Who makes a good x-over?

J.W. · Post by **J.W.** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:38 am

besides audiocontrol, who makes a good electronic crossover?

i'm looking for something that is 4-channel with at least 18db crossover slopes, preferably with some kind of bass enhancer. in-dash would be nice. i'm familiar with audiocontrol's line of products; i like the three.1, HPX, and EQX. however, i'm not familiar with any other good lines and would like to explore my options. any suggestions? thanks for the help.

Post by **GlassWolf** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 10:00 am

AC is your best bet, but Zapco and Eclipse have offerings as well, Alpine has one but it's expensive, there are some others if ya look around but generally I just use audiocontrol stuff for signal processing unless there's a specific unit I have a use for from someone else.

J.W. · Post by **J.W.** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 10:29 am

great. thanks kiki. what do you think about buying x-overs on eBay? is it like buying a used amp, which i would do, or is it like buying a used headunit, which i would never do? thanks again.

J.W. · Post by **J.W.** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 10:56 am

what do you think about kicker? in particular this one. specs look ok, and it has the features i prefer. e.g. i dont necessarily want in dash, but would like bass control up front. however, if SQ isnt good, i dont want it.

William from NOLA · Post by **William from NOLA** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:05 am

You should get good results from the Kicker; SQ should be good, I wouldn't think it'd be bad at all. Remember to shop around and get the cheapest price.

J.W. · Post by **J.W.** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:31 am

cool. thanks william. i just found this one on ebay. it looks like it's the same as the KX3, s/n is 100 instead of 110, but that seems to be it. older model maybe? for the price, it seems to be pretty good.

is there a big difference b/w an 18db slope and a 24db slope? i'm looking for the best SQ; i run a set of 6.5" comps in the front and an Atlas 12 in the rear of an SUV off of a 4-channel memphis amp if that helps. i'd prefer to have an AC unit, but right now, the kicker looks pretty attractive at $55, but if the improvement in SQ will be marginal, i'll save up for the AudioContol. thanks again for all the help; this is by far the most knowledgeable forum that i've seen.

William from NOLA · Post by **William from NOLA** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:39 am

The higher the dB on the slope, the faster the frequency rolloff is, which turns to the speakers receiving as much the desired frequencies as possible. So in other words, the speakers will "cut off" faster which is a good thing.

You may find a slight difference, it really depends on your ears. Another factor in this is the output voltage from the EQ, that makes a world of a difference. If the output on those preouts is at a higher voltage than the head unit's output, put it as close to the head unit as possible (shortest RCA length).

J.W. · Post by **J.W.** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:35 pm

Another factor in this is the output voltage from the EQ, that makes a world of a difference. If the output on those preouts is at a higher voltage than the head unit's output, put it as close to the head unit as possible (shortest RCA length).

cool. i didnt know that. what if my amp has 4V max inputs? for example, the AudioControl Three.1 has a 13V peak line driver, is that compatible with my amp? would that need to be adjusted or would i simply just turn my gains down? also, just curious, why closer to the HU?

William from NOLA · Post by **William from NOLA** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:39 pm

J.W. wrote:cool. i didnt know that. what if my amp has 4V max inputs? for example, the AudioControl Three.1 has a 13V peak line driver, is that compatible with my amp? would that need to be adjusted or would i simply just turn my gains down? also, just curious, why closer to the HU?

You'll need a receptor down by the amp that will drop the voltage to the maximum input voltage. Putting too much voltage through the input of an amp only causes it to distort (same thing as turning the gain all the way up -well, if you double the voltage that is).

The higher the voltage the better. This is why those eletrical wires coming from power plants have INSANE amounts of voltage, but not that much amperage (large amounts of amperage or wattage will cause heat buildup in the wire which equates to power loss and inefficiency). They use their monster transformers in neighborhoods to reduce the voltage to your house's standard, but also increase either amperage or wattage as compesation.

Maybe I should change my major to electrical engineering...

J.W. · Post by **J.W.** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 3:22 pm

got ya, so if my amp has a 5V max input, then i should look for something with 5V output? i would need something to reduce the output of the AC Three.1 if my amp had a 5V input right? the kicker on the other hand would be just right since it has 5V outputs huh?

good analogy, maybe you should change your major :) college in NO is fun; i went to Tulane. good times :)