Focal - 3sixty.3 - Tunning Help

[sonic525]

Hello All,
I just finished installing my new system. First one i have done.

(Updated to an Active system)
Items installed:
Stock Head unit - Mytouch
Dynamat
Processor - Rockford Fosgate 3sixy.3
Amp - Focal FPD 900.6
Amp - Focal FPD 900.1
Front Speakers - Focal KRX2
Rear Speakers - Focal 690AC
Sub - CDT HD-1220
Enclosure - ******** stealth box and amp rack
Other Details:
New wires to all speakers.

I completed the install and did the initial 3sixty.3 setup to get a flat signal. Now its time to do some tunning. This is where i am stuck I have no idea how to tunne my car. Any advise?

[baum]

tuning a stero can be tricky. not to mention everyones listening style is different.

what i would do is take it to pro audio shop and let them know what you listen to and pay them like an hour of shop time to tune it. sometimes they have meters and computer programs that help them tune.

you spent money on great equipment now put it to work!

[sonic525]

Hello Baum,

Thank you for that advise i will deffinatly do that if i cant get this tunning thing figured out. Just a DIY kind of guys so wana give it a shot first.

[darkrider01]

If you are stuck and have no idea where to begin, then I suggest you head on over to http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/ and start reading. If you are looking for serious sound quality (and your components say that you are) then you have a long road ahead of you.

If you ditch those passive crossovers and run your front stage active, I could give you the tune from when I had the 3Sixty.3 in my car. It would cost you putting another amp in though. It was a great tune.

[sonic525]

Thanks darkrider01.

Yes I have been on that forum reading and reading. Looks like there is a lot to learn. And can't find anything specific on the 3sixty.3 or my system.

Ya if I did a little more research before I went with the single amp then I would have gone active in the front by adding another amp. Live and learn I guess. But for now my budget is maxed so no going back now.

Would it make a big difference going active at this point?
Why did you ditch the 3sixty.3?

[baum]

you wouldnt ditch the 360. you ditch the crossover that came with the components and you use a 4 channel amp. two channels for the mid-bass woofer and 2 channels for the tweeters. you can get a lot better tuning and adjust ability this way.

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by sonic525

Thanks darkrider01.

Yes I have been on that forum reading and reading. Looks like there is a lot to learn. And can't find anything specific on the 3sixty.3 or my system.

Ya if I did a little more research before I went with the single amp then I would have gone active in the front by adding another amp. Live and learn I guess. But for now my budget is maxed so no going back now.

Would it make a big difference going active at this point?
Why did you ditch the 3sixty.3?

Yes, it does make a big difference going active. The front mid and tweet need slightly different time alignment values (like 1.1ms for L tweet, 1ms for L mid). With those values, my stage was extremely well focused and centered.

I didn't really ditch the 3Sixty.3 (it's in my daily driver 2014 Cruze). I basically just switched the 3Sixty.3 out for the Pioneer P99RS as I wanted the ability to tune on the fly without needing a laptop to make changes and I wanted a world-class CD transport. The P99RS works pretty good as a processor, but I still prefer the flexibility of the 3Sixty.3. It just does so much.

[sonic525]

Thanks again Darkrider01 and baum,

Hummm.....ok i will need to recover from this build before i can consider going active. The system sounds good to my untrained ear but i know it could be sooooo much better.

Would you know if there is a place i can download pretuned files for the 3sixty.3 that i can try out?

[darkrider01]

Not that I know of. I'll be happy to send you mine from when it was in my Camaro, but again, my front was active so you would need to change the fronts from 2-way to full. The biggest problem with not having the fronts active is time alignment. If yo uwant surround sound, then it wouldn't be a problem leaving the fronts passive.

[sonic525]

Good Morning darkrider01:

Thank you so much. I will deffanetly take you up on you offer if and when i have the abbility to go active. So i take it SQ would be like being in a concert with the audio comming from the front and surround sound would be like watching a movie at a theater. Hummmm more to think about.

[baum]

correct!

cars are too small that surround is not necessary. in my normal setups i usually leave stock speakers off of deck power in the rear. i have done this for years. 95% of your sound will be from the front.

[darkrider01]

baum is correct. It actually is possible (through the trickery of time alignment) to use the rears to help focus your front stage, but we'll not worry about that for now.

[sonic525]

Update:

I picked up another amp focal fpd 900.1 and going active. I am almost done with the change of install and will have pics up soon. I hope.

darkrider01 : If you still have that 3sixty.3 file avalible would you please send it to me? I would really appreciate it.

[CWI]

You are going to love the KRX2's. I've had mine for 3 years and still finding ways to make them sound even better.

My only diss on them is the design of the terminal block where you hook the wire up. One of the drivers lost continuity through the block so I soldered speaker wire to the spider side of the block. This worked fine until the block actually came off putting a strain on the spider wire till it broke. I didn't have any luck soldering it back together and couldn't find anyone that could.

Focal (Orca Designs) said they don't repair their drivers but I could order a single driver replacement from a dealer. Ended up ordering one that I should have by tomorrow. This is where I am going to make a suggestion. It is possible for the terminal block to come off which will ultimately break the spider wire. There is a keystone shaped groove that slides onto the speaker frame. Before installing them, use a small wire tie wrapped around the terminal block and trim the excess length. It will prevent the issue I had with mine. Focal only uses a small amount of glue to hold it on. Being 3 years old and out of warranty I am paying $275 for a new driver.