Boston PRO60 SE's - active, passive, or bi-amped??

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

So I'm finally getting around to trying a set of the 2008 model Boston PRO60 SE 6.5" components. I'll be getting them installed tomorrow(2/18), and wanted to know opinions on the best way to run them from people who have experience with them.

I've got an amp that I can bridge 4 channels to put out about 220w rms a side, so I think I'm pretty good on power for them. I've been running Rainbow mids and tweets in a 2 way active setup for about a year and a half now, and while I really like the sound, I've always wondered about the PRO60 components....especially since I mostly listen to rock/hard rock.

I've enjoyed the Rainbows being run active, but I've also had a couple sets of tweets go out since I've been doing the active thing with them, so I'm kinda leaning towards either using the passive crossovers for the PRO60's, or using the passive crossovers and bi-amping them. I'm not into competing at all, I just like a loud and clear sound, and I don't want to have to worry about a mid or a tweet going out on me from the PRO60 set.

Any opinions?

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[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

I've got an amp that I can bridge 4 channels to put out about 220w rms a side

Most likely your best bet if you keep the passive. Bi-wiring the passive doesn't net you much of anything assuming your HU's DSP can attenuate the tweeters if need be.

You know the next answer with regards to running them active or not, so I don't need to say it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I don't think the fact that you killed a pair of tweeters or two running active should justify the limitations of a passive set up. You may be really unlucky or not quite have the set up and tuning thing down; either way I think your chances for future tweeter death are about the same. If anything, 220 bridged to the passive would be the most "risky" as you don't have control over that power (except for the flexibility the passive gives you.)

 

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

Most likely your best bet if you keep the passive. Bi-wiring the passive doesn't net you much of anything assuming your HU's DSP can attenuate the tweeters if need be.
You know the next answer with regards to running them active or not, so I don't need to say it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I don't think the fact that you killed a pair of tweeters or two running active should justify the limitations of a passive set up. You may be really unlucky or not quite have the set up and tuning thing down; either way I think your chances for future tweeter death are about the same. If anything, 220 bridged to the passive would be the most "risky" as you don't have control over that power (except for the flexibility the passive gives you.)

LOL Thanks for the response, man. At the moment, I'm probably gonna wuss out and use the passive crossovers for a while, see how I like them.....I'm just really gunshy about running them active - 1. I bought them off of Ebay, so if a mid or a tweet goes out, I'm fuxored.....and 2. after frying Rainbow tweets that are supposedly rated for 90w rms power handling on a 75X2 Zed built amp with the gains turned down considerably, I'm just not feelin' like taking chances on this particular Boston set.

So the Bostons run passive have a nominal power rating of 125w, and my amp does about 115wx4 for the front channels, so I think I'll just enjoy the passive music for a couple weeks, and if I get the active bug again, then so be it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

So the Bostons run passive have a nominal power rating of 125w, and my amp does about 115wx4 for the front channels, so I think I'll just enjoy the passive music for a couple weeks, and if I get the active bug again, then so be it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Sounds good to me, bro. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Do what you're comfortable with.

Tweeters are so efficient they just demand so little, so 115 rated means a lot of transient load headroom. There *should* be absolutely no gain added to the signal at all. Even looking at the gain control on a tweeter channel is a no-no in my view. And to me it doesn't matter if the tweeters are rated for 1000 watts program. There may not be a more useless rating in all car audio equipment than tweeter RMS.

My guess is that you'd need to attenuate them the full 6 dB on the passive no matter where they are mounted or how they are aimed.

 

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

You know Fox, I agree with you on the power 'requirements' of tweeters, and how little power they actually need, in theory, to sound their best. The only thing I'm a little wishy-washy on is that when I've personally turned up the gain on my tweeter amp, even just a little bit, it seems to make a world of difference in my tweeter's output dynamic......if that makes sense. Basically, it seems like if i crank the gain just a little bit more than nothing at all for my tweeters, it seems like the tweeters reproduce a much more detailed, and 'lively' sound, as opposed to having the gain adjustment virtually all the way down to where it can't be turned any lower.

If this is the case to make sure that the tweeters aren't fried from receiving too much power/gain/signal from the amp, would the parametric EQ supposedly come more into play (my HU has a 5 band parametric EQ built in) when it comes to adjusting the overall frequencies of the tweeters with ther gain being turned down to the point of being a non-factor?

Thanks again for your insight. It's VERY tempting to run these PRO60's active, but I'd honestly be PISSED beyond reason if I happened to fry one or both of the tweeters because I had the gain up too high on them(and because they sounded more 'dynamic' with the gain hiked up a couple notches). As I said, this set came to me with the serial numbers neatly cut out, so with that in mind, I need to be a little more careful with how I set them up, as there is no warranty at all.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

I see. A neat lesson in gain setting is to play a 0db tone and watch the speaker output voltage as you slowly raise the gain. Sometimes you can get to a full 1/4 turn and not actually add any gain at all. Other times, the amp will jump a ton with very very little turn. Depends on the linearity of the pot and if they're tried and true with each other.

And for the record, I'm DEFINITELY NOT recommending the "DMM gain setting" method it's stupid and worthless. But I recommend to anyone to level match channels as close as possible (.1v) to know where you're starting from.

 

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

I gotchya. Up to this point, I've chosen to do my tuning/level matching by ear, and with the exception of the last month or so, it's usually given me great results. My tweeter amp is a USA 2075....here's a pic of the side with the gain and frequency adjustments

When I level match by ear, most tweeters I try out usually end up being adjusted on the gain to right about at the '9 o'clock' position(the position it's set to in this pic is not accurate, it's just to show as an example of what amp I've got). The only one that's survived the duration, ironically enough, has been the Rainbow CAL25 titan. I had CAL27's on the same exact settings across the board, and they just kept crapping out on me on the driver's side. The CAL27's, as you prtobably know, Fox, are typically rated to handle a greater amout of power and and just have more general output overall vs the CAL25 titan, but in my setup, the CAL27's just don't hold up. The driver's side tweeter never went out on me, it was always the passenger side.......weird stuff.

 

[linksyz 10+ year member]

Sorry for the thread hijack... but I am actually in the same boat but with Focal 165 K2P speakers... I'm trying to decide if I should run them active or passive... I never ran active and especially after reading this original poster's first post... I am a bit afraid to run active... I have no warranty on my speakers either.

I know few guys that give 300 watts per side in passive to K2Ps and I am wondering how much I should give them... I'll be running them off of Alpine PDX 4.150 which can be bridged to 300x2@4ohms

 

[wu501 10+ year member]

I ran the same bostons with 150 watts per side for months and they handled it no problem. If you are going to bi-amp them then you might as well just go fully active imo.

 

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

I ran the same bostons with 150 watts per side for months and they handled it no problem. If you are going to bi-amp them then you might as well just go fully active imo.

Was that 150 with the passive crossovers?

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

And for the record, I'm DEFINITELY NOT recommending the "DMM gain setting" method it's stupid and worthless. But I recommend to anyone to level match channels as close as possible (.1v) to know where you're starting from.

oh no you didn't girl!

 

[Cmonster 10+ year member]

I'm running the Pro 60's with almost 200 watts off a bridged Arc Audio 4100 with the passive crossovers. The gains are turned all the way down however. I've never had an issue with them. I'm running almost 400 watts to the BA Z6's with the passive crossovers and they haven't flinched either. Both sets seem to love power. Gains all the way down on both.

 

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

I'm running the Pro 60's with almost 200 watts off a bridged Arc Audio 4100 with the passive crossovers. The gains are turned all the way down however. I've never had an issue with them. I'm running almost 400 watts to the BA Z6's with the passive crossovers and they haven't flinched either. Both sets seem to love power. Gains all the way down on both.

Thanks for the contribution, man. Where are you at in CA? Are you anywhere near Orange County? I'd like to hear your setup sometime.

 

[redcalimp5 10+ year member]

I actually got my PRO60 set fully installed today. I ended up just running them off of about 110X2 for power, and I chose to use the passive crossovers running the bi-amp confirguration. I've only listened to them for a couple hours, but so far, I've got no regrets. This set is hella detailed, and even though I'm taking it easy on the volume knob for a day or two to give the mids a little time to loosen up, I can already tell that at full volume they'll scream nicely for me. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/12-volt-events/54799-iasca-saturday-march-7th-2009-a.html

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