Help with an active front stage.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Alton if you are interested in selling the stuff in the future that you tried out, PM me.

I'll plan on buying the fountek sean mentioned with either the amp you have Alton or the Dayton dat1? I believe.

Just so I am on the same page of thinking. What speaker formats are you thinking for the element sean? Full range and what else if anything?

 

 

That's no problem, though I'm not sure it would be beneficial to either of us to do so.  Parts Express sells the FE85's brand new for $13.25 each and after shipping it's just under $38.  Even if I sold mine for $5 each it wouldn't save you that much.  Plus with their 12wrms rating and the playing around I've done on them with a 125.2 powering them even though they're 8 ohm I couldn't give any guarantee on life expectancy.

[///M5 2,833]

And you really only need one.  Consider the $20 an installation expense.

[audio-neon 34]

Should I compare drivers eventually or just worry about the one. I figure I'll get the fountek for Christmas with an amp.

Will the 7 band eq in iTunes be enough processing? I understand the lack of crossovers.

[///M5 2,833]

No, you need crossovers as much if not more than eq and 7 bands is somewhat if not completely useless.  Perhaps a bit of a catch 22 you are at.  You need a processor to decide what to buy, but normally your processor is defined by what drivers you want to make work.

 

Probably best to at least review the processing options before buying anything.

[audio-neon 34]

Ok sean I am lost. I thought the first step was to buy the speaker to see if there was sparkle.

So what in all do I need to buy/borrow for this test?

[///M5 2,833]

You can't listen to the speaker without a crossover.  Even Full rangers need crossovers.

 

 

For instance, this was the trial crossover (can't find a final pic) for the full rangers in my office.

 

Obviously the cost of those in passive is WAY more than you are spending on your drivers.  Doing this active with the processor you will finally use in your car would be of huge benefit.  Without the crossover my speakers are somewhat brutal to listen to.

 

Are you planning a headunit based crossover or standalone?  If h/u is a single din ok?

[audio-neon 34]

Any suggestions on processing? Still selling that single din you had?

I am fine with head unit based. I hate the Honda piece. I will do external processing if needed.

Would it be hard to build crossovers for the test?

[altoncustomtech 773]

Yeah, even for a simple listening test you're better off finding a way to power them with something that can give them a HPF and at least a little EQ work.  I know Sean's just trying to get you set right but I think he's referring more to the end result than the listening test.  As I stated, even for a listening test you'll need crossover control and some EQ and some decent power.  I had listened to all three sets on the desk in my office connected to a simple little POS amp with about 10w of power and it did NONE of them any justice at all.  It was an entirely different listening experience when I hooked them up in the Jimmy.  On the desk setup the Faital's would win, partially due to their output capability, and also just because of the response I heard.  However, in the Jimmy it was a whole other story and while it improved the response from all of them I quickly found the Fountek's to be the pack leaders.

 

 

I wonder what it would cost to ship them all to you and ship them back.  I sure wouldn't have a problem with letting you borrow them, or if you were close enough to let you hear them for yourself in person.

[audio-neon 34]

I could always use a car audio deck of some sort for testing, it would allow me some eq functions and a crossover. I wish I held onto my eclipse Sq deck.

[lithium 358]

you could pick up a mini dsp 2x4 unit for 100 shipped. it could be used in the car or end up in a home theater project if you decide to go with a hu instead. 

[audio-neon 34]

You guys are killing me, lol. I hues I figured this part of the process would be cheaper.

[///M5 2,833]

You'd need 2 in the car though...unless you mated it with a deck that had a sub crossover.  Would leave no eq for the sub though.

 

Buying a new or used deck?

[altoncustomtech 773]

You guys are killing me, lol. I hues I figured this part of the process would be cheaper.

 

Yep, this is getting out of hand quick, lol.

 

I got lucky, I already had what I needed to do all this.  FWIW the Clarion CZ702 is a decent and inexpensive deck for breaking into a fully active setup.  Real processors like the Bit One, MS8, and DSP Z8 are much more powerful and better than any deck.  As far as decks go the Pioneer 80PRS has a better EQ but also costs several dollars more than the Clarion which is why it generally gets my vote.

 

 

SonicElectronix generally has the HU for $150 shipped, including the accessories to install it.

[audio-neon 34]

Sean I had planned on something new. Do you still have your prs? I'm not against used if it's the right head unit.

[audio-neon 34]

And I understood that whichever I chose would need processing in car. I just figured for testing purposes I could get away with minimal processing with low power and a sealed enclosure.

[altoncustomtech 773]

And I understood that whichever I chose would need processing in car. I just figured for testing purposes I could get away with minimal processing with low power and a sealed enclosure.

 

You could, technically, but it just won't do the speakers as much justice.  I couldn't believe the difference when I hooked them up in the Jimmy.  It was night & day and they really didn't even sound like the same speakers that were on the desk.

[audio-neon 34]

I was hoping that 50 watts for the one driver would be plenty.

[audio-neon 34]

Can I use the passive crossovers that you can buy from parts express?

[altoncustomtech 773]

I was hoping that 50 watts for the one driver would be plenty.

 

No HU produces 50 watts of power.  Sure they're rated 50x4 but that's MAX power and a completely useless rating.  They're generally rated in the 15 to 22 watts RMS area but I would debate that they don't even give that much power.

 

 

Can I use the passive crossovers that you can buy from parts express?

 

You could I suppose, better than nothing at all.

[lithium 358]

you could wait till you pick up whatever deck you decide to go with and use a power supply or battery to test outside the car. 

[audio-neon 34]

I was looking at an amp bridged for 50 watts and to use my Deck as a source.

[///M5 2,833]

No passives will work. Not even close.

To run active you need a crossover so buying it now makes sense. 10w is probably fine if it is a true 10w but that is more than you can expxt from a headunit.

[audio-neon 34]

I won't be using the head unit for power.

I guess I will just have to wait to start testing unless I can find a used active headunit.

[///M5 2,833]

I'd buy what you are going to use in the final install. Until you have a source it is pretty impossible to have a system.

[audio-neon 34]

I already have a headunit that was in my neon. Nothing extreme, just a Bluetooth receiver with basic functions.

The amp I was looking at was on parts express. The same one that Alton used for testing indoors.