Major built-in crossover confusion.Alpine CDA-7995 HU & Kicker KX700.5 35W x 4 + 400W x 1

For starters here is a run down on my system in an Aerostar extended work
van:



Alpine CDA-7995 HU (has no amp(s) with built in crossovers for front, rear &
sub)



KX700.5 35W x 4 + 400W x 1 (5 channel amp with built in adjustable
electronic crossovers for each channel & sub volume/boot control thingy)



Kicker Resolution RS4c 4" Component System (in front dash and side rails)



Polk Audio 6.5 component speaks (Mid rear in extended mini van)



1 Alpine Type R 12" Dual 2-ohm Subwoofer (sealed q-logic box type II 2-ohm @
400 watts)



My confusion starts with having so many freaking crossovers running in my
rig. I have options for my HU, my amp and my component speaks. As of now I
am using a combination of the included factory crossovers for the components
and my electronic crossovers built into the Kicker amp. To me the system
sounds very good a little bright and harsh with certain material but overall
I am happy with it. So should I bother with fooling around with the HU's
crossovers for better signal isolation or should I stick with the Kicker
crossover settings I am currently using. Both the HU and amp have bypass
switches to turn the crossovers off. Is it wise to use 3 separate stages of
crossovers at one time in a rig?



This also brings to mind another question I have about the bass volume/boost
control thingy on my amp and on the Alpine HU. What configuration should go
with for the cleanest most natural sounding bass? I listen to everything
from classic rock to funk.



The Alpine CDA-7995 uses 4-volt RCA-outs, could someone please briefly
explain why this is considered better. My old NAK's signals must have been
very week cause now that I have installed the Alpine HU I have cranked my
gains from around %75 down to like %20 for my fronts and rears also the sub
gain is down from around %75 to about %50.





Anyone tried the Alpine XM radio hooked directly into a HU (without RF
modulator)? How dose the sound quality compare to MP3 and CD? Overall would
most people say it's worth the $10 a month for the service?









Thanks for any input

[Trudy Snooks]

Using my wife's comp at the moment ...

wrote
> My confusion starts with having so many freaking crossovers running in my
> rig. I have options for my HU, my amp and my component speaks. As of now I
> am using a combination of the included factory crossovers for the
components
> and my electronic crossovers built into the Kicker amp. To me the system
> sounds very good a little bright and harsh with certain material but
overall
> I am happy with it. So should I bother with fooling around with the HU's
> crossovers for better signal isolation or should I stick with the Kicker
> crossover settings I am currently using. Both the HU and amp have bypass
> switches to turn the crossovers off. Is it wise to use 3 separate stages
of
> crossovers at one time in a rig?

Personally, I would try to use a minimal amount of signal 'tampering' to get
the system to sound the way I want. In your case ...

1) Disable any crossovers in the head unit
2) High-pass the Kickers at 100Hz using the amp
3) High-pass the Polks at 100Hz using the amp
4) Low-pass the Sub at 100Hz using the amp
5) Attenuate the Kicker tweets by around -3dB (using the Kicker crossovers)
to take care of the brightness
6) At this point, you should be able to fine tune the balance of the sound
by manipulating the input level of each amplifier channel
7) Now you can fine tune the sound using the equalizer in the head unit

> This also brings to mind another question I have about the bass
volume/boost
> control thingy on my amp and on the Alpine HU. What configuration should
go
> with for the cleanest most natural sounding bass? I listen to everything
> from classic rock to funk.

If you decide to use a bass boost function, I would stick to the one on the
HU. You can change it at any time to suit the type of music you are
listening to and the levels that music is recorded at.

> The Alpine CDA-7995 uses 4-volt RCA-outs, could someone please briefly
> explain why this is considered better. My old NAK's signals must have been
> very week cause now that I have installed the Alpine HU I have cranked my
> gains from around %75 down to like %20 for my fronts and rears also the
sub
> gain is down from around %75 to about %50.

Higher voltage results in less interference and a stronger signal reaching
the amp. The old Nak may have had 2V outputs. The amplifier will accept a
range of inputs (in your case 340mV - 10V) Therefore, with the higher
voltage level from you new head unit, you don't need to gains set as high to
acheive the same output from the amp.

--
Regards,
Dan Snooks

"Trudy Snooks" > wrote in message
...
> Using my wife's comp at the moment ...
>
> wrote
> > My confusion starts with having so many freaking crossovers running in
my
> > rig. I have options for my HU, my amp and my component speaks. As of now
I
> > am using a combination of the included factory crossovers for the
> components
> > and my electronic crossovers built into the Kicker amp. To me the system
> > sounds very good a little bright and harsh with certain material but
> overall
> > I am happy with it. So should I bother with fooling around with the HU's
> > crossovers for better signal isolation or should I stick with the Kicker
> > crossover settings I am currently using. Both the HU and amp have bypass
> > switches to turn the crossovers off. Is it wise to use 3 separate stages
> of
> > crossovers at one time in a rig?
>
> Personally, I would try to use a minimal amount of signal 'tampering' to
get
> the system to sound the way I want. In your case ...

I like to keep that frame of mind especially with audio gear, all the extra
sound fields that HT receivers offer do nothing more than distort and make
music sound incredibly fake.

>
> 1) Disable any crossovers in the head unit
> 2) High-pass the Kickers at 100Hz using the amp
> 3) High-pass the Polks at 100Hz using the amp
> 4) Low-pass the Sub at 100Hz using the amp
> 5) Attenuate the Kicker tweets by around -3dB (using the Kicker
crossovers)
> to take care of the brightness
> 6) At this point, you should be able to fine tune the balance of the sound
> by manipulating the input level of each amplifier channel
> 7) Now you can fine tune the sound using the equalizer in the head unit


I sort of figured the AMPs built in crossovers would be the cleanest. I will
defiantly try attenuating the Kicker fronts AGAIN. The default setting was
at +3, I have them at zero rite now. What was Kicker thinking by setting
them at + 3?


>
> > This also brings to mind another question I have about the bass
> volume/boost
> > control thingy on my amp and on the Alpine HU. What configuration should
> go
> > with for the cleanest most natural sounding bass? I listen to everything
> > from classic rock to funk.
>
> If you decide to use a bass boost function, I would stick to the one on
the
> HU. You can change it at any time to suit the type of music you are
> listening to and the levels that music is recorded at.
>

If I disable the amps volume pod then I get absolutely zero bump, I haven't
tried it yet with the Alpine by itself just yet but will give it a go.



> > The Alpine CDA-7995 uses 4-volt RCA-outs, could someone please briefly
> > explain why this is considered better. My old NAK's signals must have
been
> > very week cause now that I have installed the Alpine HU I have cranked
my
> > gains from around %75 down to like %20 for my fronts and rears also the
> sub
> > gain is down from around %75 to about %50.
>
> Higher voltage results in less interference and a stronger signal reaching
> the amp. The old Nak may have had 2V outputs. The amplifier will accept a
> range of inputs (in your case 340mV - 10V) Therefore, with the higher
> voltage level from you new head unit, you don't need to gains set as high
to
> achieve the same output from the amp.
>

Thanks for the informative explanation and all the other great info.


Dave