this would be especially true if you ran balanced cables from the headunit all the way to the amp (~10ft) that would be a really expensive cable since balanced ones seem to come in short lengths.


i tried a ground look iso, and it didn't help. i'm not a big fan of that since you should really solve your grounding problem by using a proper ground (and solving your ground loop problem) instead of using a band-aid.

PJK3, i've heard good things about adcom, it really is a shame they don't make car amps anymore (well not that big, since they were so expensive). Oh and fyi, i've read that the current kicker kx amps are still a little under-rated, the 400 one (100X4) seems to test out in the 500 range (4X125). which explains why they give up about 5 inches to similiarly (published) rated amps.

 

actually - while the cables aren't too expensive and neither are the adapters, the real killer for price would be the quantity of cables and adapters required (you'd need 4 for a 4 channel amp, and 1 for a sub amp, plus an RCA to XLR or XLR to RCA adapter on each end - so 10 adapters). and if you were looking for longer length balanced cables - try mic cables. they aren't horribly expensive, they are shielded, balanced, and come in just about any length you can imagine. you'd probably be able to easily find them at a local music/instrument store.

i just googled up this site and these items to give you some pricing ideas - i've no clue as to reputation of the vendor, etc.
20' balanced XLR cable
femal XLR to female RCA adapter
male XLR to female RCA adapter

just as an fyi - i've never tried doing this personally in a vehicle, so i'm mostly just shooting from the hip based upon what i've done in other arenas. if you're serious about doing this, i'll get some gear together and run a test to see how well XLR mic cable will carry a pre-amp signal over 20', before you buy anything. either that, or keep your receipt. it SHOULD work... lol.

yeah, i love my Adcom amp... i purchased it via a super good deal... it's got a super sweet sound and in the manual it states it to be stable down to .5 ohm loads. i really don't use it to it's full extent.

thanks for the info on the KX series... even if they aren't mono-stable below 4 ohms, it's good to hear that at least they are under rated.

btw, while i was checking on some cabling things for you, i just happened to see Crutchfield closing out a bunch of Kicker ZX-460 amps for $199 - they are rated at 4 x 30watt, but could probably be expected to do a little better (given Kicker's apparent tendancy to under-rate their stuff)

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PJK3
thanks for the info on the KX series...

 

I notice a slight whine since the amp install but it is only noticeable with the AC compressor on. Sounds like a small supercharger.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MacGyver
[B]The problem with these filters is they either lower the gain of the entire band (not likely), or worse, notch out and lower the gain on a PORTION of the band.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mgiang7
[B]

thanks for the tips. i was only larking on the balanced input thing

thanks for the line on the kicker amp.