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Im thinking of buying a Pioneer AVIC-D1...it outputs 2V for all front, rear, and sub outputs...

I was thinking of purchasing the Phoenix Gold TLD66 (three outputs at 8v)

question is....it is worth it. Right now my Pioneer deh-p8500 puts out 4V to all 3 outputs...would I notice the difference dropping down from what I have now (4V) to 2V with the AVIC-D1...

if there is a noticable difference than the line driver would be a good thing to pick up right???

also, does it matter where I mount the line driver...I think its Megahurtz that has/had his mounted right by his amps...if one location is better than the other would it be by the deck or by the amps???

thanx in advance!

 
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What's the max input V for your amps? You don't want to go over that...

 
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I just did some reading around ('cause I'm in the same boat) and the best answer I've read is to skip the line driver, forget the 1v vs 2v vs 4v debate and invest in some good shielded RCA cables if your concern is EMI.

 
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I say get a line driver. Yes I have the TLD66 mounted in my trunk. It would be better off being up front close to your deck. The reason being is that the idea behind a line driver is to increase your signal strength, so you can set your gains lower and not amplify any signal noise. If you put the line driver up front, it boosts the signal BEFORE any noise gets induced in the signal. If you put it in the trunk and boost the signal, it will also amplify any line noise introduced in the path from the front of your car to the back, making the line driver kind of a moot point. So my install isn't perfect, but these considerations weren't really made at the time, and I don't have room in the front of my car anyway to put it. Besides that, my line driver isn't even being used, as my deck has 8v preouts and my amps are rated for 4v of signal, so the gains are turned down on the line driver and it just stays in the trunk for cosmetic purposes. Also, my system is noise free anyway . The original purpose that I had a line driver was for SPL. I used to use it to get a precise signal voltage, without having to touch anything on my deck.

As far as not going over the max rated input voltage on your amps, don't worry about it. As long as your signal is clean you can feed it all kinds of voltage without having any problems. As I said, my deck hs 8v preouts (which I've tested to be true) and my amps are rated for 4v. I have run into zero problems. No clipping, no nothing. BUT, my signal is good and I can get away with it. If you have a dirty signal, then you are FAR more likely to have problems.

People will have different opinions on line drivers, some will say skip them and just make sure your signal is clean and then you can just turn up the gains and you don't have to worry about noise/distortion. Personally I say get the line driver and keep your gains down, and you wont have to worry as much about having a bit of noise in your signal. Putting the line driver up at the front and giving yourself a lot of signal, and having a bit of noise induced during the run of the wire won't really matter, as the gain will be down and the noise will be amplified, so you can get away with having a bit of noise and you won't notice it. It's far less work for an equal result IMO.