Hey all. I'm a complete newbie at this car stereo malarky, and need a little help.

Bought a new headunit earlier in the week! I got an Empeg Mk2a - its a geeky toy which runs Linux and plays MP3s from up to two laptop drives inside it. Its got a little networking socket on the back so when you pull it out and take it home, you can upload your music over the network. Love it.

I think Bagpuss has one too.

Anyway, this thing doesn't have an amp built-in, so its not quite just a case of plugging it in. I'm on the lookout for a reasonable (cheap, but not poo) 4x40W or so amp to drive my standard speakers. If I end up getting something more powerful, as long as I have the gain set correctly it should still be fine, right? Don't want to accidentally blow the speakers out of the doors, and my setup doesn't have to be louder than the standard Skoda Symphony I have right now.

Once I do have an amp, I need to put it somewhere. I want to keep the standard speaker wiring in place so I can drop the Symphony back in if/when I sell the car. I haven't really taken any parts of the car apart, so I'm not sure whether there are any useful voids in there. Is there any space under the glovebox or behind the dash somewhere? Under the passenger seat sounds like a reasonable idea - does anyone have an amp there, and was it easy to wire up? Any good grounding points down there? Does anyone think the boot is a better idea? How have people routed their wiring, and how/where is it mounted?

Finally, I think I need an aerial amplifier for the tuner module on the Empeg to connect to before the aerial. Is this right (I have an 03 Fabia)? Anyone with any suggestions on where I can get one, and any part numbers that are recommended?

Sorry for the long post! Really need a bit of advice here. I'm going to try and collect all the adapters, cables, amp, and bits of trim over the next week so hopefully it can be in at the weekend.

TIA!

Is there a howto on Amp wiring/mounting here that I haven't seen?

Hey all. I'm a complete newbie at this car stereo malarky' date=' and need a little help.

Bought a new headunit earlier in the week! I got an Empeg Mk2a - its a geeky toy which runs Linux and plays MP3s from up to two laptop drives inside it. Its got a little networking socket on the back so when you pull it out and take it home, you can upload your music over the network. Love it.

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Looks like a nice toy

Anyway' date=' this thing doesn't have an amp built-in, so its not quite just a case of plugging it in. I'm on the lookout for a reasonable (cheap, but not poo) 4x40W or so amp to drive my standard speakers.

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Ok , how about something like this

http://www.bassjunkies.com/index.php?cpage=product/browse_detail.php&area=shop&category_id=88&sub_category_id=20&manufacturer_id=404&product_id=30682&show_my_car=&return_link=%2Findex.php%3FP%3Dpbb%26A%3Dshop%26cid%3D88%26scid%3D20%26mode%3Dall&source=brand

It's a 5 channel amp so it will run all four speakers and let you add a subwoofer at a later date if you want to.

If I end up getting something more powerful' date=' as long as I have the gain set correctly it should still be fine, right? Don't want to accidentally blow the speakers out of the doors, and my setup doesn't have to be louder than the standard Skoda Symphony I have right now.

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Yes , just turn the gain down so that it doesn't over drive the speakers.

Once I do have an amp' date=' I need to put it somewhere. I want to keep the standard speaker wiring in place so I can drop the Symphony back in if/when I sell the car. I haven't really taken any parts of the car apart, so I'm not sure whether there are any useful voids in there. Is there any space under the glovebox or behind the dash somewhere? Under the passenger seat sounds like a reasonable idea - does anyone have an amp there, and was it easy to wire up? Any good grounding points down there? Does anyone think the boot is a better idea? How have people routed their wiring, and how/where is it mounted?

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You need decent ventilation for an amp , and there isn't much room under the dash of a furby anyway.

Personally I'd stick it to the back of the seat in the boot.

The back speakers will then be a doddle to connect.

The front ones will be a bit harder but you can take off the trim along side the doors to run cables

.

Finally' date=' I think I need an aerial amplifier for the tuner module on the Empeg to connect to before the aerial. Is this right (I have an 03 Fabia)?

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Yes , any car audio shop will sell you one for about a tenner.

Yes , any car audio shop will sell you one for about a tenner.

We're expecting some (www.KissmyICE.co.uk) of these in this week and will do you a nice Briskoda member discount

Though unfortunately until they arrive I can't guarantee you'll have it by the weekend :(

Will chase supplier tomorrow to see if I can get any further news from him.