New Front Speakers???

[be_regal]

I have a set a kicker impulse 3.5 in my dash now, I hate them. I'm pushing them off my clarion head unit 50x4. The 3.5's are rated at 20 watts rms and peak at 40 watts. Well to make a long story short they distort more than anything I have ever heard. Does anyone know if a larger speaker will fit in there, or a better sounding speaker that will compliment my head unit. I really don't care about the cost. I have so much into it now a couple more won't hurt anymore. I really want some good sound to go along with the rest of the system....


Thanks for any help you can provide.....

[salvageV6]

Rockford Fosgate RFR-1403 mid bass 3 1/2" speaker. Use caps. to block anything below 300Hz or so. They handle 80 watts RMS and go up to 10KHz.

I am not sure if they are still made but I would check the company for speakers of that size in their current lineup of high end speakers.

Good luck. Excellent clear vocals and loud .

[GNandTTA]

I gotta go with the Infinity Kappa's. 3 year warranty is the best in the biz for 3 1/2's. Bought mine in 97' and they still sound perfect. Just be sure to put a cap (bass blocker) on them.

hey if i put bass block on my 3 inchers would it sound alot better?? or are components far superior to the stock location?

[be_regal]

This weekend I went out and bought a new set jl audio 3.5 with a set of x-overs. They sound great! They only cost me $75 and that included the x-overs. Bye bye to the poping and cracking.

[darkfa8]

How loud do you want the 3.5" to play?

"Bass Blockers" are nothing more than polarized capacitors. They are very inefficient at "blocking" bass frequencies.

If you are going to "block" low frequencies to a speaker, use a in-line passive crossover, or if you are using a amp to power your speakers, use the internal crossover or a external active crossover.

As far as my disposition on the 3.5" speakers..if I was to recommend suitable stock replacements, I have listened to and liked the MB Quart 3.5" drivers, the JL Audio ones are excellent and the Infinitys are very good.

However, if you want the most sound front your front stage, build or buy kick pods and install 6.5" Coaxial drivers.

Also, if you can afford...if you goto kickpods, get a separate amp for them. The internal amp in any headunit are not very efficient or of good quality and a good quality separate amp will make the larger speakers really shine.....besides...you wouldn't run your subs off the headunit amp would you?

[GNandTTA]

An 6 db in-line passive crossover is nothing more than a 'bass blocker" cap. A 12db passive crossover is nothing more than a cap and an inductor. I do not see how a "bass blocker" is any less efficent than an in-line crossover if it uses the same components? If anything a 6db crossover is more efficent than a 12db, it just provides a weaker roll off. The more components in a circuit the less efficent it tends to be. A 6db roll off seems to be sufficent for most 3 1/2's. And if you use 12db crossovers or higher Zobel impedance correction should be applied.

[darkfa8]

"The so-called bass-blocking capacitors you mention are not usually a good idea. One problem with them is that the capacitor values were chosen based on a speaker's nominal impedance. Webster's dictionary defines nominal as, "Existing in name only and not in reality." A speaker's impedance varies with frequency and is NOT a constant 4-ohms. In many instances, adding a bass blocking capacitor to prevent the speaker from over-exerting and destroying itself has exactly the opposite effect. That small "bass blocking" capacitor may do more harm than good. Don't do it! If you really want to have good sound, get a small amp with a built in high pass filter to drive the 3-1/2s." (Secrets for Great Car Sound, Richard Clark, David Navone, pg. 183)

I've used them and I believe they are the wrong way to go about solving a simple problem. I'll sooner, also, take the word of a physicist (Navone) and a engineer (Clark) over the market hype.

[GNandTTA]

I'm all for electronic crossovers. But if it comes down to no crossover or a simple cap I'll go with the cap. I've seen what happens to 3 1/2's without some type of bass filter. They self destruct in a short time. Look for yorself. Hook up a 3 1/2 with and without the correct value cap. I guarantee you will see the woofer move less with the cap on. I do not believe that adding a cap could have the opposite effect. If that was the case you'd see all the big db vehicles with 1 farad caps on their woofers. Don't think so.

The Zobel impedance correction is what a good crossover should have to maintain a constant impedance. Unfortunetly, many aftermarket speaker crossovers do not have them. Don't know why it usually consists of 1 resistor and 1 cap.

[darkfa8]

"Bass blockers are just passive highpass crossovers of different alignments, usually just capacitors that roll off at 6db per octave. This kind can crossover at many different frequencies, depending on the capacitor value and the speaker impedance. They should only cost you a couple bucks each, but they dont do a very good job, IMO." Nathan Munson @ Carsound.com forum, Store Owner

"Good luck trying to get those bass blockers to work properly. They almost never do the job accurately because speaker impedance varies with frequency and it's really a shot in the dark getting the right bass blocker. I suggest you bite the bullit and get yourself an amp with adjustable high pass filter. .. cont...

The value of the capacitor chosen is linked to the speakers supposed "nominal" impedance. The problem is that at say 100 hz, your speaker's impedance may be several ohms away from it's "nominal" rating of 4 ohms or 8 ohms or whatever silly value they try to pass off as a guesstimate. I think David Navone defines "nominal" as "not in reality" which I feel is a good definition." Evelyn JW. @ Carsound.com, Musician/Recording Artist/Installer/Tech

There is a right way and a fundamentally incorrect way. Using "bass-blockers" is the wrong way to go about crossing over speaker drivers. The quality of the components in a passive OR active crossover network is what is going to determine the accuracy of the effective crossover range and the order or slope of the cut-off... 6-12-18 or 24 dB. Quality matters.

I do agree that a Zobel type crossover would be great, question is, can you afford it and secondly, reaccess your "sound" goals and determine if those 3.5" drivers are really worth working with...as opposed to say a good pair of coaxials in a kick-pod location.