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Advice: New setup around a PG200.4

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:25 am
by mr_renfield
Hi guys,

Currently I have in my 2001 Corolla:
- Hertz DCX 165 splits in front doors (powered off HU).
- Stock 10 y.o 6" speakers in the rear (powered off HU).
- Pioneer GM-7500M monoblock (400w @ 2ohm) powering a
- Pioneer 12" TS309D4 (400w @ 2ohm)

Recently purchased a PG Xenon 200.4, and I'd like to replace the Pioneer monoblock with this.
Ideally, I'd like to use the PG to power all speakers.
I intend to replace the rear speakers with either PG RSd6 or Pioneer TS-A1684R.

Is this possible?
Sub will run at 2ohm, as I understand the PG gives 400wrms bridged.
But I'm not sure about the other speakers.
How do you connect two pairs of speakers to 2 channels?
Parallel (2ohm) or series (8ohm)?
Is this even advisable?
Only reason I'd do this is because I think 200w going into the Hertz DCX would be overkill, so I'm thinking I have some power to spare?

Re: Advice: New setup around a PG200.4

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 4:51 am
by ttocs
run the hertz and the sub off of the amp and just keep the rears on deck power. being stock speakers and rear fill you do not want to send them too much power.

Re: Advice: New setup around a PG200.4

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 5:32 am
by Lowcountrypsulion
I did the same thing in my setup. I used the front RCA outs of the HU for the entire system, but kept the stock rear speakers hooked up to the HU's rear speaker level outs. That way I can use the HU's fader to fade out the rear speakers almost completely. Keeping the stocks hooked up directly to the HU also acts as a backup and enables me to have sound just in case something happens with the main system.

Re: Advice: New setup around a PG200.4

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:20 pm
by dedlyjedly
These guys are giving you some good input here. I'm currently running my X200.4 the way they described. In fact, I never even bothered to upgrade the rear speakers in my Camry! I turn my deck's internal amp on for the rare occasion that I have a passenger in the back seat, but using the fader is nearly as good. Some people find this practice odd and feel like they're giving something up, but I highly recommend giving it a shot. If it turns out not to be your thing it would be easy enough to change up.

What I really wanted to add to the discussion though is a few thoughts about xe.load. That's one of the coolest things about the Xenon amps and very important to consider as you finish up your system design. You can read up on it more in the manual or with a bit of searching here, but essentially the manner in which your Xenon regulates its power affects your system in two ways.

Each channel will output rated power to any load between one and four ohms. Even if you decide to parallel front and rear speakers together, you won't have to worry about excessive power, it will remain at 200w/channel. If you did want to scale it back you could use a series circuit like you mentioned because eight ohms wouldn't fall in xe.load's working range. That said, there's no such thing as too much good, clean power! Give 'em all the power and your Hertz will love you for it!

Things change a bit when you bridge a multichannel Xenon amp though. Because you're using two channels in combination, the effective range is two to eight ohms. Your dual 4 ohm sub will receive the same amount of power regardless of how you hook up the coils. I know at face value that doesn't seem to benefit you at all, because you already get the same power at 2 ohms, right!? But the beauty of this system is that you'll get all of the same power, while reducing current draw if you run it at 8 ohms mono!

Good luck with your install, you're off to a great start!