Doing this for my daughter's car for her birthday. I am new to this and just want to run it by some w/ experience to see if anyone sees any hangups or has better suggestions. I already have the equipment in hand, I realize it is bottom-of-the-barrel equipment, but I am on a budget and just want to make a 16-yo girl happy. I need to make it happen with what I have.
-I was planning on putting component speakers up front, 2-way speakers in rear.
-Hook sub to Rear channel of amp, bridged
-Hook front component speakers to front L/R channels of amp
-Hook rear 2-way speakers direct to headunit
Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing anything?
I give that system a month before she blows the sub/amp/speakers...
Problem with a "budget" system made up of "cheap" (for real) components is they won't last the beating and you KNOW she's going to beat on it (you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise..lol..)
I would consider spending a little more time, look through classifides, see what's going on, look though the "Hot Deals" section, you may have missed some deals, BUT there may be others you haven't (usually rather high quality gear, CHEAP, forum finds) and it could point you in the direction of inexpensive QUALITY gear..
The legacy amp isn't going to output rated power, the speakers will likely sound like warm poo in a bag and the sub isn't going to last a week...
I don't know how long you have, but some REALLY nice systems can be put together here on the CHEAP...
My honest opinion here... Put up a budget number in the system design section, see what pops up, some guys get off on putting systems together... seriously (not literally)
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
^^ agree, didn't even think about that little factor, also, sound deadener, sound deadener, sound deadener, sound deadener!!!!!
Be weary young Skywalker, tizz very easy to fall overboard...
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
the sound ordnance speakers will surprise you I decided to use the amp and sub for my girlfriends suv and was blown away at the solid sound it provided. As for the rest I woudl say instruct her on volume control for hearing protection and equipement protection as well
the sound ordnance speakers will surprise you I decided to use the amp and sub for my girlfriends suv and was blown away at the solid sound it provided. As for the rest I woudl say instruct her on volume control for hearing protection and equipement protection as well
That's an excellent counterpoint, I know nothing about SO speakers, simply rep.. Someone like yourself knows better here for sure..
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
Wow, quick responses, thanks! So it seems my speaker/amp hookup plan is a good one. I will proceed and caution her about blowing the things up within a week. Hopefully it won't sound too bad.
Since I'm hooking fronts and sub to amp and using RCAs to get signal to amp. That leaves me with all speaker wires left open coming out of headunit, should I wire rear speakers direct to head unit with all wires to get more power to back speakers, or just wire rear channel to back speakers and leave front channel speaker wires not hooked up to anything?
I guess everybody on here started with top notch stuff and knowing everything, give him a break at least he's doing something for his daughter.
You missed the point obvioously....
The point IS, there is no reason to start with crap, not in this day and age of online classified adds...
A little research can go a LONG way in putting together a PROPER, low budget system...
For instance, when the Cadence TXA (3002/3004) series amps where the "forum boner" you could get a QUALITY 2ch and a 4ch for what 150$...
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
Since I'm hooking fronts and sub to amp and using RCAs to get signal to amp. That leaves me with all speaker wires left open coming out of headunit, should I wire rear speakers direct to head unit with all wires to get more power to back speakers, or just wire rear channel to back speakers and leave front channel speaker wires not hooked up to anything?
wire the rear speakers to the rear output wires only. you could cause damage to the head unit otherwise trying to combine them. Leave the front outputs disconnected and taped/heat shrinked if you do not plan to use them
So i have everything hooked up and it is way louder than I ever expected- jeez. I have gains turned way down to prevent any sort of damage. Anyway, before I put all panels back together and present her the car when she gets home from school, I'd like to get some input on a few settings I have no clue about and the respective manuals are very confusing about where to start.
AMP
- There is a dial for each side of amp that goes from 30-300hZ. About where should I put this for each side? Front channel runs to front component speakers. Rear channel is bridged and goes to sub.
- There is a switch for each side of amp. Can select either LPF, FULL, HPF. Which selection should I make for Components and sub?
COMPONENT SPEAKERS
-There is a two position switch on crossover. It's either 0 dB or -3 dB, which one should I use? I will have no access to this once car is put back together.
HEADUNIT
-There is an option to set rear channel for sub, I have this turned on.
-There is an option for subwoofer LPF, I can either pick 120Hz, 85Hz, or 55Hz. Which one?
-There is an option for HPF, it is either ON or OFF, which one should I use?
Thanks for entertaining what are probably noob questions, but I genuinely have no idea what to set this stuff to and really cant tell much difference when I goof around with things. I understand most of this is dependent on what sounds best to me, but please give general advice if you can about where to start with settings.
AMP
- There is a dial for each side of amp that goes from 30-300hZ. About where should I put this for each side? Front channel runs to front component speakers. Rear channel is bridged and goes to sub.
- There is a switch for each side of amp. Can select either LPF, FULL, HPF. Which selection should I make for Components and sub?
*** I would set both sides to FULL, and let the head unit's Xovers do the job. If set to FULL, the 30-300 hz settings on the amp are defeated, but I would set them anyway just in case she turns off the Xovers on the HU. So, rear channels set around 85 hz to be congruent with the HU's LPF, and set the front channels to the same frequency to be the same as the HU's HPF. That way, if she turns off the HU's Xovers, you can simply flip the switches on the amp from FULL to (rear channels to LPF, and front channels to HPF). Chances are though, she'll just leave the HU's Xovers alone, which is what you want.
COMPONENT SPEAKERS
-There is a two position switch on crossover. It's either 0 dB or -3 dB, which one should I use? I will have no access to this once car is put back together.
*** Definitely -3 db
HEADUNIT
-There is an option to set rear channel for sub, I have this turned on.
-There is an option for subwoofer LPF, I can either pick 120Hz, 85Hz, or 55Hz. Which one?
-There is an option for HPF, it is either ON or OFF, which one should I use?
*** Pick 85 hz, and turn ON the HPF. I'm thinking it sets to whatever LPF you choose.
Thanks for entertaining what are probably noob questions, but I genuinely have no idea what to set this stuff to and really cant tell much difference when I goof around with things. I understand most of this is dependent on what sounds best to me, but please give general advice if you can about where to start with settings.
*** I would also swap the phase on the mids (reverse pos and neg wires on the passive crossovers' output), as that will fix the phase problems between the sub and the mids, and the mids and the tweeters, that is, if both the HU's Xovers and the passive Xovers have 12 dbs per octave slopes.
Last edited by Danometal; 04-30-2012 at 08:53 AM..
*** I would also swap the phase on the mids (reverse pos and neg wires on the passive crossovers' output), as that will fix the phase problems between the sub and the mids, and the mids and the tweeters, that is, if both the HU's Xovers and the passive Xovers have 12 dbs per octave slopes.
This confuses me. Are you saying to switch the polarity on output of the component speaker crossover for the woofer and tweeter? What about the rear 2-channel speakers that are being powered by the headunit?
This confuses me. Are you saying to switch the polarity on output of the component speaker crossover for the woofer and tweeter? What about the rear 2-channel speakers that are being powered by the headunit?
Polarity and phase get crosswired a lot...
He is saying swap polarity on the mid, it's possible that area is out of phase with the rest of the system, swapping ONE mid can change this drasticaly...
If it doesn't work, swap it back..
Just something to try..
Glad its workin out..
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
So i have everything hooked up and it is way louder than I ever expected- jeez. I have gains turned way down to prevent any sort of damage. Anyway, before I put all panels back together and present her the car when she gets home from school, I'd like to get some input on a few settings I have no clue about and the respective manuals are very confusing about where to start.
AMP
- There is a dial for each side of amp that goes from 30-300hZ. About where should I put this for each side? Front channel runs to front component speakers. Rear channel is bridged and goes to sub.
- There is a switch for each side of amp. Can select either LPF, FULL, HPF. Which selection should I make for Components and sub?
COMPONENT SPEAKERS
-There is a two position switch on crossover. It's either 0 dB or -3 dB, which one should I use? I will have no access to this once car is put back together.
HEADUNIT
-There is an option to set rear channel for sub, I have this turned on.
-There is an option for subwoofer LPF, I can either pick 120Hz, 85Hz, or 55Hz. Which one?
-There is an option for HPF, it is either ON or OFF, which one should I use?
Thanks for entertaining what are probably noob questions, but I genuinely have no idea what to set this stuff to and really cant tell much difference when I goof around with things. I understand most of this is dependent on what sounds best to me, but please give general advice if you can about where to start with settings.
I would go a different route than danno...
I would use the crossovers in the amp, NOT the HU... Less chance of something getting messed with...
That being said, LPF for the rear channels (sub) and HPF for the front channel
I would start off with both about 80-85hz as Dano said...
The passive crossover for the components, the 0db and the -3db are to attinuate the tweeter...
The idea of "deffinitly use the -3db" setting Dano suggested is a little silly, without listening to it..
In some cases, the tweeter is really bright and strong, needing a bit of a roll back, hense having the -3db setting.. In other cases, not so much...
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
So i have everything hooked up and it is way louder than I ever expected- jeez. I have gains turned way down to prevent any sort of damage. Anyway, before I put all panels back together and present her the car when she gets home from school, I'd like to get some input on a few settings I have no clue about and the respective manuals are very confusing about where to start.
AMP
- There is a dial for each side of amp that goes from 30-300hZ. About where should I put this for each side? Front channel runs to front component speakers. Rear channel is bridged and goes to sub.
- There is a switch for each side of amp. Can select either LPF, FULL, HPF. Which selection should I make for Components and sub?
COMPONENT SPEAKERS
-There is a two position switch on crossover. It's either 0 dB or -3 dB, which one should I use? I will have no access to this once car is put back together.
HEADUNIT
-There is an option to set rear channel for sub, I have this turned on.
-There is an option for subwoofer LPF, I can either pick 120Hz, 85Hz, or 55Hz. Which one?
-There is an option for HPF, it is either ON or OFF, which one should I use?
Thanks for entertaining what are probably noob questions, but I genuinely have no idea what to set this stuff to and really cant tell much difference when I goof around with things. I understand most of this is dependent on what sounds best to me, but please give general advice if you can about where to start with settings.
i personally would set the crossover points on the amps rather then the headunit. I've found its always best to not give the ability to control stuff like that to a beginner or novice ( aka- 16yr old girl)
If you spend the time setting everything at the amp correctly, all she ever has to worry about it the volume knob and what mp3 to play!
As for the setting on the amp...id start with
Front components set to HP, and set to like 60hz + or- 10hz
Sub set to LP 80hz + or -10hz
thos are jsut starting points....also when doing the setting and "tuning" turn the sub off first..and fade all the way to the front not to have the rear speakers palying...then tune the front correctly (gains and Xover0 then fade back to the rear jsut untill the rears are "audible" dont want them over powering the fronts...or drawing too much attention to them. Now turn the sub on and tune that to match the rest of the system...
as for the 0 or -3 db setting on the component crossovers....these setting would affect the tweeter level...so by switcing to the -3 setting you'd essentially be lowering "just" the tweeter level by 3db. Usually if the tweeters are facing you on axis, or seem way too bright...you'd set these to the -3. if they sound jsut fine to you with the mid-speaker...then leve it at 0
good luck..sounds like yuo have a handle on it already!!
Last edited by Timelessr1; 04-30-2012 at 11:42 AM..
Yea, I concede that, in the case of an inexperienced user at the controls, maybe it would indeed be best to set the Xovers at the amp to avoid any accidental defeating of the HU's Xovers.
I'll also concede that the strong notion towards the -3 db tweeter settings on the passive Xovers is derived from my personal subjective experiences with passive components - most tweeters in component sets are typically too hot for my tastes @ 0 dbs, even off axis. So, listen for yourself and see which sounds best to you.
About to install...
Linear Mode
