passive vs active

[Rockguy475 10+ year member]

can anyone explaine to me the differnce between active and passive when it comes to car audio??? i have no idea what does what.. does one sound better.. is one better in general???

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, because this question hasn't been covered before...

Passive:

Source unit -> Amplifier(s) -> Xover -> Speakers

Active:

Source unit -> Xovers -> Amplifiers -> Speakers

Some head units have crossover functions built into them, eliminating the need for an outboard crossover.

 

[Rockguy475 10+ year member]

i see... i know my head unit has a xover in it but im not sure if its a good one or not http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?model...thId=54&page=1 they have a descirtion page for it but i have no idea what all those numbers mean....

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Check your link...

I would stick to passive crossovers until you know your way around enough.

 

[Rockguy475 10+ year member]

http://www.jvc.co.jp/english/car/us/cd/shx7/index.html should work now

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

To go active you need a channel of power for each individual speaker, as well as either an individual , independent xover control for each speaker or each pair of drivers.

This results on the need to have a bandpass xover for your midbass (mid/high freq cutoff and mid/low freq cutoff)

You can do this many ways.

The cheapest solution is use a combo of your deck and amplifier's built in xovers.

Not the most ideal, but the most common way to try the active thing.

In a 2way component setup:

For starters you defeat the the HU's front chs xover (pass) and use the HP xover on the amplifier to drive your tweeters.(thats if amplifier allows up to 2k-5khz settings)

For the mids you have to cutoff the driver on both ends- use the HP on the deck (normally 63-200hz avg) and set the HP. If your amp alows you to have a high freq LP adjustment, cut off the LP on the high end. Adjust slopes by ear, just be familar with the safe usable freq range of the speakers.

Obviously you other choices involve spending money- a deck with active control , or add an external processor. these allow fro other tools to tune this active setup- EQ, level control, Time alignment...etc..

 

[Rockguy475 10+ year member]

ok i have a better understanding of passive and active now... im guessing by the looks of the post that active is a better way to go... but i think imma have to stick with passive.. i like my set up though so i think itll be fine for me

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

ok i have a better understanding of passive and active now... im guessing by the looks of the post that active is a better way to go... but i think imma have to stick with passive.. i like my set up though so i think itll be fine for me

yea i think overall active has the most potential but if you like your system already just stick with it. and if you ever feel a need for change, try an active setup. but your HU doesn't have a 3way crossover so you either need an HU with a 3way crossover or by an external crossover.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Can someone please give me a rough idea of the %'age of SQ competitors that compete with fully active systems. And from this group, what %'age actually WIN competitions with fully active setups???????

Rockguy, IMO running an active setup would be most advantageous once you decide to go the route of mixing an matching various drivers for the full-on custom sound system. PLENTY of good things can come out of utilizing the passive x-overs of any component set ranging from $300 to $3000!!

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Can someone please give me a rough idea of the %'age of SQ competitors that compete with fully active systems. And from this group, what %'age actually WIN competitions with fully active setups???????

You don't need an active setup to win SQ competitions. Having the flexibility of an active setup just makes things easier to tweak if your setup benefits from that.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

You don't need an active setup to win SQ competitions. Having the flexibility of an active setup just makes things easier to tweak if your setup benefits from that.

True. I never used the word "need." I'm just curious what is happing at the competition level with regards to this issue. I myself will am running active and passive //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif I know this makes no sense, but I don't care because I guarantee you that I have the best sounding system in my driveway!!! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

True. I never used the word "need." I'm just curious what is happing at the competition level with regards to this issue. I myself will am running active and passive //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif I know this makes no sense, but I don't care because I guarantee you that I have the best sounding system in my driveway!!! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

hmmm i see that your system is under construction? wtf?!?!?! you had all that good gear? i'm guessing that you are going to run a two way active fronstage and add a passive to the other speaker huh?

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

hmmm i see that your system is under construction? wtf?!?!?! you had all that good gear? i'm guessing that you are going to run a two way active fronstage and add a passive to the other speaker huh?

Oh the gear is still here. Once I got some Zapco goodess driving the sound, I can't let anything else in my ride...all other brands are banned...j/k. I will be running my midbasses active of the MBQ, the midranges off the front of the DLS A5, and both sets of tweets passive off the Zapco. I will try an upstage tweet for awhile until I make some kicks for the mid and the tweets.