SR's on the way

[DemonAstroth]

I know there is a similar thread around, but I want this to apply to my install only.

I got some SR5250's for a nice price, so they will be replacing my Alpine SPX-177r's. If anyone is familiar with these, I'd love some opinions into how much of an improvement I should expect... but on to my install questions:

1) Factory location is 4x6 (obviously I fit the 6.5's so the 5.25's should be no problem). I have a lot of sound deadener left (dynamat xtreme), so I would like to know how to apply it behind the speaker as I place them. I have no idea how to do this. When I installed the Alpines I just put as much as I could onto the door, which made a noticeable difference.

2) I have just finished running my stuff biamped, active. My amplifier is an Eclipse XA4000, which claims to put 125x4 @ 4 ohm RMS. I do not want to damage my speakers (tweeters particularly). I know how to be smart, but any sort of advice into the gains of the amp is much appreciated. The head unit supposedly outputs 8v.

3) I know I know... I have a nice install in the rear.. a pair of db6500's, which are currently not in use. If I wanted to have some rear fill.. I would need another amp. Problem is the head unit outputs Low, Mid, Treble. So if I was to daisy chain the amps, I would only have the choice of mid or treble... is there a way to get past this? If not, should I just have the DB's play mids?

4) Now I have rear DB's, subs are Momo's, and fronts are SR's... one of each line! :) Hopefully there's no conflicts with the drivers.. :p

OK, well overall I'm very happy. I think that theoretically this is the install that I wanted in the beginning. A great sounding head unit (CD7100), where I could play all my mp3's for everyday sound (80gig ipod) connected, with some decent subs (2 polk momo 12's), and now finally the highly acclaimed SR's in the front. I know that once that is in I will still be looking for upgrades (such as the CD7200, as bluetooth would be handy), but I hope that I will be able to really enjoy my sound.

[DemonAstroth]

Anyone? Or am I too annoying?

[Meeks32]

I cant really answer any of your questions but I just installed a pair of sr6500's in my car last week & they are awesome so Im sure you will be pleased. The tweeters are just awesome. I had Focal polyglass before this & these are much better.

[exalted512]

1) With deadener, if you haven't already, cover all the access holes. This helps the door to become an enclosure. If you dont do that, its simply a baffle.

2.) Just play it by ear. Turn the mids and subs off and turn up the volume. If the tweeters start crackling at a volume you would normally listen to, back the gain down.

3) Dont use rear fill, problem solved.

4.) The only conflict is using rear fill!
-Cody

[DemonAstroth]

Cody,

I will first get the front working, and hone it until it sounds great. It just seems wasteful having a nice set of components on the rear just for looks...

Thanks for telling me to cover up the holes, I didn't know that it would make a big difference, so I will try to cover them up, I know there's a whole lot of them though.

Last... do the crossover settings matter depending on the environment, or should it be mostly depending on the speakers being used. If the latter, what's a good starting point for the SR5250's. And how much overlapping should be used?

[exalted512]

Covering up the holes, by far, is the single, best way to make your speakers sound better. What I use is roof flashing from home depot. Cut it out to the shape of your hole (with an inch of overlap), but sound deadener on both sides of it, then screw it to your door panel.

Heres what my truck looks like:





As far as crossover points go, it has a lot to do with listening habits. If you don't like to crank it up, you can get away with crossing the mids off lower and letting them play higher as well as crossing the tweets off lower. If you like to jam, you'd want to cut more of that out. I'm not quite sure what the polk's tweeters play down to or what the mids play up to, hopefully Macleod can give you more info, as I have yet to run my active and he actually uses the 5.25s.
-Cody

[frosty2k]

My amplifier is an Eclipse XA4000, which claims to put 125x4 @ 4 ohm RMS. I do not want to damage my speakers (tweeters particularly). I know how to be smart, but any sort of advice into the gains of the amp is much appreciated. The head unit supposedly outputs 8v.

I am extremely curious as to how you make out with this problem. I'll likely place my speaker/amp combination order after your update.:) How did your existing Alpine's handle the XA4000? They are only rated 75W RMS, 300W peak. (40W RMS driver, 25W RMS tweet according to the manual)

If I wanted to have some rear fill.. I would need another amp. Problem is the head unit outputs Low, Mid, Treble. So if I was to daisy chain the amps, I would only have the choice of mid or treble... is there a way to get past this? If not, should I just have the DB's play mids?

I would avoid doing the rear speakers if at all possible with this setup. For one, it will throw out your speaker timing as no matter how you set it up, either the fronts or back will be off. Err.. well unless by some fluke your front and rear speakers are perfectly equidistant from your listening position. If you have to put in rears (if you have a large 4 door) you should probably set it back to the 4way+sw setting for proper imaging.

A great sounding head unit (CD7100), where I could play all my mp3's for everyday sound (80gig ipod) connected

Do you find you get any distortion when you play music from the iPod? I use a USB key for some of my music and find that it has some annoying pops and clicks almost like a record player, but far more annoying. I don't notice it on metal, but with something quieter, like accoustic it really is noticable. It doesn't affect mp3s that are burned on CDs for some reason though.

[MacLeod]

The 5.25's will play all the way up to 5 KHz 90 degrees off axis before they start to roll off. This is outstanding!! As for the bottom end, while theyll hit 40 Hz, with decent energy, it wont sound that good. I wouldnt go below 50 on them and 63 wouldnt be a bad idea either. It depends on what you want. If you want the most midbass energy, then cut em at 50 - if youre wanting the most accurate blend of midbass to sub bass then 63 worked well for me. I prefer shallow slopes for the crossover points (12 db/oct)between mid and tweet if theyre separated but if theyre mounted coaxially then a steeper slope would probably work best.

As an aside, the SR6500's will play up to 4 KHz 90 degrees off. They will get up to 5 KHz but I found the roll off too steep to naturally blend with the tweeters. The sound and RTA just fell into place when I set them at 4 KHz @ 12 db/oct.

Nothing wrong with rear fill as a lot of people prefer it. It can fatten up your sound but it can also cause some cancellation and screw up your stage. Its a trade off. Its just easier to tune fewer speakers than more.

Set the gains by using a CD of the type of music you listen to most. Make sure its a well recorded CD. Since youre bi-amping cut off the tweets and subs and set the mids gain by turning the gain all the way down and the HU volume up to 75%. Turn up the gains til you hear distortion then back it down til the distortion just goes away. Now turn up the tweeters gain til it blends well with the mids. This will almost always be at a lower point than the mids. Same thing with the sub - turn it up til it blends.

[Kinetic]

Anyone? Or am I too annoying?

Hey thats some good news

Congrats

I havent hear mine, probably tomorrow, I havent figured out where tu put the crossovers, and I dont want to play them without them

bt for sure, we wont regret this decition

[Kinetic]

Anyone? Or am I too annoying?

donde vives?