Wiring Sub Amp to Monsoon Stereo?

jamgood96

Active member
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Location
Oregon
TDI
'03 Golf GLS
I'm curious, what would be involved in wiring a sub amp up to the monsoon stereo? I have an '03 Golf. Is there a sub output on the backside of the stereo? Thanks!
 

madrean

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Location
Victoria, TX
TDI
02 Golf
i used a piggy back dealio thing that basically splices into the speaker wires coming off the amp in the trunk. it has RCA outputs that run to your sub amb.

for the power, i drilled a hole in the fire-wall (just kinda eyeballed it and prayed). worked out ok. (put a grommet around it).

attached a wire connector to the wire so that i could tap directly on the battery terminal.


for the remote power, i found a fuse that is always "on" whenever the car is on and basically attached the remote wire to one of the legs. then, i ran it under the trim and into the back of the car.

for the ground, i found a nut somewhere in the back by the amp and attached the wire to it.

but to answer your question, i don't know if there is a specific sub output.

unless your amp has a built-in crossover, you'll need one before your amp since i don't think the monsoon has one.

enjoy.

drink some red wine, too. or a homebrew.
 

vwcampin

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Location
Omaha
TDI
2002 GLS TDI Auto
Go over to VWVortex and do a search. There are quite a few write ups over there regarding this. From memory, I do not believe there is an output on the stock head unit
 

fishmando

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Location
Burlington, VT
TDI
2003 Jetta 5 spd
You would be MUCH better off with a new head unit IMHO... It would make the Monsoon speakers sound pretty decent... Then if you want to add a sub, it would be super easy!
 

jamgood96

Active member
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Location
Oregon
TDI
'03 Golf GLS
fishmando said:
You would be MUCH better off with a new head unit IMHO... It would make the Monsoon speakers sound pretty decent... Then if you want to add a sub, it would be super easy!
you're probably right, but i don't want to spend that much money just so I can wire in one sub. plus, it would look awful having a different colored headunit with the blue and red gauge cluster lighting. i'll think about putting a new HU in if i'm not happy how it sounds with the factory one.
 

fishmando

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Location
Burlington, VT
TDI
2003 Jetta 5 spd
I have a sony head unit which has a blue display. It looks great and sounds SOOOOOOOO much better than the stock double din monsoon... Then I added my 10" in a sealed box and 800watt amp and now it sounds really good.

I really recommend getting a new head unit as your first stereo upgrade.
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
I have an 05 Golf. Stereo shop has a box that you tap to a speaker wire. It uses this to convert to line level (RCA's) for your amp AND to turn the amp on. When it sees a signal to the speaker it supplies a +12 signal to you amp. In my car the sub works when ever the radio is on, whether I have the key in the ign or not.

Other thing, there are several unused holes in the "firewall". Just dig around up under the padding a bit. Or you could just get power from the relay panel (5 studs with cables on the bottom) the big red cables and "30" are battery power. This should work fine unless you are going big thumpin'
 

mtltdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2003
Location
Canada
TDI
2003 Golf GLS, Indigo Blue
I would definitely recommend going straight to the battery for the safest installation. Also, if you put in LOC's I recommend putting them near the HU so that if you change your radio for an aftermarket, the RCA's will already be run to the front of the car.
 

jamgood96

Active member
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Location
Oregon
TDI
'03 Golf GLS
fishmando said:
I have a sony head unit which has a blue display. It looks great and sounds SOOOOOOOO much better than the stock double din monsoon... Then I added my 10" in a sealed box and 800watt amp and now it sounds really good.

I really recommend getting a new head unit as your first stereo upgrade.
What sony HU are you running?
 
Top