prs880 going active question

audiofiend

I don't want to destroy my tweeters when I change from using the SR X-overs to going active through my pio. deck......

My question is how should I go about setting the gain on my PA500.4 when going active with the Pioneer 880PRS?

I would assume the tweets cant handle the same wattage when not using the SR x-overs.

I am gonna try the auto eq and ill also be using TA, then ill prob start tuning by ear.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Greg Peters

audiofiend wrote: »

I don't want to destroy my tweeters when I change from using the SR X-overs to going active through my pio. deck......

My question is how should I go about setting the gain on my PA500.4 when going active with the Pioneer 880PRS?

I would assume the tweets cant handle the same wattage when not using the SR x-overs.

I am gonna try the auto eq and ill also be using TA, then ill prob start tuning by ear.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Yes and no...without the passive crossovers, you'll also be going without the tweeter protection circuit built into the crossovers .

MacLeod did a great thread on tuning the SRs that you should be able to dig up via the search function. He'll probably be the best member to respond with your active questions (I'm using the supplied passives with mine, no complaints).

As for gains on your PA500.4, you'll have more than enough power to thermally damage the SR tweeters if you see a hint of clipping at full output, so conservative (the multimeter method) would probably be best- you'll need less than 125 watts to get the best out of the SR tweeters.

audiofiend

hey greg I was just about to try to locate you to ask you directly, lol.

the last advice you gave me was spot on so....

anyways I will be getting the 880PRS on Tuesday and I basically wanted to eliminate the x-overs for 2 reasons: space and even though the passives are highly regarded for sq a lot of people say to go active.

plus going active will provide a little more flexability.

I believe Mac suggested a noob starting point for going active with the SR's as 4k@24dB slopes.

anyway I dont plan on using inapproporiate slopes for the tweets.

I just wanted to eliminate wire and comps in the signal path (simplify).

Thanks for the quick response

Greg Peters

audiofiend wrote: »

hey greg I was just about to try to locate you to ask you directly, lol.

the last advice you gave me was spot on so....

anyways I will be getting the 880PRS on Tuesday and I basically wanted to eliminate the x-overs for 2 reasons: space and even though the passives are highly regarded for sq a lot of people say to go active.

plus going active will provide a little more flexability.

I believe Mac suggested a noob starting point for going active with the SR's as 4k@24dB slopes.

anyway I dont plan on using inapproporiate slopes for the tweets.

I just wanted to eliminate wire and comps in the signal path (simplify).

Thanks for the quick response

Generally there are more positives to be gained through going active than negatives compared to using the supplied passives, but Polk did a pretty good job on the crossovers they include with the SRs. I totally understand why you would want to go active- I have active capability in spades, but will probably leave things as-is with the passives for simplicity's sake, at least until I re-do my install in the next vehicle whatever that may be. Those crossover points sound right, but you may have to experiment depending on tweeter placement and how on- or off-axis the SRs are installed in your front stage.

Your new head unit is a beautiful and capable unit, and it should give you every advantage to get things sounding sweet regardless of whether you cross things over in the head unit, amplifier, or through a passive network...congrats on a nice purchase. There are some neat mods for changing the color of the backlighting in a thread over at DIYMA if you are the brave customizing type. When you install it, be super careful to make all of your connections (including amps, RCAs) with the battery disconnected so as not to take out the fragile Pioneer pico fuse and get the alternator whine .

audiofiend

I was gonna ask about where to start with setting the gains on the PA500.4.

my mids are in stock location in lower front doors facing one another.

my tweeters are 6 inches closer to the back of the cab, mounted at the top of the door above the mids, and they are facing each other too.

any way should I adjust the gain on the mids then minimize or blend the tweeter

or should I set the gains even and adjust the leves with TA and level adjustment through my HU?

Greg Peters

audiofiend wrote: »

I was gonna ask about where to start with setting the gains on the PA500.4.

my mids are in stock location in lower front doors facing one another.

my tweeters are 6 inches closer to the back of the cab, mounted at the top of the door above the mids, and they are facing each other too.

any way should I adjust the gain on the mids then minimize or blend the tweeter

or should I set the gains even and adjust the leves with TA and level adjustment through my HU?

Are you using the four channel amp to bi-amp each mid and tweeter with it's own designated amplifier channel?

I would adjust the gains and get a good (conservative) base gain level- follow a proper method like one of these:

http://www.thesuicidaleggroll.com/gain.htm

Do so with EQ flat and any loudness or boost circuits set to "off."


Once you have undistorted output from each mid tweet, you'll want to balance the output by doing some preliminary level matching, using the gain knobs to reduce output levels so output from the tweeters better balances with that from your mids...gains are not a volume knob per se, they are primarily meant to match input voltage to the amplifier's input stage so the amp reaches full output about where the volume knob reaches full output- once you've properly set your gains, there is no harm in reducing the gain on individual channels to better balance individual components in your system due to differing characteristics, sensitivity of the pieces and and help them better approximate your tastes. You won't have attenuation settings to bump or reduce output of one relative to the other like those found on the passive crossovers, so you generally reduce the gain on your tweeters until you reach a spectral balance you can be happy with and then fine-tune some more.

You may also have to adjust phase of your tweeters and mids by swapping polarity if you find they don't blend as well as you like and balance out with gain levels alone. Time alignment won't help much with level matching- it will add digital delay to help electronically center up your stereo image, and you'll do this once your levels are in the ballpark. This also affects phase, as does the crossover slope you choose. Active is a bit more work but if you're up to the challenge and experimentation it takes to dial things in, it can be very rewarding.

audiofiend

Well after VERY meticulously installing the P880PRS

amp disconnected, gains @ min.
hu grounded first
wired next
all crossovers set next
hu turned off
rca,s plugged up
DRUMROLL...........................

d!@# pico fuse......I know darn well I didn't blow it but the distorted sound says its blown......I guess.

I've been reading about that stupid pico for a year and a half....you KNOW I wasn't foolin around........

WHATEVER

arun1963

Is the distortion a whine? Try swapping with a different set of RCA's. If the whine still persists.......lol get your HU repaired.

If its just some crackle, or if it just doesnt right it could be other issues like grounding, reversed polarity.....

Just holding out some hope. I have the same HU. Once you have it up and running you will just love the set.

audiofiend

well im not 100 percent if its the pico fuse.

the volume just doesnt get very loud with no bass to speak of....btw I dont have a sub, so mid bass.

its just distorted with the mid gain at 10 o clock and tweet at min

any ideas or questions?

arun1963

Doesn't sound like a pico fuse issue. Check for polarity.

I remember when I hooked my unit up I connected the mid out from the HU to the rear amp ch's and the tweets to the front. It sounded like crap. I had to connect the mids to the front amp chs and the tweets to the rear.

Have you gone active? Remember there is a switch on the side of the hu which you have to set from STD mode to NTW mode. You will have to pull the HU out of the casing to access this switch. Once you flip this switch you will need to reset the HU by pressing the reset button on the faceplate.

Why are the mids on 10 O'clock and tweets on min? Set both at 10 and do the level matching of mids/tweets from the HU.

jay27

I used to use an 880 and blew the pico. The result is a very pronounced whine/background noise. The volume was never an issue. It doesn't sound like a pico issue here, but even if it was, there is an easy fix (I did it myself).

audiofiend

thanks guys I will check polarity. I am pos the fronts hooked to the mids and rear to tweets but ill look should i chassis ground the head im showing 14.7 v gotta run

THANKS for the replies,
Ryan

audiofiend

btw im (nw) and set up my network asap

audiofiend

Well, arun and jay, you are both correct to suspect I had a problem other than the pico fuse being blown.

arun hit the nail on the head....

Although I am fully aware that the front rca outs go to mids
and the rears rca outs go to the tweets,

I still hooked them up backwards.

thanks