Wiring tweeters
Discussion
Just installed a new head unit, amp and speakers and I am finding the tweeters are way too bright for my liking.
I have messed about with the graphic eq on the head unit but it all just gets a bit messy.
So, I have only used two channels from the power amp, and the supplied crossovers to each speaker, so with that in mind, could I connect another pair of rca cables from the rear lo level outlet in the head unit to the amp, and run the tweeters direct from channels three and four still using their own crossovers which would then enable me to tune the volume down on the gain for the tweeters and make them a little less harsh?
Amp is a Hertz hmp4d with audison apk165p components.
I have messed about with the graphic eq on the head unit but it all just gets a bit messy.
So, I have only used two channels from the power amp, and the supplied crossovers to each speaker, so with that in mind, could I connect another pair of rca cables from the rear lo level outlet in the head unit to the amp, and run the tweeters direct from channels three and four still using their own crossovers which would then enable me to tune the volume down on the gain for the tweeters and make them a little less harsh?
Amp is a Hertz hmp4d with audison apk165p components.
Sorry guys didnt spot the replies for some reason.
So, i did as i was thinking and connected the tweeters direct to the rear outputs on the amp, and have the gain set to almost minimum, and this has certainly helped a lot, however i also have the problem of it all sounding 'grainy' for want of a better word, even at lowish volumes. Gain for the fronts is just under halfway, so not maxing anything out as far as i can tell.
Anyway, head unit is a Pioneer EVO64DAB, and the tweeters are set to 0db on the crossover.
Someone suggested to bin the supplied cross overs and use the amp xover settings direct and then adding a DSP to fine tune evrything.
The head unit does have a kind DSP as it has loads of settings (xover, time alignment, db for each speaker) so would this achieve the same as a standalone DSP?
So, i did as i was thinking and connected the tweeters direct to the rear outputs on the amp, and have the gain set to almost minimum, and this has certainly helped a lot, however i also have the problem of it all sounding 'grainy' for want of a better word, even at lowish volumes. Gain for the fronts is just under halfway, so not maxing anything out as far as i can tell.
Anyway, head unit is a Pioneer EVO64DAB, and the tweeters are set to 0db on the crossover.
Someone suggested to bin the supplied cross overs and use the amp xover settings direct and then adding a DSP to fine tune evrything.
The head unit does have a kind DSP as it has loads of settings (xover, time alignment, db for each speaker) so would this achieve the same as a standalone DSP?
You probably could do. A DSP would be better but they’re not cheap for a decent one. I didn’t with mine, just swapped the old 80PRS for the one below, and ran active, so I could alter pretty much everything from the drivers seat. Just took a load of messing around as it sounded really crap before I tuned it.
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Stage4...
And I just ran one 5 channel DLS amp:
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-26059-DLS-Ult...
Had a channel for each of the tweeters & 6.5” door mids, I didn’t fit a sub to this set up though just had a nice sounding front stage.
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Stage4...
And I just ran one 5 channel DLS amp:
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-26059-DLS-Ult...
Had a channel for each of the tweeters & 6.5” door mids, I didn’t fit a sub to this set up though just had a nice sounding front stage.
griffin dai said:
You probably could do. A DSP would be better but they’re not cheap for a decent one. I didn’t with mine, just swapped the old 80PRS for the one below, and ran active, so I could alter pretty much everything from the drivers seat. Just took a load of messing around as it sounded really crap before I tuned it.
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Stage4...
And I just ran one 5 channel DLS amp:
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-26059-DLS-Ult...
Had a channel for each of the tweeters & 6.5” door mids, I didn’t fit a sub to this set up though just had a nice sounding front stage.
I ran full 3 way active (3 separate amps) full time alignment etc with an 80PRS and it sounded fantastic. Not sure why you needed the 99 as the 80 has more than adequate DSP?https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Stage4...
And I just ran one 5 channel DLS amp:
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-26059-DLS-Ult...
Had a channel for each of the tweeters & 6.5” door mids, I didn’t fit a sub to this set up though just had a nice sounding front stage.
TEKNOPUG said:
I ran full 3 way active (3 separate amps) full time alignment etc with an 80PRS and it sounded fantastic. Not sure why you needed the 99 as the 80 has more than adequate DSP?
Yeah the 80 was brilliant tbf, especially for the price. Pretty easy to tune as well with the supplied mic, the 99 was a pain with no mic as I bought it used!!! All done by ear and took ages. On the old car I ran 3 way active so 2 ways up front plus a sub in the boot with 2 Genesis amps (4 channel & dual mono) it was great for this but when I changed cars I wanted 3 ways up front plus the sub and just one amp, bought some Sinfoni S series 3 ways but they’re huge (need a door build for the 6.5”s …..they’re massive and won’t fit, and the 4” mids that we’re going to live in the dash we’re also huge, would have been a dash or windscreen out job to get them in, too big a job for me so I went back to my old Focals.
OP, that head unit has all the functionality you need; 3 way active mode, filters, time alignment, EQ etc.
You basically wire the speakers and amps to the hu, with out any passive xovers and all settings off in the amp and set it all up via the hu.
Your choice of amp is the biggest issue. It's 4 X 50w but the tweeters don't need anything like that much power to run and the mids would really benefit from more. Typically people use a separate amp for high, mid and low although you can get asymmetric multi channel amps.
With your current setup, you need to RCA front from HU to amp front. This will be for your tweeters. RCA rear from HU to amp rear. This will be for your mids. Wire the speakers to the amp accordingly, without the xovers. Set the HU to 3 way active.
Then you set the xover point for the tweeters (there will be the frequency range of the speakers and their current xover settings in their technical details) and the same for the mids. You can play about with those and I can give you some settings to try.
Then set the time alignment to get all speakers blended front and centre. There is probably an auto EQ function with a microphone to get you started?
Finally tweak the gains and EQ to get it how you like. It's not hard, you just need to spend some time playing around with it, as long as you do the basics in the right order.
It will hugely benefit from having a separate sub speaker, even if you don't think you listen to loud or bassy music
Finally, it will only sound as good as the hardware installation....
You basically wire the speakers and amps to the hu, with out any passive xovers and all settings off in the amp and set it all up via the hu.
Your choice of amp is the biggest issue. It's 4 X 50w but the tweeters don't need anything like that much power to run and the mids would really benefit from more. Typically people use a separate amp for high, mid and low although you can get asymmetric multi channel amps.
With your current setup, you need to RCA front from HU to amp front. This will be for your tweeters. RCA rear from HU to amp rear. This will be for your mids. Wire the speakers to the amp accordingly, without the xovers. Set the HU to 3 way active.
Then you set the xover point for the tweeters (there will be the frequency range of the speakers and their current xover settings in their technical details) and the same for the mids. You can play about with those and I can give you some settings to try.
Then set the time alignment to get all speakers blended front and centre. There is probably an auto EQ function with a microphone to get you started?
Finally tweak the gains and EQ to get it how you like. It's not hard, you just need to spend some time playing around with it, as long as you do the basics in the right order.
It will hugely benefit from having a separate sub speaker, even if you don't think you listen to loud or bassy music
Finally, it will only sound as good as the hardware installation....
TEKNOPUG said:
OP, that head unit has all the functionality you need; 3 way active mode, filters, time alignment, EQ etc.
You basically wire the speakers and amps to the hu, with out any passive xovers and all settings off in the amp and set it all up via the hu.
Your choice of amp is the biggest issue. It's 4 X 50w but the tweeters don't need anything like that much power to run and the mids would really benefit from more. Typically people use a separate amp for high, mid and low although you can get asymmetric multi channel amps.
With your current setup, you need to RCA front from HU to amp front. This will be for your tweeters. RCA rear from HU to amp rear. This will be for your mids. Wire the speakers to the amp accordingly, without the xovers. Set the HU to 3 way active.
Then you set the xover point for the tweeters (there will be the frequency range of the speakers and their current xover settings in their technical details) and the same for the mids. You can play about with those and I can give you some settings to try.
Then set the time alignment to get all speakers blended front and centre. There is probably an auto EQ function with a microphone to get you started?
Finally tweak the gains and EQ to get it how you like. It's not hard, you just need to spend some time playing around with it, as long as you do the basics in the right order.
It will hugely benefit from having a separate sub speaker, even if you don't think you listen to loud or bassy music
Finally, it will only sound as good as the hardware installation....
Fantastic thanks for the explanation!You basically wire the speakers and amps to the hu, with out any passive xovers and all settings off in the amp and set it all up via the hu.
Your choice of amp is the biggest issue. It's 4 X 50w but the tweeters don't need anything like that much power to run and the mids would really benefit from more. Typically people use a separate amp for high, mid and low although you can get asymmetric multi channel amps.
With your current setup, you need to RCA front from HU to amp front. This will be for your tweeters. RCA rear from HU to amp rear. This will be for your mids. Wire the speakers to the amp accordingly, without the xovers. Set the HU to 3 way active.
Then you set the xover point for the tweeters (there will be the frequency range of the speakers and their current xover settings in their technical details) and the same for the mids. You can play about with those and I can give you some settings to try.
Then set the time alignment to get all speakers blended front and centre. There is probably an auto EQ function with a microphone to get you started?
Finally tweak the gains and EQ to get it how you like. It's not hard, you just need to spend some time playing around with it, as long as you do the basics in the right order.
It will hugely benefit from having a separate sub speaker, even if you don't think you listen to loud or bassy music
Finally, it will only sound as good as the hardware installation....
In all honesty I was only ever going to use the amp as a two channel but because the top end was so bright, the only way I thought I could get the level down was to use the rear outputs on the amp to give me greater control, which it does to a point!
Having said that, i am happy to change it to something else with a more powerful 4 channel amp depending on costs!
Depends how much money you want to spend 
I always favour putting amps under the front seats if possible. Out of sight and safe from damage.
Are you comfortable doing the wiring/install?
Presumably the mids are in the doors? Be sure to give the inner panels plenty of silent coat or similar and have some sturdy mounts for the speakers. Otherwise it will sound flabby and rattle at any sort of volume.
I always favour putting amps under the front seats if possible. Out of sight and safe from damage.
Are you comfortable doing the wiring/install?
Presumably the mids are in the doors? Be sure to give the inner panels plenty of silent coat or similar and have some sturdy mounts for the speakers. Otherwise it will sound flabby and rattle at any sort of volume.
Edited by TEKNOPUG on Tuesday 3rd October 15:22
Yes that’s all up and running.
Could I run the tweeters direct from the head unit using the Hpf on the head unit?
Doing a bit of diggjng and some are of the opinion that this would possible cause an imbalance with over sound?
At least that way it would give back the 150w over 2 channels on the amp for the speakers?
Or am I talking rubbish?
Could I run the tweeters direct from the head unit using the Hpf on the head unit?
Doing a bit of diggjng and some are of the opinion that this would possible cause an imbalance with over sound?
At least that way it would give back the 150w over 2 channels on the amp for the speakers?
Or am I talking rubbish?
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