Hey guys I have a 2007 Honda civic with the premium audio system (6.5 factory components in front, 6.5 rear with 8"sub ~350w) looking to upgrade the entire system to active components in the front no rear fill and a 10-12" woofer in the trunk

I picked up two alpine amps mrv-f345 and mrd-m605 so the 4 channel is 75rms x4 and the monoblock is 600rms x1

I've been looking at the alpine imprint processor the h660 I believe and it seems to be what I'll need to run this set up off my factory deck I've also considered the jbl ms8 but I don't think it will bring anythig to the party that the alpine doesn't provide at $200 less.

So now I'm into picking a set of components at around the $400 range, I'm thinking either alpine type x, image dynamics or some focals possibly cdt? My last car had just alpine type s coaxials and it was good enough so I'm thinking pretty much anything is going to be an improvement, so my main concern is how do you judge power handling on an active setup the speakers I'm looking at are rated at 125-150wrms so would the tweeters and mods handle 75w a piece? I just don't wanna buy a $400 set of speakers and melt them down in a week cuz my amp is too powerful, I understand the gain for the tweeters will probably be turned right down but I'd just really like some more info

I havnt been able to find much info online about how to set up an active component set other than the very basics so if you could share some links please

The other thing is while wiring up the processor will I be using the direct speaker outputs from the head unit? Or the outputs from the factory amp for the speaker level inputs? Also should I use the factory sub output as the sub input on the processor or should I leave it out and let the processor figure out what frequency to send to my subs?

Thanks again any input would be great!

 

HELLLLPPPPP! it seems like the only way to get a response on here is to post super noob questions, so here it goes, can i run my audiobahn subs off the amp that came in my bazooka bass tube and cross it over at 8khz so that i can get more output for my spl

 

Audison bit 10, 449retail.....google it, it's exactly what you need

 

I think I'm gonna stick with the alpine I'm more interested in info on active components

 

How many RCA outs does you stock deck have?

 

Download the processor's manual and read it...this will give you most of the info you need to hook it up and set it up. The tweaking will come after you get the basics set up. Most installers get the signal directly from the head unit to avoid any extraneous noise/distortion that may be added by the amps, but not always as you may get a better signal with higher s/n ratio by using the amped outputs. If your oem has controls for your sub, you may want to use the sub out as an input, if not then you can have the processor do it. As far as setting up active systems, there really isn't a lot of how to tutorials...it's really not that hard anyway (at least the basic set up). I usually set cross over points the same as the passive unit's specs initially and tweak from there...you will be tweaking forever though as it's addictive.

 

If you can grab full range speaker outs from the radio, that is my preference.

As mentioned above, set your crossover points similar to what the passives are set to.

I like to run a 12v light bulb in line with the tweeter. I find they last longer.

 

Thanks for your help guys! I think I'm good on wiring and crossovers now it's with picking components to handle 75wrms to the tweeds and 75wrms to the mids, would a 150w set handle it since they are rated as a pair? Theres only one local shop besides futureshop and the local guy only has alpine and clarion, so I have access to type r and type x cOmponents but that's about it, I've got a budget of around $4-500 but I can tell you right now I'm not super picky my last car had 4 6.5 coax type s speakers on 35rms and that was good enough for me, so my expectations are low, that being said I will be buying online unless you guys think the type r components are decent enough at $200 then I'll just get those but if you can reccomend anything from an online site that ships to Canada I'd love to take a look, or if any of you guys know any good shops in Toronto I can always make a trip down to pick up something!

 

Believe it or not but often the power handling of a component set is dictated by the passive crossover!

Asking for speaker opinions is going to get you exactly that - a lot of opinions. Go listen to what you can and if you can't find anything local that appeals to you then see from there.

 

Had someone offer me a 6 month old set of hertz mlk165's for $440 they seem to be pretty amazing speakers based on what I've seen online, I've never bought used speakers before anything I should look for to tell if anything is wrong right off the bat?