help with 2 way active speaker setup

[rodneypierce 10+ year member]

Alright guys, Im pretty new to the whole active thing. OK, really new. I just put a set of Aura 5.25 comps in my 98 Grand Prix. I thought they sounded great at first (coming from blown factory speakers) but now the more and more I listen to them, the less and less I like them. They just seem to be missing something. So, I went active, and dont think I will ever go back. There is so much adjustment. BUT, no matter what I adjust (crossover and slope only, as I dont have an RTA to start messing with the PEQ) I cant get them to sound like I had hoped. They just dont seem to have a good transition if you will, and just dont sound good. So, long story short, Im looking to upgrade to 6.5" midrange/midbass driver, and a good tweeter.

Im all for the "DIY" stuff.

Below is what I have for specs:

Eclipse CD7200MKII HU

MB Quart 5 channel amp. 55x4 @ 4 ohms to power the tweeters and midrange/midbass.

Im not worried about the sub, as I have that picked out already Im thinking. (10 inch Polk MM or IDQ)

And, speakers are mounted in the factory door locations. Tweeters are on the a-pillar or can go anywhere on the dash. I dont really have room on the door panel to mount the tweeter.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks guys!!

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[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Budget?

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

What are your crossover points/slopes like?

 

[rodneypierce 10+ year member]

Tonight on the way home from work I actually hit onto something. I cant remember what i have it set to right at this moment, but give me a few minutes and I will run out and get them. Its honestly not bad where it sets right now, but Im still looking for more (arent we always in this hobby?). I know I have the tweets crossed really high in order to get them to sound decent, and not harsh.

I also thought about adding a midbass in a kick panel, and using the current component set, with the passive x-over for my "high" channel, then the midbass for my "mid" channel.

 

[rodneypierce 10+ year member]

OK, here we go:

Sub - 80hz 12db

mid H - 125 24db

mid L - 3.15k 12db

high - 5k 24db

 

[06goat 10+ year member]

Drop your tweeter down a bit. And drop your mid from 125 to like 80. You are basically missing the 4k range since youre tweeter is sloped so steep and that might be why youre not happy.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Fair enough, pretty good starting point.

I'd say a speaker and/or amplifier upgrade is in order.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Drop your tweeter down a bit. And drop your mid from 125 to like 80. You are completely missing the 4k range and that might be why youre not happy.

Not really. Also with 5.25's I would drop them too low as they tend to breakup with heavy midbass, especially IB in a door panel.

 

[rodneypierce 10+ year member]

Drop your tweeter down a bit. And drop your mid from 125 to like 80. You are basically missing the 4k range since youre tweeter is sloped so steep and that might be why youre not happy.

They start to sound like *** any lower then what I have them. To me anyhow. This is where its crystal clear, and thats what I was looking for. Thus why I raised the midrange up a little higher to compensate. It currently sounds the best that it has yet. And the 5.25 distorts down that low. It will play that low all day at a medium volume level, and rattle the hell out of the door. But turn up the volume and it is quick to distort. Where I have it set is the cleanest yet still gives some bottom end. And that is why I used a 12db slope instead of a 24db slope on the low pass for the mid. Stretch it out abit more to hopefully pick up a little bit of that 4k range.

Fair enough, pretty good starting point.
I'd say a speaker and/or amplifier upgrade is in order.

Fair enough. What would you recommend? And what did you think about that kick panel idea with a midbass, and using the current component set for the high's. I would be using the passive x-over for them, and running them off the active "high" output.

Not really. Also with 5.25's I would drop them too low as they tend to breakup with heavy midbass, especially IB in a door panel.

^^ This pretty much sums it up!

 

[06goat 10+ year member]

Not really. Also with 5.25's I would drop them too low as they tend to breakup with heavy midbass, especially IB in a door panel.

Didnt see the 5.25 part, my bad. But 4khz has got to be pretty **** attenuated.

 

[thehardknoxlife 10+ year member]

Before you do anything look into deadening the door(sealing holes as well) and putting some foam behind the driver. It makes a big difference.

 

[rodneypierce 10+ year member]

Before you do anything look into deadening the door(sealing holes as well) and putting some foam behind the driver. It makes a big difference.

I have that in the works as well. I got a quote from Don at Sounddeadenershowdown for the following:

Front Doors (each):

5 CLD Tiles, outer skin

1 CLD Tile, cut into smaller pieces, inner skin

1 CLD Tile, cut into smaller pieces, trim panel

Extruded Butyl Rope

5.3 ft² MLV

7.9 ft² 1/8" CCF

5.3 ft² 3M Thinsulate Acoustic

2.5 Velcro Strips, adhesive 2 sides

Rear Doors (each):

5 CLD Tiles, outer skin

1 CLD Tile, cut into smaller pieces, inner skin

1 CLD Tile, cut into smaller pieces, trim panel

Extruded Butyl Rope

4.5 ft² MLV

6.7 ft² 1/8" CCF

4.5 ft² 3M Thinsulate Acoustic

2.5 Velcro Strips, adhesive 2 sides

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

It's not super bad, maybe adjust slopes a little more.

 

[rodneypierce 10+ year member]

It's not super bad, maybe adjust slopes a little more.

I will work on that some tomorrow on the way to work and the way home. I just hit on this on the way home from work tonight, so didnt have much time to listen to browse tracks with any other slope settings.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Fair enough. What would you recommend? And what did you think about that kick panel idea with a midbass, and using the current component set for the high's. I would be using the passive x-over for them, and running them off the active "high" output.

What can you fit? haha

I'd recommend some 7's if you can, and then tweeters in the a-pillars or on the dash aimed on-axis. What is your budget?

Shop around on PartsExpress and Madisound.