3 Way Crossover

[Swapped TI]

I just bought a TI and the audio system is all sliced up. I have upgraded speakers for the 10 Speaker System. I want to use all 10 speakers. Does anyone know where to get or what is a good 3 way crossover for the front speakers? I thought i remembered Bav sound works selling one, but they don't. I'd welcome any help...as I am not an audio pro. I would hate to think the new mids I bought are wasted.

[hotmilk400]

please keep in mind that if you are only using a headunit to power them, then you can not go below or above 4ohms. since each speaker is normally 4 ohms, putting 3 of them on one line will bring you down to 1.3ohms, which would destroy your head-unit. which is why they do not commonly sell 3 way crossovers. most 4 channel amps and headunits can not handle the low ohms. (only mono amps, which are for subs) you might have to look into home audio for 3 way crossovers, as that is where they are commonly used.

if you look at your headunit, and it allows down to 2 ohms stable(which is rare), then you would have to buy a 2 way crossover, and wire the tweeters in parallel, so that together, it would be (8ohms + 4 ohms = 2.6ohms) so 2.6 ohms will be fine for something that handles down to 2 ohms.

please remember that without an aftermarket amp to power all the speakers, it will not be loud at all. all car radios are only about 25 - 50 watts RMS total (6 - 13 watts per channel) nomatter what they advertise. this is true because the fuse rating is either 10 or 20 amps, which limits the amount of output. nothing will be over 13 watts per channel. so it might be very hard to power 3 speakers on one channel, as it will only allow about 2 - 5 watts per speaker, (which can lead for distortion, and poor quality, let alone it not being loud)

that is why BMW uses an AMP to power the system in your car (which is located behind the rear, driver side panel in your trunk) unfortunately, you cant use it anymore.

your best bet, (and what people do) is grab an aftermarket amp, so that you can wire your front speakers as 3 per channel, and then use a 2 way crossover, hook the tweeters to the tweeter output and hook the kicks to the 'sub' or 'mid' output, then power them with the amp.

you could also look for a sony, kenwood, or alpine headunit with a built in mofset(i think that is how it is spelled) amp . it will help power them without a need for an amp in your trunk, but it is still only about 20 watts per channel, so when you break it down to 3 speakers, it still is not that much power.

most people realize this, do not hook up all the speakers in their car. then you can easily get a 2ohm stable radio to power them, and since it will be 2 speakers per channel, it will not distort to much and your ohms wont fall below 2ohms, and you wont need an aftermarket amp.

hope that helps, let me know if you have questions, i am more then happy to help. like i said, they only sell 3 way crossovers for home audio use (sites that allow you to buy raw speakers and tweeters to make your own) they are also used inside speakers. also, you could cheat if you want, and make your own. the only thing a crossover typically does is use a non-polar Capacitor to protect your tweeters, they normally let the mids alone, or use a smaller non-polar cap, and for the sub, they use a coil.

[Swapped TI]

I found a kicker 3 way crossover that I would use a single amp for and another amp for the rear speakers. The kicker K3X I believe it is says you can use it for a high, mid, and low setup...would that work?

[hotmilk400]

you dont understand tho, if you hook 3 speakers to a crossover, and each speaker is 4 ohms, you will go to 1.3 ohms. most 4 channel amps can not handle less then 2ohms. you will wreck the amps and the speakers will be distorted at high powers. 3 way crossovers are made for 6ohm or 8 ohm speakers.

using a 2 way crossovers for the front is what you need to do. connect the door speakers in "Series" so that they go up to 8 ohms together. then hook them to the 2 way crossover. then connect the kicks on the floor to the other output, and then overall, you are only at 2.6ohms (so you will be safe).

then you only need one 4-channel amp in the trunk

the rear speakers + tweeters will be safe, since two, 4 ohm speakers on 1 channel is only 2ohms, which will be safe on your amp. (or if you only use 1 speaker on each side in the back, ie, 8 speakers in your car, then you can power the rears with your radio or amp. )


using a 3 way crossover is useless anyway, since speakers are made well enough they do not need to have one installed. they only help with freq, and protect your tweeters at high power. you do not need to protect midrange speakers, and crossovers wont improve the sound quality on the mids anyway, they are meant to add bass to bigger speakers, and protect tweeters.

[Swapped TI]

Ok thanks for the help

[familytruckster]

Originally Posted by hotmilk400

you dont understand tho, if you hook 3 speakers to a crossover, and each speaker is 4 ohms, you will go to 1.3 ohms. most 4 channel amps can not handle less then 2ohms. you will wreck the amps and the speakers will be distorted at high powers. 3 way crossovers are made for 6ohm or 8 ohm speakers.

using a 2 way crossovers for the front is what you need to do. connect the door speakers in "Series" so that they go up to 8 ohms together. then hook them to the 2 way crossover. then connect the kicks on the floor to the other output, and then overall, you are only at 2.6ohms (so you will be safe).

then you only need one 4-channel amp in the trunk

the rear speakers + tweeters will be safe, since two, 4 ohm speakers on 1 channel is only 2ohms, which will be safe on your amp. (or if you only use 1 speaker on each side in the back, ie, 8 speakers in your car, then you can power the rears with your radio or amp. )


using a 3 way crossover is useless anyway, since speakers are made well enough they do not need to have one installed. they only help with freq, and protect your tweeters at high power. you do not need to protect midrange speakers, and crossovers wont improve the sound quality on the mids anyway, they are meant to add bass to bigger speakers, and protect tweeters.

That's an interesting way of putting things.

[hotmilk400]

why is that? haha. its math my friend.

[familytruckster]

Originally Posted by hotmilk400

why is that? haha. its math my friend.

The math part I got. The rest...I must really not know anything about sound systems.

[hotmilk400]

well, if u ever need to know my friend, i am about 2 hours away, so i can def always help you out. trust me, it is much more easy then you think, much more easy then stuff u do to your car.

[denglish318ti]

Amps like the JVC KDSH1000 have a built in three way crossover system which may be useful (you therefore need a 6 channel amp too).