Front stage recommendations

[Fpc4ever 10+ year member]

I have a 2012 Chrysler 300 with the upgraded alpine oem 6 speaker system. It consists of 6x9s in the doors and rear deck and 3.5s in the dash. I am keeping the factory 8.4" screen and radio unit and adding a RF 360.3( or an AC lcq1 if I go cheap). I am using an Orion Xtrpro 500.4 for the highs and 1000d for subs. I'm thinking with the limited options I have with the one amp I will run it bridged to 250x2 to a 3 way component set up front, something with a 3" midrange since space is super tight...like hertz hi energy, focal k2 etc. I feel like this is kind of a waste of the 360.3 since I won't be running it active. However I can't really run active on a 3 way set right with just this amp? I could bi amp it but then I'd lose a lot of power at 62x4.

I don't want to cut the doors or dash. I would be open to adding pods in the pillars or kicks however kicks are very small in this car. I'm not an audiophile by any means but with the time and money I'm spending I'd like it to sound as good as possible. Thanks for any insight you can give.

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[zako 10+ year member]

If you want to "audiophile" type of sound without erasing rear speakers, consider a DSP with surround sound processor such as JBL MS-8 or Alpine H800. These can take a 2-channel stereo signal and convert into a true 5.1 signal. Another option is to consider deleting the rear speakers. There are a lot of people who feel satisfied with 3-way front + subwoofers. Anyways, I don't fully understand the question. What is is that you're worried about? That 360.3 has only 8 (6, whatever?) channels? For a 3-way active front stage + sub, 8 channels of control is enough. Trying to sacrifice the 3-way active just so you can run rear deck speakers does not seem a fair trade off. However, if you want to do this, then you can use an amplifier's built in crossover to manage the front mid-range and midbass. A 3.5 probably plays down to 200-300Hz. A lot of amplifiers have HP/LP filters for that range. In this setup, the front 3.5 and 6x9 will apprear as a single channel to the 360.3

 

[zako 10+ year member]

If you want to "audiophile" type of sound without erasing rear speakers, consider a DSP with surround sound processor such as JBL MS-8 or Alpine H800. These can take a 2-channel stereo signal and convert into a true 5.1 signal. Another cool thing you can do is add a center channel with these, creating a passable imagine with a centered sound stage for both front passengers.

Another option is to consider deleting the rear speakers. There are a lot of people who feel satisfied with 3-way front + subwoofers. Anyways, I don't fully understand the question. What is is that you're worried about? That 360.3 has only 8 (6, whatever?) channels? For a 3-way active front stage + sub, 8 channels of control is enough. Trying to sacrifice the 3-way active just so you can run rear deck speakers does not seem a fair trade off. However, if you want to do this, then you can use an amplifier's built in crossover to manage the front mid-range and midbass. A 3.5 probably plays down to 200-300Hz. A lot of amplifiers have HP/LP filters for that range. In this setup, the front 3.5 and 6x9 will appear as a single channel to the 360.3

As for 6x9 speakers, I'd be tempted to try out the Hybrid Audio Imagine 6x9 convertible components. Their woofers are amazing, with massive excursion capability and low resonance frequency, so you know they will play some good bass. Actually, it could be interesting to try the Imagine 6x9 in a 2-way active front stage with their tweeters bundled. The could be a concern that the 6x9 just won't play high enough to meet the high resonance Imagine tweeter (which are considered good for frequencies about 5KHz), but HAT are experts at giving their paper woofers an extended frequency response. I am using 6.5 imagine woofer up to 6.3KHz. If you don't like the sound though, you could switch to a 3-way with a small mid-range woofer, or a 2-way active employing a 3.5 inch coaxial or full range speaker.

 

[Fpc4ever 10+ year member]

I think I must've lost you. Basically all I'm asking is whether I should run active or passive front stage with the 4 channel amp I already have. If I keep rears they will be the factory speakers ran by the factory amp, I'm not concerned about rears. Also asking for inputs on the size and placement of front speakers.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

stick with a passive 3-way. bridge the amp to them.

your budget drives your choices. i think once you factor in your budget and size limitations, you'll only have a couple choices left.

Hertz HSK-163

http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/Doc/Hertz_HiEnergy_HSK163.pdf

excellent choice right here