Bass Blockers

[ShaiTan 0]

Ok I hope I set this up correctly. Got another question for everyone. Decided to make it a poll. Years ago in the area I grew up in everyone used bass blockers to remove lower frequencies from the smaller speakers 4x6, 5x7, 6.5 and 6x9's. Keeping all the lower bass to the larger speakers. The smaller the speaker the higher the bass blocker frequency. The larger the speaker the lower the blocker frequency. Till you got to the subs. Then they were controlled by the amp so none were used. I have never used them myself. But I am now finding myself looking into purchacing some for my non amped, non component speakers ( the ones listed in the poll ).

What are your opinions?

Are bass blockers even worth it? Are the frequencies and sizes listed in the poll good to do? Or is it just a waste of money?

If you have other opinions please choose #5 and post your opinion. Otherwise just choose an answer.

Edited May 29, 2010 by ShaiTan

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

Amps and most HU's have HP filters so not needed.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

And why in the hell would anyone want no bass below 600hz on their 6.5" mids?

Edit

Ahh, reading comprehension > better then me.

Non amped. Yeah then maybe, but it would sound like a big tweeter.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

the only time why ppl use these is b/c they don't have an amp and the h/u is an older h/u with out fancy features!!

but question with no bass you music will sound like it is missing something...in the future do you plan to get an amp and or component speakers? and how much do the bass blockers cost? also how much did the little 4x6 speakers cost?

what i am getting at is if the speakers costed 50$ and the bass blocker costs 50$ then you just spend 100$ you could have used towards an amp (like 50x4@4ohm, sax50.4 for example) or a decent h/u with better then nothing features.

other then that i have seen those used when someone wanted to keep there stock h/u (the one that came with the car)

as for speakers which aren't component speakers, depending on the make and power capacity i normally play around with it and see when the speaker stop bottoming out which i found on my 6x9 pioneer 5way speakers to be about 150-200 if memory servers.

other then that good luck and post back what you end up doiing!

[sefugi 166]

I agree with CrazyKenKid on the $ towards an amp. I like spending $ towards a solution not $ around a problem. Good Luck!!

[ShaiTan 0]

the only time why ppl use these is b/c they don't have an amp and the h/u is an older h/u with out fancy features!!

but question with no bass you music will sound like it is missing something...in the future do you plan to get an amp and or component speakers? and how much do the bass blockers cost? also how much did the little 4x6 speakers cost?

what i am getting at is if the speakers costed 50$ and the bass blocker costs 50$ then you just spend 100$ you could have used towards an amp (like 50x4@4ohm, sax50.4 for example) or a decent h/u with better then nothing features.

other then that i have seen those used when someone wanted to keep there stock h/u (the one that came with the car)

as for speakers which aren't component speakers, depending on the make and power capacity i normally play around with it and see when the speaker stop bottoming out which i found on my 6x9 pioneer 5way speakers to be about 150-200 if memory servers.

other then that good luck and post back what you end up doiing!

The 6.5's are for my blazer which has no amps or subs. Just an Alpine head unit and some Wal-Mart special Pioneer 6.5's in front and rear doors, and Pioneer 4x6's in front dash.

Now for my Cavalier. I do have an amped sub. Hoping to upgrade from my Alpine SWR-1222D to an SSA Xcon 12D2 soon.. So I'm not talking about taking out all of the bass. Just some of the lower frequencies, like 600Hz and lower for the 4x6's and 300Hz and lower for the 6x9's. I mean how well can those things (4x6's) that have only a half inch of travel at most reproduce those lower tones very well. The frequency response is 28Hz-25,000Hz for the 4x6's and 25 - 30,000Hz for the 6x9's. The RMS value for the 4x6's are only 20w which is what the head unit puts out. So no amplification can be used there. Also the RMS value of the 6x9's is only 80w. I have not really decided on if I am gonna amplify the rear speakers or not yet. The factory locations for the front and rear speakers don't reproduce bass very well anyway. It's almost like it isn't there. So as you can tell by my setup. I am not out there trying to win any competitions with my stereo. I just want it to sound good.

As far as cost goes. $75 for the 6x9's and $25 for the 4x6's and around $40 (I think) for the 6.5's. The bass blockers I was looking at are the Stinger inline type for around $10 shipped for a pair.

With all that said. What is your opinion. I don't want to spend the extra money if I don't need to. Was just a thought that had come to mind the other day.

[Cant Get Enough 6]

I use bass stoppers from parts express for my p132 center channel ran off my head unit. A lot cheaper than bass stoppers and work the same. Also you can run those 20 watt speakers off an amp. I amped my stock door speakers in my Ford Taurus that were only 17 watts with a 4 channel punch 500x for a year until I got my T165-s and T600.4 and it made my stock speakers sound better just don't don't over doit.

[Duran 387]

Get a crossover, or run active.

[ShaiTan 0]

Get a crossover, or run active.

I thought of that as well. That may be what I go with.

[///M5 2,833]

Or "build" your own. Bass blockers are just that, nominal generic crossovers. Just measure your impedance and pick your own crossover frequency and build a simple 2nd filter. Will cost less (depending on components) and work exactly as it is supposed to. In a car I am generally an active fan, but building a quick filter when you have no other choice seems logical.

[Soapbox 7]

There is nothing Wrong using filters!! With this said it may not be the most economic choice; nor will it be adjustable without changing the value of the filter. With that said over the years I have collected a full range of filters and used them for short periods of time and will continue to do so in testing applications. The flexibility of some filter options is not always the best choice. For instance not every person will like the cross over points in a particular install. When the HU has easy access users will tune it to their desires. What I'm getting at is if I ran a HU with those choice both my wife and all of my teens would be fooling around with it guarantied. I do like the adjustments on my amps and they don't get fooled with easily.

[GlassWolf 5]

for components, I'd use a HPF set to about 125Hz typically. Any higher and you're blocking more than just bass.

I'd also use the amp, had unit, or custom built 2nd order filters. The "bass blockers" sold on sites like crutchfield are first order 6dB fliters, and are pretty much useless and overpriced.

Not all amps have built in crossovers, though. The old Orion and PPI amps, and RF for that mater, did not have any sort of built in features, other than internal bridging on the upper lines from those companies.

Edited May 30, 2010 by GlassWolf

[KU40 173]

There's nothing really wrong with them, but they're just a capacitor. It will give you a -6db slope at the frequency. Don't buy those "name brand" bass blockers. Way overpriced. Just go to partsexpress and buy a large capacitor the size you want for the frequency you want at the impedance of your speakers. If it were me, I'd get an amp for them and use the highpass feature on the amp. However, I understand price constraints. I'd say something like 100 hz for the 6.5s and 6x9s is fine, and 150 hz for the 4s is fine.

[///M5 2,833]

125Hz is WAY too high IMO.

[Cant Get Enough 6]

Inductors for low pass capacitors for high pass

Edited June 1, 2010 by Cant Get Enough