.

Where in WV are you located? If you're close enough I'd be willing to help you get it done.
 
The way you want to do it will not work, you have 2 options leave it the way it is or run an RCA cable that is it there is no other way of doing what you want to be done here.

/end thread.
 
I live in BFE, but im in the tristate area and it is 32* right now lol. I still dont understand why the speaker wire with the rca ends wouldn't work? I'd love to know why and learn...as RCA cables to my knowledge are just +/- speaker wires shielded from eachother inside a plastic sleeve? right? i get that I shouldn't do it, but I just dont see why It wouldn't work?
 
Because as previously stated you are trying to go from a low level output to a high level input or vice versa and you cant do that. Its like trying to go from HDMI output to coax input thats about the best way I can put it.
 


If you do not want to pull the car apart with the weather that you are having right now I would suggest running an RCA cable from the HU to the amp and just leave it on top of the carpet for now. Yes it will not look professional, but I can say that it is probably your most practical option at this time. Then when spring rolls around you can tackle the part of hiding it. At least thats what I would do.
 
well I was going to change the entire thing. By changing to rca plugs by the headunit, it would then transmit a low level signal just through 4 speaker wires instead of 2 rca wires. then change to rca plugs by the amp?
 
Not sure you're understanding. The sub preouts on the headunit are completely independent from the speaker wires. You would disconnect the High input plug from your amp (you dont even have to disconnect the high input harness from the speaker wires if you don't want to). And plug rca's into the subwoofer preouts on the radio, to the rca inputs on the amp. That is how the amp gets it's signal, from the rca's. The way it is now, it is getting it's signal from the speaker wires.

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From what I am understanding OP wants to splice RCA plugs to both ends of stock speaker wiring, radio end and speaker end, thus creating his own set of RCA cables, am I correct? If so I think that would be more work than just running a new seperate RCA cable from HU to amp........ Just my 2 cents worth. Besides with splicing RCA plug ends to stock wiring you are going to create more places for problems to arise from and by splicing you would lose your rear speakers that the subs are spliced into now.
 
simbah said:
From what I am understanding OP wants to splice RCA plugs to both ends of stock speaker wiring, radio end and speaker end, thus creating his own set of RCA cables, am I correct? If so I think that would be more work than just running a new seperate RCA cable from HU to amp........ Just my 2 cents worth. Besides with splicing RCA plug ends to stock wiring you are going to create more places for problems to arise from and by splicing you would lose your rear speakers that the subs are spliced into now.
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No, his subs are not spliced into the speakers. He is using an amp that has a high level input option. It is an alternative to using low level (rca) when using a stock HU or a HU that doesnt have preouts. It takes the signal from the speaker leads and sends it to the amplifier. Basically the same thing as a LOC, but it is sending a high level signal instead of a low level signal.
 


simbah said:
From what I am understanding OP wants to splice RCA plugs to both ends of stock speaker wiring, radio end and speaker end, thus creating his own set of RCA cables, am I correct? If so I think that would be more work than just running a new seperate RCA cable from HU to amp........ Just my 2 cents worth. Besides with splicing RCA plug ends to stock wiring you are going to create more places for problems to arise from and by splicing you would lose your rear speakers that the subs are spliced into now.
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Nevermind....reread what you're saying and that is correct. Kinda makes it scratch your head, doesnt it? If you want OP, you can run rca's without even getting out of the car. Just run them along your center console. There is plenty of room to just slide the wire under it as you go. When you reach the end of the console, just keep it on the floor. Lift up the bottom of your rear seat and run them into the trunk. You'll have a little bit of wire showing on the hump in the rear but you'll stay warm.
 
OP the simplest way to do this is like KeithGTP03 said. get a set of RCAs plug them into the back of the HU then run them under the plastic trim at the doors, once you get to th backseat run them under the back seat or around the side and then behind the plastic trim behind the rear seat back. All this cutting and splicing you want to do is going to take longer and cause you more headaches down the road.

In fact if you are close to Washington County PA bring it to me, I'll run them properly and you can sit in the house and stay warm. I would rather do it that way then have you take a chance at jacking something up. If the previous owners spent the time and money to do it right dont go in and start hacking away at what they did.
 
He said he's in the Tri-State area. That could mean he's in the WV-OH-PA area, or WV-OH-KY area, or the WV-VA-MD area, or the WV-PA-MD area. LOL
 
thought you said where in wv am i located so figured you knew abouut where I was.. Also wv-va-md area. Close to berkeley springs. And if you fold the glovebox down to the floor, you can see the speaker wire run behind there So I beleove that is how they ran it, through the door sills and under the rear seat. I have next weekend off, I'll prolly try and run this right then. I need about 20' of cable right? and what brand would anyone recommend? I dont know how long it will take me to do it, this is first time I've had 2 days consecutive off in a while. But I'll have to take time with the dash to get the head unit back out..These lego cars all snap together and I'd hate to break anything haha. Sorry for being hard headed about this I just thought it could be done in 5 minutes...Also, I have a switch hidden in the glovebox for on/off to the amp...That has to be wired to the power cable right? Thanks again for takin time to help out someone not so savvy with automobile electronics.
 
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