setting up system

[adalos 10+ year member]

so here's how my setup is going to be in my celica:

pioneer 880prs head unit: 4x50watts (4x22 continuous)

rainbow 3-way SLC 365 components (2x6.5", 2x4", 2X1" tweeters, 2 x crossovers)

12w6v2 sub

500/1 JL amp

So i'm gonna be using the 500/1 to power the 12w6v2.

The rainbow components are listed at 75 watts minimum, 125 watts nominal, and 150 watts maximum power handling. So what do I need to power the components? Do these handling values apply to all the speakers within the set or just the woofer drivers (as in, does both the 6.5 woofers and the 1" tweeters fall into the same power necessity field?)

Obviously the output from the head unit isn't going to be enough power so I'll need to amp them. I have a kenwood 400 watt, 2-channel amp that I used to use in my old car. Can you use both the outputs from the head unit to power some speakers and then output from your amp to power the rest? For example:

bridge the 4x50 head unit outputs into 2x100 and send that to the tweeters.

tap the 2x200 outputs on the amp and have 4x100 to power the 2 6.5" and 2 4" components?

am i making any sense? it's confusing because of how different audio parts label their wattage. for example, an amp might be a "1000 watt amp" but have like only 2x150 continuous output channels when you look at the specs. this to me would make it a 300 watt amp. so when my rainbow components are listed as needing a minimum of 75 and a max of 150 watts, i don't know how to read that. is that referring to continous wattage? is that per speaker? is it per speaker pair? if i have to provide 100 continuous watts per speaker, it seems like i'm gonna have to either buy a really high end, powerful amp... or have like an amp for each speaker pair.

any help would be appreciated.

Click to read more...

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

so here's how my setup is going to be in my celica:
pioneer 880prs head unit: 4x50watts (4x22 continuous)

rainbow 3-way SLC 365 components (2x6.5", 2x4", 2X1" tweeters, 2 x crossovers)

12w6v2 sub

500/1 JL amp

So i'm gonna be using the 500/1 to power the 12w6v2.

So far so good...

The rainbow components are listed at 75 watts minimum, 125 watts nominal, and 150 watts maximum power handling. So what do I need to power the components? Do these handling values apply to all the speakers within the set or just the woofer drivers (as in, does both the 6.5 woofers and the 1" tweeters fall into the same power necessity field?)

Let's just focus on the 125w nominal rating.

That means 125w per side ~ each side consisting of 1 tweeter, 1 midrange, 1 midwoofer, and 1 passive crossover module.

The amp connects to the crossover module feeding it power (up to a rated 125w nominal input)

The crossover module, in turn, divides the input signal into the appropriate frequency bands and sends highs to the tweeter and everything else to the midwoofer.

Obviously the output from the head unit isn't going to be enough power so I'll need to amp them. I have a kenwood 400 watt, 2-channel amp that I used to use in my old car. Can you use both the outputs from the head unit to power some speakers and then output from your amp to power the rest? For example:

Yes, you can do what you're asking technically (power smaller drivers off the head unit and larger drivers with external amplification) but after that point we begin to get problematic...

bridge the 4x50 head unit outputs into 2x100 and send that to the tweeters.

The headunits which feature internal amplification which is bridgeable are few and far between. The 880PRS isn't on that short list.

tap the 2x200 outputs on the amp and have 4x100 to power the 2 6.5" and 2 4" components?

I'm a bit confused as to how you intend on turning a 2ch amp into a 4ch unit.

Additionally I'd wager the ratings you're giving are a bit optimistic. I am not aware of a 2ch Kenwood amp that makes 200w per channel into a 4 Ohm load.

am i making any sense? it's confusing because of how different audio parts label their wattage. for example, an amp might be a "1000 watt amp" but have like only 2x150 continuous output channels when you look at the specs. this to me would make it a 300 watt amp.

When speaking in real-world, usable wattage you're absolutely correct. RMS or Continuous power ratings are the only ones worth paying attention to. The '1000 watt max power' is a specification that is good for nothing more than marketing purposes. You'll never see 1kW out of it on its best day so that number can be disregarded out of hand.

so when my rainbow components are listed as needing a minimum of 75 and a max of 150 watts, i don't know how to read that. is that referring to continous wattage? is that per speaker? is it per speaker pair? if i have to provide 100 continuous watts per speaker, it seems like i'm gonna have to either buy a really high end, powerful amp... or have like an amp for each speaker pair.
any help would be appreciated.

See above - max wattage ratings (whether they be on an amp, a headunit, speakers or subwoofers) are completely inconsequential. Different manufacturers use different terms that mean the same thing - if you see either RMS, Continuous, or Nominal in regards to wattage ratings that is the only figure that's important and needs to be kept in mind.

In your specific case it's 125w Nominal input per side (see above)

 

[adalos 10+ year member]

awesome, that really helped. so basically i'm going to have to go find an amp that has 2x~125 continuous watt output and run one into the crossover on each side.

i have a quick follow up question. my celica uses 6.5s in the rear, 6.5s in the front (in doors), and tweeters above them:

the 365 slc rainbow kit is 2x6.5s, 2x4s, and 2 tweeters. the tweeters i can just trade out. but i'm not sure what to do with the 6.5s and 4s. i was thinking of disconnecting the rears, and figuring out a way to mount both the 6.5s and the 4s in the door where the stock 6.5s were. i figured it would be a waste replacing the rear 6.5 stock speakers with the 6.5 rainbows and then replacing the 6.5 stock doors speakers with the 4 inch rainbows.

any thoughts?

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Whatever you do do not put any part of that component set in the rear.

You can choose to delete the rear speakers altogether if that is your preference (many people run with a front stage and a substage with no rear fill at all so that wouldn't be an unusual practice in the least)

But if you were to put the tweeters and the midranges in the doors and then the 6.5" midwoofer in the back you will completely destroy your staging. Information that should be coming from in front of you (or at worst from directly beside you depending on how the final install ends up) would be coming at you from behind.

This is a bad idea //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nono.gif.eca61d170185779e0921b0faa9704973.gif

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

If you cannot put both the 4" drivers and the 6.5" drivers in the stock door speaker location then you'll want to install them in something custom fabricated whether that be by you or someone else.

Door installation is an option, certainly, but I reckon most will suggest locating them in some custom fabbed kickpods for best staging.

Or possibly the midwoofers in the doors and the midrange drivers and tweets in kickpods...

 

[adalos 10+ year member]

should i just run the headunit outs to the stock rears or just forget about them altogether? they probably won't be able to compete with the amped sub and amped rainbow components anyhow.