[QUOTE=voodoosmooth]
Okay, at this point, it's time to hit the web and start researching all these terms you guys are throwing around. What the H*** is a crossover? What's all this Hertz stuff? Obviously these are things I need to know before I go any further.

voodoo, I agree with kontai69. bcae1.com is awesome. But it still helps to have some basic knowledge to understand some of the things on there. A crossover is a term commonly used to describe a device or devices that filter or block certain frequencies from going to speakers not designed to reproduce them. Those frequencies are measured in hertz. True subwoofers are designed to produce very low bass, usually in the range from 20hz to 100hz or so. So a crossover for a subwoofer would pass only those low frequencies to the speaker. Tweeters are designed to reproduce very high frequencies and it is very critical that any low frequencies be filtered out. So a tweeter crossover will pass only the proper signal to the tweeter. A midrange or midwoofer is designed to reproduce frequencies in between the sub and tweeter, so a "band pass" filter is used to pass a band of frequencies in the middle of the audio spectrum. It filters out the very high and very low bands of frequencies that the mids are not designed to handle.

Any decent amp will have crossovers that pass frequencies above or below a set point to subs and "main speakers", such as a component set. The component set will have its own crossover network for the speakers themselves. It's not that complicated really, and you don't need to know that much about them other than to know they are a necessity. If you buy a reasonably good amp and decent speakers, the crossovers are included. It's not like it's something you have to build or put together or buy extra.

Ask questions. The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask.[/QUOTE

 

Linear, thanks again for your insight on this. Really starting to get a handle on this.

This weekend I'm going to a couple of audio places to just listen to some different speaker/amp setups to start to get a feel for what I'm looking for. I'm also going to take a couple of CD's with me for some good example music (a.k.a. no Rap!!!) to test. A little Jethro Tull, Allman bros, some Cult, and then bring in my heavy stuff like Tool, Metallica, Soil and others ought to do the trick. (Yes, I actually said Jethro Tull. I'm only 35 but I was born and raised a Tull head! Hell, Might be the only one in Northern California for all I know!)

One thing I have learned from you guys so far: DO NOT TRUST CAR AUDIO STORES! I have learned more from you than what I learned in an entire weekend previously! One mistake I have made so far is to tell CA people that I have a 1997 F250. I try to explain that I have the Powerstroke HD diesel, but they have no concept. The problem is with that crappy F250 Light Duty that was built that year. Only place to tell the difference so far has been Crutchfield.com! They have completely different speaker setups to start. Also, in several places they literally said, "Hey, try this first, if that doesn't work, then try this..." and so on. Basically throw money at the problem unitl it works.

At least now and can get an idea of what's happening so I know how to construct a solution.

 

Here is a site I've found which explains the basics of car audio in simpler terms than the bcae1 site...

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/

Your are doing the right thing in using your own CD's for auditioning. You want to listen to material which you are very familiar with. The recording quality of CD's varies tremendously, so obviously select CD's which you know sound good. The Eagle's "Hotel California" from "Hell Freezes Over" is often mentioned as one of the best songs to demo sound systems.