Going active

[UnderFire 10+ year member]

Ok, need some quick help.

I'm planning on going active with doors only, eliminating the dash speakers.

I'm assuming that active means this, RCA's ran through active crossover, eliminating sub-bass frequencies from going to the Full-Range amp, and then wiring tweeters and mids to seperate channels, and using the Amp's HPF for the mid side, and LPF for the tweeter's side.

Am I right? or is there something I'm missing?

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[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Ok, need some quick help.
I'm planning on going active with doors only, eliminating the dash speakers.

I'm assuming that active means this, RCA's ran through active crossover, eliminating sub-bass frequencies from going to the Full-Range amp, and then wiring tweeters and mids to seperate channels, and using the Amp's HPF for the mid side, and LPF for the tweeter's side.

Am I right? or is there something I'm missing?

You have your HPF and LPF mixed up for mid and tweet. Probably just a typo.

The mid will need to be band-passed (hpf and lpf)

If you have an active crossover, Id use it as much as possible and eliminate the amp's crossover network if possible.

'Active' simply means each speaker has its own channel of amplification (no passive network). This can be accomplished many different ways.

 

[UnderFire 10+ year member]

So does anyone know if my Focal 165VR's will be able handle 65 watts of clean power to each driver?

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

So does anyone know if my Focal 165VR's will be able handle 65 watts of clean power to each driver?

Isnt that the RMS for the set?

 

[UnderFire 10+ year member]

Isnt that the RMS for the set?

Yes, that's what worries me.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the woofers, yes. the tweeters, no. but the tweeters won't get that much power anyway, there isn't that much signal there. plus, the passive crossovers may have resistor networks and the other passive components rob power. they may also have tweeter protection in the form of lamps. that is important to factor in. many people blow tweeters when running active because they don't properly set levels. many passive crossovers have tweeter protection built-in.

one simple way to do this is go "active" for level setting and use active crossovers for the woofers, but retain the crossovers for the tweeters. this way you get all of the passive attenuation and protection, but gain separate channels for gain and maybe time alignment. while not true "active" it is safer and a good first experience.

 

[UnderFire 10+ year member]

the woofers, yes. the tweeters, no. but the tweeters won't get that much power anyway, there isn't that much signal there. plus, the passive crossovers may have resistor networks and the other passive components rob power. they may also have tweeter protection in the form of lamps. that is important to factor in. many people blow tweeters when running active because they don't properly set levels. many passive crossovers have tweeter protection built-in.
one simple way to do this is go "active" for level setting and use active crossovers for the woofers, but retain the crossovers for the tweeters. this way you get all of the passive attenuation and protection, but gain separate channels for gain and maybe time alignment. while not true "active" it is safer and a good first experience.

So, if I'm reading this right you are saying that I should use the active crossover on the Mid side of the amp only, or both probably since that won't matter, and run the woofers without the passive crossover, but on the tweeter channels maintain the passive crossover for added protection?

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

That is what he is saying. Listen to him you want get better advice thats correct from anyone. He knows what he speaks..

 

[UnderFire 10+ year member]

That is what he is saying. Listen to him you want get better advice thats correct.

Cool, thanks for the help guys, I can't wait to hear them when they get here.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

Expect a more powerful mid response which is always good

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

definitely better power transfer to mids when you remove the passive crossover. then you can play with tweeter crossovers with active crossovers (though you may get some phase issues near the passive crossover point). for the tweeters - active crossovers with steep slopes that are an octave above the passive crossover point will minimize phase issues while still giving protection from accidents.