I am setting up my system and just installed my MB Quart components.

I have a set of Q series all the way around and each has its own crossover... so does the radio (alpine 9855) and so does the amp. I am trying to figure out the settings on all of these and wanted to see if anyone has any advice and technical specs where these should be set.

Right now I have the HPF on, on the amp, as well as the radio. Does this just take a signal that is already been processed though a crossover... and do it again

I am kinda confused cuz shiet... there are a friggin million setting on this shit. the crossover on the radion has DB and frequency settings as well.... should I just look up the speaker specs and set it to the same frquency levels or somethin?

Any help/advice is appreciated

 

You don't need both high pass filters on either use the one on the amp or the HU. You're not hurting anything by using both, but it can skew frequency response cascading filters. I have a 9855 and personally I would use that given that it has more precision and configurability than my amp crossovers, but it's really up to you.

 

Cool... i play with it somemore tonight and see what I like better.

Did you use the online tool do config your system? Howd you like it?

 

I did use the online tool, but I never actually got around to loading the settings into the HU. I like the unit, but I think the lack of buttons makes changing the setting a total bitch, initially. I've since gotten used to it and have no problems adjusting shit now - actually I keep tweaking the settings like every other day - but the input is quite counterintuitive. I used the online tool more to just get a handle on how to adjust things, it's pretty neat though as it provides a decent visual feedback of what your adjustments do.

 

I have the 9855 as well, just haven't gotten around to messing with the settings after the initial setup.

Question: do you use the parametric EQ or the graphic EQ?

 

WOW, I have the same hu and will agree, this shit is complicated and no thanks to the maunuel be vauge. Can you guys point me to this online tool. Also, i got the aux inputs for my dell dj, except i can only control the vol from the dell dj and it sounds crappy. any ideas? oh ya, can you turn the i touch glide thing off?

 

online app:

http://i-personalize.alpine.com/nam/index.html

 

Ha! This thing has so many non-obvious settings, I just had to check the manual 'cause I was wondering, "graphic EQ? where the hell is the graphic EQ?" So, yeah, I use the parametric EQ. I'm guessing that with the graphic, the center frequencies and width are fixed? Can't tell from the manual...

 

yeah as far as i know, graphic 5-band EQ has set center frequencies

I've messed w/the parametric eq on studio hardware before, but never in my car, i'll have to give it a shot.

this headunit definately requires patience

 

ok, this shit is above me. now on the hu itself since i didn't know how to get to the website till now, this is how i have it setup, and since we all have TL's, hopefully you guys can help me out.

This is what i have:

Alpine HU 9855
All doors have Polk Momo MMC 5250 componets, which have crossovers
Infinity DVC 10"
Kicker 700.5 amp 70 watts to the door speakers, 420watts to the sub, all rms ratings
1 farad capacitor


Now, i measured the distance from each tweeter to the middle of my head, entered that in the HU

Set the sub to +6

Set the HU to Rock

Now, i'd have to check the gains and stuff for the amp, but did the 75% max vol and adjusted, i know its still not perfect, i do something and everytime it sounds better.

How do you have yours setup on that i personalize thing, crossovers and such, eq settings and all that jazz?

 

Unfortunately, a lot of those settings are really dependent upon the speakers, amp, personal preference, and car (I have a TSX). For instance, I don't happen to like the factory EQ presets and I adjust the sub level almost as frequently as I do the volume. As for subwoofer/woofer xover I have it set in the HU as it is a lot easier to adjust it from the driver's seat as opposted to climbing in the trunk, turning a knob on an amp(s), going back to the front seat, trying to tell if it sounds better than it did a minute ago... A typical starting point is 80Hz, those Polks are 5.25", right? You might want to set it a little higher than that and see if it's any better (less distortion). Was there something specific you were looking for?

 

Correct

The graphic offers more bands to play with, but the parametric can be useful too. For the parametric, you select a specific frequency and then adjust the Q-factor, the width of the band you want to have the affect on. A smaller Q would give you a wider bandwidth while a higher Q will give you a narrow bandwidth.

Parametric is better for those who are just starting out. It's more user friendly too. It's all personal preference though. Some like PEQ, others like GEQ.

 

yah, my polks are 5.25's. i guess i am wondering, where people have set their stereo's for crossovers etc, making sure i am in teh ballpark, by no means am i an expert in that dept. also, is there a car stereo setup and tune disc live the AVIA dvd disc for home stereo systems?

 

OK... im checkin out the online too

Can anyone explain what this shit actually does... like... what changing the db level will change in the car... oct... etc?? I have a broad understanding of that these settings mean... but i am not sure the real world differences between... lets say... having the front set to -3 or -8db... should it just be set to spec?

I have MB Quart Q series and its says this on thier website:
TECHNICAL DATA

Power Handling 90 - 170 W
Impedance 4 ohms
Sensitivity 2,6 W (90 dB/1m)
Frequency Response 35 - 32.000 Hz
Crossover Frequency 2.400 Hz
Crossover Slope 12/18 dB/octave


But the tool won't let me go to positive DBs...

 

There is no right way to set an EQ.

You cannot adjust the EQ going by spec. Equalizers are used to fine tune. It adjust the overall frequency response. A lot of cars are different. Some cars have spikes in the Frequency response that needs to be tone down, while other cars have valleys that needs boost. Speakers also needs the same treatment. EQs can be helpful if you know what you're doing, but can also hurt a lot if you dont.

 

I'm guessing that you're talking about the crossover settings, right? You can't go positive because at 0 dB the output is to the max (limited by the volume control). You can only adjust down because you can't send more than maximum output. That setting is to get the speaker output in synch, say the sub is overpowering at all volume levels, you could drop it down a few dB to bring it in line with the other speakers.

 

ok, went out to the car and tweeked some more after reading here and looking online, tell me what you think:


on the hu, i set the crossovers as follows:

sub: 60hz, flat 0, - no slope
front: 80hz 0, 6db slope
rear: 80hz -1, 6db slope

now i really don't have a clue what slope does, can someone fill me in.


on the amp, i set the sub to 60hz, speakers to 80hz, is this about right?

i guess i am just alittle lost with so many freakin settings, i mean it sounds pretty good, clear, no distortion at all, even at full vol on setting 35, adjusted the gains, etc. but, i have a feeling, someone could do a little of this and that and make it sound 10X better. i feel i get good highs fromt the tweeters, nice lows and bass from the sub, but mids i dont really think i am feeling them. if i turn the sub vol all the way down on the remote, the door woofers sound flat? appreciate all the help guys!

 

You don't need to set the crossovers on both the HU and the amp, in fact, you don't want to do that. And actually, for the sub, you didn't. By setting the HU to no slope, you are sending a full range signal to the amp, but setting it to 60 Hz on the amp, you are having your sub play all frequencies 60Hz and below, and some frequencies above 60Hz, but that it determined by the slope. The slope of the crossover determines the degree of attenuation of all frequencies above the crossover point (essentially, there is a bit more to it). 6 dB is a really shallow dropoff, 12 dB steeper, 18 dB more so, 24 dB even more... No particular setting is good or bad, neither sharp or shallow is better intrinsically, it really depends.

One thing I can tell you is that you either want to set the front/rear xover on the HU to no slope or set the amp to full range, only use one of the crossovers. As you have it, the 6 dB slope would be kinda shallow for the door speakers as they are trying to reproduce a lot of low frequency sounds that they can't do well. However, you also have it set on the amp and that is likely a 12dB (or maybe even 24dB) slope crossover and that will take precedence as it's a higher order crossover - so essentially, the HU setting has little impact.

As for the door speakers lacking in midbass, that seems to be a problem with door speakers and midbass, that's why some people seal the door, but you could try EQ'ing.

Check this site: http://www.bcae1.com/

 

RickRoush03, try to move the slope from 6db to 12db. 6db is pretty shallow for most mids to handle. Take a listen at 6db and 12db. You'll notice at 12db, the speakers are not stressing as much.

Another reason why I would use 12db over 6db for the mids is that car usually will have a resonance frequency around 60hz. In an open environment, a 6db (1st order) network will attenuate 6db one octave below the crossover point. Relative to 80hz, 40hz will be attenuated be -6db, and 60hz will be down by -3db. But because we're talking about speakers in car, the resonance can be large at 6db or more. In the end, 60hz will be about 2-3db louder than 80hz. You really dont want resonance because a lot of rattles can be detected through resonance. This is why using a 12db may be better in this case, or even 18db. This way, 40hz will be down by -12db, 60hz by -6db, but because of resonance, 60hz will be about as loud as 80hz. Of course this is all in theory. Experimenting would be the best thing to do.

 

WOW, thanks guys, why the hell can't alpine say this crap in the manual or somewhere. Ok, so i will turn off the crossovers on the amp, and set up the slopes different and see how we do from there!! Learning something new every day!