Help me with going active!

[EPerez 236]

So within a few months I will be getting the '13 Fusion and I want to do an active setup. I really don't know much about the speaker choices, best crossover points, processing so I'm relying on you guys to help me get a good front stage. Right now I want to start planning; don't want to rush it when the time comes.

 

So what will I need? amp, speakers (2 6.5 mids and 2 tweeters), minidsp? I will keep the stock hu and use a LC2i.

 

My budget as of right now is undetermined as I want to see prices of everything then see what I should spend.

 

My goals really are simple. I want it to be loud enough to hear vocals over the bass when the subs are high and I want the mid bass to flow with the bass when it's low. I want them to blend well. Is there anyway I can explain my goals better?

 

Also when shopping for speakers, what do I look for?

[ssh 924]

Achieving midbass that's going to blend with that much sub output is not going to happen unless you do some serious door modifications and put some rather large drivers in.

 

For what it's worth I had a pair of 10" dcons in a ported box and they easily overwhelmed the midbass output I had from a pair of exodus ex-anarchy. I left the dcons turned way way way down so the midbass could still be distinguished from the bass. My goal was to have that sharp impact to the chest from drums, cymbals, etc. Though to be fair, if I had the dcons (or when I had an 18" icon) turned all the way up I still had more midbass then 99% of the cars you see booming around town, so I don't want to short change the exodus drivers--just defining what "blending" really means.

 

What locations do you have for installing speakers? How much space in each location. In door, what diameter speaker can you fit, what about depth? Can you fit a tweeter on the a-pillar? If so how large? What about the angle? If the tweeters go in the door how much space do you have, what about the angle? Are kick panels a possibility? If so, how much space do you have?

 

As you can see you need to select drivers based on the installation / environment. Without knowing the above it's really hard for anyone to give you advise that's worth anything.

 

So unless you can fit 8-10" midbass drivers somewhere then you're going to need to compromise.

[ssh 924]

Might I also suggest you do a search on the board for active setups and midbass. There's been quite a few threads made regarding pretty much what you're asking for.

[EPerez 236]

I didn't mean to blend in while the subs are playing at their max. I mostly listen to my subs at very low listening levels. My upgraded stock Sony speakers in the '12 fusion are decent to me. So I'm thinking with a good set of mids I will have plenty of mid bass for me.

 

 

 

"What locations do you have for installing speakers? How much space in each location. In door, what diameter speaker can you fit, what about depth? Can you fit a tweeter on the a-pillar? If so how large? What about the angle? If the tweeters go in the door how much space do you have, what about the angle? Are kick panels a possibility? If so, how much space do you have?"

 

6.5" size at bottom of door by feet. Tweeter is here next to the unlock/lock 

Don't know the exact amount of room yet. I guess I should of thought about that before posting this. I do want to use stock locations though.

 

Also I looked at some of the other threads but I guess I'm mainly wondering about what to do or how to set up a active front stage instead of picking drivers.

[audio-neon 34]

Picking drivers and installation go hand in hand.

Some of the others can explain this better but you will need processing and adequate power. A minidsp should be enough processing for the front stage only. You will need two for if you want digital crossovers and equalization for the sub woofer.

After determining how much space you have for your speakers, you will be tasked with choosing the drivers for your installation.

After choosing the drivers you will need adequate power.

[EPerez 236]

Picking drivers and installation go hand in hand.

Some of the others can explain this better but you will need processing and adequate power. A minidsp should be enough processing for the front stage only. You will need two for if you want digital crossovers and equalization for the sub woofer.

After determining how much space you have for your speakers, you will be tasked with choosing the drivers for your installation.

After choosing the drivers you will need adequate power.

 

 

Ok makes sense. I don't think I'll need a second one.

[///M5 2,833]

Location is first.

Curious why you want active. Or more importantly what about the previous passive setups you've had are you looking to improve? Need background on what they were as well.

Options are limitless but the constraint is always the vehicle and then the budget. Those two are up to you...

[EPerez 236]

Location is first.

Curious why you want active. Or more importantly what about the previous passive setups you've had are you looking to improve? Need background on what they were as well.

Options are limitless but the constraint is always the vehicle and then the budget. Those two are up to you...

 

 

I just always hear people say active is way better and they won't go back to passive. I've only had AQ comps but really didn't have any mid bass. That was last year and I learned a shit ton since then so can't really say the good/bad things about them. I've been using the stock speakers in my '12 fusion. The '13 fusion I will be able to fit 6.5s.

[///M5 2,833]

Location is first.

Curious why you want active. Or more importantly what about the previous passive setups you've had are you looking to improve? Need background on what they were as well.

Options are limitless but the constraint is always the vehicle and then the budget. Those two are up to you...

 

 

I just always hear people say active is way better and they won't go back to passive. I've only had AQ comps but really didn't have any mid bass. That was last year and I learned a shit ton since then so can't really say the good/bad things about them. I've been using the stock speakers in my '12 fusion. The '13 fusion I will be able to fit 6.5s.

Flexibility is NOT always helpful. Do expect that for the first 6 months your active set will sound worse than a passive. It takes a long time to teach yourself how to dial it in. Once you do however though you will never want a passive set that was designed in your car for your car ever again. Still you need to focus on some portion of what to improve otherwise you should probably just start with some seriously cheap drivers and play away until you can describe what you don't like about them.

[EPerez 236]

I think that'll be the best for me. I have to get the car first to decide what space limitations I am faced with.

[///M5 2,833]

Do you have any fronts laying around? A great way to start is to take a stock set of components and wire them so you can switch between the passive and active and try to improve how the passive sounds with your active. Great teaching tool for your ears too.

[EPerez 236]

I don't but this will be in the new fusion. I'll have to wait until I get that to do what you said.