How do I connect my RE-XXX 6.5's to the Orion HCCA 225G4?

 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 185
Registered: Jul-04
Hey Guys,

My Equipment:
- Alpine CDA-9835HU
- Focal Utopia 165W 2-Way Components in Front
- PPI Ax400 to power Utopias
- RE-XXX 6.5" Midbasses for rear doors
- Orion HCCA 225G4 to power XXXs

The Problem:
Now, my problem is this . . . how should I connect the RE-XXXs to the Orion HCCA 225G4? It is a cheater amp, so it likes to see a low impedance. The mids are 1.75ohms, so if I connect in stereo, the amp will only produce about 65W RMS, but the XXXs want to see 150W RMS. Is there a way to wire up the RE-XXXs in mono so that I get a larger output from the Orion, more suitable to the XXXs? The RE-XXXs are going to be the bass line of my car, because I will not be having any subs this time around. See the specs on the Orion and XXX below.

Here are the specs on the RE-XXX 6.5" Mids:
RE: 1.75 Ohms
Fs: 47.4 Hz
Qms: 2.33
Qes: 0.59
Qts: 0.473
Mms: 15.04 g
Cms: 7.505E-04
Vas: 21.49 ltr
1- way Xmax: 13mm linear
Le: 0.14mH
Bl: 3.636 t/m
Power: 150wrms
Spl: 87.75 dB 1W/1m

Here are the specs on the Orion HCCA 225G4:
4.0ohm stereo ~ 25W RMS
2.0ohm stereo ~ 50W RMS
1.0ohm stereo ~ 100W RMS
0.5ohm stereo ~ 200W RMS
4.0ohm mono ~ 100W RMS
2.0ohm mono ~ 200W RMS
1.0ohm mono ~ 400W RMS

Please help ASAP.

Thanks!
Bryan
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 186
Registered: Jul-04
Can't anyone help me out here? I know that Isaac and James are especially knowledgable of this amp.

Thanks,
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3358
Registered: Nov-04
Bryan, connect your 2 midbass drivers in parallel and then bridge the amp. That should give you max power.
The G4's power numbers were rated at 12v. So in your car, you will get much more. Use the volume control with care.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 187
Registered: Jul-04
By the way, I am only concerned about the front sound stage. The Focals shoudl provide enough midbass, so I want the XXXs to provide as low frequencies as possible. Could I treat them like a subwoofer and run them in mono, and tune thm to low frequencies?

Thanks!
Bryan
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 188
Registered: Jul-04
Isaac,

Would the loss of stereo in the rear midbasses be a big deal? If I run them like they are subs, the left and right isn't really going to make a difference, is it?

Thanks,
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3361
Registered: Nov-04
Yes, if they can handle the power, then do it.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 189
Registered: Jul-04
Would the Orion be OK running at 0.85ohm in mono? te manual only goes down to 1ohm in mono, but 0.5ohms in stereo . . .

Thanks again!!
Bryan
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 190
Registered: Jul-04
The RE XXXs are 150W RMS, and if I bridge and run in mono, the Orion will be putting out about 400W RMS to both speakers (so about 200W RMS each?) If I adjust the gain properly, I should be OK?

Thanks,
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3362
Registered: Nov-04
It is very close. That is why I said use caution with the volume control.
Set the gain/level to a tad lower. For example, if your HU is 4v, set it to 4.5v on the amp.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 191
Registered: Jul-04
I think the XX's should be OK with the additional 50W RMS of power, as long as I use them within reason and hand have the gain adjusted accordingly so that the speakers do not distort.

Do you think that the HCCA 225G4 will be OK running at 0.85ohm in mono though? I am not going to be running at ridiculous sound levels, because this is a purely SQL setup.

I believe you are the person that originally recommended the HCCA to me. Every stereo shop I go to for an installation quote are impressed with the gear :-) They said I "must have done my homework" to buy the HCCA and the PPI Ax400 :-)

Thanks aagin for all of your help,
Bryan
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 192
Registered: Jul-04
Or is there a trick I can do with wiring up the factory rear Volkswagen tweeter with the RE-XXX's to get a lower overall impedance? I am going for a front sound stage though, and the rear tweeter might distract from the front . . .

Regards,
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3364
Registered: Nov-04
There is nothing you can do to lower the ohms on the components cause they are SVC.
The G4 should be able to handle .85ohms.
G4 and PPI were 2 of the best amps in the past. You won't be able to find that kind of quality nowdays without paying 3x - 5x in price.
For optimal operation, set the G4 in bandpass mode. The LPF should be 25Hz and HPF set to 2Khz - 3KHz.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 193
Registered: Jul-04
Thanks Isaac. I will mention the Bandpass mode to the installer. What does Bandpass mode do?

Thanks,
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3365
Registered: Nov-04
It basically restricts the frequency to the desired range.
For example, in your case, you just want midbass to the rears, so by turning on both the LPF and HPF, the amp's crossover will filter out anything that's outside of the determined range.
It means your rears will be getting bass from 25Hz up to 3KHz (I'd set it to 2KHz to start).
Not many amps can do that. They all either do LPF or HPF.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 194
Registered: Jul-04
Thanks Isaac,

I did the bandpass as you recommended. The RE-XXXs sound really good, but when we measured the resistance on the Orion HCCA 225G4, it was 1.5ohms . . . with two 1.75ohm XXXs wired in parallel, shouldn't I have 0.875ohms resistance?? This really confuses me . . .

Thanks,
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3368
Registered: Nov-04
Not always. You see sometimes, the speakers themselves are not as stated. It may say 2ohms or 4ohms, but in reality, they are slightly off. As long as it's not off by couple of ohms, I wouldn't worry about it.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 196
Registered: Jul-04
You don't think that having a speaker rated at 1.75ohms, but is actually 3.0ohms is a big deal? It is nearly double the impedance as advertised . . .

It sucks, because the HCCA wants to see low impedance.

Have you seen something like this before? Where a speaker has nearly twice the impedance as advertised?

Thanks!
Bryan
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 3369
Registered: Nov-04
Yes. That is why you always measure with DMM before installing.
Some speakers that were suppose to be 8ohms were actually 6 ohms. It is never 100% accurate.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bdonkersgoed

Ontario Canada

Post Number: 197
Registered: Jul-04
I never knew that there was that much variance in the load of speakers. It makes it kind of difficult to properly match speakers to amps if that is the case.

Oh well, the 1.5ohm load should be sufficient.

Thanks,
Bryan
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