Line driver NOOOOOOOB

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:59 pm

Ok so comming to this forum I found out that there is such a thing called line drivers and base cubes. My main thing I am focusing on now is line drivers specifically the SLD-44. Now I read the manual and kind of understood some jibber jabber jargon but what my main questions were and are :

1. I talked to a car audio installer for best buy ( Please dont flame best buy as I work there not in the car audio but security I know they arent advanced audiophile workers) and I asked a installer

Me : Hey what do you think about getting a line driver installed in my vehicle? It can boost my 3 volt preout on my deck to 8 volt preout. Cool huh!

Installer : Well if you have 8 volt preouts and it goes into your amp it could make your amp fail and go into protect.

So with that said, how do i know what volt my amp can handle and is that true?

Thats one question the next is
where does everyone install this at? It says install as close to headunit, but how? My 4 guage wire goes from the battery to the back of my car how would I make it 16 guage? Also the ground in the back is 4 guage as well how would I make it 16 guage?

Basically the Line driver sounds like a great idea that I have never even thought about but i mean it helps with less stress on the amplifier and keeps them cool but the best part I think is that you get boosted 8 volts preouts to your amp for clean sounding music.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CORRECT ME I AM A NOOB.

joyride · Post by **joyride** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:18 pm

What kind of amp are you running. Most decent manufactures allow their amps to accept an 8 volt signal. I know that PG does that with all their stuff (exception of the DEQ). The key thing about using the line driver is not to run it all the way up. Just bring it to slight clipping, then drop it off a little.

As for the placement, always as close as possible to the deck. The reason for this is that it will reduce the chances of noise coming in on your long signal run (harder to induce noise at a higher voltage).

I have my power wire coming off a distro in the back. Its easy to run 16 gauge to the front. I have seen people just jump it off thier head unit, but I dont know if that could cause problems.

Post by **AVICJR** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:24 pm

I've had my LD "tapped" from the power, ground, and remote wires of my HU for several years. It's probably the easiest way to do it.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:24 pm

Yea I was told that it will be fine on ZX350 and ZX500 and Ti 400.2 amps. Which is good to hear. Hmmm Maybe installing it in the glove box? I could do the distro thing in the back and then run the power wire to the glove box and have it there... any other ideas?

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 5:24 pm

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh63 ... C03736.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh63 ... C03716.jpg, these are 2 different pics of areas ive had line drivers installed; you can put them anywhere, ive never had a noise issue , in both these pics, on different installs, 16ft to the back, 12ft. behind the 2 rea seats-the key is GOOD RCA, and a GOOD ground for no noise, ive NEVER had any noise issues, such as noises from bad grounds, bad rcas, or, line drivers not being as close as possible to the head unit-Christian

fordtough1 · Post by **fordtough1** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:02 pm

I have mine in the glovebox, with power and ground wires coming from a remote fuse panel in the trunk, and the remote wire coming off of a relay mounted right beside it, I have no noise issues with mine.

There are pics in the install section....

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:58 pm

I know my M44 and M100 don't need any more than 2V with the gains down to drive them hard.

The rating you're looking for is input sensitivity. It will be a range.

The most important thing a line driver does is raises the noise floor. As your signal fires down the RCAs from your HU, it picks up noise. In the best cases, that noise is inaudible. Raising the output voltage maintains a higher signal/noise ratio as there is more signal voltage to the same amount of noise entering the cable.

soth · Post by **soth** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:52 pm

Gotta agree here. Place it close to the HU as possible, just a standard usually. You want the LD shooting those volts down the rca's as hard as possible since you've got a long stretch of rca's. They will lose volts as the cables are longer.

Yeah, the MS/MPS are rated for 2 volts. My Input sensitivity is turned all the way down also. It also helps when you have an EQ and the 406a before the amp to up the output gains and such.

A good ground is very important. It should read less than .5 ohms for a good ground.