combining 3 signals into 1 to get full range for aftermarket sub

[amurciano]

I have a wiring question for you guys, I have mixed answers from people and would like to know the right way or at least a way that is pretty safe for doing the following:

I am trying to wire up my factory head unit's amp's output signals to my LC2i then to a monoamp then to an aftermarket sub. I will be keeping my stock factory speakers except for the factory sub which will be wired up to the monoamp.

I have been told that it's better to get signals from both left and right main door speakers which contain low to mid frequencies, on top of this I have been told to get the sub signal as well in here to get the really low lows. In total 3 signals that I would need to input into the LC2i which only has 2 inputs, L and R.

1. Is it possible to tap into these 3 signals and combine them all together into 1 input to the LC2i?
2. If I do this, will my existing door panel speakers (Left and Right) get affected by this wiring, essentially im shorting all 3 signals together? Will the speakers be loaded way too much due to varying signals from the factory amp?
3. Do I need to wire in some sort of passive mixer circuit to help the original signals going to Left and Right speakers get back to normal, putting a 10k ohm resistor on each tapped line before it combines into 1 line?
4. Does it make a difference if the input impedance of the LC2i is 20k ohms when adding these resistors?

Thank you for the help in advance.

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[ManfromRI]

What you referring to is called signal summing. If your just running a sub, I would just use the sub input from the factory amp, then you can still use the Sub volume from the Headunit if you need to.

You can also restore the Lower frequencies with the accubass feature on the LC2i.

 

[KOIVUN1]

What you referring to is called signal summing. If your just running a sub, I would just use the sub input from the factory amp, then you can still use the Sub volume from the Headunit if you need to.

You can also restore the Lower frequencies with the accubass feature on the LC2i.

the bass rolloff from the factory head unit is the reason they don't want to use the signal from the sub. as the volume increases, the factory HU will roll off the bass significantly to protect what it presumes are the original speakers, and there's no way to disable this roll off

 

[ManfromRI]

the bass rolloff from the factory head unit is the reason they don't want to use the signal from the sub. as the volume increases, the factory HU will roll off the bass significantly to protect what it presumes are the original speakers, and there's no way to disable this roll off

Yes Im well aware of that, whatever you lose from the Headunit, the accubass will restore.

Even if you were to take the front speakers input, it will still attenuate the lower frequencies anyways.

Me personally, if I were to just add a sub, I would just use the sub output. My reasons why;
Ease of install (less wiring)
Still retain sub volume from Headunit.
Already has signal Low-passed thru Factory amp. (just need to restore the bass with converter)

If you were going to be installing another amp for your front stage setup, Then I would suggest taking your Front Left&Right speaker outputs and adding them into that LC2i, because then you would get a wider range of frequencies from the get go. Since your just adding a sub, you don't need the higher frequencies.

 

[amurciano]

Yes Im well aware of that, whatever you lose from the Headunit, the accubass will restore.

Even if you were to take the front speakers input, it will still attenuate the lower frequencies anyways.

Me personally, if I were to just add a sub, I would just use the sub output. My reasons why;
Ease of install (less wiring)
Still retain sub volume from Headunit.
Already has signal Low-passed thru Factory amp. (just need to restore the bass with converter)

If you were going to be installing another amp for your front stage setup, Then I would suggest taking your Front Left&Right speaker outputs and adding them into that LC2i, because then you would get a wider range of frequencies from the get go. Since your just adding a sub, you don't need the higher frequencies.

well I spent yesterday preparing and routing all 3 signal wires so I have the flexibility to use whichever now and in the future.

Had an idea, what if I wired sub output to the LC2i's left input, and either the left or right output to the LC2i's right input, that way I get the lows of the sub and anything frequencies that are missing from the lows from the front signal? I figured music doesn't vary so much from left to right with low bass and is more for the mids and highs, like voices? I could be wrong though, what do you guys think?

 

[ManfromRI]

well I spent yesterday preparing and routing all 3 signal wires so I have the flexibility to use whichever now and in the future.

Had an idea, what if I wired sub output to the LC2i's left input, and either the left or right output to the LC2i's right input, that way I get the lows of the sub and anything frequencies that are missing from the lows from the front signal? I figured music doesn't vary so much from left to right with low bass and is more for the mids and highs, like voices? I could be wrong though, what do you guys think?

Im still not sure why you are trying to add the fronts into the sub input?? I understand you want to give it a full signal, but if your not going to end up running an amp for your fronts in the future, it's not needed. Even the "Bass output" on the LC2i cuts the frequency anyways.

I've done some research into your LC2i. Here is some links that are relating to your situation.

Help with choosing inputs: https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowledge-base/channel-outputs-form-factory-amp-connect-lc2i/

Difference between "Main and Bass" on Lc2i:
https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowledge-base/difference-main-bass-output-lc2i/

How to setup accubass:
https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowledge-base/how-do-i-set-accubass/

Hope that helps you out bud.

 

[amurciano]

Im still not sure why you are trying to add the fronts into the sub input?? I understand you want to give it a full signal, but if your not going to end up running an amp for your fronts in the future, it's not needed. Even the "Bass output" on the LC2i cuts the frequency anyways.

I've done some research into your LC2i. Here is some links that are relating to your situation.

Help with choosing inputs: https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowledge-base/channel-outputs-form-factory-amp-connect-lc2i/

Difference between "Main and Bass" on Lc2i:
https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowledge-base/difference-main-bass-output-lc2i/

How to setup accubass:
https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowledge-base/how-do-i-set-accubass/

Hope that helps you out bud.

thanks for help, I saw the accubass article but not the others, thank you for providing this. Only asking about fronts cause multiple people said thats the way to go, idk whats the right way for this, thats where my whole confusion is stemming from.

 

[ManfromRI]

thanks for help, I saw the accubass article but not the others, thank you for providing this. Only asking about fronts cause multiple people said thats the way to go, idk whats the right way for this, thats where my whole confusion is stemming from.

Np man. Let us know how u make out.

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