Bi-ampable Focal crossover confusion

[Chaplin G]

Hello!

I am putting a system together and have been researching like crazy but I can't find two definitive answers to this, even checking the manual AND contacting Focal USA support (no reply after 3 days). I did get an answer from Crutchfield but that's one random person and I want to ensure he's correct or if I need to buy something else before starting my build

For the front stage I bought the Focal components PS165FX. It has weird (to me) crossover boxes. Bi-ampable. But... for now... I'm not going to bi-amp them, just use them with my new 5-channel Alpine PDX-V9. (rear seats Focal coaxials, and 2 10" Pioneer shallow subs)

Since it's bi-ampable there are FOUR inputs. I'm told if you take the jumpers out then it becomes bi-ampable. Since I'm not doing that, how do I use them with the one amp? The inputs are: W-, W+, T-, T+. Do I just leave the jumpers in, plug my front stage speaker wires into W-/+, and ignore the Tweeter -/+ inputs? Then from the outputs, just connect to tweets and my Focals as usual?

Thanks in advance, any advice greatly appreciated. If it matters I'm also using a Clarion 7 band EQ

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[blazian87 10+ year member]

Yeah Bi-ampable just means you need 4 channels instead of 2 to run the component set. You can run it either way. It would be better for imaging if you ditch the rear speakers and just use the 4 channels solely for comp set. It's almost the same exact thing except you get to adjust the mids and tweeter separately through the amp. I'm pretty sure the jumpers are for different crossover tunes, not for the bi-ampable feature. Read the manual, it will tell you. You need to use both T and W in order for the set to work. If I were you, I would get rid of the Clarion EQ as it's very obsolete now. Get a proper DSP and tune your system like a pro.

 

[Chaplin G]

Yeah Bi-ampable just means you need 4 channels instead of 2 to run the component set. You can run it either way. It would be better for imaging if you ditch the rear speakers and just use the 4 channels solely for comp set. It's almost the same exact thing except you get to adjust the mids and tweeter separately through the amp. I'm pretty sure the jumpers are for different crossover tunes, not for the bi-ampable feature. Read the manual, it will tell you. You need to use both T and W in order for the set to work. If I were you, I would get rid of the Clarion EQ as it's very obsolete now. Get a proper DSP and tune your system like a pro.

Thanks for the reply. in an F150 Crew Cab you think it'd sound full enough with no back speakers being run? I'll have to experiment.

The manual is amazingly vague, I did read that even before the speakers got here. I did hear back from Focal finally, as well as a quick chat with Crutchfield. They just said keep the jumpers in, input only to W+/W-, then output as normal to speakers and tweeters.

I'm kind of spent after getting all Focals / Alpine PDX V9 / subs otherwise I would LOVE to add a proper DSP to the list. Already spent thousands for what I just got. The Clarion has a full 5 star rating on Amazon and was only 100 bucks so I figured I'd give it a try since so many swear by it and I have no EQ other than what's in my head unit which I'm told is vastly inferior to the Clarion. I can always return it if I'm not impressed. But yeah compared to a good DSP with built in EQ I realize it's vastly inferior.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Thanks for the reply. in an F150 Crew Cab you think it'd sound full enough with no back speakers being run? I'll have to experiment.

The manual is amazingly vague, I did read that even before the speakers got here. I did hear back from Focal finally, as well as a quick chat with Crutchfield. They just said keep the jumpers in, input only to W+/W-, then output as normal to speakers and tweeters.

I'm kind of spent after getting all Focals / Alpine PDX V9 / subs otherwise I would LOVE to add a proper DSP to the list. Already spent thousands for what I just got. The Clarion has a full 5 star rating on Amazon and was only 100 bucks so I figured I'd give it a try since so many swear by it and I have no EQ other than what's in my head unit which I'm told is vastly inferior to the Clarion. I can always return it if I'm not impressed. But yeah compared to a good DSP with built in EQ I realize it's vastly inferior.

Do you not understand how obsolete a 7 band graphic eq is? People used to rave about that Clarion like baaack in the day... I admit I used to be one of those people. Made sense to put it in old classic cars with a crappy headunit. Any modern headunit already does more than that Clarion does. What I don't understand is why spend thousands on nice equipment when you have a crappy signal to begin with? That's the night and day difference that you will notice even if you don't change anything else. You need to check out the new Dayton DSP that just came out not long ago. It's only $150 and it's been selling like hotcakes.

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Only a few years ago, it was almost impossible to attain any decent DSP without spending over $400 minimum. Dayton made the perfect solution of having all the perks without the huge price tag. It comes with a 10 band parametric eq per channel! Do you know what you can do with that?! and it comes with practically all the same features the high end DSP's have.

Now about the front speakers being loud enough for the whole cabin.. You can certainly make it loud enough; that will depend on if you have adequate amp power and whether or not you're using a high quality signal. Also, just by going fully active, it can really help make your whole sound stage louder and clearer.