I picked up some bass blockers today and they arent the easy ones to install that already have the clips, they are just regular resistor type. How should I install them, do they have to be soldered? Also, are they supposed to go in in a certain direction (a specific end towards the speaker?)?

 

soldering is the best way to connect anything, anyone will tell you that. is it necessary, not always (but you should do it anyways!). if you can't solder the connections for some reason, use some butt connectors, and make sure they're secured. give them a tug, and make sure they don't pull out on you. as for installing them in series with the speaker, they won't matter which end is first.. just make sure to connect them to the positive side of the speaker.

 

As far as I know, theu don't have to go in a certian direction. I hooked some into my tweet's in the Mustang, and I couldn't tell a difference, as I did not have the color scheme for the wiring on the speakers. It worked...

 

They should be on the positive side as metioned, but I don't think they make a big difference unless your running a serious amount of power to them.

 

you can add them to stock speakers with no amp and they'll make a difference for you.. power doesnt have anything to do with them.. they simply block the lower frequencies and allow the higher frequencies to continue to the speakers.

 

Actually you can overload the capacitor by giving it too much power. All bass blockers will have some type of power limit. Of course there are fault tolerances, which mean you don't have to sweat if you're 1 watt over, but if it wants 50 watts max and you feed it 75 or 100 watts, I'd periodically check for signs of electrolyte rupture/overheating.

And I've always heard to install them on the positive wire going to the speaker from the receiver/amp. Not sure if that's a golden rule not to be broken, but why not just to be safe. Check here for info on wire colors.

 

all very well true.. i was tryin to point out that you dont need to have serious power to them in order for them to do anything. they'll work fine on a stock setup, all the way up to high end stuff (assumming you've got the appropiate capacitors)

 

They are kinda like a cheap crossover right? Dont crossovers do the same thing?

 

Yeah, bass blockers are referred to as passive crossovers. Active crossovers involve digital signal processing to filter out the unwanted sound. Active costs more, but can be better for quality and control over the crossover. Passive obviously are cheap, and not as efficient, but some aren't bad at all. Most components come with a good "passive" crossover with some adjustability (typically). But those crossovers are not just a single capacitor either.

 

Like those neato built in crossovers that many companies now add to their speakers? I would just add active ones myself. That is when they come with the speakers.

 

I use both. My head unit has 3 sets of RCA's with 18 or 24 dB slope crossovers (front, rear, sub), and the crossovers on my amplifiers are also set for to further curtail any unwanted frequencies. Takes a little more fine tuning/balancing between the two sets of controls, but can really help keep the speaker producing only the desired frequencies.

 

the only time i ever used bass blockers they didnt do crap.... but i had to sony xplod 6x9's i was tryin to hook them to so i guess thats not stock huh?

 

Not all "Bass Blockers" are the same. They are sold by the frequency they cut-off at. You might have had a set that had too low a cut-off for your speakers.