sterio amp hi pass vs full question
 

i have a pair of xm7 exiles, i am running a mhd600/4 jl audio amp. the amp is in 2 channel mode, should i run hi pass only, or full range. thanks

My $.02...........Hi-Pass at about 80 Hz. Low pass will send a frequency range to the speakers that they will not like.

So you're sending 300+ (those tend to be underrated) watts to each XM7? Thats a ton! I'm interested to see how well they handle that. What are they rated at 250RMS?

2nd TM but 80-125 ish I fall on the higher side with my HLCD's but thats what sounds best to me.

ok, so i should be on hi pass for both front and back what about imput voltage and filter slope 12db or 24db imput voltage low or high thanks

I have 4 Bullet 770s off an HD600/4. I have the amp on hi pass and the knob around 120. David with Earmark addressed why to not run the tower speakers in full range in another post.
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=780000

dohboy where is your output voltage is it low or high and your filter slope 12 db or 24db thanks

I have the input voltage at low. The slope at 12db( to get more mid). And the input sensitivity at 2/3. Also I checked and the hipass knob is about 110 not 120 like I said earlier. I still need to take the boat out of my garage though and fine tune it so some of my settings may change and obviously I have different speakers than you do. Play around and see what works.

The output voltage is how the signal gets to the amp. I believe the manual for the amp covers this. And if I remember right low voltag is an RCA output connection from hu to amp. Hi voltage is a speaker level output from the hu. So if using rca's use low (double check manual- I am not 100% sure)

ps: I have same setup as dohboy

ok, thanks i just messed with it, sounds good will check it out tomorrow on the water and mess with it some more its raining out now so i stopped thanks soo much

You are right Derek. If you're using the rca outs from the H//U then low as the rca outs are not powered from the H/Us amp.

This totally sucks because my speakers sound so much better at full pass. I wish it didn't harm them.

i was getting a clipping sound on full pass and i was loosing soo much power and sound, so now it seems to be more balanced and not clipping; oh i have my amp at around 1/2 gain. bridged to one set of xm7s . i love the mounting system and quick release i am not a stereo guy, but it sounds great

Doug - very simple answer for you that sometimes gets people confused so I'll give it to you two ways.

Operate the JL amp in bridged mode, and HP setting.

the longer version goes like this. I'd rather have someone hit the XM7's with alot of power even if its over their rating. These speakers love dynamic headroom and a big amplifier will do just that. Is it possible to over power them? Sure... everything has a limit. If you pay attention to your gains, as it sounds like you have then you'll have the best of both worlds performance wise.

running the amplifier in APass mode (or full range), sends freq's to the tower speakers that are to low and will bottom out the drivers. Those freq's should be going to a sub set up. Not the cabin or the tower setups.

Let us know how it all goes and what the final tweeked sound stage sounds like...

peace

- Brian
Exile Audio

Doug,

Beyond the issues I shared in the link that Rich referenced, I like a more gradual slope of 12dB to the tower speakers versus the brick wall of 24 dB. I prefer this because the tower speakers are a farther distance away and don't blend as well with the in-boats. The softer filter sounds more natural (even if your crossovers are slightly higher to obtain the same protection). I might feel differently in an enclosed cabin.

David
Earmark Marine

Ok I setup my tower speakers at 80z and they sounded great:)

Yup... These guys are spot on. There is no science to boat audio tuning. You have to do the legwork (earwork) yourself. All anybody can do is get you close without actually hearing your system. You'll get better sound at full range, but will sacrifice the ability to play loud. Additionally, there is no reason to try to get bass from your tower as it wont be heard at riding distance. You should be getting your bass from your sub rather than your tower speakers.

Same deal on the slope. Higher slope will permit a lower crossover frequency, but will sound less natural. A slightly higher crossover frequency and a 12db slope will sound better IMO. 100 hz is usually a good starting point for me. Crossover and tuning is subjective to everyone. We make changes in our system depending on what we're doing. When riding the tower is loud and the sub is turned down a bit so you can talk in the boat. When partying we get everything as loud as possible. Run up the boat speaker volume, turn up the sub and optimize the tower for it's max volume. A couple tweaks here and there makes a huge difference in performance. Most people lack the knowledge on how to tune their stuff. They just run it like it came from the shop. This is where it's nice to have a shop that understands what you're doing with your boat.

Headroom is key for everything. You're far better off running too much amp rather than too little. Most speaker damage is from overworking an underpowered system and running lots of distortion. Know your system, know when you're pushing the limits and you shouldn't damage equipment often. You'll also run into less over heating problems if you've got a bit more power from your amps. If you hear distortion from your system, then make some adjustments. Turn down the highs, turn down the bass, or just turn the whole system down. You burn up drivers when pushing the limits. If you know what you're doing you should be able to walk that line. My brother used to carry a bunch of spare tweeter diaphrams so he could change them on the fly.