Hooking Subwoofers up to my stock CD player?

Question

Is it worth it to hook a my subwoofers up to my stock CD player in my cobalt? or will i end up spending just as much money as it would cost to put a new deck in?. i wouldnt be able to put the deck in myself and i would have to have someone hook it up to my stock deck. i have never dealt wtih this so any opinions?

if i did have it hooked up to my Stock how expensive would it be?

Answer 1

Make sure you have a top quality line out converter TO BE SURE you get the best bass quality from your subs.  It can really suck if you don't.  

Also, what subs you thinking about?  How much bass?  I'd recommend the Inifinity Basslink or Basslink II if you don't want anything "too serious".  Already powered with 200-250 amp, really packs a punch, ability to control bass volume via a wired remote, and hooks up easily to stock OR aftermarket decks.  Made for guys like you.

Answer 2

Just to be clear, you'll need an amplifier to play your subs, regardless of whether you have a stock CD player or an after-market one.

If you have the amplifier, then it's far less costly to connect it to the stock CD player than it would be to replace the CD player.  All you need is a device called a line-out converter.  This connects to the factory speaker wiring and provides a low-level RCA output that can be connected to the amplifier's input.  A decent line-out converter shouldn't cost much more than $20-$30.   The subwoofer sound quality should be similar to what you'd get with an after-market deck, but you won't have the subwoofer volume control that is a feature of many after-market CD players.

If you're happy with the factory CD player in your Cobalt, there's no reason why you'd need to replace it just to add a subwoofer to the system.  I've installed literally hundreds of subwoofers into vehicles with stock radios; in most cases you can't tell the difference in sound quality between stock and after-market decks (as far as the subs are concerned).

Answer 3

as far as running subs on a stock deck

cost 20 to 40 plus install for a line level convertor

but in all reality ive never reccomended this because it almost always sounds like c**p   get a deck installed and that is it...