Ok here's the dilly:

I have 2 really old PPI 75x2 amps that have no internal crossovers. I am running 2 10's and I want 300 watts a piece, or one PPI bridged to each one.

My head unit has 2 sets of pre-outs. I will also be running 1 or 2 amps for the highs, 1 is already installed and 1 is not. The only option I could come to for running both bass amps is to have 2 electronic crossovers and run 1 per set of head unit outputs.

I want to do the cheapest route possible. A elec. crossover with 2 bass outs is gonna run me a bunch of cash. I DO NOT WANT AN EQ.

If you use splitters for the RCA's, you only get have of the line output voltage to the amps: i.e. usually you get 1 volt per channel approx. so 2 volts of output to the amp. You can test this by unhooking 1 side of the RCA from your sub amp if it's bridged, it should cut the sound level dramatically. So do not suggest to just run splitters, cause that would defeat the purpose of running both amps, cause I'll only get half the output.

I need some good, reasonably priced suggestions here. My only idea is to get 2 identical 2 way x- overs and run those.

 

Well, you gotta pay to play. If you can't cough up the $100 for an active crossover, you should have bought better/newer amps. There are some corners that you just can't cut. You're never going to get cd quality sound out of tapes, and you're not going to get a $5 active crossover.

 

They make those things you can jump in between your amp and the RCA cables. They're called "F" modulators ("F"= Frequency).

I've seen them in Crutchfield, but no place else. They're the same concept as inductive coils, they just cut of certain frequencies BEFORE the amp instead of AFTER it.

I don't remember how much they cost. I've never bothered with them. I'm an active crossover person myself.

 

Holy "F" me Batman..... those things are damn near as expensive as an active crossover.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-0OYUNgm...arch=crossover

Oh well.. sorry.

 

ok dude imma help u out
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6774
get it install it control it
radio shack used to carry these

 

never mind here is a crap load of them

optimus,radio shack, pyramid have the exact same construction remember that.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...t&BasicSearch=

 

I have 2 sets of pre-outs

I have at least 3 amps to run, maybe 4

I have 2 bass amps, 1 or 2 high amps

Those crappy sub x-overs won't do me any good.

I either need 2, 2 way x-overs or 1 multi channel x-over with 2 SUB OUTS!

AND FOR Jims85iroc:

find me a $100 x-over with 2 bass outs.

2nd... " you should have bought better amps..." 2 Old school PPI's that run at 1 ohm no-problem?! You are loosing it. I did not buy these amps, I have had them for many years, and I wouldn't trade them for any single unit in your system. Think before you make assumptions.

 

ok i got you this actually is simple
you need
(1) 3way xover
(2)rca splitters (y adapters?)

plug the single side of the splitters into the sub outs now you have four sub outs wire your amps accordingly. if you have more amps for the interior then you can just hooke'm up with remaining out puts.
as far as sound q there are good and bad adapters choose careful it won't matter very much
i've seen a bigger loss in signl on some rca cables i've used in my studio. by two types and see which is better they arten't exactly "high dollar" items.
oh and i have a profile with a total of 10 outputs.
if you want it.

 

if you think your going to lose so much SQ with y adapters, just get a line driver. those can boost your signal to about 7 volts. no more problem

 

Not a bad idea.... I like it.

It's not the SQ I will lose but the power output, 4 volts of output as opposed to 2 or less, which drastically effects SPL more than most of you would think. I found a 3 way x over that provides 5 volts of output so that would be 2.5 volts per channel.

None of you should think that using y adapters is ok. It is not . For which reasons I stated in my first and this message.

 

Y adapters don't cause a loss in sound quality. They are commonly used in all levels of installation. Unless you use a processor with a .5 volt output *cough* Pyramid *cough*, you'll be fine. You'll never hear any audible noise from the 3dB lower S/N ratio in the bass frequencies due to the signal split, and unless you buy a line driver that has multiple inputs/outputs, it's going to be a waste of time anyway. if you run the line driver before the crossover, you completely eliminate its boost. The crossover is going to knock down the input signal, do its processing, then re-preamp it at the output. If you use the line driver at the output, you're going to need a multi-channel one like I mentioned above. If you put the crossover in the back near the amp, it makes the line driver even more useless. The line driver serves two purposes: The first is to transmit a higher voltage signal over the RCAs to provide better noise rejection, and the second is to provide higher voltage to the amp so you can bring the gain (and the associated noise floor) down. If you run the line driver in the back of the car between the crossover and the amp, your signal path is too short for any minimal added noise rejection to matter (although I'm not a big believer in this being an issue even in longer runs). The only benefit you get is the better S/N ratio from lowering the amp gain, but that's not going to be audible at low frequencies anyway... especially if you're using old school PPIs. Those are good amps, especially if they are the Art series.

And why the hell am I losing it? You're the one that's trying to build a Ferrari on a Kia budget, not me. I'm doing what I can to help, but I'm not going to sugar coat my opinion. I said that if you are too cheap to spend a hundred bucks, that you should have bought better or newer amps, and I still stand by that. If you're running the art series PPI amps, that means you're dealing with some good quality equipment and you shouldn't be screwing around with half-assed solutions to your crossover needs. A hundred bucks will get you what you need.

Oh.. f-mods are crap.

 

So you are telling me that the only use for a higher voltage output is to get a better signal to noise ratio?

Why is it that with 4 volt head units the SPL seems to be louder?

So it is totally ok for me to use y-adapters? That's gonna be the easiest then.

 

yep they are ok

 

One of two reasons.
1. You don't know how to set your gain properly.
2. Your amps are one of the very few brands out there that were designed in a way that they can't reach their maximum output with a low voltage input. Some of the old phoenix gold amps were guilty of this.

Chances are, it's option 1. If you just replace your 2 volt deck with a 4 volt deck and don't do anything else, your system might seem louder, especially at partial volumes. If your gains were properly adjusted so that the amp reached its maximum output at the highest undistorted output of the deck, whether it was 2 volts or 4 volts would make no difference.

 

I may be wrong here but I don't think so, maybe Jim85 can help me out. You won't get half the voltage out of a Y connector that you put in. In your example of disconnecting one of the rca's from your amp, you disconnected one of the input channels to the amp. In this case, your amp is only seeing half the input signal that it was. That means half output and you get your drop in sound. A Y-connector can be considered a node in a circuit or the two outputs are just parallel connections from the first wire. Therefore, you will have the same voltage at every point exiting that node or junction. The only way you would drop voltage is if you has some impedence to drop the voltage, which you don't. Now the current would be split but not the voltage. Am I wrong?

 

CAN ANYONE VERIFY THIS???

 

Eric's right.

It's the same as running two light bulbs off of one switch. The voltage will stay at 110 volts, and the impedence of bulbs will remain the same (whatever that is ), and each bulb will still get it's rated output (i.e. 60 watts each).

What will increase is the ampheres. They will be doubled. This can cause the noise that Jim's talking about, because the more current running through the RCA's without more voltage will increase the chance of the RCA's picking up interference. But as Jim also said, it shouldn't be enough for you to hear.

 

Hey, you guys have been really helpful, thanks a bunch. I take some pics of my system after I'm done, you guys will like it.

I'll also post pics of my crazy system in my 91' rs too.

 

An increase in amperage through the wires won't cause additional noise. If you got that impression from what I wrote, I must not have been clear enough.

Running a y-connector to split the signal will usually cause a small signal drop, but not a significant amount. A minor re-adjustment of your gains will compensate.