SQ system 3-way speaker help.

[gymdiver426 10+ year member]

Hello everyone, I'm currently redoing my build and have a few questions. I want to change my system into a true 3-way system. I have at the moment JL audio C5 components in the front and JL C5 coax in the rear doors of my 2010 mazda 3 hatch. Now I've heard from some that for a SQ system the rear speakers are not necessary if you have a true 3-way setup with your highs, mids, and midbass in the front, what are some of your opinions on this?

secondly i'm deliberating on buying a JL C5-525cw for my mids in the front in order to make it 3-way(tweeters-highs, C5-525cw-mids, 6.5 woofer- midbass), but I had this crazy idea but I'm not sure if it will work. is it possible to make the rear C5 coax to be my mids? or will they be to far away from the other speakers to be effective?

I will be getting a new deck and DSP soon, so this is why I need an answer to this dilemma.

the way I see it I have 3 options, please help me decide and give me reasons.

Option 1:

add a C5-525cw mid to the front and leave the rears so to have 3-way in the front and still coax in the rear.

Option 2:

Add C5-525cw mids to the front and take out rear speaker so to only have 3-way setup in the front

option 3:

leave the front as is and hook up the rears to be the mids for the system (Front tweeters-highs, rear coax-Mids, front 6.5 woofer midbass)

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[RunninRedline 10+ year member]

I can't find a frequency response graph on the C5-525cw or the tweeters for your set-up. While in theory you'll be able to cross them over you don't really have good ideas where the woofer is peaky and has break-ups leading to headaches if you want true SQ. 3-way systems are very hard to tune because now you have time delays from 3 speakers instead of 2 also you have another cross over point to manage. The advantage of a 3 way system is that you can have the mid take over all vocal duties so 250hz-~7khz. I would definitely remove the rears and sell them. I would actually recommend selling all your JL audio gear. I've hear all their lines including the ZR and they are far too bright and anemic sounding. There are definitely better routes you could go if you want to increase your sound-stage.

 

[gymdiver426 10+ year member]

I can't find a frequency response graph on the C5-525cw or the tweeters for your set-up. While in theory you'll be able to cross them over you don't really have good ideas where the woofer is peaky and has break-ups leading to headaches if you want true SQ. 3-way systems are very hard to tune because now you have time delays from 3 speakers instead of 2 also you have another cross over point to manage. The advantage of a 3 way system is that you can have the mid take over all vocal duties so 250hz-~7khz. I would definitely remove the rears and sell them. I would actually recommend selling all your JL audio gear. I've hear all their lines including the ZR and they are far too bright and anemic sounding. There are definitely better routes you could go if you want to increase your sound-stage.

I've been thinking of doing that as we'll I'm just not sure if I'm going to get much out of them... I've been looking at hybrid audio technologies and really like their products but they are very pricey, but then again what isn't in this level of audio products.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

What DSP are you looking to buy?

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

I can't find a frequency response graph on the C5-525cw or the tweeters for your set-up. While in theory you'll be able to cross them over you don't really have good ideas where the woofer is peaky and has break-ups leading to headaches if you want true SQ. 3-way systems are very hard to tune because now you have time delays from 3 speakers instead of 2 also you have another cross over point to manage. The advantage of a 3 way system is that you can have the mid take over all vocal duties so 250hz-~7khz. I would definitely remove the rears and sell them. I would actually recommend selling all your JL audio gear. I've hear all their lines including the ZR and they are far too bright and anemic sounding. There are definitely better routes you could go if you want to increase your sound-stage.

The C5s are in more award winning SQ cars than any other speaker. You must have heard bad tuned setups.

 

[gymdiver426 10+ year member]

---------- Post added at 01:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:45 PM ----------

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What DSP are you looking to buy?

Arc PS8

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Are you going to run it active? If not don't do a 3 way.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Arc PS8

Are you going to tune it or pay someone to tune it?

 

[gymdiver426 10+ year member]

Are you going to tune it or pay someone to tune it?

I have a friend thats experienced in processor tuning do it for me.

 

 

Are you going to run it active? If not don't do a 3 way.

 

I will be running it active

 

[Huckleberry Snd 10+ year member]

PM Sent

 

[bluelake08]

good afternoon.i just installed the c5-653 3 way system in my 1998 jeep cherokee.the silk tweeters sound very warm and the adjustment for the tweeters is very pronounced.makes much bigger difference than i thought it would.rear speakers made it hard for me to get the sound-stage where i wanted it without more exp.and there are plenty of guys on here that can help.but just my 3 ways with 1 12w6 sounds amazing.i ended up buying a custom fit kick panel pods from q logic and made a huge difference in the sound stage.it now sounds like your sitting on your couch with speakers right in front of you and to the far left and right.i had the XR series 3 ways before and way to bright but not at all the case with the C5.i would like some advice on speaker break in.is this something the experts actually do?does it make a difference in the way the speakers sound after the break in period?(can you actually hear the difference?).how do you break them in?what is happening during break in?thank you for your help.also if any one has a jeep cherokee with same body style i have the perfect solution for the 6.5 mid/bass baffle behind metal section of the door where speaker screws are screwed into.mad such a difference in mid bass response and completley stopped the mid from bottoming out at high volume do to the speaker moving like free air because of so much door space.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

i would like some advice on speaker break in.is this something the experts actually do?does it make a difference in the way the speakers sound after the break in period?(can you actually hear the difference?).how do you break them in?what is happening during break in?

I break in speakers by letting it rip with my favorite music. For clients I make sure the system is set up so there is a reduced chance that they will cause damage, such as setting a High Pass Filter for speakers smaller than 6"x9" or 8" to remove bass. All speakers will "break in" to some extent, but they are constantly changing slightly in perfomance over a long period of time. Sometimes it is a very noticeable difference.

 

[bluelake08]

how do you run active when using the crossovers that came with the C5 653?or are they taken out of the loop?and since the only tuning capabilities i have right now are the very limited alpine cda-117,amplifier,and crossovers i took to my local jl audio shop and first thing he told me to do was get some q logic kick panels because it would be cheaper than modifing the door because factory locations were not good.so ordered those a few days ago(tech gave me a web site were i found them for 120.00 shipped.which is cheaper than he could sell the custom q logic panels for jeep cherokee).alo have jl 300/2,arc KS 300.2(for C5 3way)which one should i use?JL xd 600/1,ARC KS 1000.1(for 12w6v20D4) which should i use for sub?gain on ARC can be turned way down.i have NO exp. in tuning so after getting my kick panels and choosing amps i will take it to him to tune.dont have any exp. with active crossovers but like the fact he would have more tuning options but money is tight now.would the system still have good sound quality with what i have so far without active set up.all wires are OFC and power and ground are !/0 OFC.mechman alternator will come after taxes next year.just have a good AGM battery and 2 stinger hybrid capacitors.if i could go back i would have done a second battery instead.all of jeep sound deadened except roof and hood.will doing hood make a difference?i didnt think that much of it until i heard quite a few people talk about what an improvment it made on the older vehicles like my jeep.the new cars seem to be much quieter and have insulation from factory under hood.i know alot of questions.any help would be very appreciated.found a second addvanted to deadner.i pressure washed all the carpet and seats and looks almost like new inside.thanks for your time and help

 

[bluelake08]

thank you for the break in help.wish there was a particular type of music or cd or itunes download for this.when i buy headphones there is a web site that has a break in download that plays all sorts of wild sound thats supposed to break the headphones in properly.i plug them in and turn up to 75 percent and let play for about 48 hours and you hear a noticeable difference from new.they sound much warmer and seem to sound much bigger and reproduce bass notes esp. better.do you notice break in on car audio more on mid bass,tweeters or subs?just curious.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

how do you run active when using the crossovers that came with the C5 653?or are they taken out of the loop?and since the only tuning capabilities i have right now are the very limited alpine cda-117,amplifier,and crossovers i took to my local jl audio shop and first thing he told me to do was get some q logic kick panels because it would be cheaper than modifing the door because factory locations were not good.so ordered those a few days ago(tech gave me a web site were i found them for 120.00 shipped.which is cheaper than he could sell the custom q logic panels for jeep cherokee).alo have jl 300/2,arc KS 300.2(for C5 3way)which one should i use?JL xd 600/1,ARC KS 1000.1(for 12w6v20D4) which should i use for sub?gain on ARC can be turned way down.i have NO exp. in tuning so after getting my kick panels and choosing amps i will take it to him to tune.dont have any exp. with active crossovers but like the fact he would have more tuning options but money is tight now.would the system still have good sound quality with what i have so far without active set up.all wires are OFC and power and ground are !/0 OFC.mechman alternator will come after taxes next year.just have a good AGM battery and 2 stinger hybrid capacitors.if i could go back i would have done a second battery instead.all of jeep sound deadened except roof and hood.will doing hood make a difference?i didnt think that much of it until i heard quite a few people talk about what an improvment it made on the older vehicles like my jeep.the new cars seem to be much quieter and have insulation from factory under hood.i know alot of questions.any help would be very appreciated.found a second addvanted to deadner.i pressure washed all the carpet and seats and looks almost like new inside.thanks for your time and help

To run active you must take the crossover that JL gave you out of the loop completely. Basically with the crossover, it's been pre-tuned by JL and you can't change anything about it. It is plug and play and will only require a 2 channel amp. Now if you want to run 3-way fully active, then each speaker would need an individual channel of power so you can set the gains individually for tweeter, midrange, and mid bass. In your case, you can use the JL 300/2, KS 300.2, and another 2 ch amp for a total of 6 channels just for the front stage. If you're using a low powering sub then the JL 600.1 should probably do but if you're getting a more powerful sub, then feel free to use your Arc KS 1000.1 and put your gains low. There is much more tuning involved with active and might take much more time to get it sounding pleasing to your ears. Active is much louder with less power but requires its own individual channels. But if you're serious about SQ, then it will come with its rewards. There's nothing wrong with using the crossovers they gave you as it is the easiest and cheapest options. It'll get you a decent sound and many are satisfied with it already. If you're the type that likes messing around with the sound, then active is your best bet.

I think the deadening the roof won't really make much of a difference unless you're running some serious power. Important thing is deadening the doors and hatch/trunk to keep the sound insulated. Go with whatever you can afford and see how you like it.