Subwoofer Install Help

2011 Ram Big Horn

Will be getting 2 10inch pioneer subs soon and was wondering if there was any way i could run them off of the factory radio (I don't have the upgraded alpine radio).

If there is no way to run them off the factory radio, what is a decent, but cheap-ish radio I can get to replace it?

http://image.automotive.com/f/2011_dodge_ram-1500/38037230/radio.jpg

Link above is what my radio looks like

You'll need a line output converter this will convert speaker level signal to low level rca. Or get an amp that has speaker level input capability.

Along with the usual power ground wires.

Damion said:

You'll need a line output converter this will convert speaker level signal to low level rca. Or get an amp that has speaker level input capability.

Along with the usual power ground wires.

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I am looking at getting this amp https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S4XNEO/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

would i still need to get the line output converter?

That one has high & low level inputs.
You won't need a converter.

I wouldn't use that amp though. BOSS isn't very good equipment. It's up to you though

I have used these in the past and they work great. They actually put more voltage to the AMP then any aftermarket stereo.

https://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI-15-Line-Lever-Converter/dp/B001EAWS1Y

Don't even mess around with a cheaper LOC.

LC2i - AudioControl

Kapt said:

Don't even mess around with a cheaper LOC.

LC2i - AudioControl

Click to expand...

I used this one. It's great. I have the same head unit as you too.
I also installed the mopar kicker speakers in my truck. Big upgrade with those too!


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you are better off with no am than that boss amp you listed above.

i understand your young and want some tunes but what is the most you can spend. i was a pro installer for many years and i have seen my fair share of those amps melt wires, blow themselves right out of the box.

Boss stuff is DOA more often than not.

baum said:

you are better off with no am than that boss amp you listed above.

i understand your young and want some tunes but what is the most you can spend. i was a pro installer for many years and i have seen my fair share of those amps melt wires, blow themselves right out of the box.

Click to expand...

Possibly $60 at the most for the amp, becuase i still want to get a new head unit

Kapt said:

Don't even mess around with a cheaper LOC.

LC2i - AudioControl

Click to expand...

With this would i still need an amp?

Yes you will still need an amp. Honestly 60 bucks for an amp isn't very much money. In my install days I've seen kids come in with cheap gear only to buy better stuff shortly thereafter.

I've always said it's funny they don't have the money to do it right once but they have the money to do it twice.

I'd look at getting a decent used amp for now ( make sure it works ) then upgrade to a nice one later on.

I'd advise saving some cash for a bit and get a good amp from the get go. You'll be farther ahead in the long run

^^^^^^^THIS.

There is tons of used audio equipment all over craigslist, just be sure it works first. look for brands like alpine, rockford fosgate, kicker, memphis etc.


10" pioneers do not require much power. Be wary of their 1000 watt max power or whatever they say. Look for the RMS power numbers.

you may want to research a little more to figure out exactly what you are getting. You'll want to research things like single vs dual voice coils and impedance of your subwoofers so that you can get an optimum amp. I'm sure there are tons of guys around here that are willing to help, myself included. You can get some quality stuff for a reasonable price if you know what to look for, but BOSS is not it.

warbat said:

^^^^^^^THIS.

There is tons of used audio equipment all over craigslist, just be sure it works first. look for brands like alpine, rockford fosgate, kicker, memphis etc.


10" pioneers do not require much power. Be wary of their 1000 watt max power or whatever they say. Look for the RMS power numbers.

you may want to research a little more to figure out exactly what you are getting. You'll want to research things like single vs dual voice coils and impedance of your subwoofers so that you can get an optimum amp. I'm sure there are tons of guys around here that are willing to help, myself included. You can get some quality stuff for a reasonable price if you know what to look for, but BOSS is not it.

Click to expand...

These are the subs I got -> TS-W252R
they are 600 watt max and like 250 RMS (website understates them and says 120 but every single professional shop i talked to said to look at them as 250 RMS

I have a ported box with 2 of them

Any ideas on an amp for them?

Look into some amps that will give you clean power i.e JL Audio, Rockford fosgate, Kenwood excelon just to name a few. With the 2 subs you have look for something that has a minimum of 300 watts per channel. A quality amp is going to allow you to use less power but maximize your subs output without running your amps hard

When amp shopping think of output power like horsepower in your truck. You can never have too much. It's better to have too much power than not enough.

Power don't kill subs / speakers. Clipping and distortion does. The more power you have the more CLEAN headroom you'll have in your system.

Get the best amp you can afford. And as said above, don't look at MAX power ratings. They are usually highly exaggerated ( maybe when the planets align and they find a cure for cancer ) look at the rms ratings and what frequency the rms power is at. It's easier to get 1000 watts at 1k hz than it is at 30 hz.

Damion said:

When amp shopping think of output power like horsepower in your truck. You can never have too much. It's better to have too much power than not enough.

Power don't kill subs / speakers. Clipping and distortion does. The more power you have the more CLEAN headroom you'll have in your system.

Get the best amp you can afford. And as said above, don't look at MAX power ratings. They are usually highly exaggerated ( maybe when the planets align and they find a cure for cancer ) look at the rms ratings and what frequency the rms power is at. It's easier to get 1000 watts at 1k hz than it is at 30 hz.

Click to expand...

Appreciate the help man, I got a decent amp and REAL 4 guage wiring kit. Now up next it figuring out how to get the power cord to the battery and the ground wire to the frame

Do a search either on here or google. I'm sure it's been covered a few times before.

Seth_5.7 said:

These are the subs I got -> TS-W252R
they are 600 watt max and like 250 RMS (website understates them and says 120 but every single professional shop i talked to said to look at them as 250 RMS

I have a ported box with 2 of them

Any ideas on an amp for them?

Click to expand...

When you hook single voice coil subwoofers together (which you have) you have 2 options (actually there are more but for simplicity sake I will keep this as basic as possible). If you are interested do some research on ohms law and impedance (a fancy word for resistance), but to make it easy on you I will explain the easiest options.


You are going to want a monoblock amp that is 2 ohm stable. A 250 watt rms amp is more than sufficient. When you hook your subs up, you will hook both of your positive wires (coming from the subs) to the positive terminal on the amp. The same with the negative. When you hook 2 subs up this way (called wired in parallel) you cut the impedance in half. Meaning two 4 ohm subs now have a impedance of 2. A 250 watt rms mono block that is 2 ohm stable (meaning it will run at 2 ohm and most decent monoblocks will) is all that you need. Here is an example of a suitable amp for your setup.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206DXA2501/Kicker-43DXA250-1.html?tp=35834 This is a small simple amp that will run your two subs sufficiently.

Your other option is to buy a 2 channel amp that runs each channel at 250 rms at 4 ohms. Using this type of amp you will wire each sub to different channel. Often times a 2 channel amp will allow you to run it "bridged" however, RARELY are 2 channel amps 2 ohm stable when bridged. typically when bridged at 2 channel amp will only run at 4 ohms or greater. You could wire your 2 subs in series (wiring a positive terminal on a sub to a neg terminal on the other sub and then wiring the remaining leads to the respective terminals on the amp, but this would give you 8 ohms and effective reduce your amps output by 50%)

This amp would be suitable for your two subs.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130GMA5702/Pioneer-GM-A5702.html?tp=35757


I HIGHLY SUGGEST you purchase a 250+ RMS monoblock amp. As some have said, you can get a more powerful amp for when you want to upgrade in the future, and I assure you you will, but I caution you to keep the gain down so you do not destroy your subs. Pioneer subs are not known for being top notch. They are more than sufficient for filling in the low end of you audio system but once you start hearing higher quality speakers you will probably want to upgrade.