Quote:
Originally Posted by Acheron83
Has anyone figured out if the crossovers referred to on the Eton website (B100XHP) are in fact necessary when fitting the B100W's? I know it was debated earlier in the thread, but with no final resolution.  |
We got the so-called “Hi-Fi” system in the dealer-stock 2 cabrio we recently bought. On a $50K small car, this audio is like walking into a nice 4-star hotel room, then opening the bathroom door to find the accommodations of an outhouse.
Until seeing this thread, I’d regretted not waiting for a car with the HK option (it’s my wife’s car, mostly, and the selection was all about colors). One thing the Hi-Fi has going for it is under-seat woofers with decent extension, so I tried the Eton component set in the doors, and unplugged the center. Those plus the HK sail panels = $400 for what’s a pretty nice result -- everything the car should have had in a standard system (and would have cost BMW about $50 more net than the speakers they installed). So thanks to all for the suggestions.
Mainly wanted to comment on the B100XHP crossovers (~$80 for 2). Was told by the distributor that these are necessary if the B100W speakers are used with the OE amp, cutting off around 150 – 180 Hz (there are wired high-pass filters in the Eton tweeter leads already). There’s a caution in the B100W manual not to drive the mids at high volume below 150 Hz. So the XHPs can protect those speakers. However they also told me the XHPs make the system sound better, enabling the under-seat woofers to fill in more bass and boosting the midrange of the mids. Anyone know if this is accurate? I like the additional mid-bass of the Etons without the XHPs, so cropping them at 150Hz seems counterintuitive but would be a fairly easy A-B comparison to try them. But no, you don't need them for the tweeters.