front stage recommendations

[EddieC 17]

  Last year I purchased a set of Image Dynamics CTX-65CS for my front stage. I was running them on an AQ200.2 amp. The right side tweeter kept blowing so ID upgraded me to the XS-28 tweets and the matching crossovers from the CSX set. Well, after 3 more attempts the tweets kept blowing. They said it must be something wrong with my amp, so I swapped the amp for my Kenwood KAC-7005PS. I bridged the channels to get 100 watts per side so that overpowering should not be an issue. Well, after the warranty ran out my last replacement came in. It lasted a week. I don't know what the problem could be unless the driver on that side was bad, sending the incorrect ohms to the tweets. That being said.....what could be the cause of this?

  Also, I'd like to know what would be something that would be a suitable replacement. I can use either the AQ200.2 or the KAC-7005PS for the front stage. Or is it possible to use the AQ for the mids and the KAC for the tweets? I'm running a 220 amp alt, Group 34 Optima Yellow Top under the hood and a Diehard P1 in the rear. Sub is a 12" DSS Ethos on a Q1-2200D @1 ohm. Is it possible to use all 3 amps safely on the electrical I have? I don't have a lot to put into this as the car has been fully built for shows now, with Seibon carbon fiber hood, spoiler, Clazzio seat covers, etc., etc.

 

 What would be the best course of action to take here? I'd like to know why the tweets keep blowing for one. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[hdrox88 142]

For that many to keep popping, I would suspect incorrect wiring or tuning somewhere. Does it happen to both sides, one tweeter at a time? Is it both sides at the same time? Only one side that keeps going out? How exactly are they wired?

Edited February 16, 2016 by hdrox88

[Shogen 325]

something sounds wrong w/ install ... but what, is a whole slew of t'n'a ... not the good kind lol

[///M5 2,833]

If they are wired right which isn't all that hard, the problem is how you are setting your gain and using your volume knob.

[EddieC 17]

It's the passenger side.....over and over. The left one has never blown. I thought to begin with that the AQ200.2 may have been the issue, as it pushes 220 per channel which is way more than the power handling capability. The shop that installed them set the gains and I never pushed them beyond that point. When I was advised that something could be wrong with the amp, I switched it to the Kenwood. That one only pushes 100 per side, which is well below capacity as the tweets themselves are rated at 100 each. I need to change things up, but don't want to until I know what's causing this issue. If it was my gains or volume, shouldn't the other one have blown at some point as well? I've had these installed since November 2014.

Now that they are out of warranty I'm going to pull the panel and investigate myself. I left them alone up until now since the warranty was only covered with the shop doing all the work. What, besides the wiring should I look for? Is it possible that the driver on that side has an incorrect ohm reading that is causing the problem?

[///M5 2,833]

The way you throw wattage terms around proves you aren't sure how to set things up.  

 

You can easily put a 1000w amp on a 20w speaker WHEN you set the gain and use the volume knob right.

 

As for blowing a speaker there are really only two ways they fail.  Thermally you overheat them and they come apart due to this or you exceed their mechanical capability.  Both are directly proportional to the volume knob/gain setting.

 

As for why it is only the right, we need some more details on your setup.  Including all settings in your head unit and amp.

 

I always run my right side hotter than my left....

[EddieC 17]

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The way you throw wattage terms around proves you aren't sure how to set things up.  

 

You can easily put a 1000w amp on a 20w speaker WHEN you set the gain and use the volume knob right.

 

As for blowing a speaker there are really only two ways they fail.  Thermally you overheat them and they come apart due to this or you exceed their mechanical capability.  Both are directly proportional to the volume knob/gain setting.

 

As for why it is only the right, we need some more details on your setup.  Including all settings in your head unit and amp.

 

I always run my right side hotter than my left....

Up until now, I've always gone by the rule of setting the gains at 75% of the head unit's max volume. Turning the gains up to the point of distortion and then backing off until they were clear. I had the shop set the gains, as the speakers were only covered under warranty so long as they did the setup. The gains were set identical, left and right. The head unit HPF was set at 100, as well as the LPF. Crossovers were set to -3 after the first couple of times blowing the tweeter. Is it possible the shop connected the wires wrong? (neg to pos and vice versa) I asked them that question when it was under warranty and they said it was possible but highly unlikely. I watched them do the work and they never bothered to even look at that.

[///M5 2,833]

Wires wrong doesn't matter, just flips the phase of the tweeter.  That being said, I have NEVER had an installation where it didn't sound BETTER to have at least one of the drivers have their phase swapped by changing the +/- to it.

 

Balance, Fader, EQ, Headunit crossover?

 

One abstract possibility is that your headunit source is louder on the passenger channel.  Play a pure tone in stereo and measure the voltage out of both RCA's.

 

Your gain setting procedure can be fine as long as you hear distortion and that you ALWAYS listen for distortion every time you turn the volume up.  You can't just set the gain/volume knob one time as EVERY piece of music is different meaning you need to listen and adjust all the time.