First time hooking up components and need help!

[johnnyvolcom5 10+ year member]

So i have the speakers installed and the wires ran to the trunk but now i really have no clue what to do. I am going to use the passive crossovers that came with the speakers for now, they are pretty straight forward, but i dont know what to set the tweeter on -3 db , 0db, or 3db. ill prob just play with those and find what one i like but the real problem is i dont know what to do at the amp and headunit, do i use all 4 channels or just 2? what do i set HPF at? I put alot of work into deadning and installing these speakers so i want to get the most out of them. So this is whats in the car for now, new headunit when Pioneer 80PRS is out.

HEad unit: Alpine CDA-9851

Alpine CDA-9851 CD player with MP3 / WMA playback at Crutchfield.com

Component Seakers: Hybrid Audio Unity 6.5s

Unity U61-2 6.5" 2-way Component Speaker System - 12v Electronics

4 Channel amp: Arc Audio KS 300.4

Arc Audio KS 300.4

Subs: 2 12" JL W6s in ported @ ~32hz

Amp: Audio Que 1200D

So basically i have no idea how to tune with 2 amps. Thanks for any help

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[fish1234 10+ year member]

If you have manuals, get to know them well as they are going to be your guide for a lot of the tuning aspects. Plus, it is always a good idea to read them anyway. Bridge the Arc amp to you front your front speakers. It all depends on your install, driver locations, and basically what you want it to sound like. Read that manual for the speakers and the amp thoroughly, it answers almost every question you asked in your question?

 

[johnnyvolcom5 10+ year member]

If you have manuals, get to know them well as they are going to be your guide for a lot of the tuning aspects. Plus, it is always a good idea to read them anyway. Bridge the Arc amp to you front your front speakers. It all depends on your install, driver locations, and basically what you want it to sound like. Read that manual for the speakers and the amp thoroughly, it answers almost every question you asked in your question?

i have read the manuals and am still confused. It says in the speaker manual that the recommended minimum highpass is 60hz, but i have my low pass on my sub amp at 80, so should i set the highpass on Arc amp to 80hz?

What do i do with the bass and treble on the headunit? ive always ran the bass on my headunit at -2 and the treble maxed so the stock speakers didnt sound like complete *** (well they still did but alot better). Should i just leave bass and treble at 0?

Also if i bridge the speakers, that amp says it puts out 700 watts, so thats 350 per side right? Does that mean i should be careful with the gain?

THe manuals didnt really help my confusion.

On another side note. When i get the new pioneer, i can get rid of the passive crossovers and just wire the speakers right to the amp and use the headunit to set crossovers correct?

 

[pickup1 5,000+ posts]

You can bridge the amp to 2 ch. And run the comps.

Set the highpass from 80-100 hz,lowpass to sub the same,for now.

Run rear speakers,if any,off the headunit.

Then start the tuning process...

 

[fish1234 10+ year member]

i have read the manuals and am still confused. It says in the speaker manual that the recommended minimum highpass is 60hz, but i have my low pass on my sub amp at 80, so should i set the highpass on Arc amp to 80hz?
What do i do with the bass and treble on the headunit? ive always ran the bass on my headunit at -2 and the treble maxed so the stock speakers didnt sound like complete *** (well they still did but alot better). Should i just leave bass and treble at 0?

Also if i bridge the speakers, that amp says it puts out 700 watts, so thats 350 per side right? Does that mean i should be careful with the gain?

THe manuals didnt really help my confusion.

On another side note. When i get the new pioneer, i can get rid of the passive crossovers and just wire the speakers right to the amp and use the headunit to set crossovers correct?

When you get your new h/u, if it has active crossover capabilities, you can tune through the h/u. Bridge the Arc amp to comps, and if you don't want/know how to set gains on it just have a shop do it for you. The Arc amps are underrated on power aspects, so your getting more than what the manual states. Read up on setting amps gains and just try it, really not hard to do. If you can install your own system, chances are you can set gains too. Here is something for setting gains:

Wattage

 

[johnnyvolcom5 10+ year member]

When you get your new h/u, if it has active crossover capabilities, you can tune through the h/u. Bridge the Arc amp to comps, and if you don't want/know how to set gains on it just have a shop do it for you. The Arc amps are underrated on power aspects, so your getting more than what the manual states. Read up on setting amps gains and just try it, really not hard to do. If you can install your own system, chances are you can set gains too. Here is something for setting gains:Wattage

Ok thanks for all the help. The new HU i will be getting says "Crossover Network: 3-way" so that means it has active crossover capabilities right?