Going Active?

[hardballer7 0]

I'm trying to learn more about setting up my mids/highs & I've been reading a lot of threads about "going active." I think I've got the gist of what it is and how to do it (kind of) but I'm trying to figure out what the benefit is. Is going active and using the HPF & LPF on the amp better than just using the passive x-over that comes with ur components? The only thing I can think of is maybe it's cheaper to buy a midrange and a set of tweets than buying a nice component set....Somebody wanna help me understand this a lil' better?

[ANeonRider 3]

Not too many amps actually have crossovers capable of doing an actively crossed system.

[audio-neon 34]

Their are only a few amps I can think of that have crossover's accurate enough to do an active system. They are all digital amps. IE zapco's dc reference series, where you set the crossovers with a computer.

Other than that you need a processor or for a simple 2-way active system you may be able to get away with a quality sq headunit.

[hardballer7 0]

Their are only a few amps I can think of that have crossover's accurate enough to do an active system. They are all digital amps. IE zapco's dc reference series, where you set the crossovers with a computer.

Other than that you need a processor or for a simple 2-way active system you may be able to get away with a quality sq headunit.

Ok...that's understandable. So how is going active different/better than just using passive x-overs/component speakers?

[audio-neon 34]

Their are only a few amps I can think of that have crossover's accurate enough to do an active system. They are all digital amps. IE zapco's dc reference series, where you set the crossovers with a computer.

Other than that you need a processor or for a simple 2-way active system you may be able to get away with a quality sq headunit.

Ok...that's understandable. So how is going active different/better than just using passive x-overs/component speakers?

Passive systems are built with no idea of the enclosure they are going in. Active systems give you complete control over the crossover points. You will get more sound quality and better performance from the drivers of your system by going active.

[ANeonRider 3]

Not to mention it opens doors to a much wider variety of quality drivers.

[///M5 2,833]

It is all about bang for the buck. A good crossover should cost as much as the drivers, so you save half right there (although most comp sets come with really crappy passives). You can buy from the OEM instead of someone who relables and marks things up. And of course the flexibility of picking a particular driver that you like for each portion fo the acoustic spectrum.

One caveat, it takes tuning. I would expect if you took an off the shelf comp set and switched them to active they will sound worse for a while until you learn how to dial them in.

[95Honda 486]

I ended up going active in my dads truck using an Audio Control 2XS. SQ is awesome and I love the flexibilty. These have the plug in modules (you solder resistors onto little 16 pin chip holders) so you know your frequencies within a few %....

A little more complicated, but worth it if you see it through.

[MikeS 0]

I can't see the point of using passive networks in this day in age of car stereo. Unless it is some sort of minimalist type system with everything powered off one amp I guess.

To build passive networks for a front/rear system with subwoofers would seem to cost a small fortune in passive parts I would think. I suppose you could opt for non polar electrolytics and save a few bucks, but those inductors will be spendy.

Not to mention all the power loss that passives suck up over active network. Everything being line level means smaller parts. Woofer inductors are a lot of copper...copper ain't cheap no more.....

A quality variable active four-way network is a flexible godsend in the car audio enviroment. The active networks that use the 16 pin resistor sockets I may even go as far to say are a bit more flexible. (Like the Audio Control 2XS 95Honda mentions) You can dial in the resistor values pretty much to the exact center frequency you want.

I basically have the same sort of 2 way active Audio Control crossover for home audio that uses the resistor sockets to adjust frequency.

My slope is at 18db per octave, the Audio Control car 2XS active may be 24db per octave.

Slope is something to pay heed to as well.

The home active xover has some "Phase Coupled Activator" hokey feature that brings bass out of thin recordings. The PCA feature has it's own inputs and outputs, which I don't use and go straight to the active xover inputs.

When I got into my car stereo stint in the late '80's, active crossover networks were way overpriced, even the junk ones. I didn't know enough about passive crossover network design to know what the hell I was doing.

I cocked around with it enough to get frustrated.......I finally ponied up for a variable active crossover.

It was night and day once I got everything tweaked-in.....

Now in the home audio world I tend to favor the minimalist approach with one amp and passive networks.

Edited June 13, 2008 by MikeS

[hardballer7 0]

I can't see the point of using passive networks in this day in age of car stereo. Unless it is some sort of minimalist type system with everything powered off one amp I guess.

To build passive networks for a front/rear system with subwoofers would seem to cost a small fortune in passive parts I would think. I suppose you could opt for non polar electrolytics and save a few bucks, but those inductors will be spendy.

Not to mention all the power loss that passives suck up over active network. Everything being line level means smaller parts. Woofer inductors are a lot of copper...copper ain't cheap no more.....

A quality variable active four-way network is a flexible godsend in the car audio enviroment. The active networks that use the 16 pin resistor sockets I may even go as far to say are a bit more flexible. (Like the Audio Control 2XS 95Honda mentions) You can dial in the resistor values pretty much to the exact center frequency you want.

I basically have the same sort of 2 way active Audio Control crossover for home audio that uses the resistor sockets to adjust frequency.

My slope is at 18db per octave, the Audio Control car 2XS active may be 24db per octave.

Slope is something to pay heed to as well.

The home active xover has some "Phase Coupled Activator" hokey feature that brings bass out of thin recordings. The PCA feature has it's own inputs and outputs, which I don't use and go straight to the active xover inputs.

When I got into my car stereo stint in the late '80's, active crossover networks were way overpriced, even the junk ones. I didn't know enough about passive crossover network design to know what the hell I was doing.

I cocked around with it enough to get frustrated.......I finally ponied up for a variable active crossover.

It was night and day once I got everything tweaked-in.....

Now in the home audio world I tend to favor the minimalist approach with one amp and passive networks.

holy crap....this is a little more involved than i thought. I thought I knew more about mobile audio than I actually do. Looks like I've got some studying to do if I want to see this one through. I'm finally up to par on my low frequency knowledge but it's time to step it up on 70hz+. Active is probably the best way for me to go since I'm gonna be using a lot of audio control stuff. I've got factory nav/steering wheel controls etc that i'm gonna keep and i'm not using an aftermarket head unit. unfortunately all the audiocontrol stuff i've been told that I'll need will run me over 1K....

[95Honda 486]

Active can get expensive depending on the number of bands you choose to go with, espically of you end up go 4-way.... That is alot of amplifier channels...

Or, it can be cheap...

For my dad's truck I bought the 2XS off of JBLGeo who used to post on CSO for $40. I cleaned it up and made a bunch of plug in modules from parts on hand....

The more you plan, the cheaper the execution can be...

[helotaxi 46]

An active setup can only sound as good as the person tuning it can get it. It's no magic solution, in fact it's much more involved that a simple drop in install. There is a lot of tuning involved. If you don't have the patience, time or ability to set up an active system a basic passive sytem will be a better solution for you. You also have to look at the processing capability that you have on hand. If you only have a basic crossover, using the passive crossover supplied with a good component set with more power (larger two channel vs. a lees powerful 4-channel for the same money) will many times sound better. A good passive network isn't going to be terribly lossy to begin with and factor in abour 50% more power to each driver and the extra headroom can really make a difference. If you have the ability to control the crossover freq, level, phase, time alignment, and EQ for each channel, and know how to set it all up the difference can be worth it. For 99% of the people out there though, basic passive components are more than good enough.