Problem with RCA voltage input for Kicker KX600.1

chodecz · Post by **chodecz** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:12 am

Hi,

I have just purchased a Kicker KX600.1 amp via eBay, still haven't recieved it but have just read over the manual and realised that the low level RCA input ports on the amp only recieve up to 5V!!

My headunit is a Pioneer Premier deh-p860mp with 6.5V RCA outputs!

The KX600.1 has high input, but not in the form of RCA. This will be worse quality???

Or should I just go ahead and plug the 6.5V RCAs into the Kicker amp?

Please some one help me out.

Justin from Detroit1 · Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:26 am

It will be fine. Your HU only gives 6.5V at very peak times. ARC Audio, some of teh best amps available, only have 2V inputs. My Eclipse HU has 8v preouts. I just don't have to turn the gain up, at all. You will be fine.

Here is exactly what the ARC Audio manual says:

"So you are worried that your 4 volt output head unit will be too much for the ARC Audio's 2.5 volt input stage.

Don't be.

ARC Audio input stage is rated to 2.5 volts @ 1 khz without clipping. Music is very dynamic, nothing like a 1 khz test tone. It would be rare see a peak as high as a test tone. Furthermore, your head unit produces its output at full volume but when you tune your system you always set the head unit to 70% of maximum volume.

Because of part tolerance, most amplifier's left and right gain may not be the same. One channel may have higher output then the other. By using this 2.5 volt input stage we eliminate this problem."

Can't guarentee the Kicker is exactly the same, but Im sure it is the same basic prinicpal.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:26 am

u will be fine just turn the gain on the amp all the way down.

Justin from Detroit1 · Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:34 am

Bwcad1 wrote:u will be fine just turn the gain on the amp all the way down.

He still might have to turn it up some. My 8v going into a 2.5v input stage just barely lets me keep the gain all of the way down. He may have to turn his up a little.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:37 am

yea your right but not much.

Robert Wollenberg · Post by **Robert Wollenberg** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:00 am

When they say 6.5v pre outs on a deck, isn't that the total voltage output? So if you have three channels going out, front, rear and sub, you divide the 6.5v by three channels for a total of about 2.2 volts per channel?

_gonz_ · Post by **_gonz_** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 2:50 am

Airforceyooper wrote:When they say 6.5v pre outs on a deck, isn't that the total voltage output? So if you have three channels going out, front, rear and sub, you divide the 6.5v by three channels for a total of about 2.2 volts per channel?

It depends, some claim combined and others claim individual. I guess it comes down to component quality.

Regardless, lets assume we've got a HU with 3x 6.5v outputs.
It's not 6.5v all the time. It's incremental with your volume.

So by setting gains low, and avoiding full cranked volume on the HU, the amp will, or really should, be absolutely fine. Hey, 6.5v might also be really optimistic and in reality, could be more like 3v... you won't know whats what till you set it up.

Worst case scenario...
If you ended up with too much voltage, resulting in a hot amp or other problems... you can get a number of devices, like line drivers or processors, which offer a variable line out. Many such components out there now. That would allow you to have 6.5v in and 4v out with a turn of a dial.

Most important thing is that as you set up this system, you keep the 6.5v in mind, and proceed more carefully because of it.