[PWMDMD]

My current system:
Kenwood DMX 1037S
Infinity Kappa 5 Amp using stock speaker wires
Doors - Hertz K170 x4
Dash - Kenwood Excelon KFC-X2C
Kenwood Excelon XR-W1004 x 2 in custom ported enclosure wired in parallel.

Front doors and dash are both on channel 1 and 2 - high pass at the amp with no other x-over
Rear doors are on channel 3 and 4 - high pass at the amp with no other x-over
Sub is on channel 5

I'm adding Steg SQL650Cs to the front doors and Audiofrog GS25s to the dash and an Arc Audio X2 1100.5 amp. I'd like to add passive x-overs and inherited some two Hertz 2W.10 2-way x-overs and two Hertz 3-way Mille X-overs. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to integrate the passive x-overs into the system.

1. Use the 2-way at the amp and send tweeter output to the dash/tweeters and woofer to Steg Woofer?

2. Is there a way to integrate the 3-way up front without running a bunch of new speaker wire?

Thanks!

 

[gijoe]

Passive crossover are not universal. The crossover points are determined by the impedance of the speaker attached to them. Even if the impedance is basically the same, one speaker may perform much better with a different crossover point, and a crossover point too low can ruin a speaker (especially a tweeter).

Basically, repurposing passive crossovers to use with speakers they weren't designed for is a bad idea. It can work, as long as the crossover points are safe based on the speakers you use, but there's no telling whether or not it will work well.

I would much rather have a nicely designed 2-way front stage running active, than a Frankenstein 3-way with random crossovers. Hell, I'd take an active 2-way over a passive 3-way almost every time, even if the crossovers were intended for the speakers used.

 

[PWMDMD]

Thanks Gijoe, I get what you're saying. I got the 3-way Hertz from an installer who I buy my gear through - these are the actual used ones he used with the same Stegs and amp in his own truck before going fully active. He's sending me instructions with the gear but I wanted to make sure I understand my opinions. So, theoretically, if we pretend the x-overs are all matched to the speakers, how would you go about setting them up?

 

[ecobass]

I own a set of Steg Audio sq650c drivers (mids and tweeters) and paired them with some pioneer crossovers ( 2 way x-overs) from an old component set I had laying around, and the truth is the steg speakers sound 10x better with the pioneer x-overs than the very mids and tweeters they came with, I'm not joking. I strongly disagree with those that claim that you need to strictly match x-overs designed for those specific components or drivers (in some cases it applies but not always) . If this was the case than companies like cdt audio, audiopipe, parts-express,madisound, prv audio, nvx to name a few would not be selling generic passive 2-way and 3-way x-over units and in some cases custom x-over services and parts, they would just tell you to go to the manufacturer of those speakers.

With this cleared and out of the way, you would need to send a full range signal to the hertz passive x-over unit's " input" , so as long as you connect the correct driver to the correct output side of the crossover you should be good and ready to go. So set your amp to full pass , no low pass nor high pass to interfere with the passive x-over's job and make sure tweeter output on the x-over is connected and matched to a tweeter and not a mid-range or mi-bass driver and so forth and so on. If you want/need additional eq and tuning other than x-overs and slopes than a dsp capable headunit or separate dsp unit would be needed.

Lastly but most importantly run separate wire other than the vehicle's oem speaker wiring , something like a high quality 99% copper 12 gauge or 14 gauge should be good, i personally like and use monoprice nimbus 14 awg 4 conductor speaker wire , great wire and good price , I have ran knuconceptz speaker wire back in 2012 but i prefer monoprice nimbus now. Good luck and I hope this helps!!

 

[ecobass]

Monoprice Nimbus Series 14AWG 4-Conductor CMP-Rated Speaker Wire, 100ft - Monoprice.com

Monoprice Plenum Speaker Wire is designed to meet the most stringent standards of safety for both residential and commercial applications. The fire-retardant cable jacket bears the CMP plenum air spac

www.monoprice.com

 

[PWMDMD]

I own a set of Steg Audio sq650c drivers (mids and tweeters) and paired them with some pioneer crossovers ( 2 way x-overs) from an old component set I had laying around, and the truth is the steg speakers sound 10x better with the pioneer x-overs than the very mids and tweeters they came with, I'm not joking. I strongly disagree with those that claim that you need to strictly match x-overs designed for those specific components or drivers (in some cases it applies but not always) . If this was the case than companies like cdt audio, audiopipe, parts-express,madisound, prv audio, nvx to name a few would not be selling generic passive 2-way and 3-way x-over units and in some cases custom x-over services and parts, they would just tell you to go to the manufacturer of those speakers.

With this cleared and out of the way, you would need to send a full range signal to the hertz passive x-over unit's " input" , so as long as you connect the correct driver to the correct output side of the crossover you should be good and ready to go. So set your amp to full pass , no low pass nor high pass to interfere with the passive x-over's job and make sure tweeter output on the x-over is connected and matched to a tweeter and not a mid-range or mi-bass driver and so forth and so on. If you want/need additional eq and tuning other than x-overs and slopes than a dsp capable headunit or separate dsp unit would be needed.

Lastly but most importantly run separate wire other than the vehicle's oem speaker wiring , something like a high quality 99% copper 12 gauge or 14 gauge should be good, i personally like and use monoprice nimbus 14 awg 4 conductor speaker wire , great wire and good price , I have ran knuconceptz speaker wire back in 2012 but i prefer monoprice nimbus now. Good luck and I hope this helps!!

Yea, like I said, this guy is an installer I've known for a few years and I did him a favor last year and when I contacted him about wanting more power for the sub and more mid-bass up front he recommended the exact setup he had in his Tundra with the only difference being he went full active. He threw in the actual used Hertz x-overs he was using prior. He's just not local and so these are still DIY projects (which I like) with some direction and support and he always sends all the custom harnesses so most everything is basically plug-n-play. Thanks for your post!

 

[gijoe]

I own a set of Steg Audio sq650c drivers (mids and tweeters) and paired them with some pioneer crossovers ( 2 way x-overs) from an old component set I had laying around, and the truth is the steg speakers sound 10x better with the pioneer x-overs than the very mids and tweeters they came with, I'm not joking. I strongly disagree with those that claim that you need to strictly match x-overs designed for those specific components or drivers (in some cases it applies but not always) . If this was the case than companies like cdt audio, audiopipe, parts-express,madisound, prv audio, nvx to name a few would not be selling generic passive 2-way and 3-way x-over units and in some cases custom x-over services and parts, they would just tell you to go to the manufacturer of those speakers.

With this cleared and out of the way, you would need to send a full range signal to the hertz passive x-over unit's " input" , so as long as you connect the correct driver to the correct output side of the crossover you should be good and ready to go. So set your amp to full pass , no low pass nor high pass to interfere with the passive x-over's job and make sure tweeter output on the x-over is connected and matched to a tweeter and not a mid-range or mi-bass driver and so forth and so on. If you want/need additional eq and tuning other than x-overs and slopes than a dsp capable headunit or separate dsp unit would be needed.

Lastly but most importantly run separate wire other than the vehicle's oem speaker wiring , something like a high quality 99% copper 12 gauge or 14 gauge should be good, i personally like and use monoprice nimbus 14 awg 4 conductor speaker wire , great wire and good price , I have ran knuconceptz speaker wire back in 2012 but i prefer monoprice nimbus now. Good luck and I hope this helps!!

As I said originally, using different passive crossovers can work, it can also fail miserably, so I'm not sure what you strongly disagree with. If the speakers have the same impedance as what the crossovers were intended for, then you'll get the same crossover point, but using different impendence speakers will change the crossover point. The higher the impedance, the lower the crossover point will move, so if you use an 8ohm tweeter with a crossover designed for a 4 ohm tweeter, you will halve the crossover point, and probably ruin the tweeter. If you use a lower impedance speaker you will raise the crossover point, potentially leaving a big gap in the frequency range.

So, the first thing you need to worry about is using speakers that are the same impedance to the speakers intended for the crossover, or at least you need to understand how impedance changes the crossover point so that you can account for that.

Regarding the OEM Speaker wire, for almost all basic systems the OEM wire is perfectly fine. If you start running very high powered midbass speakers, or the car has unusually small OEM wiring, then upgrading would be important, but most of the time upgrading the wires isn't necessary at all.