Running active with a stock headunit?

[wong05tsx 10+ year member]

So I've done my series of searches and in particular "active stock headunit". I've gone through 4 pages of threads and not a single one answers the question.

Anyways, my sundown amps were stolen recently and I've got a new setup now:

Speakers;

1-10" SSA Icon D1

Hertz HSK165 Comps with Rainbow cal25 tweeters (a bit softer sounding than the hsk tweets)

Hertz HCX165 Coaxs

JL VR690 Coaxs (I know I know, i figured since i'm running one less sub now I'd want a little more ummphh. got it at a good price)

Amps (very underrated);

Zapco I-force 600 (600x1)

Zapco I-force 450 - bridged to hsks (75x4, 250x2)

Zapco I-force 450 - rear 4

HU:

Custom stock amp bypass (balanced differential outputs - have the balanced rca's converted to balanced DIN input on the zapco amps.

------------

SO. I am a noob when it comes to running active.

I'm wondering if it is possible to run the HSK's active with only the tuning options on the i-force?

The crossovers allow freq tuning from 40hz - 400hz

Another minute question- and I could probably figure it out by just trying it,, but..

If all I'm really interested in on the 6x9's is a little bit of ummphh, and no so much the highs, could either low pass it at ~60hz/high pass it at ~60hz?

TIA

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[DarkScorpion 10+ year member]

No, you cannot run active with those crossover settings.

An active capable amp will typically have a multiplier button where you can select either "1x" or 10x" or something similar along with having both, high-pass AND low-pass selectors for a specific set of channels. That means when you're dialed in at say, 100hz, you can select the 1x option for a crossover point of 100hz, or the 10x option for a crossover point of 1000hz. This is important for a typical active setup: usually you want your midwoofer to be low-passed in the range of 2000hz - 4000hz and high passed around 80hz (this is called bandpassing), and the tweeters to be high-passed at 2000-4000hz, depending on where your mids are, how low you want your tweeters, how steep your crossover slopes are etc.

If for some reason, you wanted 6x9's to play just midbass, then yes, you could bandpass at say 80hz and 300hz. This is just a generic range, though. I'd actually advise against running separate 6x9's as midbass unless you REALLY know what you're doing and are setting up a proper 3-way front stage setup.

As far as I know, there aren't too many active capable amps out there that aren't specifically targeted to the SQ market. The only two I can think off the top of my head are the Audioque AQ4x90 and the Sundown SAX-100.4D.

Check out the crossover section of the SAX-100.4D (courtesy of DIYMA):

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Sadly, the OP would need a separate and distinct processor to place between his HU and existing amplifiers. It could be something cheap, such as the Coustic XM6, but some units were known to have noise issues. It could also be a specialized processor like the Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty, Audison Bit One, Zapco DSP-6, Audiocontrol DQL-8, and the list goes on.

Another option that has seemed to catch on for those with carputers is the Behringer DCX2496 with the envision electronics 12 volt conversion: DSPower! The Behringer The only downside is mounting a rack mount piece in the car because one needs to get creative.

 

[DarkScorpion 10+ year member]

Sadly, the OP would need a separate and distinct processor to place between his HU and existing amplifiers. It could be something cheap, such as the Coustic XM6, but some units were known to have noise issues. It could also be a specialized processor like the Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty, Audison Bit One, Zapco DSP-6, Audiocontrol DQL-8, and the list goes on.

I agree - if you go active by using a processor, you won't be limited to such a small selection of amplifiers. There have been lots of 3sixty.2's for sale lately, and at good prices. Fully selectable crossovers, time alignment, lots of eq'ing capability, etc. Only down side is that you have to use your laptop or a palm device via bluetooth to change all the settings, it's not 3-way front stage capable, and that it MIGHT introduce a little bit of noise into your system, but I think it's a great investment and the pros outweigh the cons. Of course, you could go with a $600 device like the Audison BitOne.1 or even the new JBL MS-8, but I don't think those are worth it if you're just messing around with your first active system or unless you want the best SQ available.

 

[wong05tsx 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the intricate responses. It looks like it'll probably be best for me to stick with the passive setup. If my Sundown amps never got stolen, I would have gone through the setup as DarkScorpion described... loved that amp, but couldn't afford another one - had to sell one Icon to cover some of the costs ;/.

I'm going to pass on introducing a processor post HU/pre amp as I've already have 5 balanced Y splitters + 5 rca-DIN converters. Really would like to minimize the amount of wires if at all possible. I'm happy with the passive setup, but just wanted to get the most out of the fronts if it was possible.

Again, thanks for the info everyone

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

One of my main reasons for going active was to have choice in independent drivers. Although the so called audiophiles will nail me to the cross for typing this, it is sometimes hard to get pre-packaged component sets to sound good active versus their passive crossovers. In some CDT sets, they use frequency smoothing in their crossover network for the tweeter. For example, my TW-25 sounded uber harsh when run active, but sounded much smoother when run passive.

On the flip side, active can be a royal pain in the ***. I've spent countless hours tweaking the drivers in my Mustang, mainly because I can (ha ha). If it weren't for the love of the hobby, it would have been much faster to just go with a set of Alpine SPX Pro components running passive and calling it a day.