Scotty562

iTrader: (2)

Any other ideas? The goal would be to go laptop > rca cables from sound card > monsoon amp. Any idea's are welcome as I'm very open to possible solutions.

Scotty562

iTrader: (2)

I may have found a solution. Assuming the pre-amp can give me enough power. It increases the gain +18dB. http://store.xmfanstore.com/linedriver.html

This should convert the amplified signal from the rca to what the amp can accept (if I'm understanding it correctly)
http://www.discountcarstereo.com/detail.aspx?ID=753

I know using a pre-amp isn't the most popular way to solve the problem but it will save me alot of headaches if it works.

Snootch

iTrader: (3)

It may just induce more headaches from the high noise floor hiss. I really think you should save up some $$ and replace the Monsoon amp with a decent six channel amplifier with built-in crossover like the JL Audio e6450 (45 x 6). You will have to run all your own power and speaker wiring for it, and disconnect the rear hatch speakers. though. The JL amp has built in crossovers, so you can dedicate a pair of channels for the tweeters, a pair for the door speakers, and a pair for the subwoofers. Then, all you would need is a 3.5 male headphone connector (from computer) to male stereo RCA adapter like this:


then a pair of RCA splitters like this:

to get the output from your computer to channels 1-4. The amp can be configured so channels 5-6 can get their input from 1-4. The stock speakers can be used, But I would really recommend you replace them with aftermarket ones. You could possibly do that later once funds become available. Personally, I would just do everything at the same time. Going the booster route is just going to sound nasty, and your just going to throw time & money down the toilet. BTW, if you haven't done so already go over to www.mp3car.com and check out their forums. It will help you research the world of carPC's before you commit. EDIT: There is a thread over there that covers this: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=23041

Scotty562

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for all of your advnice guys. What I ended up doing was buying an AMP-100. It works PERFECTLY . It would be nice if it was 4 channel, but for what I want out of my system it works great.

I tested it with my iphone and it sounded REALLY clear, even really loud. What I can do now is split it to accept either the carputer or anything that accepts a 3.5mm jack.

My primary motivation for doing this was every once in a while my stock head unit would lose its aux setting and i would have to take my touch screen off and reach in behind and press the aux button on my stock head unit which was a HUGE pain when it happened. This eliminates that problem and frees up a bunch of space for me to add more goodies in place of the stock head unit.