critique and advise my SQ setup for Rx7

[mslam02 10+ year member]

If I guess correctly' date=' I believe OP wants a nice sounding system without having to do alot of fab work, and go overboard on his vehicle. I wouldn't think going active and dedicated mids would be needed for him to achieve successful full frequency response. It will be quite possible to sound just fine running passive x-overs and letting the ID8 pick up where the C5's drop off.
OP, correct me if I am wrong. But from what I've gathered, this is more of a daily tunes car than a car that will be audibly tweaked to perfection.[/quote']

Yes, you nailed it. Thank you for pointing that out.

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

Yes, you nailed it. Thank you for pointing that out.

Haha not a problem. SQ means different things to different people. Having expensive processors and running tweet, midrange, midbass, sub can sound phenomenal if installed/tuned correctly. But to me, it'd be over the top for this.

For a SIMPLE good quality, enjoyable listening experience, you are just fine. I will add that deadening and sealing your doors will offer aid in hitting some of the mid to low frequencies with the C5's if you find them lacking.

As far as amps are concerned. You can run this just fine using the 300/4. Though as people were saying earlier, headroom is a good thing to have. So maybe running the 300/4 to bi-amp the C5's and a small mono to the sub could be nice. Though not essential.

If money is a concern the MB Quart DSC line off 4 channels offers a variety of power selections for a lesser price tag. It would allow you to have still only 1 amp, but have significantly more power to play with. However, the JL Slash amps do make my ears smile. I have the 300/2 in my ride for that reason.

 

[RLJ676 10+ year member]

That all seems way more involved than i want to go...
and to RLJ676, here is the exerpt in the 300/4 manual for what i'm talking about...

"Even though you may have installed zillions of amps in your day, please take the time to read this section! The 300/4v2 is not a typical amplifier and care must be taken to balance the front and rear channel speaker impedances for optimum output from all four channels.

The 300/4v2 employs JL Audio’s exclusive Regulated, Intelligent Power Supply (R.I.P.S.)

design. This sophisticated power supply allows the amplifier to produce its optimum power (300 watts) over a wide range of speaker impedances. unlike conventional amplifiers that require a specific impedance to produce optimum power, the R.I.P.S.-equipped 300/4v2 gives you the

freedom to use a variety of speaker configurations that achieve final impedances between 1.5 – 4 ohms nominal per channel (without sacrificing power output or sound quality).

The operation of the R.I.P.S. circuitry is entirely automatic and adjusts itself every time the amplifier is turned on according to the lowest impedance present at either front or rear channels. There are no user controls to configure. The system operates through three stages of impedance optimization, choosing the stage most appropriate to the actual impedance of the speakers connected to it.

Because the 300/4v2 utilizes a single power supply, it will set itself up based on the lowest impedance present at either the front or rear amplifier channels. For example, if you connect a 2 ohm load to each front channel and a 4 ohm load to each rear channel, the amplifier will adjust itself to deliver 75 watts x 2 to the front 2 ohm loads, but will only deliver half its optimum power (37.5 watts x 2) to the rear 4 ohm loads. If you connect a 4 ohm load to all four channels or a 2 ohm load to all four channels, the amplifier will deliver 75 watts x 4. See, we told you this amp was different... Read on, there is more important information to follow."

Well that makes it even worse to me, how on earth is that a feature? I'll read up on my non v2 now as I'm curious if it's the same. I know it runs the same power at 2 and 4 ohms which I dislike enough.

So, you're right and you want all 2 or 4 ohms..... I'd still just buy a different amp (unless you already have it, got it used, great deal, etc) that is much more flexible, and actually gets you increased power at lower resistance or bridged.

 

[RLJ676 10+ year member]

Yes, you nailed it. Thank you for pointing that out.

You put a small block chevy in an Rx7 and don't want to do any fab or get crazy? I figured you would be the type to go all out looking at the car haha.

 

[mslam02 10+ year member]

hahaha, while fabbing would be fun, I was never one to like to cut into an interior, i like it to stay oem as possible. Also, I try to put a cap on the amount of cash dumped into one car, lol.

And yeah, i already have the amp, so i'll just stick with it for now...

 

[RLJ676 10+ year member]

hahaha, while fabbing would be fun, I was never one to like to cut into an interior, i like it to stay oem as possible. Also, I try to put a cap on the amount of cash dumped into one car, lol.
And yeah, i already have the amp, so i'll just stick with it for now...

Man do I know that feeling. I've got too many things/too little money. Just in stereos alone it's crazy trying to have what you want in the car/truck/boat/living room/bedroom!

As everyone's said, the JL's a great amp, just dissapointingly lacks flexibility/efficiency. Mine got my boat fairly loud and sounded pretty good, and that's a terrible open air environment, IB sub, etc.

 

[mslam02 10+ year member]

Agreed, i use my fathers boat like its my own and would love to put a system in it, but its old and falling apart lol.

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

He's using the 2 unused chan's from the 300/4 bridged.

i dont think thats best...he should get something dedicated for low pass...didnt think u could bridge an amp that is already pushing speakers.......but maybe a 500/1 for the subs if u want to go the jl route....

 

[mslam02 10+ year member]

i dont think thats best...he should get something dedicated for low pass...didnt think u could bridge an amp that is already pushing speakers.......

can someone shine some more light on this backed up with some facts?

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

i dont think thats best...he should get something dedicated for low pass...didnt think u could bridge an amp that is already pushing speakers.......but maybe a 500/1 for the subs if u want to go the jl route....

300/4 has a lpf

if he's fine w/ 150w for the sub, then nothing is wrong w/ that configuration.

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

300/4 has a lpf
if he's fine w/ 150w for the sub, then nothing is wrong w/ that configuration.

oh shit i forgot it had an lpf....but ya if he is ok with 150 then go for it

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

It'll work just fine. Not too much power to the sub, but you can always add a dedicated amp to it later if you find you need it. Since you already have it, may as well try it unless you want to try and return it. Up to you. But a solid amp overall.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

a amp that only puts out power at 1ohm is LESS flexible than one that can put out power at any impedence. 1000 watts is alot of power for a daily driver and as much or more than most drivers need and pushing what most electrical systems will easily support. Not having to run a low impedence load and knowing whatever driver you want to hook up will have adequate power is nice. I've ran a sundown 1500d and a arc 1500xxk, which uses a system similar to rips (like an extra 100 watts if you drop impedence) and it's pretty convenient to be able to use a 2 or 4ohm load.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

If I guess correctly' date=' I believe OP wants a nice sounding system without having to do alot of fab work, and go overboard on his vehicle. I wouldn't think going active and dedicated mids would be needed for him to achieve successful full frequency response. It will be quite possible to sound just fine running passive x-overs and letting the ID8 pick up where the C5's drop off.[/quote']That would work fine, and was one of my 3 suggestions. But I think if he chooses this option, he'll find he can HP the mids for the passive 2-ways by using the xover on the amp. It would help the midrange response a lot if the mid woofer wasn't trying to reproduce 80hz.

Mounting dedicated midbass drivers in the doors means doing a serious sound deadening job on the doors. Dont forget that step OP.

The main fab work I see if the kick panels and the enclosure. If the OP looks around, he can probably find members here willing to make either or both for a reasonable fee. Buying Q-Forms and then modifying them to reasonable sealed and stiffened enclosures is also an option for a relatively easy kickpanel job.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

a amp that only puts out power at 1ohm is LESS flexible than one that can put out power at any impedence. 1000 watts is alot of power for a daily driver and as much or more than most drivers need and pushing what most electrical systems will easily support. Not having to run a low impedence load and knowing whatever driver you want to hook up will have adequate power is nice. I've ran a sundown 1500d and a arc 1500xxk, which uses a system similar to rips (like an extra 100 watts if you drop impedence) and it's pretty convenient to be able to use a 2 or 4ohm load.

You beat me to it. I dont know why someone would consider the slash series design to be less flexible than standard topologies. The advantage to rips is flexibility and sound quality. The main disadvantage is efficiency due to reasons similar to a class A amplifier's low efficiency.