I have a Sony xplod CDX-R6550 head unit, (xplod) xs-GT6937X 6x9's running off one channel, xplod XS-L122P5 sub running off the other channel. I also have 6.5' mids running off the head unit (both the 6x9's and the sub have their own amps). I was wondering if it was possible to set the frequency of the outputs to different channels so that all the bass goes to the sub as opposed to the 6.5' and the 6x9's because at the moment they start to distort at a fairly low volume because there is more bass going to them than they can handle.
Check the owners manual to your head unit to see if it has a built-in high pass filter (HPF). If so, it should only affect your RCA's to the 6X9s and the speaker outs to the 6.5s if it was hooked up properly.
If you don't have an HPF in the head unit, see if the amp for your 6X9s has one on it. If so, you can at least get the bass dialed out of the 6X9s by using the crossover buit in the amp.
The other way to go is to add an active crossover that can send lows to the sub amp and highs to the 6X9s amp. You will have to use a passive high pass filter or a Bass Blocker on the 6.5s since they come off the head unit's internal amp.
The head unit has a LOW pass filter with cut off frequencies settings of 78Hz 125Hz and off. The 6X9 Amp has a built in LOW pass filter - 80Hz. This is all meaningless to me so a bit more help would be really appreciated! The other thing is that the amps have level adjustment control things. I have been playing with them a bit and have put the sub amp level up and not the bass is better but the 6x9's still distort from the bass when I turn the volume up high but it sounds a bit better. Thanks 4 the help!
The head unit and amp Low Pass Filters will only allow LOW frequencies (which include bass) to PASS through to the speakers. This NOT what you want to go to your 6X9s.
Your solution will be to either get a 2 or 4 channel electronic crossover (if 2-channel, make sure it has a HIGH pass filter and run it between your Head Unit and 6X9 amp - it will pass only HIGH frequencies, not bass; if 4-channel, set the channels going to your 6X9 amp to high pass and the channels going to your sub amp to low pass and make the crossover point for both to be the same, such as 80 or even 100Hz).
Another option, but not as good, is to use a passive high pass filter on your 6X9s or buy "Bass Blockers" that are set to around 100Hz.
You may also want Bass Blockers or a passive filter for your 6.5s as well.
What kind of amps do you have (name brand and model number)? I see your Sony Xplod 6X9s are supposed to handle 350W peak, but only 5-40W RMS. That's a HUGE discrepency in range that is not realistic. The truth is, they are rated at 40W RMS which is 80W peak. If your amp is a lot higher than that, then you are overdriving the speakers, thus your distortion on the bass notes.
Your 6X9s also have a freq. response handling of 28-28K, which means they should be playing fine with bass notes as long as you aren't overloading them with too much amp signal.
So let us know what amp you have on the 6X9s and we can go from there...
Rowland Brown wrote: The 6x9's are MENT to be 100w RMS and the amp running them is a xm-502z which is also MENT to be 100w RMS.
That being the case, it's really strange that the 6X9s aren't handling the bass with decent volume - they should be well-matched to that amp...
Perhaps someone has another idea or suggestion, otherwise, Bass Blockers or high-pass filtering (active preferred, but passive can work also) will at least keep the bass from stressing the speakers.
