Pioneer Sub Woofer wiring?

[JOEPRO]

I just ordered a good used Pioneer active sub woofer from ebay. The online PDF wiring diagram is a bit vague



My new Blaupunkt radio has sub woofer RCA outputs so ill use those. I would not want any part of the sub woofer to have permanent battery power. For safety and parasitic draws.

The 10amp connection I can put to an ignition on accessory feed.

Then the other smaller 0.5 sub cable must be a "signal" to turn it on and off? For that I can tap into the new radio's power antenna output which will be good as that means the sub should come on and off with the radio automatically.

I will test the sub woofer wiring when it arrives to confrim the above functionality. Does this sound reasonable? Its for a 1989 Merc FWIW

 

[hotponyshoes]

If the radio has rca subwoofer outputs its probably got a sub switching wire as well. Connect to that rather than the power antenna output as that might not turn the sub on when you are listening to a cd etc.

I'd Connect the big wire to a permanent live as it won't draw any power if the little wire is off.

 

[Brad93]

I just ordered a good used Pioneer active sub woofer from ebay. The online PDF wiring diagram is a bit vague

View attachment 518578

My new Blaupunkt radio has sub woofer RCA outputs so ill use those. I would not want any part of the sub woofer to have permanent battery power. For safety and parasitic draws.

The 10amp connection I can put to an ignition on accessory feed.

Then the other smaller 0.5 sub cable must be a "signal" to turn it on and off? For that I can tap into the new radio's power antenna output which will be good as that means the sub should come on and off with the radio automatically.

I will test the sub woofer wiring when it arrives to confrim the above functionality. Does this sound reasonable? Its for a 1989 Merc FWIW

The RCA outputs might just be for an Amp? Has the sub got one built in? An amp will need battery power.

Most headunits are only rated for 4x50W.

 

[JOEPRO]

If the radio has rca subwoofer outputs its probably got a sub switching wire as well. Connect to that rather than the power antenna output as that might not turn the sub on when you are listening to a cd etc.

I'd Connect the big wire to a permanent live as it won't draw any power if the little wire is off.

Terninal 5 is the one I meant and it notes amp control also. This car has a new power antenna and I know that even in bluetooth streaming mode its always active. So it should be ideal.



Long term I plan to deactivate the power antenna and just leave it there. Then use a DAB aerial instead once the cracked front windscreen is replaced.

 

[JOEPRO]

The RCA outputs might just be for an Amp? Has the sub got one built in? An amp will need battery power.

Most headunits are only rated for 4x50W.

The newer post above shows the head unit has sub woofer specific RCAs. Yes the good used Pioneer TS-WX120A compact below seat sub woofer I ordered includes its own internal 150watt amp.

 

[tom2207]

its listed as active so amp is built in ,,, you may have to go into head unit and adjust sub output and x over freq ,,, other than that it will be grand ,,, however the sub may be summing the two stereo inputs from your head unit , so adding a y split to the input may help if you dont get out of it what you expect ,,, did the remote for the sub come too , it again may have a freq select and a power trim on it ,,, dont expect the world from a small sub , set your x over at say 100 to 120 hz and the low roll off to 40 , thats plenty low enough ,,,

 

[JOEPRO]

Whilst the sub woofer "shouldn't" create a draw with the car off, I still never wire anything that way and leave to chance.

This is from bitter experience of chasing faults within S classes etc over the years where aftermarket items wrecked havok.

 

[JOEPRO]

its listed as active so amp is built in ,,, you may have to go into head unit and adjust sub output and x over freq ,,, other than that it will be grand ,,, however the sub may be summing the two stereo inputs from your head unit , so adding a y split to the input may help if you dont get out of it what you expect ,,, did the remote for the sub come too , it again may have a freq select and a power trim on it ,,, dont expect the world from a small sub , set your x over at say 100 to 120 hz and the low roll off to 40 , thats plenty low enough ,,,

It has this little remote for ease of setup

 

[hotponyshoes]

It has this little remote for ease of setup

View attachment 518580

Funky.
Have a look in the head unit menu as you might have frequency and level control there so the remote might not be needed.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Whilst the sub woofer "shouldn't" create a draw with the car off, I still never wire anything that way and leave to chance.

This is from bitter experience of chasing faults within S classes etc over the years where aftermarket items wrecked havok.

All of the active subs I have messed with have had an actual relay inside them for the remote turn-on. Modern ones might be different but you can hear/feel them click if they have a proper one.

I've normally wired the live on my cars permanently (fused) so you can listen to music with the engine/Ingition switched off.
Not all radios work without the Ingition on though.
On horseboxes I'll normally wire the radio permanently but the sub to the Ingition so you can have the radio on when parked up but not the power consumption from the sub as well.

 

[JOEPRO]

PS this is just some of the terrible past wiring I have removed from this car. Each time it had a new stereo they cut and ran more cables



The original dealer fit wiring is a mess too so Im cutting it all out and starting again too.

 

[Screwdriver]

I just pulled my sub out of a van I sold. 4x50W sounds a bit like bass rather than subwoofer driver.

That amp is a dedicate 4,000 Watts dedicated to a 12" Pyle driver™. Half the side of the van is the enclosure.

Neighbours loved it. They would always ask me about it...



I might even sell it coz I'm not sure if it will even fit in a Kei truck...


<edit> if ur "sub" is active, that implies it has it's own built in dedicated amplifier. `The diagram tells you the "remote" unit is used to switch the sub on/off but it should have a permanent 10A supply. I used some massive cables on min, they could be repurposed for stick welding. Do not underestimate the power draw of a big subwoofer.

 

[hotponyshoes]

<edit> if ur "sub" is active, that implies it has it's own built in dedicated amplifier. `The diagram tells you the "remote" unit is used to switch the sub on/off but it should have a permanent 10A supply. I used some massive cables on min, they could be repurposed for stick welding. Do not underestimate the power draw of a big subwoofer.

Most active subwoofers nowadays have class D (digital) amps built in. Run from a smps I think.
Much like an inverter welder compared to a transformer, they don't suck huge amounts of power as they are far more efficient. A 10 or 15a fuse (and matching cable) is plenty.
Some of them only have 4" drivers. I think the biggest I have ever fitted is 8" possibly 10"?.
They have the advantage that the amp can be perfectly matched to the driver and the driver to the enclosure so can produce a decent sound without taking up half the boot. I purchased a pair of them when I got my 4-door pick-up, I think they were 8" but small enough to fit behind the rear seat. One is ample, never fitted the 2nd.

They are surprisingly effective as bass drivers but are not what I would call a subwoofer. Even mounted directly under a seat you can't 'feel' them like you can a sub.
Having said that, the one fitted into my movano sounds fine and is only turned up about half way otherwise it rattles bits of the dashboard off.

 

[Screwdriver]

Most of them are delivering fake bass. Second harmonic which can be modified to "sound like" the fundamental. Use enough 2nd, 3rd, 4th harmonic and 200+400+800Hz can sound like 100Hz.

Won't flap your trousers like the real thing though and this is one of those times when "bigger is better"!

 

[hotponyshoes]

Most of them are delivering fake bass. Second harmonic which can be modified to "sound like" the fundamental. Use enough 2nd, 3rd, 4th harmonic and 200+400+800Hz can sound like 100Hz.

Won't flap your trousers like the real thing though and this is one of those times when "bigger is better"!

Yea, I'd agree with that. My ears can't really tell the difference between them but when I listen to some.of the tracks I used to cruise around to I can feel the thump missing.
They don't do the volume either but it's very rare I turn it up enough to miss that now.
Either I'm getting old or my later cars are so much quieter than my first ones that I don't need the volume

 

[Domdom]

Most of them are delivering fake bass. Second harmonic which can be modified to "sound like" the fundamental. Use enough 2nd, 3rd, 4th harmonic and 200+400+800Hz can sound like 100Hz.

Won't flap your trousers like the real thing though and this is one of those times when "bigger is better"!

On the money there Sir. So refreshing to know I’m not the only geek around audio

For proper trouser flap I used to have an 18” Cerwin Vega sub on a Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 amp…….in a Mk2 Astra Backed up with a pair of 12” mid bass drivers. Crossovers built by me….from the knowledge I gained working at Martin Audio. That car won prizes in the early sound-offs.

Harmonics might sound OK to the untrained ear, but they won’t break a rear windscreen like my CV did.

Also, true sub-bass needs careful phasing or it just cancels out the front speakers. I think that Pioneer in the OP does have adjustable phase.

 

[Nomad]

I used to work for pioneer. Original head units have a blue trigger wire that turns on subwoofer / cd changer etc.

You *should* be ok to run the sub live direct to the battery with no parasitic drain but …

You need to find a way to make the blue trigger wire on the sun live but only when the ignition / radio are on.

 

[Screwdriver]

Deliberate out of focus shot of my home setup. Massive set of JBL studio monitors and a pair of gigantic active subs. Not really "HiFi" but more than enough bass to bend window glass. My neighbours do not like these! (Unless we're having a barbecue).



This was my HiFi. I was one of the three in Trilogy. I was the one putting them together. Won best in show virtually every time we entered. Awesome valve amps.



Cleaner took the day off*






*(about 20 years ago, never been back since)