[MercuryFlint]

Hi, all!

I'm looking for an inexpensive active crossover. I'm running front speakers with tweeters piggybacked off the front signal, two rear speakers, all on a 4 channel amp, and a sub off a separate amp. I'm looking for a way of fine-tuning things but my budget is pretty ragged at the moment. There's a little Boss BX55 that I can get for nothing, though I'm looking at a few others.

From what I've read an active crossover should help with a few problems I'm having:

• Tweeters on the fronts overpower everything and are harsh.
• Rear speakers have too much high and it throws off any chance of soundstaging.
• I want better fine-tuning on the subwoofer.

Would this little unit do the trick? Boss BX55 I can get it for free. Is there a better budget option I should look into?

I appreciate any help offered.

 

[lithium]

What amps do you have? some might have this crossovers built in already. If the speakers you have installed are a component set with passive crossover than you can check for a tweeter attenuation switch. From there you can use a phone app to add some EQ to your system. One app is foobar 2000 which has about 20 bands of eq. If you're using a streaming service you'll have to look into other ideas...

Cheapest option for a real active processor would be to take the 4 channel amp and add a minidsp 2x4 (with a minidc isolator) for about $100 bucks. You'll have to ditch the rears as you'll need 1 amp channel per driver.

Some other cheap options would be too look for some particular headunits with active processing.

 

[lithium]

Saw your other thread, your headunit has all the processing you'll need for a 2way + subwoofer setup. I wouldn't have picked those drivers for this setup so I would probably suggest changing those out eventually (or return if you can). You don't have to pay much for some raw drivers from madisound or parts express that would outperform what you have.

You can do some reading about the network mode here:

Pioneer DMH-2660NEX

Digital multimedia receiver (does not play CDs)

www.crutchfield.com

if you're committed to using what you have, that HU has plenty of processing to eq the signal without buying that ****ty boss unit. I would drop those extra tweeters as you already have coax's in the front with a tweeter.

 

[ckirocz28]

What @lithium said^^. Use the network mode on that head unit.

 

[hella356]

I agree with the previous posters, just use what you've already got. Before I got an external DSP, I used the built-in HU active crossovers and time alignment to very good effect, and you will probably get better results with the HU controls than an external crossover will provide, and BONUS! - no more money spent or any additional equipment to install. An external DSP gives much more granular control over crossovers & T/A, and allows for system EQ, but fully utilizing the HU capabilities will get you a good chunk of that.

 

[MercuryFlint]

I'll eventually switch those out, but I got the amps and drivers for free and the head unit at a discount, so I'm not complaining.

I spent an hour trying to figure out how to turn on networking mode and made no headway. After thumping my head against a wall I thought it could be a bug and decided to reset the whole thing and give up my hours of previous tuning. Literally the second thing it asks after the reset, second to language, is whether you want network mode. So it works, and holy hell, what a difference! I was able to pull the highs out of the speakers behind my head, tame the previously overworking tweeters, and, no idea how, the sub sounds better. It's awesome.

No cost, no new installation, significantly better sound quality. Thank you all!

 

[MercuryFlint]

This is unrelated, but could someone identify what this "Bass Freq." dial is? I know the gain, LPF, Subsonice/HPF, Boost, but not what this Bass Freq. knob is.

 

[hella356]

It's a bit of a Eureka! moment the first time going active. Get out a tape measure to set the time alignment, and you're getting there.

I'm guessing the bass frequency knob determines the frequency at which the boost is applied.

 

[LimpCroissaint]

It's a bit of a Eureka! moment the first time going active. Get out a tape measure to set the time alignment, and you're getting there.

I'm guessing the bass frequency knob determines the frequency at which the boost is applied.

Exactly. It will boost whatever frequency you select, and it will boost it by however many decibels you select on the boost knob(more or less). Do some very thorough reading on this feature if you're thinking about using it as thats how most people blow their subs. It can be useful but you have to use it in combination with the gain knob or poof goes the magic smoke!

 

[MercuryFlint]

Hey, all!

Thanks for the input, lithium (and ck), hella and limp. I tape measured the distances for everything and input it all in the timing controls. I flipped the phase on my subwoofer which seemed to help the bass arrive on time (it felt like it was delayed slightly before) and it's hitting a little harder. A guy where I work tuned the amp a bit. Apparently I had the gain too high, so he dropped it below half and added a little on the bass boost.

When I have the bass turned up I notice a bit of an odd note. It's not quite distortion, but it doesn't sound "healthy," so to speak. It's hard to describe, and from what I've read doesn't seem to fit the profile of distortion or clipping. The guys told me it was because I was using a sealed box instead of a ported, but I don't quite understand the reasoning to it. My gain is below half, the bass boost is minimal, the hpf is set to 40Hz, the lpf is set to (I think) 100Hz with a -12 slope, no bass boost on the head unit, EQ actually pulls down the lowest two adjustments a few points. I'm not really sure what I'm hearing, so it's a little hard to Google the problem.

Anyone have any thoughts? You've all been greatly helpful, and I appreciate the info so far.

 

[miniSQ]

This is unrelated, but could someone identify what this "Bass Freq." dial is? I know the gain, LPF, Subsonice/HPF, Boost, but not what this Bass Freq. knob is.

View attachment 307505

It looks to be the freq of your bass boost to the right of it.

 

[lithium]

typically you dont need a hpf for a sealed box. You should try lowering the LPF to see if that helps. Might be asking it to pay too high.

Make sure the subwoofer and box isn't leaking or anything like that. Place your hand around he subwoofer and fee for leaks while playing a test tone at moderator level. Check that the enclosure isn't flexing.

 

[MercuryFlint]

Interesting. I thought the subsonics could do damage without it. My research is limited, however.

I actually picked up some wood glue and latex caulk to use around all of the seams. A little prehab work to see if it improves the response of things. I'll try feeling for a leak later today, though, at least that would give me a place to start.

I just stumbled across an ebay listing for a 12" bass tube (generic enclosure, not the Bazooka product), ported, which seems like might work for my application. Seems like flexing wouldn't be as much of an issue in something like that.