maybe this is a really stupid question, but i have always wondered what would be better for a component set, a 2 channel or a 4 channel, and why?

This is a car trust me we get much dumber questions than that. It depends on the number or speakers, and what they are going to be used for.

Lets say for a set of tweets and two 6.5s, basically just for the front stage

Lets say for a set of tweets and two 6.5s, basically just for the front stage

Active or passive?

ummmm.....another question.....:/

difference between the two?

sorry...

ummmm.....another question.....:/

difference between the two?

sorry...

Is it just a component set with a crossover?

yes

A 2 channel amp for a set of components usually. You will power the left with channel a and right with channel b. The wires will go from the amp to a crossover and then split to the mid and tweeter.

so if i wanted to power a pair of 6x9s in the back, then a 4-channel would be better?

If you are doing a set of components (with crossover) up front, and a pair of co-ax 6x9's in the rear, it would make the most sense to get one quality 4 channel to power all of those speakers.

thanks alot for the help

so can any one explain passive vs active?

passive you just run a channel to the crossover and let it do its work. active you run a separate channel to the tweeter and mid so you have the control of where to set the crossover freq. it lets you have more control for better sound quality. personaly id use a 4ch and go active and power the 6x9's off the headunit.

so can any one explain passive vs active?

Passive = Coils, Resistors, Capacitors assembled to creat and divide the various crossover frequencies

Electronic = Built in crossover in amplifiers or seperate electronic crossovers to create and divide the frequencies electronically.

Hopefully that makes sense...

yea that makes a lot more sense now

thanks alot for the help

so, the crossover tunes both the tweeters and the midbass, if used on a 2 channel

while if u had them connected to a four channel, in stead of using a crossover you would be doing the tuning yourself, correct?

Yes...basically the passive crossover network takes the guess work out. The speaker manufacturer has done the work for you.

For a 1st time system using components, I would highly recommend using the passive setup until your more familiar with frequencies and level matching.

alright

thanks ALOT for the advice

Your welcome. Were always here to help.

Depending on how hungry your 6.5"s will be for power, you might want to consider a 6-channel amp as an additional option? Then you can bridge two channel-pairs and run your tweeters on the remaining channel pair? Maybe that's just me, but my experience is that reputable amps doing 4x200W+ for example, if needed, are not that easy to find.

Im looking at buying a 4 channel amp, same boat as him, going to be buying a component set, with tweeter, and 6.5, I know to run them off 2 channels, but I found this amp, here Kenwood KAC-X40 4 Channel

Liquidation, its going for $200 CAD, so im thinking im going to pick it up tomorrow, but Im wondering, ill only be using 2 channels, what does "bridging" mean, could i bridge 2 channels, so I would get 2, and therefore increase in power?

ill only be using 2 channels, what does "bridging" mean, could i bridge 2 channels, so I would get 2, and therefore increase in power?

That's just the case, more power.