to crossover, or not to crossover????
04-22-2012, 10:31 AM
#1
JK Newbie
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Location: Long Island, New York
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to crossover, or not to crossover????
About to replace the crappy base model system. I just bought kenwood HU, dash and roll bar speakers, and have a old 10'' sub setup thats going in also. Last thing that is left to buy is the tweeters. Ive done some searching on here and cant seem to find a straight answer. With the aftermarket HU do I need to get teweeters with the crossovers? Or can i get away with no crossovers? And are there crossovers in the NON infinity system? Im not trying to win any sound contests, just want something that sounds better that whats in there now!! Thanks!
04-22-2012, 11:43 AM
#2
JK Super Freak
There must be a crossover between the amplifer and the tweeters. Without one the tweeters will sound like crap until they blow up.
Best solution for front speakers is a "component" speaker system with 6.5" woofers, tweeters that fit the dash, and matched crossovers. That way you get the right crossovers for the speakers.
The next best solution would be a pair of tweeters that comes with crossovers (if they sell such a thing).
The Jeep would have some sort of crossover in the stock wiring. If it is still there it would be better than nothing. If you get a component speaker set, the stock crossovers must be located and replaced with the ones that come with the speakers.
Best solution for front speakers is a "component" speaker system with 6.5" woofers, tweeters that fit the dash, and matched crossovers. That way you get the right crossovers for the speakers.
The next best solution would be a pair of tweeters that comes with crossovers (if they sell such a thing).
The Jeep would have some sort of crossover in the stock wiring. If it is still there it would be better than nothing. If you get a component speaker set, the stock crossovers must be located and replaced with the ones that come with the speakers.
04-22-2012, 11:58 AM
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JK Newbie
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Yes they do sell just tweeters with crossovers, thats what i was thinking i was going to do anyway. But I am still courious if the stock tweeters have some kind of crossover that i would have to remove? Unless they dont need them because of the signal from the stock HU is sent separate to the tweeters??(no clue) Part of me wants to buy the $30 rockford ones withought the crossovers and just stick them in and be done with it,(if it would work)... Thanks for the info!
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04-22-2012, 01:55 PM
#8
JK Junkie
A blocker is a capacitor that filters out certain frequency levels. For example, my sons TJ has two killer 10" subs in the back. The front dash speakers really suck at producing low frequencies and when they try to do it you get distortion. If you wire the blockers to the front speakers it will filter out the low frequency trying to get to the front speaker so that speaker does not have to try to produce sound its not capable of and can focus on the higher frequencies.
04-22-2012, 02:48 PM
#9
JK Super Freak
Its a capacitor that blocks the audio signal below a certain frequency. The frequency is determined by the impedence of the tweeter/amplifier circuit and the value of the capacitor. Its worth noting that a crossover (blocking) capacitor should be non-polariized. These are harder to find. A blocking capacitor by itself rolls off the signal at 6 db per octave, so if the theoretical crossover frequency is 5000 hz then the tweeter receives only 1/4 power at 2500 hz.
The blocking capacitor for a tweeter goes in series with one of the tweeter wires, typically the + wire. In crossovers that are any good, a blocking capacitor also blocks highs from getting to the woofer. This is a separate capacitor that goes in parallel with the woofer leads and must have a coil with it to keep highs from being blocked from the tweeter at the same time. So, the simplest effective crossover would have 2 capacitors and one coil. Unfortunately a lot of cheap speaker systems just have the one capacitor.
In any case, all crossovers include one or more blocking capacitors. Good crossovers have one to three coils as well. You get what you pay for.
The stock JK tweeters have a tiny blocking capacitor mounted on the back of the tweeter. When you remove the tweeter, you also remove the blocker, so another crossover is a must for the new tweeter. (I checked this out since my earlier post in this thread.)
The blocking capacitor for a tweeter goes in series with one of the tweeter wires, typically the + wire. In crossovers that are any good, a blocking capacitor also blocks highs from getting to the woofer. This is a separate capacitor that goes in parallel with the woofer leads and must have a coil with it to keep highs from being blocked from the tweeter at the same time. So, the simplest effective crossover would have 2 capacitors and one coil. Unfortunately a lot of cheap speaker systems just have the one capacitor.
In any case, all crossovers include one or more blocking capacitors. Good crossovers have one to three coils as well. You get what you pay for.
The stock JK tweeters have a tiny blocking capacitor mounted on the back of the tweeter. When you remove the tweeter, you also remove the blocker, so another crossover is a must for the new tweeter. (I checked this out since my earlier post in this thread.)