active vs passive

[lithium 358]

what the main diffences and how do u go about both an active and passive system.

which is more effective?

which is more expensive?

im runing polk db 5.25s in the door and db1000 tweets in the sails. i was thinking about amping them and runing new mids because with the tweeters on the coaxils and the extra tweets in the sails it gets alittle to bright. also i have a lack of midrange to mid bass. sould i just amp them and see how it sounds or replace them with a new pair.... i heard aa is putin out some new mids but what would u all suggest.

[ANeonRider 3]

what the main diffences and how do u go about both an active and passive system.

which is more effective?

which is more expensive?

Simply...

Main difference is that an active system has electronic crossovers (pre-amplification) & a passive system has electrical crossovers (post amplification).

http://bcae1.com/elxovsp2.htm

More effective? Active... hands down. No power loss through electrical components, adjustability on the fly (no need to redesign the crossover like a passive), and allows a user to use raw drivers & contour the sound to their preferences.

More expensive? If done properly, passive. Low tolerance electrical components are expensive, and building the correct passive crossover takes a lot of trial & error because every listen enviroment & installation is different.

[lithium 358]

how much money we talking for a basic processor

sould i go 2 way or 3 way? i was thinking 2 way because i dont have much room in the doors and kicks.

is there anything i sould do before i deside to go ahead with a new front stage like dampening.....(probly should start with an amp on the 5.25 and tweets)

i really have a huge hole in the midbass is there any easy fix for that?

Edited March 25, 2008 by lithium

[dave_Edwards 1]

If you are just starting out....2 way...then work your way up to 3 way.

Keep

It

Simple

Stupid

[lithium 358]

Keep

It

Simple

Stupid

damn straight

think ill start by amping my front speakers with a 4channel and get some dynamat on the doors.

maybe aa will have out them mids by then

[///M5 2,833]

The KISS principle is right. Active has the potential to sound way worse than comps if not done properly of course if it is done well, you can really reap the rewards.

[lithium 358]

so what are some good proccessors. ive read about ppl using the rf 360.2

any suggestions on 4 channel amps for around 100$

[ANeonRider 3]

What head unit are you using?

[JimJ 11]

any suggestions on 4 channel amps for around 100$

I'd look into older used, but solid amps, like the PG M44 for that price.

[emperorjj1 2]

i can get you a repaired xtant 404m for 120+ shipping

[lithium 358]

my head unit is a sony cdx gt310.... i bought it over a year ago when i knew nothing of car audio. i wanted, i forget if it was ether an alpine or pioneer, but the circuitcity didnt have the ipod adapter for it in stock so i got the sony... (bad idea)

ill look into some amps over coming weeks and save afew pay checks up... cant make tomuch money while still in highschool and trying to save up for college this fall so im really scraping up the nickles and dimes....

ill probly just go passive for now...

[lithium 358]

found a kicker 200.4 on ubid.com for about 100$. its a refurb but kicker has pretty solid amps.

i need some 8 gauge wire, gound distro, and power distro. is 4$ tomuch for 20feet of kicker 8 gauge and the distro's from sonicelectronix.com. i dont know many other brands of wire with the same quality as kicker for the price. i already have a kicker 4gauge amp kit installed.