I am taking out the monsoon system in my 2000 Z28..and replacing it with the Pioneer DEH P77DH head unit that fills the din and a half hole in the dash..using 6 and 1\2 inch 3 way infinity kappa speakers in the doors and the dack seat..I was just going to unhook the cargo area speakers and run other the 4 speakers off of the head unit..are there any things that I need to know before I start on this install??...I have the wire harness adapter for the car and the antenna adapter that I got from crutchfield...any input would be appreciated..

 

Surely this forum has some input ..

 

The wiring harness adapter you got is to adapt the aftermarket head unit to the factory system (the complete system including the amp). If you intend to run your speakers directly off the head unit then you will have to rewire to bypass the Monsoon amp.

 

Do you mean that I'll have to run new speaker wires to the after market speakers that are replacing the stock ones.

 

Well, either that or wire up a bypass at the stock amp. You're probably better off running new speaker wire because the stock wire isn't the greatest. This is only necessary if you want to run the speakers directly off the head unit. You could also just install the head unit with your wiring adapter and leave the amp powering the speakers the way it is now. It can handle 4-ohm speakers even though the stock ones are 2-ohm.

 

I think running new speaker wires is the better option.

Remember, in the stock Monsoon setup tweeters are driven by the head unit, while woofers are driven by the amplifier. The amplifier has built-in low pass filters for the woofer outputs. 3-ways are not going to work very well if you use the Monsoon amplifier.

 

Thank you for the input..looks like the best way to go is the new speaker wire program..

 

Just a little info I picked up when I did all my stereo upgrade in my camaro...I had an Alpine head unit put in and ran the fact. speakers off the amp. When I took it to circuit city, one of the guys told me that it was stupid of how the other place hooked up my stuff becuase my amp could easily heat up or catch fire. I know all the guys in the Roadshop area so I know they wern't dicking me around. I ended up getting Kappas and running them off a 4 channel. From what I have heard from other F body owners that I know, dont run aftermarket speakers off of the head unit, get an amp.

 

Man, I've got some land I'd like to sell you (when the tide goes out)

The Circuit City guys did a good job of selling you more equipment than you need. The amp won't catch fire if connected to an aftermarket head unit. It also won't reduce your gas mileage, or say nasty things, or chase little old ladies around the parking lot. It's designed for speaker-level input. Whether that comes from a factory or aftermarket head unit doesn't really make much difference. Now, if you get a high-powered aftermarket HU and really crank it up you could blow the radio accy fuse. But that's what fuses are for - to prevent electrical overheating and fires.

 

You must have ran into the same bunch of installation monkeys at your CC that I have at mine. They also tried telling me that hooking up a 4 ohm speaker instead of the factory 2 ohms would fry the amp and the speakers.

I tried using ohms law and logic against them but it didn't work out. Eventually they told me to "go ahead and ******* try it then".

It is not a good idea to run stock speakers directly off an aftermarket head unit, because they are 2 ohms. But unless you run wiring directly to the speakers, the head unit is just feeding the amp, which is then driving the speakers. In this case everything is fine.

Here are facts:

1.) You won't endanger your monsoon amp or your infinity speakers by hooking them up to each other. So long as you understand what wires go to what driver.
2.) The monsoon amp, shoddy as it is, is still much stronger than an integrated head unit amp. It is a little complicated, but if you are 100% that you will NEVER be adding an aftermarket amp for the main 4 channels, it is worth the effort to hook them up through the monsoon amp.
- head unit hooked up straight harness
- front infinities bi-wired to existing front door wire pairs
- rear infinity woofer hooked up to existing 2 ohm pair of wires, rear infinity tweeters hooked up to existing hatch panel wires.
- rear hatch speakers = trash, sail panel 4 ohm woofer wiring = tied off.

This will get everything up and running off the monsoon amp, and it will be stronger than the head unit. The amp is NOT the weak point of the monsoon system. The factory head unit feeds it distortion, and the factory speakers can't hold the power. The amp is actually serviceable. Not great, by any means, but very usable.

You don't have to listen to this advice, but I can tell you it will be louder with more power than using your deck's amp. Plus, the only wires you'll need to run are a jumper to get the hatch speakers up to the rear infinity tweeter.

But it is only worth the trouble if you are not going to upgrade to an aftermarket amp, because you have to mod the infinity's to bi-wire them.

In all honesty if you are dead set with running wires anyways, I'd just pick up a simple 50x4 or so amp and be done with it. It'll be money well spent. The infinities are wasted on head unit power.

 

Thanks for the info..I am a little slow to respond..I have been on the hot rod power tour for the past 6 days and just got back..going to install the new stereo very soon...from what you say it looks like I should just go a head and get a good aftermarket amp and wire it up once and for all.