Going Active Questions

[cruizer]

You guys are filling me with a lot of information, thank you very much. Again, I am trying to stay a bit on the moderate side in terms of pricing with my install. I did win a DEH-880PRS from eBay, so I'm excited to get that.

Now currently, like I said, my front is a component setup. The Tweeters are way to loud, and the mids have almost no bass. It seems the passive crossover that came with them (they are Phoenix Gold 6.5 RS components) stinks. This could totally be because of my stock HU as well. So would I be better just getting a 2-way active crossover and separating them out, or hooking up the HU and trying to tweak them as is?

Also, what, in your opinion, are a good set of RCA cables?

Thanks!

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

You guys are filling me with a lot of information, thank you very much. Again, I am trying to stay a bit on the moderate side in terms of pricing with my install. I did win a DEH-880PRS from eBay, so I'm excited to get that.
Now currently, like I said, my front is a component setup. The Tweeters are way to loud, and the mids have almost no bass. It seems the passive crossover that came with them (they are Phoenix Gold 6.5 RS components) stinks. This could totally be because of my stock HU as well. So would I be better just getting a 2-way active crossover and separating them out, or hooking up the HU and trying to tweak them as is?

Also, what, in your opinion, are a good set of RCA cables?

Thanks!

What amps are you running? You might be able to use the amps crossovers without buying a separate crossover.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

The 880 is a nice piece. Use that with your amps and just start with the fronts active and sub, no rear, with the HU in 3-way mode. Work on getting your front speakers sounding good before adding rears.

This way you can play with the crossover setting and levels between the mids and tweeters.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

For RCA's I usually make my own, but I have used a lot of Monster Cable, Streetwires, and Rockford Fosgate with good success

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

I'm running the KnuKonceptz Krystal Kables KnuKonceptz - view products for category Krystal RCA Kables they seem to be really nice cables for the price.

 

[cruizer]

Sorry, I've been extremely busy and haven't been able to get back here.

vaiboy, currently interior is being run with a Profile AP1040 front components on the front channel, rear fill on the rear channel; the subs are being run with an eD Nine.2x.

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

Sorry, I've been extremely busy and haven't been able to get back here.
vaiboy, currently interior is being run with a Profile AP1040 front components on the front channel, rear fill on the rear channel; the subs are being run with an eD Nine.2x.

Unfortunately the crossovers on the Profile aren't flexible enough to avoid buying a separate electronic crossover. You would need a four channel amp with the ability to high pass channels 1&2 at ~5kHz and low pass channels 3&4 at ~5kHz. You would set the headunits HPF at 60-80HZ on the front channels. Connect the tweeters to channels 1&2 and the mids to channels 3&4 on the amp. Then the combination of the LPF on the amp and the HPF on the headunit would bandpass the mids to play from 60-80Hz up to 5kHz. Of course you will also need a two channel to power your rear fill, that amp would need a LPF that could be set as high as 4-5kHz. Then you could set the headunits rear output to high pass at 400Hz, and the combination would bandpass your rears from 400Hz-4-5kHz.

Using the equipment you have now your best option is to use the 3-way mode on the head unit and leave out the rear fill, like keep_hope_alive said. In the future, if you still want rear fill, you could keep your current four channel and add a two channel and 2-way crossover, or replace your four channel and add a two channel. Just be sure, when you are shopping for new amps, the filters will be flexible enough for your needs.

 

[cruizer]

I think my head is exploding with info here. vaiboy, I assume the first paragraph you wrote is ideal if I had the right kind of amps. And the second is your suggestion for what I have now, correct?

That stinks, because I just bought a set of Focals for rear fill!

What type or brand of amp, that's moderately priced would you recommend? Or is there one that's moderately priced?

Thanks a lot for all the info, i am learning a lot here! Best car audio forum I have ever been too, I tell you that. Most other places seem to make fun of you if you don't know anything.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

In that case, just run the rears in parallel with the front woofers, leave the front tweeters on their own HU output. Ideally, you'll want to attenuate the rears and remove high frequency content. But start without rears then add them in after the front sounds good.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Few amps offer the crossovers necessary, I.e. Bandpass with a multiplier switch. Some used Audison SRX maybe. I like amps to match, when possible. You don't have enough outputs for active front with rear fill while getting the crossover points vaiboy suggested. Tho crossover points should be your goal and will help you evaluate equipment.

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

I don't know what you consider moderately priced, but the JL Audio Slash series, MB Quart Q, PPI Power Class, and Sundown SAX all have acceptable crossovers. The sundowns are probably the least expensive. I'm sure there are more but that was just a few minutes of searching.

keep_hope_alive - If you use the filters in the head unit along with the filters in the amps you can achieve a bandpassed output. The amp doesn't need a bandpass crossover, it just needs a LPF that can be set in the 4-5Khz range.

cruizer - Here are a few diagrams that might help

With your current equipment.

View attachment 26526131

With your current amp, a 2-way crossover, and a two channel amp.

View attachment 26526129

With a new four channel and two channel.

View attachment 26526130

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I will look into those amps, thanks for the heads up

 

[cruizer]

Wow, thanks again for all the wonderful information guys!