purdueskiracer Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I have heard a few recommendations to use the JBL MS-8 as an option to keep my factory head unit. Would this require getting additional amps for my sub and speakers or would I feed this through the stock Harman Kardon amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdueskiracer Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I have a 2012 Legacy with Harman Kardon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09blkL3g Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 the ms8 is for adding another system and keeping your factory HU.. your stock signal will feed into the ms8 and then from the ms8 to amps... other units like this clean sweep, rf 360, audio control has tons of units just like this..the ms8 has tons of audio options, and is really for the audio guy..if you just want better sound, upgrade your stock speakers..add a sub/amp much cheaper routes than the ms8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdueskiracer Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 If I understand correctly, the Harman Kardon system has 4 channels coming out of the head unit. The HK amp actually breaks it into the 8 speaker components and actually sends an amplified signal to the sub (not a pre-out). Is this true? If I did go the MS-8 route, how does it work with the HK amp? Would I have to get another sub amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVXdc Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 If I understand correctly, the Harman Kardon system has 4 channels coming out of the head unit. The HK amp actually breaks it into the 8 speaker components and actually sends an amplified signal to the sub (not a pre-out). Is this true? Correct (except it's 8 outputs for 7 distinct speakers). See this. If I did go the MS-8 route, how does it work with the HK amp? Would I have to get another sub amp? I don't recommend adding a processor like the MS-8 and keeping your factory amp. The h/k amp has its own processor built-in, and will wreck the improvements that your aftermarket processor is trying to add. You should plan on switching to aftermarket amp(s). You could probably get away with a 5-channel amp (or multiple amps that total 5 channels). You can run the factory tweeters from the same outputs you use for the front doors, by inserting crossovers to split the frequencies going to each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stalintc Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 The MS-8 can provide powered output which is similar, if not a little greater than the factory amp (although I forget what impedance range each requires, sorry). However, I agree with SVXdc that you should not use the ms8 with the factory amp. I would also rip out the factory speakers with the amp as they were optimized for each other and you do not have a whole lot of available performance gain left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.