Help with selecting crossover points for a cz702

2421 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by atownmack, Oct 15, 2013

atownmack

Discussion Starter · Oct 12, 2013

I recently bought a clarion cz702 due to everyone on here saying how much better an active crossover is! Upon installing everything, I can not get the sound I need. On certain songs I missing much of the frequency. I'm running the cz702 on 3 way mode (that is tweeter, mid, and sub.) When I crossover the tweeters too low they get insanely bright. (To the point of being painful). When the woofer plays too high or too low it distorts. I'm very frustrated at this point. I have spend a good portion of yesterday trying many combinations, but I'm unable to find a suitable solution. Does anyone have good crossover points they can suggest? My woofers are JBL p660c woofer. From JBL's website it has a frequency range 45Hz–23kHz which I'm sure includes the tweeters (I'm only using the woofer, so I'm not sure how high the woofer can play). and my tweeters are MB Quarts OTK-30 they have a frequency range of 3,200-30,000Hz.

Also I'm unfamiliar with crossover slopes, I have tried both 6db and 12db slopes on many combinations and cannot hear an audible difference. I have read much about slopes, but can't understand how they affect sound. But some crossover points would be great! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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sqnut

· #2 · Oct 12, 2013

You will have to try different combinations to see what works best for your install and environment. A good starting point would be :

Sub - LPF 60hz on 12 db slope. A 12 db slope means the subs output would be attenuated 12db for every octave above the LPF point. So if the subs output is say 90 db (at a given volume) at 60hz it will be 78db at 120hz, 66db at 180hz and so on. Typically I prefer steeper slopes, but it seems 12 db is the max the unit gives. Try crossing a little lower say 50hz and see what you prefer.

Mid - I will normally keep the same xover point for the sub LPF and the mid HPF. Keep the slopes at 12db and play around a bit here. Run the mids to about 4-5khz LPF.

Tweeter - The MBQ tweets can get very bright if played too low. On a 12 db slope I would not run them under 4-5khz, which is why I suggested this range for the mids LPF. Another thing you can try is to lower the gains on the tweets at the hu. Try attenuating the tweets by about 4-6db at the hu and see if that helps with the brightness.

See how this sounds.

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calebkhill

· #3 · Oct 13, 2013

Agree with above.
Door treatment may be needed.

You may need to use time alignment if your install doesn't have balanced speaker location (pld)

crossover points and slopes vary from system to system, and are not the last thing on the list. Gain controls and level matching pays a huge role in the sound you will get. Play with gains on mids/tweets.

Proper crossover and slopes between mid and sub will pay a role in overall sound.

Speaker location will pay a role in overall sound. You can try different locations for tweeters to try and mold your sound.

EQing may be needed looking into.

Check polarity on speakers, they should be in phase.

The list goes on...

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thomasluke

· #4 · Oct 13, 2013

Those JBL's are good up to about 4khz. Yes they will be beaming but they will still sound good.
Try crossing at 4khz with the tweet and woofer using a 12 db slope. They JBL is good down to about 80 or 60 depending on how much power you have.
How much power do you have on tap?

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atownmack

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 15, 2013

sqnut said:
You will have to try different combinations to see what works best for your install and environment. A good starting point would be :

Sub - LPF 60hz on 12 db slope. A 12 db slope means the subs output would be attenuated 12db for every octave above the LPF point. So if the subs output is say 90 db (at a given volume) at 60hz it will be 78db at 120hz, 66db at 180hz and so on. Typically I prefer steeper slopes, but it seems 12 db is the max the unit gives. Try crossing a little lower say 50hz and see what you prefer.

Mid - I will normally keep the same xover point for the sub LPF and the mid HPF. Keep the slopes at 12db and play around a bit here. Run the mids to about 4-5khz LPF.

Tweeter - The MBQ tweets can get very bright if played too low. On a 12 db slope I would not run them under 4-5khz, which is why I suggested this range for the mids LPF. Another thing you can try is to lower the gains on the tweets at the hu. Try attenuating the tweets by about 4-6db at the hu and see if that helps with the brightness.

See how this sounds.

Thank you so much! tweeter at 4k and mid lpf at 4k is perfect! I was getting so frustrated fooling with this system, I was considering taking it to a shop to tune it, but now I love it!!! I love bass, but with the mids hpf at 63hz certain songs (mainly music with live instruments such as jazz or rock) actually sounds better with very little sub. Rap still needs subs, but then 63hz on the mids is too low at which I go up to 100hz and let the sub (Memphis Mojo) do my dirty work!

Thank god I am alive during the internet age. Forums like these are great for learning from others and spreading good valuable information.You have no idea how much I appreciate you giving me the crossover points. You are a real life saver, god bless you my friend.

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atownmack

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 15, 2013

thomasluke said:
Those JBL's are good up to about 4khz. Yes they will be beaming but they will still sound good.
Try crossing at 4khz with the tweet and woofer using a 12 db slope. They JBL is good down to about 80 or 60 depending on how much power you have.
How much power do you have on tap?

My amp puts out 75 watts rms

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atownmack

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 15, 2013

calebkhill said:
Agree with above.
Door treatment may be needed.

You may need to use time alignment if your install doesn't have balanced speaker location (pld)

crossover points and slopes vary from system to system, and are not the last thing on the list. Gain controls and level matching pays a huge role in the sound you will get. Play with gains on mids/tweets.

Proper crossover and slopes between mid and sub will pay a role in overall sound.

Speaker location will pay a role in overall sound. You can try different locations for tweeters to try and mold your sound.

EQing may be needed looking into.

Check polarity on speakers, they should be in phase.

The list goes on...

You are right The I had to eq the tweeters to turn them down a bit, and mees with the t/a. Now my audio sounds great!

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atownmack

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 15, 2013

The Clarion cz702 is a great headunit. It could be a little more user friendly, but once you understand how it works, using it is a breeze! I wish the manual was a bit more thorough in explanations. This is a awesome unit! It has so many features for such a small price. The time alignment helps center the sound. The active crossover is a feature I will never do without again, and the equalizer allows you to shape your sound! I have currently have 2 hifi headphones: Sennheiser HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT770 and have owned many others in the past, my Camry now sounds as clean, as my headphones, (which is saying a lot if you've heard these headphones.) If you are willing to take the time to mess with all the settings you have the potential to have an excellent sound system in your car. Go out get this headunit or a competing model, and you'll be pleased.

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