How do I add another set of speakers to my car?

Alternative Car Amplifier set ups?

• I have a 2007 chevy cobalt and want to add just power to the speakers. Looking into getting two new speakers with a high wattage & a decent amplifier wattage but the amp is going to be going into a stock head unit that has no RCA hook up. I have heard about the line-out converter but I wanted an alternative way if I can. I was hoping to attach the head unit speaker wires directly to the amp then to the car speakers? I think that would work but not certain. If that won't work, can anyone describe in more detail how the line-out converter works? Second question, if I hook the amp's power line (the one that starts it up when it receives a current) to the cigarette lighter, do I need a fuse? What kind of fuse do I need and how would I set that up? Just directly wire the amp's wire onto the wire or? Thanks in advance.

• Answer:

  LOC would be the standard method. You can look for an amp with high level inputs, but the work involved is about the same. With the LOC you will have to tap into a pair of existing stock speaker wires. Typically the rear speaker wires are used because they're the most accessible. The LOC will have a pair (or 4 if it's a 4 ch) of rca outputs that will be connected to the amp. An amp with high level inputs still taps into existing stock speaker wires, but instead of converting to rca level you'll just run the spliced wires directly to the amp. As for your remote turn on lead -- the current required to trigger the amp's turn on circuit is very low so you can fuse that wire for 1 amp. You can use a very light awg wire - 18 awg is more than enough.