going active with 2 channels?

[hoss 5,000+ posts]

whats wrong with the crossovers

they are power robbing, heat producing, non adjustable, vestigial pieces.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

Just a cheapy inline filter? If you give it a descent amount of power those will probably fry but I'm not certain.

well i would uy good ones if they make good ones.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

Because the only way to go active with a 2-channel amplifier is to run both mids on one channel and both tweeters on the other channel.
The speakers on both sides of the car would be playing identical signals.

I.E. you would not have stereo sound.

ok so theres no way to have a tweet and woofer on the same channel? you cant filter the signals after they leave the amp and b4 they hit the driver?

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

ok so theres no way to have a tweet and woofer on the same channel? you cant filter the signals after they leave the amp and b4 they hit the driver?

You would have to use a passive element to get each speaker the correct signal and then you would be right back to a passive network. You would not have control over JUST the tweeter output or even JUST the woofer output.

You need more channels. Period. You will also need more processing power to go active. By the way it sounds, you should just stick with passive.

You also don't have to find a passive crossover just like the ones that came with the set (why do you think they're not good enough in the first place?) and you can use any other matching pair out there as long as they meet your crossover goals.

CDT offers independent passive crossovers but they're rather pricey:

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=11&mfg_account_ID=21&sort=account_name&=Update+Selection

I would say you're better off ditching the rear speakers (or putting them on headunit power) and using all four channels of your amp to power the front mids and tweets.

 

[hoss 5,000+ posts]

ok so theres no way to have a tweet and woofer on the same channel? you cant filter the signals after they leave the amp and b4 they hit the driver?

what you are describing is a passive XO system.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

whats wrong with the crossovers

i was feeding the pair 200wrms per side. everybody and there mother said that would be fine (despite it being well over recommended power). signal definatley was NOT clipped but i ended up frying both woofers. sent them in for repair and i just realized a couple weeks ago that it damaged my xovers too. the plastic covers were slightly melted and stuck to the coils. and the metal plates on top of the coils were deformed. as far as i know they still work. is there any way to test them with a DMM or something? is there any potential of them damaging my new drivers?

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

Ooo.. yea, I wouldn't hook them up without getting them on a scope and tracing the signal path. You could have burnt up some resistors or blown a cap.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

You would have to use a passive element to get each speaker the correct signal and then you would be right back to a passive network. You would not have control over JUST the tweeter output or even JUST the woofer output.
You need more channels. Period. You will also need more processing power to go active. By the way it sounds, you should just stick with passive.

You also don't have to find a passive crossover just like the ones that came with the set (why do you think they're not good enough in the first place?) and you can use any other matching pair out there as long as they meet your crossover goals.

CDT offers independent passive crossovers but they're rather pricey:

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=11&mfg_account_ID=21&sort=account_name&=Update+Selection

I would say you're better off ditching the rear speakers (or putting them on headunit power) and using all four channels of your amp to power the front mids and tweets.

i can only use rainbow CMX xovers because aaron from premieraudio said he cant warrant my comps if i use a different xover.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

Ooo.. yea, I wouldn't hook them up without getting them on a scope and tracing the signal path. You could have burnt up some resistors or blown a cap.

shit

ok i got another idea. i could run the comps active on my xenon and just run my 6x9s off the deck for a while. what do i need to know to go active? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif lol

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

i can only use rainbow CMX xovers because aaron from premieraudio said he cant warrant my comps if i use a different xover.

Looks like your SOL then...you have three options:
Passive crossovers

Add another pair of channels and get processing...

Get rid of your rear fill, which is what I would do...and once again get an external processor or a new amp...

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

Looks like your SOL then...you have three options:
Passive crossovers

Add another pair of channels and get processing...

Get rid of your rear fill, which is what I would do...and once again get an external processor or a new amp...

ok well then maybe i should go active while the xovers are being repaired. both my amp and my HU have LPF's and HPF's. what else do i need to go active? ive never even considered this before, sorry im an active n00b.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

ok well then maybe i should go active while the xovers are being repaired. both my amp and my HU have LPF's and HPF's. what else do i need to go active? ive never even considered this before, sorry im an active n00b.

There is sticky in the speakers section, read and learn...
your amp doesn't have crossovers that go high enough to go active, IIRC the highest they go is 400hz.

Your HU MIGHT be active capable, but again IIRC it only has high and low pass filters no higher than 250hz...

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

i can only use rainbow CMX xovers because aaron from premieraudio said he cant warrant my comps if i use a different xover.

Ouch. Why can't you send the crossovers off for replacement too?

I think your headunit is capable of going active but I'm not really familiar with the deck. Maybe somebody who has play time with it could help out or maybe you should read through the crossover sections of the manual.

If your headunit can support it, one set of RCAs should be dedicated to just the tweeters and two channels should be set for them. You should have this line crossed over around 4khz with a HPF and a high slope to start with. Then there should be another set of RCAs going to the rear two channels of the amp for the mids. You should cross them over around 3khz with a LPF and probably around 80hz for the HPF both with high roll offs. From there you should keep the gains very low and with moderate to low volume levels, you should try to dial in the crossovers a little more. I don't know those drivers well so I can't really say what kind of limits to set. But once you get your crossover points sounding a little better, you should adjust the gain by ear. I start with the mids and then set the tweeters to blend well with the mids. Be very careful on the gains as the tweeters are now going to be getting much more power than they were before (this goes for the mids too). Once the gains are set, the crossover points may need a little tweaking to get right.

From there, the DSP settings and EQ can smooth things out as long as you don't need huge adjustments and as long as you don't try to boost things like crazy.

That's how I adjust active setups. The tuning is really an ongoing process though and it usually takes more than just a few hours to get things sounding right. It took me about 3 months to get things dialed in, in my car.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

There is sticky in the speakers section, read and learn...
your amp doesn't have crossovers that go high enough to go active, IIRC the highest they go is 400hz.

Your HU MIGHT be active capable, but again IIRC it only has high and low pass filters no higher than 250hz...

OIC. id have to check also, but im pretty sure thats true about my deck at least.

 

[fatryan 5,000+ posts]

Ouch. Why can't you send the crossovers off for replacement too?
I think your headunit is capable of going active but I'm not really familiar with the deck. Maybe somebody who has play time with it could help out or maybe you should read through the crossover sections of the manual.

If your headunit can support it, one set of RCAs should be dedicated to just the tweeters and two channels should be set for them. You should have this line crossed over around 4khz with a HPF and a high slope to start with. Then there should be another set of RCAs going to the rear two channels of the amp for the mids. You should cross them over around 3khz with a LPF and probably around 80hz for the HPF both with high roll offs. From there you should keep the gains very low and with moderate to low volume levels, you should try to dial in the crossovers a little more. I don't know those drivers well so I can't really say what kind of limits to set. But once you get your crossover points sounding a little better, you should adjust the gain by ear. I start with the mids and then set the tweeters to blend well with the mids. Be very careful on the gains as the tweeters are now going to be getting much more power than they were before (this goes for the mids too). Once the gains are set, the crossover points may need a little tweaking to get right.

From there, the DSP settings and EQ can smooth things out as long as you don't need huge adjustments and as long as you don't try to boost things like crazy.

That's how I adjust active setups. The tuning is really an ongoing process though and it usually takes more than just a few hours to get things sounding right. It took me about 3 months to get things dialed in, in my car.

****it, i really dont have the ear for this kinda stuff lol. im so bad with it its not even funny. maybe because i never really focused on the high end tweaking as much as the sub...

i CAN send my xovers in for replacement but i dont want to go another 6 months without frontstage //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif rainbow was f*cking around with my gear for 6 months and im just finally getting it back tomorrow.