diy active- amp help!

[fearthisskyy 10+ year member]

just bought a Pioneer Premier 880prs last night to run processing for the DIY active stage I planned on installing.

(the Peerless Exclusive 7" and Seas Neo textile tweet)

Now can I just get one 2-channel amp for the Exclusives and run the Seas Neo of the HU amp power and still go active? I believe HU puts out 22wrms x 4

OR should I just get a 4-channel amp like a Alpine PDX-4.150 instead and turn the gains down A LOT for the tweets?

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[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Get either a 4 channel amp or 2 2-channel amps. Don't even consider running anything off the HU.

 

[fearthisskyy 10+ year member]

alright that's enough to convince me... can i turn down the gains on a pdx-4.150 for the tweets so that they won't blow? or would it still give too much power

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Yes, you can turn don the gains.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

I've wondered about this as well.. Typically folks run 4-channels for active 2-way components, however, you only need a fraction of the power for tweets that your mids would require.. Makes me think a reasonably sized 2 channel for tweets and a larger 2-channel for mids would be appropriate also.

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

That's the route I chose.

Kicker KX200.2 for highs

Kicker KX650.4 for mids/midbass

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

The problem with using the h/u to power the tweeters is clipping from the headunit signal. Also, THD is typically a good deal higher on a h/u's amp.

Amp gains can be set to where the is nearly no output at a speaker, so yes, you can power a speaker with low power ratings from a high powered amp by adjusting the gain accordingly.

Just be careful when you power up the tweeters and make sure you have the x-over set correctly. If you don't, and the x-over is off, or too low, you'll blow the tweeter in an instant.

 

[fearthisskyy 10+ year member]

thanks i'm just waiting for funds so i can purchase it, i decided to go with the 450/4

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

Just be careful when you power up the tweeters and make sure you have the x-over set correctly. If you don't, and the x-over is off, or too low, you'll blow the tweeter in an instant.

... The thing I fear about going active. MUST verify your tweeter signals are ONLY sending the intended high freq's.

It even made me think of going passive/active... Using biampable components where the crossover allowed separate signals for mids and tweets such as the QSD 216 Quarts (I think).. Still allowing separate time alignment for each driver, but essentially running passive for tweeter safety.

Although if a guy checks and double checks and makes sure of his signal, he should be able to run solely active if he dots his i's and crosses his t's competently as to what he's sending to tweeters...

I would also imagine or hope head units that'll do active (880, 9887, 7100, etc) would have some sort of safety (hard setting) that keeps them in "network" or "3-way" mode.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

lol, I remember i reset the settings on my HU once, and had my mids/tweets both running full range. It sounded so weird, i kept checking the settings, finally when I went to the X-over menu I was like "Oh Sh!t!!!" I was just lucky I was running very low power to them or else I would've fried them both.

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

^ That's the best thing to do. Before you do the install, make sure that your headunit volume is at 0 so that when you power back up, you wont accidentally get music blasting and blow your speaker. Actually, you should always turn your headunit down low when you turn off your car anyway for that reason, but especially when you're doing an install.

The h701 processor tweeter's setting (if I remember correctly) only allows the tweeter to go to 1000hz...this may or may not save your butt, but it's better than 200hz, lol.

As long as you turn the volume down, and are careful when making your settings everything is good.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

(the Peerless Exclusive 7" and Seas Neo textile tweet)

I'm considering that very same setup.. I'd like to hear your impressions once you get it setup.

 

[Ga foo 88]

Seems to me it would have made a lot more sense to go with an 8 ohm tweeter and a 4ohm mid, if was going to run a 4 channel. Id go with a large 2 channel, then a smaller one for the tweeter.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

That PDX will work nicely.

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

I like 4 channels because you can compensate for inequalities in the channels.

(bridge with a gain for each bridged channel)