What am I running for power, can i do anything else with this amp?

[Corollacrazy42]

MTX 564

RMS POWER MEASURED AT 12.5 V DC:

45W X 4 INTO A 4 OHM LOAD WITH LESS THAN 0.3% THD+N

90W X 4 INTO A 2 OHM LOAD WITH LESS THAN .3% THD+N

180W X 2 BRIDGED INTO A 4 OHM LOAD WITH LESS THAN .3% THD+N

__________________________________________________ ______________________________


DYNAMIC POWER MEAUSRED AT 14.4 V DC:

70W X 4 – 4 OHM LOAD

140W X 4 – 2 OHM LOAD

280W X 2 – BRIDGED INTO 4 OHM LOAD


__________________________________________________ _____________________________


My speakers are 4 ohm.

I have two channels to components, and the other two to 6x9's in the back.

Im not sure what it is running at but I'm assuming its the 45x4 range.

Am I right, or does that present a 2 ohm load?

Never did figure that out.

And if that is the case, how do you ever get to a 2 ohm load?

Aren't nearly all speakers 4ohms?

I was also wondering if I could do anything more useful with this amp, maybe bridging it or something. I'm wondering if i could just sell the 6x9's but I doubt anyone is gonna want them. Idk just let me know guys, just interested in seeing what my options are right now.

I'm just interested more in my speakers now because my sub amp is broke, and all I have to listen to now is my speakers, so I figured this was as good a time as any to find out if there was anything different I could do. Don't get me wrong it does sound good, and i like having the sound from the back it fills the big camry with sound nicely. I know everyone says not to run backs but, I wasnt aware of this back when I got all my stuff, and really I like having them.

Also, is my 4-channel even that strong? Just wondering in general whether it is even a very good one or anything. I know MTX makes some pretty good stuff but in comparision I was just wondering what everyone else had going to their speakers. I am pretty much sure that the speakers im powering are definatly not seeing their recommended RMS

Polk db6750
Polk db690

If anyone was interested on looking them up. I think they are RMS around 100 watts.

But yea ill leave it at that for now. Thx in advance guys!

[Delay_FTB]

Equipment: MTX T564, Polk DB6750 Comps and Polk DB690 2 Ways.

Seems to me that you could, like I suggested in the other thread, wire up the comps active and totally lose the 6x9s. You'd be surprised what some decent power will do for your speakers. I myself have a Cam, and those exact 6x9s and the DB650s in the front. Even just amping the two ways and losing the rears, I'm not missing out on anything. Actually, I prefer it now. But I also have two 12's provided the bass. My suggestion would be to wire the comps active, sell the rears and put that money towards a decent sub/amp/box setup.

[Corollacrazy42]

haha.. So you got rid of your rears? And you have the db6500? NICE..

I'll think about the active though, I really want to because im interested in seeing what it would sound like with more power to these comps.

Those rears are 3-way btw.. or thats what it says anyways. But you do think it sounds just as good without the rears?

I actually have an MTX 942 as a sub amp (broken now, sending it to MTX to get mixed).. and 2 10 inch sealed Infinity Kappa Perfects right now.

But man o man does it seem like I made some bad choices.. lol Everyday I practically see something I should have done different or something different I should have gotten instead of the stuff I did but.. O well my bad for now. Now at least I know my Mistakes, and whenever I decide to restart I'll know exactly what I want. And hell maybe even a little more about what I'm actually doing haha

[Delay_FTB]

Originally Posted by Corollacrazy42

haha.. So you got rid of your rears? And you have the db6500? NICE..

I'll think about the active though, I really want to because im interested in seeing what it would sound like with more power to these comps.

Those rears are 3-way btw.. or thats what it says anyways. But you do think it sounds just as good without the rears?

I actually have an MTX 942 as a sub amp (broken now, sending it to MTX to get mixed).. and 2 10 inch sealed Infinity Kappa Perfects right now.

But man o man does it seem like I made some bad choices.. lol Everyday I practically see something I should have done different or something different I should have gotten instead of the stuff I did but.. O well my bad for now. Now at least I know my Mistakes, and whenever I decide to restart I'll know exactly what I want. And hell maybe even a little more about what I'm actually doing haha

Yeah, I ditched the rears (kinda, they're still installed, but I faded everything to the front), and I like it just as well, if not better. seems like there is a little more clarity overall.

I would be all over active if I had the loot to do it (I need a decent 4 channel, though I'd like to wait to go three way comp and do a six channel active, but that wont happen for a while.

Yeah, the rears are three way, I thought about that as I typed it. They're good for the fill, but not necessary at all, actually, when I move in a week, I'm gonna take 'em out and give 'em to my gf since shes still rockin' the stock.

And ask everyone in car audio and they will always find something they wish they'd done better, or are going to redo, or whatever (just look at Cam2xrunner). I screwed the pooch on a lot of stuff I have, but thats kinda what makes it fun is that you learn and want to improve.

Final summation: Go active if you can, get the sub amp fixed asap, play around with whatever tuning you can, and enjoy it all!

[Corollacrazy42]

I remember reading somewhere that you need 5 channels or something for a 2-way active setup?.. why would that be. wouldnt you just need 4? I think it was because the person wanted a sub to or something, now that I think about it but. Can anyone else give info. I know there are sites on setting up active, and threads on this forum, but is there any other easy way to explain it? I think I understand it mostly.

[Corollacrazy42]

Also would I still be running a 4 ohm load if I were to go active, or would this change because I won't be using the crossover provided? Just thought about that and I wasnt sure. I wanna be able to give my component set at least its RMS if possible, so I can really see them shine!

Also a... how do you tell if a tweeter is getting to much power? or rather, if its distorting?... You cant really set a gain properly with a tweeter being that all you can here is high pitched noises.

One more question. Is it even possible to do that sorta set up with the amp bridged? Or would I still leave the amp 4 channeled?

[Delay_FTB]

Originally Posted by Corollacrazy42

Also would I still be running a 4 ohm load if I were to go active, or would this change because I won't be using the crossover provided? Just thought about that and I wasnt sure. I wanna be able to give my component set at least its RMS if possible, so I can really see them shine!

Also a... how do you tell if a tweeter is getting to much power? or rather, if its distorting?... You cant really set a gain properly with a tweeter being that all you can here is high pitched noises.

One more question. Is it even possible to do that sorta set up with the amp bridged? Or would I still leave the amp 4 channeled?

Provided all your speakers are each four ohm (tweets and mids), you'd be feeding everything about 45 watts RMS.

Go get a DMM or if possible, find an oscilliscope and set your gains with those so you know the amp isn't clipping.

If you're gonna go active, then no, well, its possible, but not a great idea because you'd lose some tuning abilities, i think.

[Corollacrazy42]

Yep they are all 4ohm I do believe. So 45 watts, that seems decent... definatly not what I had in mind but I still think I will be impressed if I run Just fronts.

Only thing that bothers me is trying to find someone to buy these 6x9's if I do decide to do that. Given that everyone on here now knows that they are pretty worthless if you want good sound. Unless by chance you had a DVD player and wanted more surround out of it.

BTW im not sure what a DMM or a oscilliscope is. But I do know that my amp has never clipped, It actually seems to be a very strong amp. I havepushed it for several hours at high volums and it still keeps up pushing them all, Its a pretty amazing little amp.

Haha also I'd be all for changing my stuff up but my mom... uhh... she doesnt exactly approve so I guess it'll have to wait till im older and outta the house before I can "waste my money on worthless audio stuff" lol Way i see it... I have already done that and then some so why not go all out now.

[Delay_FTB]

Originally Posted by Corollacrazy42

Yep they are all 4ohm I do believe. So 45 watts, that seems decent... definatly not what I had in mind but I still think I will be impressed if I run Just fronts.

Only thing that bothers me is trying to find someone to buy these 6x9's if I do decide to do that. Given that everyone on here now knows that they are pretty worthless if you want good sound. Unless by chance you had a DVD player and wanted more surround out of it.

BTW im not sure what a DMM or a oscilliscope is. But I do know that my amp has never clipped, It actually seems to be a very strong amp. I havepushed it for several hours at high volums and it still keeps up pushing them all, Its a pretty amazing little amp.

Haha also I'd be all for changing my stuff up but my mom... uhh... she doesnt exactly approve so I guess it'll have to wait till im older and outta the house before I can "waste my money on worthless audio stuff" lol Way i see it... I have already done that and then some so why not go all out now.

I'm sure you'll be pleased.

I'd say find some local high-schooler and sell 'em to them for like ~75 or so. They're prefectly good speakers, I really like them, and they'll function well in a basic "stock" setup.

A DMM is a Digital MultiMeter and is used for testing voltages. An O-scope is used for testing (in this case) sine waves, which is where clipping can originate. Sound travels in waves, so picture waves that look like what you imagine sound waves to look like. To get the most out of your "wave" you want it to come to a full peak at each , the up stroke and down (peaks and valleys sort of things, I forget the actual terms). These peaks and valleys need to occur within a certain "range" (I don't know that I'm using the proper terminology here, I doubt it). If you've ever had any kind of advanced math, you probably know what I'm talking about. Well if the waves happen to entend outside of this range, the signal gets "clipped", and the peaks and valleys of the wave are essentially chopped off the chart (displayed on the O-scope).This is where clipping occurrs. Its all a power thing, which is why clipping occurrs at the amp, which is why you need to set your gains properly as they are like a power control for the amp. In order to maximize your power output and not clip, the peaks and valleys of the waves need to reach the farthest parts of the range without being clipped. Check out BCAE1 and they'll be some illustrations and stuff. Setting your gains relatively low will help you to not clip, but it seems that most people who fine tune their system have their means of maximizing output while limiting clipping.

[Corollacrazy42]

Yea I understand what your talking about with the sound waves. I have a multimeter I believe too. Isn't it the thing you can check ohms with and voltage of a battery and stuff?

Anyways I checked out BCAE1.. wow lots of info. Found out that maybe since my amp is way under rms power for that tweeter.. well i think so anyways. I would be fine even if i had it up high. So it wouldnt really damage the voice coil. I wouldnt be running as high as it could go anyways, so I think I would be ok. But wow it has like 130+ audio questions explained in great detail!.. although i dont understand much of it, its still interesting to read.

I saw the exact thing you were talking about with the clipping notes too. If its powered to much it doesnt do anything but clip the amp and make the voicecoils get really hott and could possibly damage the tweeter. It also had sound wav. of what it sounds like when its being clipped at a certain hz which was cool to know.

Could you possibly just run a passive crossover just to the tweeter then so it does damage them. It says if they are over powered with that the xover will block out the extra power basically. So maybe it would be smart to just contine to run it through them. Just for the tweets anyways. Idk I thought maybe that was a decent solution, but id probably go without.


BTW thx for all the help you have been giving me!

[Phat Devil]

Why dont you just try bridging the amp into 2 channel mode and running everything off the passive crossover first. This way it is firstly, easier to set up and if this is fine for your ears then you wont have to worry about running them active.

And with your 6x9, you have them run off the head unit for accomodating the rear passengers.

1. Fade all the way to the fronts (since you are setting the gains for the fronts and turn off subs if you have them.
2. Turn the gains all the way down to lowest they'll go.
3. Set the high pass filter. Usually if its 6.5in speakers i'd go about 63-80hz highpassed.
4. Turn the headunit volume up until you hear distortion or about 75% (ie something like 24/35 on the volume setting).
5. If there is no distortion when you reach about 75% volume, you slowly turn the gains up a little bit at a time.
6. Jump back in the car to have a quick listen to find if they are handling the power. ie no distortion, overexcursion of the woofer.
7. Turn the gains up a little again.
8. Listen for distortion again
9. Repeat until you hear distortion.
10. When you hear distortion turn it down to the last setting you had it on before the distortion arrived and you're set!
11. Its time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Have a nice cruise somewhere and listen to the improvements.

[Delay_FTB]

Originally Posted by Phat Devil

Why dont you just try bridging the amp into 2 channel mode and running everything off the passive crossover first. This way it is firstly, easier to set up and if this is fine for your ears then you wont have to worry about running them active.

And with your 6x9, you have them run off the head unit for accomodating the rear passengers.

1. Fade all the way to the fronts (since you are setting the gains for the fronts and turn off subs if you have them.
2. Turn the gains all the way down to lowest they'll go.
3. Set the high pass filter. Usually if its 6.5in speakers i'd go about 63-80hz highpassed.
4. Turn the headunit volume up until you hear distortion or about 75% (ie something like 24/35 on the volume setting).
5. If there is no distortion when you reach about 75% volume, you slowly turn the gains up a little bit at a time.
6. Jump back in the car to have a quick listen to find if they are handling the power. ie no distortion, overexcursion of the woofer.
7. Turn the gains up a little again.
8. Listen for distortion again
9. Repeat until you hear distortion.
10. When you hear distortion turn it down to the last setting you had it on before the distortion arrived and you're set!
11. Its time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Have a nice cruise somewhere and listen to the improvements.

Sure, I guess you could do it the easy way...jeez! LOL

I forgot though, that if you do go active, you'll need something to crossover with, either the amp or HU (depending on if either has the capability) which would allow for you not to worry about the tweets.

If you're gonna run anything passive, you might as well just stick with everything run through the passive x-over. No need to complicate things by mixing and matching like that.

And yeah, BCAE can be pretty "deep" but if you start reading from the beginning, it pretty much teaches you everything you need to know. Hence the "Basic".

And no problem, I just wish some "experts" would get back in here so they can correct anything I've said wrong.

[Corollacrazy42]

Originally Posted by Phat Devil

Why dont you just try bridging the amp into 2 channel mode and running everything off the passive crossover first. This way it is firstly, easier to set up and if this is fine for your ears then you wont have to worry about running them active.

And with your 6x9, you have them run off the head unit for accomodating the rear passengers.

1. Fade all the way to the fronts (since you are setting the gains for the fronts and turn off subs if you have them.
2. Turn the gains all the way down to lowest they'll go.
3. Set the high pass filter. Usually if its 6.5in speakers i'd go about 63-80hz highpassed.
4. Turn the headunit volume up until you hear distortion or about 75% (ie something like 24/35 on the volume setting).
5. If there is no distortion when you reach about 75% volume, you slowly turn the gains up a little bit at a time.
6. Jump back in the car to have a quick listen to find if they are handling the power. ie no distortion, overexcursion of the woofer.
7. Turn the gains up a little again.
8. Listen for distortion again
9. Repeat until you hear distortion.
10. When you hear distortion turn it down to the last setting you had it on before the distortion arrived and you're set!
11. Its time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Have a nice cruise somewhere and listen to the improvements.

Doesnt sound like a bad idea at all really. Although im not really sure how I would hook up the back speakers again unless I just ran new wires from them and soldered them directly to the H/U. But I guess I could be wrong. That kinda sounds like alot of work too considering I already have the fronts done up with passive crossovers and the back is just wired from the amp back in the trunk.

I also have been setting the gains like that as well but thank you for the explination on how to do it. Maybe someone came acrossed it and learned something new?

[Corollacrazy42]

Originally Posted by Delay_FTB

Sure, I guess you could do it the easy way...jeez! LOL

I forgot though, that if you do go active, you'll need something to crossover with, either the amp or HU (depending on if either has the capability) which would allow for you not to worry about the tweets.

If you're gonna run anything passive, you might as well just stick with everything run through the passive x-over. No need to complicate things by mixing and matching like that.

And yeah, BCAE can be pretty "deep" but if you start reading from the beginning, it pretty much teaches you everything you need to know. Hence the "Basic".

And no problem, I just wish some "experts" would get back in here so they can correct anything I've said wrong.

The crossover thing shouldn't be a problem. My amp has highpass filter. And I can also run a xover from my new H/U as well. But that would keep the tweets in line? I'm not really sure what to crossover tweeters at tho.. lol something high obviously.


Haha so basically if I decide to keep the passive just keep it the same way? lol or can I still change it up any?

Experts... bah.. Your more of an expert to me so, I find your info informative.


BTW: where are all the guys like 88le, and camx2.. plenty of other but were left here to figure it out on our own for now lol

[Delay_FTB]

Originally Posted by Corollacrazy42

The crossover thing shouldn't be a problem. My amp has highpass filter. And I can also run a xover from my new H/U as well. But that would keep the tweets in line? I'm not really sure what to crossover tweeters at tho.. lol something high obviously.


Haha so basically if I decide to keep the passive just keep it the same way? lol or can I still change it up any?

Experts... bah.. Your more of an expert to me so, I find your info informative.


BTW: where are all the guys like 88le, and camx2.. plenty of other but were left here to figure it out on our own for now lol

Yeah, I got nothin' on crossover points and what have you. Honestly, and no offense intended (since I have no room to talk), but you seem to be a beginner/novice to all this, so operate on the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) operations platform. Keep the passive setup; run a channel from the amp to each of the passives (left front channel to left passive and right front channel to right passive); run the 6x9s off the rear channels of the amp, and await the repaired amp for your subs. Once you have that, set back up you can start thinking of a new setup (or now) but I wouldn't implement anything until you had a better idea of what you're dealing with. If you insist on going active and setting your own x-overs and stuff, the Polk manual probably has suggested x-over points to use, so you could start with those. Seriously though, fiddle with what you have and get familiar with it before you take the next step forward. Experience is the best teacher usually.

Also, as I'm still learning myself, I'd recommend looking at some of the stickies and reading up on the useful stuff in there. I just spent a few hours reading this FAQ in depth and learned a few new things. Its a pretty simple read and helps explain some complex things. Overall, just read anything you can really. I also read the glassing tutorials and HU install tutorial for shits and giggles, and I still came out feeling like I learned something new.

And yeah, I have no idea what happened to those guys, but I've noticed their absence. Hope everything's ok.