VERY basic (dumb) question on wiring speakers

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HardcoreBob

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I know I should know this, but I want to make perfectly sure...

When I wire my component speaker set w/passive crossover, does the tweeter and woofer get wired together, where there's one set of wires +/- going to the amp, or do they "not" get wired together, so that each speaker has a set of wires connected to amp?

Basically, for right and left component speakers am I wiring two sets, one right and one left to the amp or all of them.

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Easy answer, as I have wired up some new comps in my Tahoe in the summer. The x-over has 6 inputs on it. Should be labeled tweeter, mid, and input. Wire up the tweeter to the tweeter input, matching up + and - same with the midwoofer. The input side is where the amp speaker wires will go into.

 
Are you doing your own installation after you asked us for professionals?
What component speakers are you wiring? Brand and model.
I'm constantly learning (even if it's slowly)...

When I was asking for a pro, I was under the impression that there would be some complicated "tapping" being done on my vehicles factory amp... I wasn't clear on how a line converter factored into that... I did not want to alter my center/rear channels, and thought the factory amp would have to be tapped to grab a front channel and sub channel.

I was worried about summing and flattening the signal, restoring bass etc...

Now I'm starting to feel more confident that the DSR1 will do all of that, and feeling confident I can do that myself...

If I didn't end up doing it myself, it's nor necessarily something I would want to be "up the installers ***" for, because it's plug and play.

Only problem I'm seeing right now is figuring out how to get to my factory amp, butI'm sure I will figure it out...

My big worry now is going passive or active, since I'll have a DSP, I know it may be dumb to pay for and install a passive crossover...

I have zero experience with this new software/technology, but I have downloaded and tinkered with the app...

When I look for "raw" drivers though, I have trouble finding midrange drivers that fit.

Don't I need to know if I buy separate drivers if they are "matched" or not?

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On the crossover you have an input that comes from the amp, then you have two sets of output one label Tweeter and one labeled woofer those go to the speakers
Thanks... Crystal clear now... but I had to ask.[emoji51][emoji23]

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Easy answer, as I have wired up some new comps in my Tahoe in the summer. The x-over has 6 inputs on it. Should be labeled tweeter, mid, and input. Wire up the tweeter to the tweeter input, matching up + and - same with the midwoofer. The input side is where the amp speaker wires will go into.
Wrong. Please stop..

 
I'm constantly learning (even if it's slowly)...
Only problem I'm seeing right now is figuring out how to get to my factory amp, butI 'm sure I will figure it out...
Try one of the Ford Truck Forums, they will be a better resource for that.

My big worry now is going passive or active, since I'll have a DSP, I know it may be dumb to pay for and install a passive crossover...
Doing an active setup is a step that I would recommend you wait until you get your factory radio integration thing figured out and learn more. You can still use the Rockford DSP with the passive setup and then switch to active later by removing the passive crossover and wiring directly to your amp after you set up the DSP for active. There are many great sounding component sets that use passive crossovers. Many of the best home audio speakers use passive crossovers. Get a good quality passive component set with good mid woofers from companies like Facal, JL Audio, Illusion Audio, or Morel. You can swap the tweeter from the component set for a different tweeter with a lower resonant frequency later if you want to raise the sound stage with an active setup. It will be a lot easier to start this way and you'll be up and running more quickly too.

When I look for "raw" drivers though, I have trouble finding midrange drivers that fit.
Take out one factory speaker and measure it or use one of the online retailers fitment guides to help there.

Don't I need to know if I buy separate drivers if they are "matched" or not.
Unless they come combined as an active set from the manufacturer than it won't be that easy. You need to look at the Thiele/Small parameters or T/S parameters for each type of driver. For the tweeter you'll want to know the fs of the tweeter to help you figure out how low it can be crossed over to the woofer. For the woofer you'll want to know it's fs too but also Q parameters and usable frequency range so you can cross it over to the tweeter without any holes or gaps. The cone material of the woofer and the tweeter type and material give each driver a signature coloration or certain sound characteristic. All these things have tradoffs or comprise one charaterisic for another. Then there will be how each driver will behave in your vehicle, which is about the worst environment for a speaker full of compromises and much less than idea situations. It gets complicated so again this is why I say start passive and then active once you have learned more through research and these forums.

Here is some more good reads for you Bob.

https://www.eminence.com/support/understanding-loudspeaker-data/

Positioning a woofer box in a car trunk - bass cancelation - Houston TX

 
Try one of the Ford Truck Forums, they will be a better resource for that.


Doing an active setup is a step that I would recommend you wait until you get your factory radio integration thing figured out and learn more. You can still use the Rockford DSP with the passive setup and then switch to active later by removing the passive crossover and wiring directly to your amp after you set up the DSP for active. There are many great sounding component sets that use passive crossovers. Many of the best home audio speakers use passive crossovers. Get a good quality passive component set with good mid woofers from companies like Facal, JL Audio, Illusion Audio, or Morel. You can swap the tweeter from the component set for a different tweeter with a lower resonant frequency later if you want to raise the sound stage with an active setup. It will be a lot easier to start this way and you'll be up and running more quickly too.

Take out one factory speaker and measure it or use one of the online retailers fitment guides to help there.

Unless they come combined as an active set from the manufacturer than it won't be that easy. You need to look at the Thiele/Small parameters or T/S parameters for each type of driver. For the tweeter you'll want to know the fs of the tweeter to help you figure out how low it can be crossed over to the woofer. For the woofer you'll want to know it's fs too but also Q parameters and usable frequency range so you can cross it over to the tweeter without any holes or gaps. The cone material of the woofer and the tweeter type and material give each driver a signature coloration or certain sound characteristic. All these things have tradoffs or comprise one charaterisic for another. Then there will be how each driver will behave in your vehicle, which is about the worst environment for a speaker full of compromises and much less than idea situations. It gets complicated so again this is why I say start passive and then active once you have learned more through research and these forums.

Here is some more good reads for you Bob.

https://www.eminence.com/support/understanding-loudspeaker-data/

Positioning a woofer box in a car trunk - bass cancelation - Houston TX
Thanks for the info... one factor that popped into my head running passive though, is time alighnment...

To measure and align each speaker I'd need to be running active, right?

(The mids and tweets are actually a similar distance away in my truck but I want to be as accurate as possible given my experience level and equipment of course)

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