Finishing my system...is it possible?

[audiobliss]

I'm really tired of running Boston Acoustic mids full range off my HU. I want a system. I need a system.

What I've been planning for my CA system is pretty grand, I must admit. Nothing on the level of what Cody has, but certainly not skimping. I was planning on a Memphis 16-MCA3004 (http://memphiscaraudio.com/products/details.asp?id=13) to biamp my components and then something making about 350watts my Memphis for a sub. I was also planning on a MM2104 installed in a DIY enclosure in the side of the back of my Cherokee, which would be perfect for practicality AND performance.

Now, all that's changed. I just can't afford what I 'want'; I just want to get what I 'need'. So, here's what the audio store suggested.

Alpine V-Power series amps. Of course I winced at the mention of that, 'cause I want better! Not ragging on the amps, they're certainly solid and dependable. But I've reconciled myself with the fact that I'm going to HAVE to get less than what I want. So, anyhoo...

Alpine MRP-F250 for components, MRP-M450 for sub for $200 each. However, they pretty strongly recommend going with the MRP-F450 and MRP-M650 for $300 each, since they're more powerful, for not THAT much more dough.

But today when I went in, we came up with a different amp combo that would be as good/better, for less money. At least I hope. Here it is...

I asked him about how Alpine and Memphis compare, and he suggested that maybe I go with Memphis' 16-MCA2004 (http://memphiscaraudio.com/products/details.asp?id=12). He said that though it's rated at 50x4 as opposed to the MRP-F450's 70x4, it's rated at a lower THD, so it's probably closer to the Alpine's output. Plus, the real reason is that the Memphis will fit under the driver's seat, leaving room for the sub amp to go under the back seat.

Then for the sub amp he recommended :eek: a JL e2150 (they've now gone to a2150, I believe...I'd be getting the new one from him, I think) for about $220. He said it'll bridge to close to 200watts into 4ohms.

Now, for the sub. They have a room of used gear, and he has a JL 10W0 (or maybe one of the early w1's when they were black) in a carpeted box for $100. That's what I'm banking on for the low end.

That adds up to $590 for both amps and the sub/enclosure. They no longer do installations themselves, but a former employee has set up shop right down the road (within a rock's throw), and they send their customers to him. So, I went down there to get an estimate. They also do a lot of detailing, and the audio guy was out to lunch, but the guy at the desk called him and got an estimate over the phone. For installing both amps and 'fabricating' a way to mount my tweeters and all the material he made a 'wild guesstimate' as he called it of $220. How does that sound? Too much? He did say it was a 'wild guesstimate' and that it may end up being less depending on how much wire was needed and so forth.

Man, that's $810, and it's not even the system I *want*!! What do you guys think?

[MacLeod]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the V Power amps especially since theyve been redesigned.

They exceed their rated power cleanly, have a superb build quality and have a few nifty features and cost about half of a comparable RF or the likes.

Nothing really wrong with Memphis but Ive never really liked them. Still, there are a LOT of SPL guys that run Memphis amps and subs and do well with them so...

$220 does seem a little steep for mounting 2 amps.

Dude, if you have any higher brain functions at all, you can install the amps yourself. Hell, we could talk you thru it without much problem on here!

As for amps, if you need budget amps, you should really check out Profile. You cannot beat them in their price point. Crutchfield.com has em and theyd cost half what youd pay for Memphis or Alpine.

[exalted512]

He cant order online...

Anyway, whatever you do, stay away from kenwood amps. That being said, the alpine amp and the sub/box sounds like a good deal. Even if it is JL:D

I guess youre planning on bi-amping your components?? Thats the only reason why I'd see you getting a 4-channel...
-Cody

[audiobliss]

Yeah, I'm biamping my components.

Do y'all think I'd be better off with the Memphis 50x4 or the Alpine 70x4? I'm personally leaning toward the Memphis, because I have no idea where the Alpine would fit.

Do you think the JL e/a2150 would be a good 'fit' for the sub, too?

I'm thinking about installing the amps myself. I mean, if I get a free weekend, I'm fairly confident that I'd be able to. I just know when I'd get a free weekend.

Could someone briefly walk me through what I'd need to do to install them myself? Or dont' even waste time with that, just direct me to a link that would kinda walk me through it. I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

[jroberts_101]

this is just me but if u say stuff like, 810 and its not even what i want! then why the heck are u even thinkin about it. id say wait for a little bit and just man up and spend more on the good shit. when i was 16 years old i did that, im sure you can do it too. i saved up like 2000 so i could buy like 1200 worth of polk momo shit and also be able to have extra for everything else i knew would come with the system/install. so thats my opinion take it if you want or not. hope this helps.

John

[audiobliss]

Well, the thing is, I actually have $2,000. It's just that my parents view it as being ridiculous that I'd consider spending $800 on it, not to mention any more! It's not that I don't have it...but that I'm waaay irresponsible for not saving it.

[PolkThug]

AB, I'll ship you 2 12" Infinity Kappas with a Kenwood 7201 (460x1 @ 4ohm) for $200.

[audiobliss]

Thanks for the offer, PT; that's very generous and I appreciate!!

I've been talking to Cody on AIM...I think I've decided to get the Memphis 16-MCA3004 (75x4...$380) now, install it myself *crosses fingers*, and wait a little while on the sub and sub amp.

[audiobliss]

Well, I just walked in the house with all my new equipment. I'm still trying to find a good place to run the power wire through the firewall...:confused:

EDIT - Hey, Greg! I just remembered you have a CHerokee!!! :D:D:D:D Where did you run the power wire through the firewall?

Thanks!

[Greg Peters]

EDIT - Hey, Greg! I just remembered you have a CHerokee!!! :D:D:D:D Where did you run the power wire through the firewall?

Thanks!

My Jeep is a couple of years different than yours- the 97-01 body style- but with that said, I found a big round rubber plug in my firewall on the same side as the battery (passenger side).

I ran 4 gauge all the way back, so I cut an X in the rubber plug in the firewall, pushed and pulled that 4 gauge through down into the kick panel area, then ran it back under the carpet (next to the sill plate) to a distribution block under the back seat.

On your Jeep you could do the same, but may want to run your power wire to a distribution block under the front seat and split it from there.

For my RCAs, remote trigger and speaker wire, I ran all that from the dash down into the driver's side kick, then under the carpet along the sill plate to my amps in the rear (except the speaker wire is running from my rear mounted 4 channel through same location up to the kicks before going into each door to my components, opposite direction). Take some time and you can fish all your wiring through the obstacles that are there and it'll all fit in the same space so the kick panels will go back on where they belong.

Even with 4 gauge on one side, 6 RCAs and two runs of 14 guage speaker wire on the other, it doesn't show under the carpet. Just tie off your wires at regular intervals and keep it tight to the edge where the floorpan meets the sill and everything should go back together without looking any different than stock.

I gutted my interior- it was alot easier to run everything with the seats and sills out, because you can get the carpet up pretty easy while you run your wire. 4 bolts each seat, one electrical connector on the driver's side and they're outta there. Get a T-15 Torx bit for your ratchet to remove the seatbelt mounts that run through the carpet at the sills.

I took a couple of afternoons to do this due to time constraints, but an audio shop would do it alot quicker. They'd probably pull all the wire together through one location though, rather than power down one side and interconnects down the other.

They'd probably charge less if you just had them run the wiring (letting you install everything else yourself). I've gone this route when doing a system for friends when I only have a few spare hours- the shop charged something like $90 to run an amp kit with RCAs front to rear.

[audiobliss]

Thanks a bunch, Greg! So far I have my driver's side seat out, and the sill panel and kick panel removed, and the carpet pulled back a bit. I'm still just looking on the driver's side for a hole to run the power wire, as that's the side I really wanna run it on, but I haven't found one yet. However, I have found a nice flat space right beside where the hood release cable goes through that's bare on both sides that looks like a great place to drill a hole.

The guy at the audio store sold me some big ol' 4-channel JL RCA cables. He said they have the same kind of sheilding as telephone and so could be run beside the power wire. I really don't like doing that, but man that'd be so much simpler!!

[audiobliss]

Oh, I almost forgot, I broke the head off one of the seat bolts. The left rear one (as if you're sitting in the seat), the head popped off. :(

[Greg Peters]

Oh, I almost forgot, I broke the head off one of the seat bolts. The left rear one (as if you're sitting in the seat), the head popped off. :(

Sounds like it's time for an "easy-out" to get the rest of the broken bolt out, then a trip to the junkyard to pirate an official Cherokee seat bolt...

Which side is your battery on- driver's side? If you do drill, be careful ('cause it's not always easy to see what's behind your drill bit that doesn't want to be drilled into).

Good luck.

[audiobliss]

The battery's on the passenger side, so I'll have to zip tie the power wire all around the perimeter of the engine bay, but I think that sure beats having to snake it across the floor of the Jeep inside!

From what I can tell from looking at both sides of the firewall, there appears to be a good 3 square inch area that's just bare metal. I'm hoping that'll work, but I'm not quite to the point of being ready to drill yet.

[audiobliss]

Oh, one more question!! Where should I put my distribution block? I noticed you said you have yours (and mentioned me putting mine) as close to the first amp as possible. I was planning on putting it just as soon as I got through the firewall. It's 2guage from the battery, then 4guage to the amps.

Which would be best? Thanks!

I guess now that I have some down time woudl be a good time to post what it is I actually bought.

I got the Memphis 16-MCA3004 75x4 amp, a JLAudio XA-PCS2-2 amp installation kit, and XA-CLRAIC4-18 RCA interconnects.

Description of amp installation kit:
2 AWG 12-Volt Power Connection System for Two Amplifiers, 700W to 1400W,
20 ft. red 2 AWG power wire, 10 ft. red 4 AWG power wire, 10 ft. black 4 AWG power wire

Description of RCA interconnects:
4 Channel Twisted-Pair Audio Interconnect Cable with Molded Connectors - 18 ft. / 5.49 m - just the standard stuff, not the 'premium' line.

[audiobliss]

Wiring...

How should I do this? Cut off a length of 2guage wire a few inches long, then have the fuse holder, then continue with 2guage to the distrobution block? Then I can run 4 guage to the amp. Should I run red as hot and black as ground, or just avoid unneccessary cutting and use it as I get to it?

AND, how in the world am I supposed to cut/strip this wire?!

EDIT - Oh, oh, the black 4guage is already terminated on both ends with ring terminals, so I'll just use the ends of that roll for the ground wire. Cut off 6" from one end, there's the ground for one amp. Then when I get another amp I can cut off 6" from the other end and there's my other ground wire.

I'm not sure 10' is long enough to get from the firewall to the passenger seat...maybe I should put the distrobution block as close to the first amp as I can...

[Greg Peters]

Oh, one more question!! Where should I put my distribution block? I noticed you said you have yours (and mentioned me putting mine) as close to the first amp as possible. I was planning on putting it just as soon as I got through the firewall. It's 2guage from the battery, then 4guage to the amps.

Which would be best? Thanks!



I'd run the 2 gauge along the sill under the carpet, then bend it to make a turn under the front seat. There should be a raised part of the floorpan ( a reinforcement) that goes from the sill to under the seat on drivers and passengers side across the interior.

Keep your 2 gauge next to that, and the carpet should still form around it. Split it under the seat, make a short 4 guage run to your under-seat amp, and a longer run back to your sub amp.

[audiobliss]

Ok, I gotcha. That sounds like a great idea. However, how will I 'hop over' the reinforcement 'bar' in the floorpan to get to the amp? Should I drill a hole in that bar?

I'm sorry to take up so much of your time on a Saturday afternoon, but I really appreciate the help!

[Greg Peters]

Wiring...

How should I do this? Cut off a length of 2guage wire a few inches long, then have the fuse holder, then continue with 2guage to the distrobution block? Then I can run 4 guage to the amp. Should I run red as hot and black as ground, or just avoid unneccessary cutting and use it as I get to it?

AND, how in the world am I supposed to cut/strip this wire?!

EDIT - Oh, oh, the black 4guage is already terminated on both ends with ring terminals, so I'll just use the ends of that roll for the ground wire. Cut off 6" from one end, there's the ground for one amp. Then when I get another amp I can cut off 6" from the other end and there's my other ground wire.

I'm not sure 10' is long enough to get from the firewall to the passenger seat...maybe I should put the distrobution block as close to the first amp as I can...

You want your inline fuse within 18" of the battery. Less is good. To strip it, cut the insulation all the way around with a pocket knife, then pry the short piece of insulation off- you can use a crimper to squeeze the wire at the cut, then pull. The short piece of cut insulation should come right off.

To cut the wire, a wire cutter/stripper (about 8 bucks) is best, but with 2 gauge you'll have to cut through it like you would with scissors. If you bought the fine-stranded power wire, a big pair of shears should snip it for you.

If 10' is on the short side, buy some bulk 2 guage off the roll at the audio store and use 18" or so of that from battery to fuse holder and keep the rest of the wire from the kit to run from fuse holder back into the car.

If your terminals at the fuse holder and at the amp are the crimp type, it'll save you a lot of hassle (if you don't have a welding wire type crimper that'll put a notch in the crimp) if you tin the bare wire with solder and then crimp it in a bench vise (good and tight).

[Greg Peters]

Ok, I gotcha. That sounds like a great idea. However, how will I 'hop over' the reinforcement 'bar' in the floorpan to get to the amp? Should I drill a hole in that bar?

I'm sorry to take up so much of your time on a Saturday afternoon, but I really appreciate the help!

Mine had a hole in in (but I ran my wire through and under to the rear). You could drill it- just use a rubber grommet or plastic "firewall bushing" wherever you put power wire through a drilled hole, so it doesn't chafe through and cause some arcing and fire in your Jeep.

Gotta go to work. Good luck.

[audiobliss]

The power wire is terminated on at least one end with a ring terminal, and the ground wire is terminated likewise on both ends. So that should definitely help with the connections.

Thanks!

[exalted512]

hows it going?
-Cody

[1996blackmax]

Once you get it all installed you should have a smile on your face :D.

[audiobliss]

Can I run my speaker wire next to the power wire?

[exalted512]

yes
-Cody

[audiobliss]

That was the right answer!!

Just got home from church. I suppose I'll start taking off the door panels and running the speaker wire.

What's the best thing to do with excess interconnect? The guy gave me 18' to go from my HU to under my front seat....and I only need, like, 8'. Where should have I have excess?

[1996blackmax]

Behind the dash....


I am in the middle of installing my gear in my other car and I will be running one of my amps under my seat. I already bought the RCA's that were meant for the trunk, so neatly tucked behind the dash is where they will be :D.

[audiobliss]

Too late. I've already wound it up 'under my feet'. If I can find a sufficient bolt for grounding, then I'll be ready to put it all back together.

Today I took out the passenger seat and molding and both door panels and ran all the speaker wire. I've also got the power wire, IC's, REM and all coming out of holes in the carpet just where I'll want them. If I don't have to pull the carpet back up to find a good grounding point, I'll be done under the carpet. Could I use the seat belt bolt for ground? Hmm, I'm not sure I could get it there.

When I get it all in, what should my 'power up' order be? Have ALL the cables run and hooked up, but with the fuse out, and hook up the batter, then put the fuse in?

[exalted512]

if you use a seat belt bolt for a ground im going to go up there and slap you.

scrape away some paint under the carpet, take the ground and shoot at least 3 screws in the terminal down to the car. You want to make it as short as possible, but not to the point where youre making it hard on yourself to get it really short.

you are correct in your order. Put the fuse in last, then start the car and turn on the radio
-Cody

[MacLeod]

if you use a seat belt bolt for a ground im going to go up there and slap you.

Ill drive you!

scrape away some paint under the carpet, take the ground and shoot at least 3 screws in the terminal down to the car. You want to make it as short as possible, but not to the point where youre making it hard on yourself to get it really short.

x2

Its way too easy to scrape off some paint, drill a hole and slap a terminated ground wire in.

[audiobliss]

Ok, I discovered another seat bolt that'll work perfectly. I scraped the paint off the floorpan, and since I'm using the drilled out ring terminal, I'm going to put a washer on either side of the ring terminal, and then the seat bracket, and then the screw. I think that'll work just dandy.

Will it?

[exalted512]

a wise man once said...

scrape away some paint under the carpet, take the ground and shoot at least 3 screws in the terminal down to the car. You want to make it as short as possible, but not to the point where youre making it hard on yourself to get it really short.
-Cody

[audiobliss]

Help!! I can't find where to connect the REM wire to the back of my HU! I see one connector on the back on the left side that resembles a headphone jack, but the manual says it's for the optional wired remote.

Where/how do I connect the REM wire?!

[MacLeod]

The remote wire is either blue/white or blue.

[audiobliss]

Yeah, it's blue...it came with the JL wiring kit. But where does it hook to the HU?

[MacLeod]

To the blue wire coming out of the HU.

I forgot, you are running an aftermarket HU right? If so, it almost certainly has either a blue or blue/white wire coming out of the back. One will be the power antenae and the other will be the remote.

If youre running the stock HU, you can run a wire to a fuse in the fuse block that comes on with the ignition like the fuse for the radio.

[audiobliss]

Ok, now I'm in a terrible mood. All this junk is jut CRAP!! That's all anything made today is, just CRAP!

So I have the amp and distro block mounted, the speaker cables run and everything, and I'm hooking it all up to the amp. Without too much difficulty I get the power and speaker cables and REM connected. Now it's time to connect the IC's. So, I put this one on, and this one on. That's fine. Now I put this one on....whups, that's really tight and it stopped halfway, so I back it out and it takes the amps RCA connector out with it!!!! #@$&

So, then Dad takes this little tool and gently makes the JL RCA connector wider...POP! Well, broke off one of those pieces. I tighten a bit since now it's too loose on the RCA jack, and it's 'OK'. Then I connect the last IC to the last jack and same deal. So Dad makes it wider, breaks it, I tighten, same story. That's 'OK'.

So why in the world did the most expensive car audio's company's IC's do that?!?! I know they're overpriced, but I at least thought they were good!! And why in the world did the Memphis amp's jacks do that?!?!

IT'S ALL JUNK!! I WANNA JUST BURN THE JEEP DOWN!

[exalted512]

lolz

[audiobliss]

lolz
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

"I'm gonna drive down there and slap you" - a foolish man once said.

[audiobliss]

...I'm at the point where I'd enjoy taking an axe to the amp...

I mean, I went to, "Man, this isn't so bad! I might could actually do it for some money on the side!" to "#(*$#!@ I'm gonna burn it all down and then pay someone to do it; I'm never touching a car again!" in a matter of minutes.

[MacLeod]

Trust me. Thats the way ALL installs go. They NEVER go as planned.

Take that EQ I tried to install a couple months ago. All I had to do was slide my RCA's down behind the dash and out. Simple huh? Well one of them got wedged between something behind the dash and wouldnt come out. So I had to rip it out. And then go buy new RCA's. Ive never done an install that didnt involve temper tantrums and me running around the truck screaming obscenities!

As for the amp's RCA plug coming out, it definitely shouldnt do that. Its supposed to be soldered and connected to the inards of the amp. And as for breaking one of the fins off, I did that to my JL cables and it worked fine. You just have to be gentle with them. This is very thin metal we're talking about here.

Either way, sonds like youve been properly initiated to car audio installation! Congrats on popping your cherry!

[audiobliss]

I guess I've calmed down a bit now. It seems to be working out just fine.

By supper time we had the mids rewired and installed and the HU hooked up, so I put the battery back in and did a test run and, after I remembered to put the fues in, everything worked beautifully.

After supper we started working on the tweeters. We have the angle mounts mounted to the door panels with the wiring in place. Tomorrow we just have to wire and pop in the tweeters, put on the door-mounted arm-rests, put the seats back in, then remount the HU and put the dash back together. Then it's tweaking time!! I think we'll be done by lunch time. I hope. I've got to get to studying!

Now here comes a question...how should I setup my crossovers? I didn't wire in the passive ones, and I have a fairly nice one on the amp and then the extensive one in the HU. Which should I use? Both? Set where/how?

The amp can be set at 60 - 600Hz or 600 - 6kHz, at 12 or 18db/octave. Then I can do tons of stuff with the HU.

[MacLeod]

Id use the ones on the HU. Theyre usually better.

Set the sub to low pass at 80 Hz, the mid to low pass at 80 Hz and the tweeters wherever theyre crossed over at in their spec sheet. Dont want to play around with the tweets as you can easily blow them.

Thats a good starting point and you can fine tune it from there as you listen to it more.

Dont forget to play around with slopes as well. You dont have to have the cutoff frequency exactly at the point where the other speaker left off either.

For instance, my sub is cutoff at 40 Hz with a 24 db slope but my mids are cutoff at 100 Hz but at a 6 db slope. It seems like there would be a big gap in the response, but its the best sounding curve Ive got yet and its yielded my highest SQ scores as well.

[audiobliss]

Thanks, Mac. I can see that there'd always be something unforseen to go wrong.

This really has been a great experience. I mean, I'm using really REALLY crappy speaker wire, they're just barely long enough to get to the amp since I stupidly cut them too short, and you can see all the wire for a ways, but it's been tons of fun and a real eye-opener.

I mean, I was expecting to get into all this and think, "Man, this is tough stuff!!" Instead, I took out the seats and the molding, pulled up the carpet, took apart the dash and took out the HU (something I was too scared to do before), drill holes in things :eek:, and ended up saying, "Hey, this isn't magic afterall! It's pretty cool!"

I'm really glad I decided to do it. Of course, I'm sure I won't be looking forward to doing the SAME THING AGAIN when I have to install a sub amp, but hey...maybe I'll do it myself again.

Thanks for all the help all you guys have afforded, especially Cody here these last few hours.

However, I also thank you for your advice, suggestions, and corrections over the last three years or so. I remember I started my first car audio thread at least like two years ago. And I've just now gotten my first amp! Man, y'all are so patient...thanks a bunch to all of you!!!

[MacLeod]

Our little boy is all grown up.

[audiobliss]

Mac - I don't have a sub. I'm thinking about having the mids roll off naturally on the low end, but have them and the tweeters crossed over like stock elsewhere.

I'm thinking I'd like to set up a 'safety net' with the crossover on the amp. I mean, have them crossed over at different (wider) points on the amp so they won't interfere with fine-tuning from the HU, but have them in place just in case something happens to my HU (like me!) so my tweeters don't suddenly get a full frequency blast!

Do you think I could do something like that?

[MacLeod]

Yeah. I have my beloved SR tweeters running thru the passive units just for the protection.

If say the stock setting is 5000 Hz, set the amps high pass for the tweets at 4000 Hz and that should protect it from damaging it but still allow you to fidgit with the crossover settings on the HU.

[exalted512]

you could cross over the mids with your amp and use the passive crossovers for your tweets only...
-Cody

[audiobliss]

Ok, now we've got a problem. None of the literature I have with my components mention anything about crossover points. So now how do I got about setting the HPF for my tweeters?

EDITED for correctness.

[audiobliss]

I'm going to just set the tweeter's HP at 5kHz if I don't have any other ideas before it's time to set 'em up.

[MacLeod]

Have you tried looking for the specs on Boston's website?

[audiobliss]

Yes. In fact, that's where all my literature came from. From their webpage and then the pdf manual I downloaded. The components didn't come with any literature.

Well, everything's put back together! Well, except for the seats. And it's absolutely amazing how I can change all the LP and HPF's on everything, and the slopes, and the db levels, and the phase! It's incredible!!

The only thing that could make it better is...if...if my right tweeter weren't blown. :( It's making crackling noises. The left one isn't. I even pulled it back out and made sure the connections are good. Crackling.

I'll just live with it for a good long while, I bet. Can't afford replacing it now. I guess I'm free to experiment with crossover points now, though, without fear of blowing anything!! :D

[Greg Peters]

The tweeter was doing this before the amp install?

That's too bad. Maybe you'll find a set on eBay cheap (for spare parts)...

Don't leave that broken bolt on the seat for too long.

[audiobliss]

I just got back from riding around, jacking it up, adjusting this, tweaking that, and attempting to set the gains. I'm not entirely convinced the tweeter is blown. When I said it was blown, the tweeter was making this crackly sound, though it was still reproducing the music (radio). However, it seems to come and go, and I don't think I've noticed it at all when playing a CD.

To set the gains, I (first searched the forums for one of Mac's quick explanations on how to do it...) turned my HU up to 33. It goes to 40, so I figured 33 would be a pretty good point. So then I started turning up the gain on the tweeters. I have to tell ya, I don't think I heard them complaining one bit all the way to about 12:30 or 1, but turned them back down to about 10:30 or so. The mids started pushing the door panel out when I jacked up the gain, and then began distorting. I originally had them crossed at 50Hz with a flat slope, but then I bumped it up to 63Hz with a flat slope (they're rated to 65Hz). I ended up setting them at about 11 or so.

Overall, I think I want more 'body' or 'impact' with the sound.

One thing I was surprised about is when I got back from riding around, the amp was warm. I was probably only gone less than 15 minutes, but the amp was warm. Not hot, but I can definitely see it getting hot, playing it loud on an hour or longer road trip.

[Greg Peters]

Overall, I think I want more 'body' or 'impact' with the sound.



Subwoofer, subwoofer, subwoofer :D

[audiobliss]

Subwoofer, subwoofer, subwoofer :D
Money, money, money :D

[MacLeod]

I just got back from riding around, jacking it up, adjusting this, tweaking that, and attempting to set the gains. I'm not entirely convinced the tweeter is blown. When I said it was blown, the tweeter was making this crackly sound, though it was still reproducing the music (radio). However, it seems to come and go, and I don't think I've noticed it at all when playing a CD.

To set the gains, I (first searched the forums for one of Mac's quick explanations on how to do it...) turned my HU up to 33. It goes to 40, so I figured 33 would be a pretty good point. So then I started turning up the gain on the tweeters. I have to tell ya, I don't think I heard them complaining one bit all the way to about 12:30 or 1, but turned them back down to about 10:30 or so. The mids started pushing the door panel out when I jacked up the gain, and then began distorting. I originally had them crossed at 50Hz with a flat slope, but then I bumped it up to 63Hz with a flat slope (they're rated to 65Hz). I ended up setting them at about 11 or so.

Overall, I think I want more 'body' or 'impact' with the sound.

One thing I was surprised about is when I got back from riding around, the amp was warm. I was probably only gone less than 15 minutes, but the amp was warm. Not hot, but I can definitely see it getting hot, playing it loud on an hour or longer road trip.

A few things:

One, start adjusting the gains of the mid first. Itll be a lot easier to tell when its distorting than when the tweeter is. After you have the gain of the mid set, then adjust the tweeter til it sounds right which will usually be a little bit below the mids point.

Cutting off the mid at 50 Hz with a flat slope means its not cut off at all and running full range. A cutoff point doesnt mean the speaker stops playing frequencies at that point but rather that is the point where the response is attenuated and by how much depends on the slope. A flat slope means its not being attenuated at all and so theyre playing full range. A 6 db slope means theyre being attenuated 6 db per octave. A 12 db slope would be 12 dbs quieter per octave (an octave is double the frequency. I.E. 200 Hz would be one octave up from 100 which would be one octave up from 50 and so on.

Set the cuttoff point to 65 Hz and then start out with a slope of 6 or 12 db and see how that sounds.

As for the amp being hot, thats what they do. Unless its smoking hot or glowing red, its normal for it to be pretty warm and even hot to the touch after spirited listening.

[audiobliss]

Thanks for the advice, Mac. I did finally figure out that the 0 slope setting didn't cut it off at all. So now it's at 63Hz and I think a 6db/oct slope.

I'm having a hard time decided where to transition from mid to tweeter. I originally had the mid bow out about 5kHz and the tweeter come in at 6.3, and I've been flirting with keeping it low like that, and with having the mid come all the way up to about 8kHz and then having the tweeter come in at around 8 or 10kHz. I'm sure y'all really will come slap me now for having it transition that high, but I didn't think it was that different from the former settings.

I was going through the menu earlier, looking for where it'll adjust everything automatically with the included mic, but I couldn't find it. Can I not do that with it in the three-way mode or did I just over look it? I'm mainly waiting it for the TA feature, because there really is a difference in time between when the left tweet gets here versus when the right tweet does. I guess I could just get out a tape measure and do it that way. :(

Also, for now I've disabled the amp's crossover, at least until I figure out where I want things set.

Now, a question about my components. I know Boston Acoustic's name isn't on anything 'SQ' or anything really great sounding. However, aren't BA's speakers supposed to be able to take a boat load of power? At least, that's about the only positive thing I've heard about them.