[knightnyc]

Hi all, I finally got sick of the factory sound system of my 2007 Camry LE and decided to completely upgrade. I bought a pair of amps and a 10" sub, as well as some critical mass speakers because they came highly recommended. They included:

Critical Mass RS69 Coaxial. 160 W RMS, 300W Peak
Critical Mass SS69 Coaxial. 100 W RMS, 200W Peak
Critical Mass T1A Tweeters. 150 W RMS, 300W Peak, with passive crossovers
JL Audio 10" sub 10W3V2-D4 Dual 4 ohm, in sealed box. 300W RMS
Memphis 16-ST3004 amp. 75W X 4 RMS @ 4 ohms
Alpine MRP-M500 mono amp. 300W x RMS @ 4 ohms

The Memphis will drive the 4 coaxial speakers in the front doors and rear deck. Do I need another 2 channel amp for the tweeters? Or can I wire them in parallel to the front speakers? If so, would that decrease the power of my front speakers?

Also, anyone have tips on tuning the system? Any free tools or products out there?

btw, I am using replacing the head unit w/ a Mac Mini w/ Creative X-Fi 5.1 USB sound card, running Centrafuse front end.

Thank you for reading and any suggestions/comments.

 

[Altima]

Did you already buy Criticall mass speakers or are you planning on??

If not - get component set for the front instead of separate woofer and tweeter thus eliminating the need for additional amp (unless you wanna go fully active on this but i don't think that's the case given info you provided) and having a balanced front stage "from the factory" (Masiva Audio factory that is LOL)

btw - there's some really good components from Massive Audio. Not sure what you're paying for all those coaxials and tweeters but chances are that comps will not be much more expensive while def better in install.

Also - your 4 channel amp is honestly a bit to weak for those speakers, be sure to not crank up the GAIN to "make up" for it, you will only damage your speakers/amp. Gain is NOT a volume setting even thou volume does go up as gain goes up.

Your sub is dual 4 ohm which basically means 2 Ohm. So your amp's rms wattage should be equal or a bit over 300W at 2 Ohms, not 4 as you listed.

 

[Jigg007]

Well Altima, unless you have a carputer with Centrafuse then you just wouldnt understand :naughty:

I happen to have a carputer, with centrafuse, and a tri-amped sound system (subwoofer, midrange, tweeters all have their OWN amplifier) And when it sounds fantastic, it is A LOT of work! And it most certainly helps if you know what you're doing(do your research) before you get to far into it.

Anyway, yeah, most component sets come with a included speaker level crossover so you can drive both woof and tweeter from one amplifier channel. However, like Altima already stated, coaxial speakers would just drop into the existing speaker hole, making installation a lot easier than having another speaker to mount/drill holes/run wires for the speaker crossover and tweeter.

EDIT: I re-read your post, and realized you were purchasing coaxial speakers and then buying "passive" tweeters. I advise against this. either get a component set or only use the stuff included in the coaxial speakers.

If that alpine M500 amp cannot drive a 2 ohm load, then you would have to wire your subwoofer for 8 ohm operation. Which would render you around 150watts for output power. I suggest picking a different amplifier or subwoofer. Or you could just wire your subwoofer for one voice coil at 4 ohms. but now you have half the power handling, which again puts you at 150watts.

 

[Altima]

No, i don't have a carputer with Centrafuse LOL, didn't know it can go "active"
Even with that like you said - going active is a lot more work AFTER the actuall install - something i don't think op can handle at the moment. No offense, not putting you down, it's just one of those thing where you need experience and knowledge before you can actually proceed to "next level"
Assuming install is done all correctly there's still a few months of tunning lol, something u'd rather do yourself then going the the shop every time you think your 10.5Hz needs -1db at 4th order Haha

 

[knightnyc]

Thank you both for your replies.

I already bought the speakers. While I didn't pay any where near MSRP, they were not cheap. Fortunately there seems to be quite a bit of demand for them, so I wouldn't lose much money if I decide to resell.

There are a couple of reasons I went with coaxial over components:
1. I like the full range of sound coming from one location. If I install the components on the doors and the tweeters on the dash, they will be about a foot apart. From the driver seat, my ears can definitely make out the two audio sources.
2. The critical mass coaxial are very shallow, they fit w/o any modification.

The 4 channel Memphis amp is really old school (circa 2002?). I found it in sealed box at a going-out-of-business sale last year. The seller said the old school amps normally pump out more power than their RMS rating. I hope he's right. If not, I can replace it with a 125W x 4 MB Quart amp I got as gift.

Thanks for the tip on the sub. Here are the specs on the sub:
RMS Power Output (Watts x Channels) 300 x 1
Peak Power Output (Watts x Channels) N/A
Power at 2 Ohms (Watts x Channels) 500 x 1
Bridged Power (Watts x Channels) N/A
Minimum Impedance Bridged N/A
Minimum Impedance Unbridged 2

It looks like it might be capable for driving the sub on 2 ohm load.


The X-fi USB 5.1 sound card comes with software for setting crossover points for each speaker channel. This should eliminate the need for active crossovers.

It looks like a dedicated amp for tweeters is the way to go. The question is whether to:
- get a 2 channels amp and wire up to the front L/R audio inputs
- or get a 4 channels amp, wire up front and rear L/R audio inputs and bridge the amp into 2 channels.

On a side note, I really like the features offered by Centrafuse 3.5. I also looked into using Streetdeck and RideRunner. Streetdeck has a more responsive UI than CF and RR but lacks the supports and community following of CF and RR.

Long live CarPC!

 

[knightnyc]

Yep I am still new to car audio. It seems quite interesting and a good (albeit expensive) hobby to have. My goal for now is to have a system that put out decent sound w/o breaking the bank.

 

[Altima]

1. I like the full range of sound coming from one location. If I install the components on the doors and the tweeters on the dash, they will be about a foot apart. From the driver seat, my ears can definitely make out the two audio sources.

That's what TIME ALIGNMENT is for. Apparantly since your carPC is the hottest shit i'd assume it has that feature lol. I still say go componets or active, not fullrange AND a tweeter.

2. The critical mass coaxial are very shallow, they fit w/o any modification.

I'll be allright with lot's of other brands including Critical's components.

The 4 channel Memphis amp is really old school (circa 2002?). I found it in sealed box at a going-out-of-business sale last year. The seller said the old school amps normally pump out more power than their RMS rating. I hope he's right. If not, I can replace it with a 125W x 4 MB Quart amp I got as gift.

Use MBs. Most decent amps produce a bit more then rated, including MB You can use that Memphis as dedicated amp for tweeters

It looks like a dedicated amp for tweeters is the way to go. The question is whether to:
- get a 2 channels amp and wire up to the front L/R audio inputs
- or get a 4 channels amp, wire up front and rear L/R audio inputs and bridge the amp into 2 channels.

Same shit really, just see what's the wattage requirements for speakers.

On a side note, I really like the features offered by Centrafuse 3.5. I also looked into using Streetdeck and RideRunner. Streetdeck has a more responsive UI than CF and RR but lacks the supports and community following of CF and RR.

I have no idea what the hell you just said haha!

I see you're in NY - mind meeting up after the install so i could witness the mighty power of CarPC and Critical Mass??

 

[knightnyc]

That's what TIME ALIGNMENT is for. Apparantly since your carPC is the hottest shit i'd assume it has that feature lol. I still say go componets or active, not fullrange AND a tweeter.

I'll be allright with lot's of other brands including Critical's components.

Definitely going components in the next car

Use MBs. Most decent amps produce a bit more then rated, including MB You can use that Memphis as dedicated amp for tweeters

I have no idea what the hell you just said haha!

These are some of the most popular car pc software in the market. check out these videos:

I see you're in NY - mind meeting up after the install so i could witness the mighty power of CarPC and Critical Mass??

Sure. I will probably complete my build by June/July. Just in time for road trip season