HK and subwoofer??

[minEman]

Hi all.

i currently have a MC with radio boost cd player and have fitted a Pioneer all in one amp and sub and it sounds fantastic. (if you like base) I have also got a MCS on order and take delivery in April but i have ordered the car with Harmon Karden CD player.

A friend of mine already has the HK system and i think it sounds great but not quite enough base. I guess its coz im used to the sub.

My question is, does anyone know if it is possible to still connect a sub to the HK?? Has anyone done this already? I had a quick look at the pre-amp in the boot of my mates car and i couldnt see any A/V outputs. Anyone know any different?

Thanks for your comments in advance

[mikeythemini]

Has the amp with the sub got high level inputs, if so connect these to the rear speaker wires.
If the pioneer has any got rca inputs then you will need a convertor
Mike

[minEman]

The amp has high level input and rca imputs. i currently have it installed using high level inputs taken off the speaker wires at the back of the head unit but i have been told it puts extra strain on the head unit being set up this way.

Do you know if the HK has rca outputs?

[mikeythemini]

Quote: Originally Posted by minEman

The amp has high level input and rca imputs. i currently have it installed using high level inputs taken off the speaker wires at the back of the head unit but i have been told it puts extra strain on the head unit being set up this way.

Do you know if the HK has rca outputs?

tHE hk DOESN'T HAVE RCA'S BUT YOUR SETUP WILL WORK ON THE REAR SPEAKER WIRES
mIKE

[mkosma]

Quote: Originally Posted by mikeythemini

tHE hk DOESN'T HAVE RCA'S BUT YOUR SETUP WILL WORK ON THE REAR SPEAKER WIRES
mIKE

Mike - a couple questions about running a sub off the rear speaker wires on the HK system.

1. is there a pinout on-line somewhere that tells me which are the front/rear speaker wires? Or are they labeled? I assume these come out of the HK amp in the left boot compartment.

2. is there any way (any good way) to limit the bass strain on the HK system after installing a separate sub? I think what I really want is a crossover on the line-level side, but that is probably not possible with the HK. Alternative would be bass blockers on the HK speakers, or just turn down the bass and turn it up on the sub.

None of these options seem ideal to achieve what I want - more volume without midrange muddiness from the HK system.

[GBMINI]

I have the HK pinouts ... somewhere ...
The problem with the HK is that the speaker levels coming out of the HU to the HK amp are fixed level - they don't vary with volume - so you have to pick up the signals coming out of the HK amp.

Mikey - have you tried a sub on the HK amp outputs? My worry is that the DSP in the amp will not put out the really low signals that the sub is best able to boost ... ?

[mkosma]

Any other ideas on this ancient thread? I've been living with my HK and I'm dissatisfied -- bass is too boomy/rattly, and there's not enough mid-high volume, even with everything (bass/treble/fader) set dead-center on the HK.

What I'd love to do is put an active crossover BEFORE the HK amp, and filter out the freqs below 80-100 Hz, and send that to the basslink. Then let the HK do its stuff with the freqs above 80-100Hz, where it seems to peform pretty admirably.

[myonlyclone]

Quote: Originally Posted by mkosma

Any other ideas on this ancient thread? I've been living with my HK and I'm dissatisfied -- bass is too boomy/rattly, and there's not enough mid-high volume, even with everything (bass/treble/fader) set dead-center on the HK.

What I'd love to do is put an active crossover BEFORE the HK amp, and filter out the freqs below 80-100 Hz, and send that to the basslink. Then let the HK do its stuff with the freqs above 80-100Hz, where it seems to peform pretty admirably.

Doing anything with the HK aftermarket sucks ( as you may already have found out ). If you do some reading on the system you will find that the HK does have an active crossover. Example when Mini H/K is on the rear 6x9s are functioning as subs. So mikeys suggestion earlier might be right on track with what your looking for using high-level inputs on your amp. IMO the boominess is happening more between 100 and 200hz because the 6x9s just can't reproduce anything below that very efficiently, so by replacing them (maybe even using the existing leads from the H/K amp before trying another one) might be an idea.

Good Luck.

[mkosma]

okay...

Well, turns out I have a few options. Including a nice ads P650.2 6x50 amplifier that just showed up (replacement for a defective older unit from my previous car). The ads will take speaker-level inputs for four channels, offering them a high-impedance load to keep the amp from driving too hard. I gather its input sensitivity can handle up to about 9V. It should be able to drive the 2ohm loads for the stock speakers, as well as a sub.

so I am thinking of running the ads off the OUTPUTS from the HK dsp unit. That should preserve all the dsp functionality, while avoiding the various issues relating to taking the balanced signals BEFORE the HK.

problem is: I have not been able to find any on-line information about the signals coming OUT of the HK. Does anyone have a pinout for the HK DSP?

monty