Tweeters blown question

onlystunna · Postby **onlystunna** » January 16th, 2010, 9:16 pm

Hey how do u install tweeters without them blowing when connected to an amplifier? I installed 2 small ones recently and they fried instantly wen i turned up the volume

ChristianRD · Postby **ChristianRD** » January 16th, 2010, 9:27 pm

Put on the low pass filter.

Postby **nervewrecker** » January 16th, 2010, 9:36 pm

try adjusting the HPF on your amp to a higher frequency (which I highly doubt will work) or put a condenser on it (if you didnt get one with the tweeter).
if you did get a condenser with the tweeter well try using it.

certified_dealer · Postby **certified_dealer** » January 16th, 2010, 10:01 pm

ChristianRD wrote:Put on the low pass filter.

allur great yes

Modified Sound system · Postby **Modified Sound system** » January 17th, 2010, 9:30 pm

you can do what slacker_jack, said and you can also connect the tweeters in series (-+-+)

Brian Steele · Postby **Brian Steele** » January 17th, 2010, 9:41 pm

onlystunna wrote:Hey how do u install tweeters without them blowing when connected to an amplifier? I installed 2 small ones recently and they fried instantly wen i turned up the volume

What size / type tweeter?

You need to use a high-pass filter to protect the tweeter, but the specs of the filter will depend on the characteristics of the tweeter.

For example, if it's a simple 3/4" 4 ohm mylar tweeter, typically it's best to filter them high, e.g. 2.2 uF capacitor in series between the tweeter and the amplifier.

southside connections · Postby **southside connections** » January 17th, 2010, 10:17 pm

what volume does your deck play at?

imo, improper equipment matching again

onlystunna · Postby **onlystunna** » January 19th, 2010, 12:16 pm

welll my deck goes almost all the way up and i actually burnt the tweeters at abt 3/4 volume. I dont remember the brand on the tweeters but they are the small round ones i believe rated at about 100 watts max and i know they were kind of cheap. I do use the high pass filter on the amp at the highest frequency but i dont have condensers on it. I did not get any condensers with the tweeters but i have a few home. I wud try connecting them in series, sounds like a good idea. Is there any particular rating condenser u tink that i can use on them that wud safely run them?

ChristianRD · Postby **ChristianRD** » January 19th, 2010, 6:28 pm

2.2uf

Postby **nervewrecker** » January 19th, 2010, 7:01 pm

onlystunna wrote:welll my deck goes almost all the way up and i actually burnt the tweeters at abt 3/4 volume. I dont remember the brand on the tweeters but they are the small round ones i believe rated at about 100 watts max and i know they were kind of cheap. I do use the high pass filter on the amp at the highest frequency but i dont have condensers on it. I did not get any condensers with the tweeters but i have a few home. I wud try connecting them in series, sounds like a good idea. Is there any particular rating condenser u tink that i can use on them that wud safely run them?

refer to the frequency response range of the tweeter & now look at what you have been feeding them from your amp. see where I'm going? :wink:

southside connections · Postby **southside connections** » January 19th, 2010, 7:54 pm

or a simple way is to run the low powered tweeters off the deck's speaker level output

Brian Steele · Postby **Brian Steele** » January 19th, 2010, 9:44 pm

onlystunna wrote:welll my deck goes almost all the way up and i actually burnt the tweeters at abt 3/4 volume. I dont remember the brand on the tweeters but they are the small round ones i believe rated at about 100 watts max and i know they were kind of cheap.

Hmm...post a picture. If they are what I think they are (are they mostly plastic and loud like hell?), you may need more than just a simple capacitor in-line with them.

onlystunna · Postby **onlystunna** » January 19th, 2010, 10:30 pm

well actually they are just circular and plastic about an inch in diameter. I am running them from my deck rite now but i usually connect an ipod to the preamp to listen to most of my music and when i do this, i dont get to use the tweeters since the ipod doesnt pass thru the deck but goes thru the preamp and then directly to the amp. As a result they dont actually sound that loud rite now and they cant keep up with the mids when the volume goes up, hence i wanted to connect them to the amp. I saw sumone say use a 2.2uF will this be sufficient? slacker_jack, i dont kno wat the frequency response of the tweeter is..

Brian Steele · Postby **Brian Steele** » January 19th, 2010, 10:55 pm

onlystunna wrote:well actually they are just circular and plastic about an inch in diameter.

Aargh.... do they look like this?

... and like this, if you open them?

Postby **nervewrecker** » January 19th, 2010, 11:06 pm

by chance its not these:

anyhow, leme help you catch my drift:

a tweeter is made to respond to high frequencies....whats the cutoff point on your amp for what you were giving them?

hint: check the amp 8-)

Brian Steele · Postby **Brian Steele** » January 19th, 2010, 11:26 pm

[quote="slacker_jack"]by chance its not these:

That's like the same damn ting with a different outer shell

. Quite a few people like them because they're as loud as hell (100dB/1W!). Of course it's not made clear that they probably can't handle very much power...

Here's what the reverse side looks like. Notice the ELECTROLYTIC CAP...

...and here's what the impedance response looks like with the cap bypassed..

It might take more than a 2.2 uF cap to make this work better. Bypassing the internal capacitor, hooking a 4 ohm resistor across the leads and then connecting a 2.2 uF capacitor in series with this might give better results.

exia_sir · Postby **exia_sir** » January 20th, 2010, 2:14 am

check d wiring

onlystunna · Postby **onlystunna** » January 20th, 2010, 11:14 am

ok so i checked the high pass filter on the amp and its at 120Hz. And yes the tweeter looks exactly like those Power Acoustik tweeters except its not Power Acoustik, i dont know the brand of them its not written. Ok so what shud i do?

Brian Steele · Postby **Brian Steele** » January 20th, 2010, 2:05 pm

onlystunna wrote:ok so i checked the high pass filter on the amp and its at 120Hz. And yes the tweeter looks exactly like those Power Acoustik tweeters except its not Power Acoustik, i dont know the brand of them its not written. Ok so what shud i do?

120 Hz is WAY too low a frequency. Multiply that by 60 and you might be in the ballpark for what might work best with that tweeter.

Why don't you try what I suggested?

Open the back of the tweeter. If it looks like what I've pictured above, it's the same damn ting.

Let me make it a bit easier to follow:

1. Bridge the internal capacitor (just use a piece of wire across the capacitor's terminals)
2. Connect a 4 ohm, 10 watt resistor across the tweeter's terminals.
3. Connect one of the tweeter's terminals to the amp's negative output terminal.
4. Connect the other terminal to a 2.2 uF capacitor
5. Connect the capacitor's other terminal to the amp's positive output terminal

This will put a 10kHz 6dB/octave filter in series with the tweeter (the 4 ohm resistor basically flattens the fugly impedance response of the tweeter at high frequencies, and yes, it's required).

The tweeter's output WILL go down a bit, but it might integrate a bit better with the rest of your stuff.

If it's too low in level for your tastes, try a 3.3 uF capacitor instead.

If all that doesn't work, buy a better tweeter :-)

Postby **nervewrecker** » January 20th, 2010, 7:32 pm

onlystunna wrote:ok so i checked the high pass filter on the amp and its at 120Hz. And yes the tweeter looks exactly like those Power Acoustik tweeters except its not Power Acoustik, i dont know the brand of them its not written. Ok so what shud i do?

if you still donr get it take an eminence beta & run a 20hz sine sweep in he MC (50 rms could work)