adding tweeters

currently i have a pair of full-range kenwoods up front, but i want to have tweeters. if i bought a tweeter set w/crossover, could i use those and have the lows going to the fullrange speakers?? or would that create a lower ohm load?

you're ok with that. if you hook the midrange and the tweeter to the same amp channel, then it would lower the ohm.

Originally posted by GSteg
you're ok with that. if you hook the midrange and the tweeter to the same amp channel, then it would lower the ohm.

it would depend how to wire it to..
parrallel to 4 ohm speakers to get 2 ohm load
series it to get 8 ohm

ok thanks.

but then how do component speakers work? theyre labeled as 4ohm's. so does that mean the mid and high are 8ohm speakers? then when you wire them together with a crossover it brings it down to 4.

Originally posted by igo4bmx


it would depend how to wire it to..
parrallel to 4 ohm speakers to get 2 ohm load
series it to get 8 ohm

i don't think you can wire 2 SVC in series. :confused:

Originally posted by strodda
ok thanks.

but then how do component speakers work? theyre labeled as 4ohm's. so does that mean the mid and high are 8ohm speakers? then when you wire them together with a crossover it brings it down to 4.

yup.

I really, really hate when people come into my shop and want to do this. You are better off getting yourself a decent set of components. Here are the reasons why.
If you wire the tweeters in series with your existing speakers you will increase (double) the ohm load with results in cutting the power in half. when you cut the power in half you cut the sound. If you were to wire the tweeters in parallel you will make the ohm load split (usually to 2 ohms) in which case your headunit is almost garunteed to fry. I have yet to see a radio which is designed to be 2 ohm stable. so to make a long story short get some components or add an amp that is 2 ohm stable.

- Brian

well thanks, but youre a couple days late. and of course i have an amp, and it is 2ohm stable. and wouldnt wiring them together help? running at 2ohms means more power to the speakers. the speakers i have now work fine, and if i get a good pair of tweeters, itll do the same thing as a comp set.

Well if you have an amp that is two ohm stable go for it. You still need a crossover for your tweeters though. You could pick up a set of bass blockers from Circuit city or Best Buy.

- Brian

Originally posted by EFsleeper
Well if you have an amp that is two ohm stable go for it. You still need a crossover for your tweeters though. You could pick up a set of bass blockers from Circuit city or Best Buy.

- Brian
yea, thanks i tried that. got a pair of bassblockers from crutchfield... and they sucked ass(metaphorically speaking:D ) but i have a Sony XM752EQX, so i dont need'em anymore.

i gotta question though. would it be ok if i ran the fullrange how i have them now, and hook the tweeters though the receiver? or is that some audio no-no.

i gotta question though. would it be ok if i ran the fullrange how i have them now, and hook the tweeters though the receiver? or is that some audio no-no.


Do you mean run your full range off of your amp and the tweeters off of your deck? let me know

Originally posted by EFsleeper

Do you mean run your full range off of your amp and the tweeters off of your deck? let me know
yea exactly. i would just be adding an extra pair of tweeters, since id still be using the ones from the fullrange. although the receiver is probably only putting out 25rms. would that make a big difference in clarity?

tuning it may be hard but I dont see why you cant do that. You would still have to put some bass blockers on them. 25watts rms? what kind of headunit? most headunits put out 15-20 rms, although some alpines put out some decent power RMS.

Originally posted by strodda
ok thanks.

but then how do component speakers work? theyre labeled as 4ohm's. so does that mean the mid and high are 8ohm speakers? then when you wire them together with a crossover it brings it down to 4.

NO ...... the speakers in those sets are 4 ohms. The purpose of the crossover is to seperate the frequencies - it looks to the amp like a single 4 ohm load, since they are playing different frequencies. A by-product of this is that if you have a 100 watt/ch amp hooked to a pair of mid/tweeters thru a crossover - both the mid AND the tweet will be capable of recieving the full 100 watts in it's frequency range (minus the appx 25-33% power the passive crossover consumes).

Originally posted by EFsleeper
tuning it may be hard but I dont see why you cant do that. You would still have to put some bass blockers on them. 25watts rms? what kind of headunit? most headunits put out 15-20 rms, although some alpines put out some decent power RMS.
i checked, its actually 22x4rms. its the aiwa cdc-mp3, and dont laugh dammit!!!!:D i know now its one of the cheaper mp3 receivers, but when i got it, it was the only one made. ill upgrade eventually, but since it works, its very low on my list of priorities.

Originally posted by strodda

i checked, its actually 22x4rms. its the aiwa cdc-mp3, and dont laugh dammit!!!!:D i know now its one of the cheaper mp3 receivers, but when i got it, it was the only one made. ill upgrade eventually, but since it works, its very low on my list of priorities.

who's laughing .... finally someone with a little common sense. The biggest power you can actually put out with a BTL amp design (no DC-DC power supply) is like 12.5 watts/channel at the worst case scenario of 11.5 volts of car voltage. You can always try what you are proposing - attach the tweeter with double stick tape appx where you want it and see what it sounds like. If they are too loud, you can put a big resistor on it - like 1 or 2 ohms at 10 watts or so. You can get them at radio shack or any other electronics store. They are ceramic and like 1/4" X 1/4" x 1". Cross it over high, like 6-8KHz ........ it will only cut like 6-9 dB at 3Khz and will protect the tweeter from too much low frequency info.

thanks ill try that. should i get the same brand tweeters and i have fullrange?

and also, if the tweeters are a little too loud, i can just adjust the gain on the full's to match.

i was thinking about getting the Kenwood KFC-T204, they have an inline 6khz crossover. would that do the trick?

that sounds like a good start

hey does anyone know if Alpine Components are any good. the ones i'm looking at are the type-r component set.. i know that their Subs are pretty good .. wondering if it goes the same for the comps..