opinions on front stage amp(s) & speaker positioning

[wlspn]

Hi guys,

Hope this is in the right section...

Pretty new to good car audio, planning my first build & have sort of jumped in the deep end with an active 3-way front stage. Won't be running a sub as yet.

Speakers I have are HAT Legatia L8, L4 & L1 Pro & this is going into a 94' BMW E34 540i.

L8s in the kicks, L4s in the dash, doors or pillars? & L1s in the sail panels, dash or pillars?

(Kicks are only option for L8s but opinions on the L4 & L1 positions would be appreciated...)

Source unit is a Pioneer DEH80PRS.

Just building for me at the moment, though will likely attend a few local comps even if only for tuning advice, etc.

Anyway I'm a bit stumped with amplifier selection. Have heard these speakers like quite a bit of power & obviously headroom is a bonus but a lot of the nice amps I see seem low on power?

Considered the new JL 8ch, bridged for 150 at the 8s, 75 elsewhere but am now considering running 5x Pioneer PRS D800. 1 for each 8, 1 for each 4 & 1 between the tweeters? 300 at each speaker, 125 at each tweeter.

Thoughts?

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[wlspn]

Anyone?

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

Are you running a processor or active capable stereo? With the equipment you have, you should also have one of the mentioned and for amplifierrs, I would get active corssover capable amplifiers.

Hi guys,Hope this is in the right section...

Pretty new to good car audio, planning my first build & have sort of jumped in the deep end with an active 3-way front stage. Won't be running a sub as yet.

Speakers I have are HAT Legatia L8, L4 & L1 Pro & this is going into a 94' BMW E34 540i.

L8s in the kicks, L4s in the dash, doors or pillars? & L1s in the sail panels, dash or pillars?

(Kicks are only option for L8s but opinions on the L4 & L1 positions would be appreciated...)

Source unit is a Pioneer DEH80PRS.

Just building for me at the moment, though will likely attend a few local comps even if only for tuning advice, etc.

Anyway I'm a bit stumped with amplifier selection. Have heard these speakers like quite a bit of power & obviously headroom is a bonus but a lot of the nice amps I see seem low on power?

Considered the new JL 8ch, bridged for 150 at the 8s, 75 elsewhere but am now considering running 5x Pioneer PRS D800. 1 for each 8, 1 for each 4 & 1 between the tweeters? 300 at each speaker, 125 at each tweeter.

Thoughts?

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Personally I like the jl idea but I would look into the zed audio leviathan as another option.

zapco also makes some nice 6 channels as well as arc audio.

The pioneer idea is fine to but would be hell on wiring not that it isnt possible it would just be a pita to run all that power ground and rca connection when a nice 6 channel would cut down on the work

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Midbass in the kicks, mids high on the door panels, tweeters in the sail panels. If you don't plan to use a subwoofer the 80PRS will just barely be able to run those speakers active. If you add a subwoofer you're out of channels, so you'll need another way to split the front channels between the mids and tweeters. If you keep them mounted very close together you can use passives.

 

[wlspn]

Thanks guys, haven't been able to get back on here for a bit since your replies.

No processor at this stage, was planning on using the inbuilt crossovers on the 80PRS for now.

When it comes time for a sub (could be a fair while) I will look at options (P99RS or external processor)

Is that going to be a problem or major limitation at the moment? If so why?

Have looked into the Zed but it seems to be a real "love or hate" thing.

Some people say they're the best thing around yet I've seen people say they wouldn't take one for free! Have also heard issues of popping, etc (although that may have been with earlier versions) but will definitely do some more research on them & also Zapco.

Have also recently been looking at PPI (black ice & phantom lines)

Any opinions on these? Once again have heard great & also terrible things...

I definitely like the idea & simplicity of 1 amp but it would seem the most power I will get to each speaker is around 190w. This seems like extreme overkill for the tweeters & possibly a bit low elsewhere?

Have heard of people having over 400w on hand for the L8s & quite a lot for the L4s but I'm not sure where to draw the line?

If there is a benefit to multiple amps & the extra power they can provide I'm happy to do the extra work.

Trumpet, that is what I'm leaning towards as it is the easiest & will look the cleanest.

If I was going for a processor with TA, etc & therefore didn't need to worry about distance between mids & tweeters as much would you still recommend these positions?

Thanks again guys!

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

Thanks guys, haven't been able to get back on here for a bit since your replies.
No processor at this stage, was planning on using the inbuilt crossovers on the 80PRS for now.

When it comes time for a sub (could be a fair while) I will look at options (P99RS or external processor)

Is that going to be a problem or major limitation at the moment? If so why?

Have looked into the Zed but it seems to be a real "love or hate" thing.

Some people say they're the best thing around yet I've seen people say they wouldn't take one for free! Have also heard issues of popping, etc (although that may have been with earlier versions) but will definitely do some more research on them & also Zapco.

Have also recently been looking at PPI (black ice & phantom lines)

Any opinions on these? Once again have heard great & also terrible things...

I definitely like the idea & simplicity of 1 amp but it would seem the most power I will get to each speaker is around 190w. This seems like extreme overkill for the tweeters & possibly a bit low elsewhere?

Have heard of people having over 400w on hand for the L8s & quite a lot for the L4s but I'm not sure where to draw the line?

If there is a benefit to multiple amps & the extra power they can provide I'm happy to do the extra work.

Trumpet, that is what I'm leaning towards as it is the easiest & will look the cleanest.

If I was going for a processor with TA, etc & therefore didn't need to worry about distance between mids & tweeters as much would you still recommend these positions?

Thanks again guys!

If you're not planning on using subwoofer then I suppose you're fine with the Pio, just make sure the 8 can get low enough to compensate.

For the bolded part, I'd like to meet these ppl. It was an issue with the first gen leviathan, it has been fixed since