possible solution for aftermarket stereo problems?

[everlast]

So, I too am at the crossroads of the aftermarket stereo that everyone else has run into. I don't want to rewire the car, the factory amp is good enough for my purposes in this car, and I really don't want to rip this car apart to do the work since it has zero squeaks right now, and won't afterwards.

I want to install an aftermarket deck connected to the factory amp. So, here is the problem..

My aftermarket line level outputs are too cold, but the speaker level coming from the deck don't work either. They are not too hot either, they're actually about the right volume. However, they distort easily. The distortion is coming from the HU since it is not seeing enough resistance to develop any power. This is especially true since the decks negative's are floating (not connected to anything.) The deck would normally see an average peak of 4 ohms, of course. ANY load will likely resolve the distortion problem I think.

I bet a lot of people's HU's do this and they assume its the crappy factory amp.

So I'd like to try to put an artificial load on the output stage by attaching a 200ohm resistor across the + / - of each speaker lead, then connect the + to the amp input.

Thoughts? 200ohms should be good? How many watts should the resistor be?

More info on a line adapter like this here:
http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/c...r_to_line.html

(In the paragraph entitled Notes on using the circuit)