# What do I do with amps crossovers when I'm using DSP?



## FEEMC (Oct 14, 2014)

If I'm using the xover's on the DSP for active setup what do I do with the amps xover's leave them alone or try to match them up with DSP?

Also what do yous guys recommend setting the freq on my 3way active speakers?

Here's my setup for my 2012 Dodge Challenger

Pioneer AVH-X4700BS 
Audison Bit One
Audison Voce, 1" Tweeter,3" midrage and 6.5 woofer
2 Cadence ZRS C9 
Cadence ZRS C1 
Dayton Audio HO 12" sub
1.2 cu ft sealed enclosure


----------



## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

I always disable the amp crossovers when going active in DSP.

Otherwise, it would be cascading multiple crossovers which will make tuning more tricky.


----------



## FEEMC (Oct 14, 2014)

Ok cool, still need to turn up the gain on amp right?


----------



## Mike Bober (Apr 11, 2013)

On my amps the crossovers can not be turned off, so i basically set them to the largest span i can. Like the low side as low as it goes and the highs as high as they go so i can get as close to full range as possible, but the only issue is like Subterfuse said is that the actual crossover settings would end up being different then specified by the number, so using something like REW should be used to actually dial the crossovers if you want to use a certain frequency.


----------



## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

Mike Bober said:


> On my amps the crossovers can not be turned off, so i basically set them to the largest span i can. Like the low side as low as it goes and the highs as high as they go so i can get as close to full range as possible, but the only issue is like Subterfuse said is that the actual crossover settings would end up being different then specified by the number, so using something like REW should be used to actually dial the crossovers if you want to use a certain frequency.


If you don't have the option to disable the amp crossovers, then that would be exactly my recommendation.

Set the amp crossovers way outside the range where you plan to set the DSP crossover.... so that you can minimize the interactions inside the passbands.


----------



## maggie-g (Aug 20, 2014)

FEEMC said:


> Ok cool, still need to turn up the gain on amp right?



looks like you can just set your crossovers to "off" according to the amp manual. And yes, you still need to properly adjust the gain.


----------



## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

FEEMC said:


> Ok cool, still need to turn up the gain on amp right?


Yes, the gain must be properly adjusted to match the amp to the DSP outputs.

There are various ways to do this: oscilloscope, multimeter, or by ear.
The goal is to set the amp below the point where it audibly distorts the signal.



You also asked about frequencies for crossovers.

Generally, I prefer using steeper slopes in my crossovers. 24dB or high.

The tweeter is the only driver you need to be seriously concerned about damaging. If you cross it over too low, it can hurt the tweeter. Check the specs on your tweeters and look for the Fs value. A general guide would be to double the Fs value, and never crossover below that. Of course, that's not a rule set in stone... it also depends on your slope. If you have a shallow slope, then you need to crossover higher. A steeper slope can be crossed lower.


----------



## FEEMC (Oct 14, 2014)

Thanks guys for your help.


----------



## FEEMC (Oct 14, 2014)

Hey I'm back with a few questions. How do I turn off the amps crossovers since I'm using the Audison Bit one " clone or full range switch"?

Also the Audison setup wizard says to turn up the HU volume to the maximum undistorted level which I set up to 38 out of 40 & for some reason the music sounds pretty low between 18-32 while driving especially on the high way. I have to turn to max volume which I don't like and the amps gains are half.

Before I had the volume maxed on the wizard I think around 28 and gains were half & it was loud but was creating more engine & hissing noise.


----------



## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

FEEMC said:


> Hey I'm back with a few questions. How do I turn off the amps crossovers since I'm using the Audison Bit one " clone or full range switch"?


Full range is the correct setting when doing active crossovers via DSP. But you must be careful not to feed too much bass signal to high frequency drivers like tweeters and damage them.





> Also the Audison setup wizard says to turn up the HU volume to the maximum undistorted level which I set up to 38 out of 40 & for some reason the music sounds pretty low between 18-32 while driving especially on the high way. I have to turn to max volume which I don't like and the amps gains are half.


That is correct. The source needs to be playing at maximum undistorted volume during setup. If the source volume is too low, then you will get noise floor hiss.

The Bit One comes with a DRC volume control. The source volume should be "set and forget." The volume should be controlled via the DRC.





> Before I had the volume maxed on the wizard I think around 28 and gains were half & it was loud but was creating more engine & hissing noise.



Yes, that's what happens when the source volume is not maximized during setup. The Bit One will attempt to boost signal and the signal to noise ratio is not good. The hiss is the noise floor.

Set the source volume to Max undistorted level and run the setup wizard again. Then use the DRC to control volume.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## FEEMC (Oct 14, 2014)

Cool thats how i have crossover at full. Also how do i get rid of the hiss & engine noise its almost gone but still could barely hear it when a song finshes playing?


----------

