Is it worth it to go active?

[Bassin Buick]

Sorry, wording was wrong. I am not on a skinny budget. As in a dont gotta save a lot of money. I am willing to drop probably 400 on a front stage and 200 on an amp. Just to kinda give you an idea. Sorry for the miscommunication. But I am having fun looking through the site you sent me to.

i personally would spend a little more on the amp and less on the speakers. Awesome speakers + budget amp = epic fail IMO.

 

[Bassin Buick]

SO even tho the mid woofers say they recommend such and such box, you can just run them free air?

low qts usually means they are do-able free air. but they will handle less juice free air.

 

[o. l. t. 10+ year member]

I have been told by many to just go ahead and delete my rear fill... Thats fine, but I am on a hunt for new amps, and am curious if I should get a 4 channel so I can go active, or just get a strong 2 channel and run my components with their crossovers. What are the benefits of going active? I understand you get to pick your crossover points... Also, what are some strong 6.5" components? If I am gonna delete my rear fill then I want some real loud components!

Fk what you've been told. Do what sounds good to you. You know what the most bland sound in the world is? An RTA tuned system. One done to flat line on an RTA. It's "correct" just like deleting your rear fill is correct as there is only front stage in live music, but RTA flat tune sounds like SH&T. Tuning on the RTA for a perfectly flat response curve is like hitting the DOLBY button on a cassette tape. ........... but it's "correct". *rolleyes*

We all hear things differently, use different products, in different cars, and at different ages we also have changes in our ear canals and ear drums that make sounds disappear completely that you could hear when you were younger.

I personally find rear fill annoying, but that is because I have been running with just front comps since 1993. I currently drive a BMW X5 and it has ten speakers plus sub and I can't hear any of them except the front comps primarily because that's what my ears expect to hear after all these years. I'm sure I'd notice if 8 speakers dropped out though! Am I expected to remove all the rear door and rear sat speakers from my BMW? Hell no......... They sound good, and are all Harmon Kardon. I'll be damned if I'll remove those.......... If you like how your system sounds then just keep adding to it, not taking away.

It took me two decades of car audio to know what I want, and every year something comes out and changes the game. The difference is listening to everything and deciding what you like, not listening to whatever everyone else likes. Tell them if they want it a certain way to pay for it and you'll gladly install it.

For the record though Active sounds excellent. Just do it because you like it, not because you're told. That's being someone else's beyatch.

 

[DUAL10S 10+ year member]

Read through this thread and swapped my front stage to active.

Got a set of Opti5.1 and a set of Opti6.1 on a Onx4.125. The tweeters in the pillars were so harsh I had the 6.1's faded almost to nothing.

Removed the Opti x-overs / put a set of tweets on each front channel(fl + fr) / put a 5.25 and 6.5 on each rear channel.

Now I can fade just enough tweeter in with the mid bass - sounds like a completely different system. I can actually enjoy the music now. Much more mid-bass out of the 6.5's now that I dont have to fade them to nothing.

Overall, this was a very simple and quick process. Took about an hour to rewire and 15min to get everything tuned to a starting point (I am sure it will take me a week or two to finally get it dialed where I want it though)

Not my thread but I think I will stay active for a while. Thanks

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

Fk what you've been told. Do what sounds good to you. You know what the most bland sound in the world is? An RTA tuned system. One done to flat line on an RTA. It's "correct" just like deleting your rear fill is correct as there is only front stage in live music, but RTA flat tune sounds like SH&T. Tuning on the RTA for a perfectly flat response curve is like hitting the DOLBY button on a cassette tape. ........... but it's "correct". *rolleyes*
We all hear things differently, use different products, in different cars, and at different ages we also have changes in our ear canals and ear drums that make sounds disappear completely that you could hear when you were younger.

I personally find rear fill annoying, but that is because I have been running with just front comps since 1993. I currently drive a BMW X5 and it has ten speakers plus sub and I can't hear any of them except the front comps primarily because that's what my ears expect to hear after all these years. I'm sure I'd notice if 8 speakers dropped out though! Am I expected to remove all the rear door and rear sat speakers from my BMW? Hell no......... They sound good, and are all Harmon Kardon. I'll be damned if I'll remove those.......... If you like how your system sounds then just keep adding to it, not taking away.

It took me two decades of car audio to know what I want, and every year something comes out and changes the game. The difference is listening to everything and deciding what you like, not listening to whatever everyone else likes. Tell them if they want it a certain way to pay for it and you'll gladly install it.

For the record though Active sounds excellent. Just do it because you like it, not because you're told. That's being someone else's beyatch.

Thanks man, just looking for opinions. Yes I know everyone hears things differently, but the more experienced have a better sense into what sounds clearest or gives the truest sound. Thanks again.

 

---------- Post added at 06:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 PM ----------

 

Read through this thread and swapped my front stage to active.
Got a set of Opti5.1 and a set of Opti6.1 on a Onx4.125. The tweeters in the pillars were so harsh I had the 6.1's faded almost to nothing.

Removed the Opti x-overs / put a set of tweets on each front channel(fl + fr) / put a 5.25 and 6.5 on each rear channel.

Now I can fade just enough tweeter in with the mid bass - sounds like a completely different system. I can actually enjoy the music now. Much more mid-bass out of the 6.5's now that I dont have to fade them to nothing.

Overall, this was a very simple and quick process. Took about an hour to rewire and 15min to get everything tuned to a starting point (I am sure it will take me a week or two to finally get it dialed where I want it though)

Not my thread but I think I will stay active for a while. Thanks

So your front stage includes a 5.25", a 6.5", and a tweeter? But you run the 6.5s and 5.25s off the same channels?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

i personally would spend a little more on the amp and less on the speakers. Awesome speakers + budget amp = epic fail IMO.

the amp i linked is awesome, just happens to be cheap //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[DUAL10S 10+ year member]

Front stage includes a 5.25", a 6.5", and 2 tweeters on each side. Two tweeters per channel on channels 1 + 2. 6.5 and 5.25 per channel on channels 3 + 4. So really one side of the amp for tweeters and the other side for mid-bass

Channel 1 + 2 are on Hi Pass

Channel 3 + 4 are full range (still messing around with the settings)

Think the sub x-over on the EQ is set to ~100hz.

This sounds much better than the x-overs that came with the components .

 

[esmokah 10+ year member]

I have some ascendant audio 6.75s that are awesome sounding. idk if you can get them anymore though. i have them passive with a set of old polk db xovers and tweeters. they are being fed 100wRMS.

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Active is where its at. Of course I run Horns though.

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

the amp i linked is awesome, just happens to be cheap //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=7595247
Yea, I may still get it, just look around for opinions. Lol.

 

---------- Post added at 05:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------

 

Front stage includes a 5.25", a 6.5", and 2 tweeters on each side. Two tweeters per channel on channels 1 + 2. 6.5 and 5.25 per channel on channels 3 + 4. So really one side of the amp for tweeters and the other side for mid-bass
Channel 1 + 2 are on Hi Pass

Channel 3 + 4 are full range (still messing around with the settings)

Think the sub x-over on the EQ is set to ~100hz.

This sounds much better than the x-overs that came with the components .

Dang, i would really think of doing something like that. How is the imaging with the 5.25 and 6.5 producing the same sounds?

 

---------- Post added at 05:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:09 PM ----------

 

I have some ascendant audio 6.75s that are awesome sounding. idk if you can get them anymore though. i have them passive with a set of old polk db xovers and tweeters. they are being fed 100wRMS.

Thanks, Ill see if I can find some... I barely can get ahold of their subs tho. Lol.

 

---------- Post added at 05:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:09 PM ----------

 

Active is where its at. Of course I run Horns though.

Ok, Lol. Will probably end up active, but wish I could find somewhere to mount horns.

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

I will be active with horns, tweets, 5.25's, 6.5's, and 15's.

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

I will be active with horns, tweets, 5.25's, 6.5's, and 15's.

A little more than I was looking to do, or less you wanna donate to my car renovation fund. lol.

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

Bah hahahaha......

I have a w200/h701 combo to process all my stuff though. Gonna take a pile o processing to get it all right.