Speaker wiring help...

    So I opened up the speaker pods @DKF Texas gave me to check out the innards and here you go:



    Some badass Memphis speakers with the stock tweeter I think... :thumbsup:


    What was interesting is that these are wired as one channel and with this thing assisting (along with what I'm guessing is a Memphis crossover):

    My questions are:


    1) What is that thing?


    2) I have a 4 channel "500" watt Bluetooth amplifier. How would I go about using it to full potential if I only have 2 channels?


    3) Should/could I split so I create 4 channels? If so, how or what's recommended?


    4) If not and remain as 2 channel, how do I connect them to the amplifier? Do I bridge? If so, how?


    Thanks guys and gals! @rabtech, you're good at this stuff... Your thoughts?

    Using a 4 channel amp with just two speaker(pods) wastes two amp channels unless you can switch the amp to a 2 channel mode at even higher power, although you then need to worry about the individual speakers in each pod being able to handle that much power., so a further speaker upgrade might be needed.
    Can your speaker be setup to power the two speaker pods and one or two bass speakers? This would provide much better bass than you'll ever get out of the speaker pods, although you'll probably sacrifice some, most or all of your storage space for the bass speakers.
    I still haven't gotten around to installing my stereo on my Slingshot, but I do have some 6.5" wakeboard speakers mounted on the rear crossbar of my Twist Dynamics Top. While I was removing the Top in preparation for my upcoming turbo install, I wished I could have just the rear crossbar portion left on the Slingshot roll-hoops to support my wakeboard speakers and was even dreaming about replacing the 6.5" units I have with 6x9 wakeboard speakers which should provide even better sound. I would expect the larger 6x9 speaker size to provide better bass sound than the 6.5" speakers, but the 6x9 speakers probably still wouldn't match dedicated sub-woofers installed in the storage compartment doors.
    I also do not know how much power the built-in crossover from Polaris can really handle. Trying to put larger, higher-power speakers in the Polaris speaker pods is limited by the clearance inside the pod. That's one of the reasons I like the wakeboard speaker approach, especially since the behind the head crossbar mounting position places the sound pretty much inline with your ears.
    Visiting an car audio shop might get you some useful info. Craigslist lists a few shops/individuals who will do installs on equipment you provide. There was a guy out of the Katy area, IIRC, who will come to you to do installs/fixes, etc.
    May not be much help, but I wanted to try to contribute some ideas. In some ways I have a similar problem in that I bought a 4 channel amp, but am now thinking about just using 2 larger wakeboard speakers referred to above. This leaves me wondering what to do with my existing 4 channel amp, which I may need to replace.

    Thanks, @DKF Texas, for posting she had used the pods connected to an Alpine MRV-F300 4 channel amp. That amp has 4 - 50W channels or can be bridged for 2 channels outputting 150W into 2 channels. Assuming it was bridged to produce 150W in each of 2 channels, the speakers in the pods should presumably be able to handle 150W.
    W/o knowing the specs of @MiM's amp, if his amp is actually producing 125W/channel in each of 4 channels, it should be safe to hook up 1 channel for each speaker pod, leaving 2 channels unused. If his amp can be bridged to produce more output into 2 channels, the power output would likely damage the speaker pods. Using an amp rated at higher output than your speakers is safe as long as you don't turn it too loud, but it's all too easy to turn the sound too high. Doing so can damage your speakers if the speaker's power handling cap[ability is exceeded.
    Again, more info and a professional opinion would be useful.

    Good help @BKL! And thanks again @DKF Texas!


    So question 1 done. It's the Polaris crossover?


    For question 4, now I'll look at my manual to see if I can bridge and what wattage it sends out compared to what you just stated about the Alpine amp BKL.


    Question 2 and 3 I'm still waiting on... I'm wondering if I split the bigger speaker from the top 2, thus making 4 channels? Don't know if this is recommended, so that's why I'm asking and waiting for Rab or someone else to give input...


    Or again, if I have just two channels (each pod), what would happen if I combine the "rear" and "front" wires from the amp? Is that bridged? Does it really combine the watts? Don't want to blow the speakers, but of course that "500" is in quotes because no amp really pushes what's stayed, and rms is likely well below the 125 watts that simple math would lead to.


    Let me ask a friend about combining front and rear wires


    Let me get caught up reading the post and I'll see if I can help ya.

    @rabtech, It's a Bluetooth amp that is acting like the stereo (no actual stereo will be used). It states "500" watts, but is about "94" rms to each channel. The wiring harness is similar to a aftermarket stereo though (white, green, purple, gray--positive and negative) having connections for each zone (left front, left rear, right front, right rear). Can these be combined so it is 2 channels? Would it blow the speakers?

    Based on a quick glance at the amp manual, it produces a total power output of 150W RMS split across 4 channels for around 37W RMS per channel, so your speakers will work fine. Since I didn't see any reference to bridging in the manual, it probably isn't possible to combine the front left and rear left channels to try and get more power to your speakers. Just connect your speaker pods to the left and right Front outputs. You could then add rear speakers if you want. Running the amp w/o speakers on the rear channel probably won't hurt the amp, but you need to check with the manufacturer to be sure.
    I wouldn't recommend splitting the larger pod speakers and connecting them to separate channels, although it could probabaly be safely done. The crossover separates the frequencies and directs them to the speaker(s) most suited for those frequencies. If you split the speakers, you'd end up wasting the power that should be going to the larger speakers with just the higher freqs going to the mid-range and tweeter. At the same time,. the channels hooked up to the larger speakers wouldn't be as efficient since all of the frequencies would be processed thru the larger speaker even though it may only handlea smaller freq range efficiently. Also, each channel may have different sounds which may or may not be suited to the speakers you'd be sending them to.
    Back in the old days (when I took electronics back in the late 1960s in High School we were taught about vacuum tube circuits and didn't get exposure to solid state circuits until our third year!) we could connect a speaker across the left and right outputs to derive a third channel which basically plays the sounds common to both channels. This link does a decent job of explaining the concept and says you can do this in car audio systems as well - Tri-Dimensional Audio (Speaker Wiring Diagrams). To be sure, check with the amp manufacturer.
    Here is another link from Popular Mechanics in 1961 about the third channel - Popular Mechanics - Google Books
    This Third channel approach is not used as much nowadays, so be sure to check with the amp manufacturer before attempting such a setup, unless you don't care what happens to the equipment. Using a third speaker across a 2 channel amp lowers the impedance the amp is seeing and can damage the amp, especially using the 4 ohm speakers common nowadays. Here is an article from 1990 (relatively recent for Third channel situations :rolleyes: ) that explains about using a 10K resistor to better match the impedance load the amp is dealing with - How To - Car Stereo - How To Install A Center Channel.

    Edited 2 times, last by BKL ().

    True RMS should represent roughly 70% of the amps sine-wave output, IIRC. Traditionally, audio manufacturers have resorted to all sorts of mathematical tricks to inflate their power ratings so they can claim what looks like very high power outputs when they are really much less. Look for the term RMS as the best way of knowing how much is really there. Terms like Music Power or Peak Music Power allow for much higher readings but are generally just advertising puffery. Here is a good article on various powere rating definitions - 75 Watts RMS.. what does it actually mean - Forums - CNET. I included a quote below from the article that explains things relatively clearly.
    "PMPO by TomQuiring / June 6, 2012 5:09 AM PDTRMS vs PMPO
    PMPO stands for "Peak Maximum Power Output" and it is purely a marketing term used to fool people into thinking that small crappy 4 watt RMS speakers can withstand 200watts (PMPO) of power. I'm pretty sure that PMPO is the wattage at which the speakers will actually catch fire.
    Always use RMS for speaker and amplifier ratings, if given a peak power rating (and remember that "peak" is NOT PMPO) take the peak wattage and multiply by .707 to get the RMS wattage.
    Very few, and only the top of the line amps and speakers, can deliver clean audio anywhere close to their peak output, there is always noise and distortion, you probably won't hear it or notice it, but its there. This "noise" can easily damage your speakers at high outputs, especially if you are anywhere close to your speakers peak power handling (high end speakers handle it better, but they are very expensive).
    As a rule of thumb make sure your speakers RMS rating equals your amps PEAK rating. this will keep your equipment safer, and produce better sound."

    Okay, so I guess I won't be separating and just use 2 channels. Will have to add 2 more speakers later on...


    Last question... I read somewhere to put pillow stuffing in the pods to enhance sound? If so, does any type kind work? Does it matter that the fibers touch the Polaris crossover or speaker terminals?

    Quote from BKL

    True RMS should represent roughly 70% of the amps sine-wave output, IIRC. Traditionally, audio manufacturers have resorted to all sorts of mathematical tricks to inflate their power ratings so they can claim what looks like very high power outputs when they are really much less. Look for the term RMS as the best way of knowing how much is really there. Terms like Music Power or Peak Music Power allow for much higher readings but are generally just advertising puffery. Here is a good article on various powere rating definitions - 75 Watts RMS.. what does it actually mean - Forums - CNET. I included a quote below from the article that explains things relatively clearly.
    "PMPO by TomQuiring / June 6, 2012 5:09 AM PDTRMS vs PMPO
    PMPO stands for "Peak Maximum Power Output" and it is purely a marketing term used to fool people into thinking that small crappy 4 watt RMS speakers can withstand 200watts (PMPO) of power. I'm pretty sure that PMPO is the wattage at which the speakers will actually catch fire.
    Always use RMS for speaker and amplifier ratings, if given a peak power rating (and remember that "peak" is NOT PMPO) take the peak wattage and multiply by .707 to get the RMS wattage.
    Very few, and only the top of the line amps and speakers, can deliver clean audio anywhere close to their peak output, there is always noise and distortion, you probably won't hear it or notice it, but its there. This "noise" can easily damage your speakers at high outputs, especially if you are anywhere close to your speakers peak power handling (high end speakers handle it better, but they are very expensive).
    As a rule of thumb make sure your speakers RMS rating equals your amps PEAK rating. this will keep your equipment safer, and produce better sound."


    BKL I am always impressed with your knowledge Sir!!!