Today, I met with a DLS dealer and asked him to quote on the following:

DLS CA41 amp (4 channel with both high and low level inputs)
DLS UP6 speakers for the front doors
DLS 126 speakers for the rear doors
Installation cost and turnaround time
I will be using the factory non-Bose HU

His response was that he wanted to use a Soundgate LOC located near the HU because he was worried about sound degradation and electrical whine/noises if we just run speaker line from the HU to the trunk where the amp's high level inputs reside. He said using a LOC and RCA's was better.

Is this sound advice? Does anyone out there have a similar setup without the extra LOC?

 

If you have a non-Bose HU, and there is no external amp, then the deck doesn't have low-level preouts.

I ONLY use the internal LOCs for bass amps. For mid and high amps you do get better results with an external LOC. The SOundgates are good (I like the LOCHVA, but I hear the LOC4.2 is good).

I would probably do it the way he's describing.

 

W/ the slash JL amps, would you recommend using a LOC for the front comps eventhough the amp accepts the HU inputs?

 

I've never tried it.

 

By the way, there is no 126 DLS speaker. There is a 226 and a 426. We put 426s in a sedan last Saturday. You can get very good midbass out of these if you mod the OEM speaker spacers and use foam tape on the front of the frame.

 

I will defer to el_d on this, but why wouldn't you run the high level signal to the trunk and THEN attach the LOC? From my understanding high level signals by their very nature are more immune to interference/noise.

 

Well, that's how I would do it too.

Not sure why Soundgate sometimes tells people this, but I think they usually say this about Bose decks and their preamp out.

And Milo makes a good point, I'd put in in the trunk too.

Maybe he just wants the RCAs in place for when you get the double DIN kit and upgrade : )