Having recently connected my dual-amp system, I'd like to document a simple guide for less knowledgable car audio enthusiast's. I see that many people have viewed this guide, and I have reviewed it myself and I have came to the conclusion that this guide needs to be edited to help other users better understand the process. The initial guide that I wrote was not very clear and a little hard to understand, I guess thats why I only have received about 15 or so votes out of almost 1800 views, at the time of this update. I have also noticed that this guide receives about 25 views per day, and I would like all of the future readers to be able to understand this guide better.

For this particular sound system, I am using 2 Pioneer GM-5300T's. These particular amps are a very good bargain, around the price range of $150.00 at your nearest wally world, so I'm sure you can find them even cheaper on eBay.

I personally recommend a power capacitor for each amplifier. This will significantly reduce the load on your vehicles battery, although it will not reduce the load on your alternator, infact it will increase the load on your alternator. The capacitors are generally like having another battery on the electrical system, making sure the amps always have the power they are requesting. This helps overall performance of your audio system, but your alternator will have to work overtime to keep not only the vehicle battery charged, but also the two capacitors charged. I must inform you, stock alternators are generally very lousy performance based equiptment, I highly recommend investing in a high-performance alternator, if not, you are likely to be replacing your alternator fairly often. If your headlights dim, or inside lights dim during loud play, you are overtaxing your alternator, and it is only a matter of time before the components inside those cheap, stock alternators fail.

A good CD player is also highly recommended, some players are really crappy, and the quality of your head unit will play a major roll in how your audio is going to sound. My installation included a Sony Xplod Head Unit, with a rated output of 52w X 4-channels. A Dual-Amp Wiring Kit will also be necessary, unless you already have a generous supply of 5 - 8 gauge insulated wire. There are different kinds of Dual-Amp wiring kits available, and depending on the total amount of power you are going to be moving, you should select a kit that best fit's into your wattage range. If both amplifiers have 1000w peak power handling capacities, then be sure to pick up a wiring kit that is rated to handle at LEAST 2000w. The wiring kit will include many different components required for sucessfully installing a dual-amp configuration, such as the proper cables, connectors, RCA jacks, distribution block, fuses and probably some speaker wire.

First Step.

You will need a large power cable if using two amp's, I personally recommend using the biggest wiring available for wiring your entire system. This will improve the complete systems efficiency, not needed, but recommended. Included in the Scoshe Dual-Amp Wiring Kit (1440w kit), is a nice sized 5 gauge power cable. This power cable should include an inline fuse, open the cap and remove the fuse from the holder. This will allow you to connect your entire system up without worrying about damaging components, or draining your battery. Connect the cable to the positive (red) terminal of the battery and run the wire around any components under the hood, ensuring the cable wont be touching anything that gets to hot. This power cable should be the largest cable in the entire system, and any exposed wire that is under your hood should be wrapped with a heat-barrier, also usually included with the wiring kit. Drill a hole through the firewall somewhere around the area where the steering column is, be sure the other side of your drilling plane is free from any important component or wire. Run the cable through the hole, taking up any slack left under the hood. Secure the cable in it's route underneath the hood using wiring ties. Run the power cable to the location of the amplifiers under your own discretion, my wiring is under the carpet and attached together with wiring ties.

From here, you will need to supply power to 2 different components. So at the end of your main power cable you will need to connect a distribution block. One end of the block attaches to the 5 gauge wire connected to the battery, and the other end of the distribution block contains 2 connectors, so you have have a seperate, dedicated power wire for each component that you are connecting. Connect the distribtion block to the 5 gauge wire. Run 2 wires, 8 guage, from the other end of the distribution block directly to the positive terminals of the 2 capacitors.

Grounding.

A good chassis ground is needed, just make sure the ground is good and the connection is tight, a good ground is imperative. Run each wire and connect them firmly to the negative post on the capacitors. Run an 8 gauge from the ground terminals of the amplifiers to the ground.

Speakers.

Make sure to maintain polarity while wiring your speakers! The positive wire is usually red, or has a discolored line running the entire length of it, while the other wire (negative) will be a solid color. Make sure you dont connect several speakers in parallel with each other. Different speakers use different ohms. Other research is required for better understanding of ohms, but for example, if you wire 2 four ohm subwoofers on the same bridged channel of an amplifier, you would actually be creating a 2 ohm load on the amp, which will damage your amp and speakers.

Final Configurations.

Try to resist the urge to tamper with on-board amplifier settings, unless you really know what your doing. Increasing the Gain or bass boost on your amps will make your system hit hard, but will likely damage your system and speakers. Usually factory settings such as the preset gain setting on my amps provide sufficient bass, and increasing an amps Gain past the rated output of your cd player, only adds distortion and adds only very little extra power to the speakers. Try to tweak the CD player settings to achieve optimal listening performance. If you use your system responsibly, you will enjoy alot of great sounding music!

You also may want to verify that the inline fuse on the main power cable is large enough. Check out the fuse ratings for your amp's, if both amps have 30w fuses, then you need to make sure that the main inline fuse is at least a 60w.

Thanks for reading my guide, and please vote for it if you find it useful in any way.