Significance of Preamp Voltage

[glantv699]

I'm looking to purchase a new headunit and will be going with another Kenwood since my car already has the connector ready to go and my previous one was great.

I believe my old unit had 5.0 volt RCA outputs whereas many of the newer models I'm looking at range from 2.5 to 4.0. Should I be concerned ? I'm only running a single 12" subwoofer off of a 1 channel amp ~ 350W RMS. Something tells me cutting that voltage rating in half could limit performance (hopefully not damage the system).

Any input from car audio gurus would be great.

Another side note. Many new models have the front USB connection. I like this feature but from the outside it pretty much tells thieves "hey, there may be an iPod in there too". I would rather go with the rear wire connection and run it through the glovebox or center console. Would those with the "wire setup" prefer the front USB connection or are you happy with the older style arrangement?

[DOHCstunr]

i'd rather have, and actually enjoy my rear USB
its retarded to have a cable lying around your cabin all the time

Mine is routed into the armrest storage

out of sight, our of mind.
With that said, there's really no reason to have your ipod in the car ever. when you can copy all your files and playlists over to a $10 jump drive and leave it in your car at all times. My pioneer controls a jump drive just like it would an ipod, or my Pre.

[galantofva]

I also would prefer the rear mounted connection. Its harder to get to but I hate a cluttered interior. Dont have an iPod either though so I guess im not much help.

[littlerick]

i agree, i have mine in my glove box i wouldnt want it in the front of the radio. you might notice a little difference in loudness by having a lower preamp but i doubt it would be anything drastic

[glantv699]

The front mount seems handy but I definitely agree with you guys, the rear cable would be a cleaner install.

That wasn't my big concern for making this thread though, any thoughts on the RCA preamp voltage difference?

[littlerick]

i didnt notice a huge difference going from 2 to 4

[RedGalant2k1]

The more preamp voltage the better SQ you get from the headunit to the amplifier to the speakers.

[fliegendaffe]

basically, the higher the pre-amp voltage the less work your amp has to do.

[ZigenScarface]

^^ yup.. u wont have to worry about damaging your system unless you have avery low quality sub.. what kind of sub do you have?

[Jeffylou87]

I have both the rear USB and a rear auxilary.. I like the auxilary better because I can change the tunage right in my hand via my iPhone.. I can use pandora too. With the USB, I just use that for jump drives/external drives.

[ZigenScarface]

i have a USB molded inside the flip part of my arm rest for my car pc

[glantv699]

^^ yup.. u wont have to worry about damaging your system unless you have avery low quality sub.. what kind of sub do you have?

I have an Infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1D, it's a decent dual voice coil sub with a 350W RMS rating and a peak of 1400.

As an update, I found a nice deal on ebay for the Kenwood KDC-MP538U, it's a 2008 model but has the rear USB which I ran into my glove box and the connector from my old one hooked right up. The drop from 5.0V to 2.5 on the preamp voltage is noticeable, but nothing dramatic. I only have my sub amped (not the speakers) so overall the system sounds about the same, just less hard hitting bass. With the older unit my sub would hit much harder, even at very low volumes.

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/9/7/9/7/4/webimg/288725166_o.jpg?nc=467

Thanks for the help guys.

[fliegendaffe]

that's a really nice unit. i have the kvt-614 myself and that has 4v pre-outs and i am running the kappa 5ch amp and kappa 12 sub

[RedGalant2k1]

^^ yup.. u wont have to worry about damaging your system unless you have avery low quality sub.. what kind of sub do you have?

You CANNOT damage your system with a low quality speaker.

[kolio]

george i got this kenwood unit about 4 months ago KDC-X592. i'm in love with it. it is very similar to the one you posted. rear usb is awsome, i just leave a 2GB flash drive in the car all the time hidden

[ZigenScarface]

You CANNOT damage your system with a low quality speaker.

no but you can damange your speaker if the quality of it is too LOW and your over powering it.. please dont try to correct me if im trying to help someone out.. im MECP and i think i know what im talking about

[fliegendaffe]

no but you can damange your speaker if the quality of it is too LOW and your over powering it.. please dont try to correct me if im trying to help someone out.. im MECP and i think i know what im talking about

ok lets not argue about this. yes you might be MECP but that doesn't mean you know it all and always give the correct info. BUT I will stand by your side and say yes i know you know your stuff from our conversations in the past.

[littlerick]

no but you can damange your speaker if the quality of it is too LOW and your over powering it.. please dont try to correct me if im trying to help someone out.. im MECP and i think i know what im talking about

you can pretty much damage any speaker if you over power it.... no matter how good the quality is. granted you would have to try much harder to damage a good sub

[RedGalant2k1]

no but you can damange your speaker if the quality of it is too LOW and your over powering it.. please dont try to correct me if im trying to help someone out.. im MECP and i think i know what im talking about

And I was a installer at a high-end professional shop that built show cars with high end equipment including Xtant, PPI, SoundStream, McIntosh, Pioneer Premier, A/D/S, and the like. So really no need to throw around experience or titles is there?

[ZigenScarface]

experience or not.. if you need your amp to work harder on the same speaker.. ie turning the gain up ect to get the same sound you risk damaging the speaker,, easier if its a cheaper speaker

[glantv699]

/thread.....

c'mon guys