Is there a crossover in the ada885 sub box do i disconnect when using external amp

It's a big job, but the results are great. Bi amp-ing is where the tweeters and mid range speakers are separated and connected to separate amplifiers. You'll need to have the correct gear before messing inside your speakers. You'll need to have another amplifier. Not knowing what amp you have now, getting a stereo signal into the second amp may be a problem since you'll need a line level signal into the second amp. An external crossover is best. Technically, you could use the ones in the speakers, since you'll be removing them anyway. Now for the speaker mods: On the panel where the posts for the speaker wires are you'll need to install another set of binding posts. We're assuming you have separate subs. Open the speakers and remove the cross over. The wires from the original posts should now connect to the mid range speaker. Add wires from the second set of posts and wire it to the tweeters. Now connect the output of the amp to the removed cross over and wire the mid range out on the cross over to the posts that connect to the mid range speaker. Do the same for the tweeters.If you have three way speakers, you'll have to run a 3rd set of wires from the crossover to the woofers in the cabinet using another set of binding posts. Controlling the volume on the second amp will be difficult since you'll have to adjust it manually. Remote control volume level will be lost on the second amp.

If you use the crossover to input into the first amp, you will get the same signal into the second amp.

instead of finding a low frequency line to attach to your LOC (line output convertor) use the built in crossover on yours subwoofer amp or an external crossover to limit the frequency range going to the subs

You would send high as well as low to the sub and unless the sub had a built in crossover it COULD get muddy sounding. The specs SEEM to indicate the 118 DOES have a low frequency crossover so it SHOULD be OK... How would it sound? An 18 inch sub normally adds to the sound of a system... You MAY need to PAN over to send more power to the one side with the extra load on one side. Often people use two sub's... one for each side so it is balanced.

grady66,
We will start with the easy one, Phase. The phase selector is a setting that can be adjusted by sound; which one sounds better? Either one will work fine. It's mainly for situations where the sub enclosure is located at a distance or behind the listening area. The 'in and out' crossover selector and the input from the receiver goes together. The 'in and out' crossover selector is asking if you want to use the internal crossover to block the bass from getting to the satellite speakers. Most home surround sound receivers only have the one sub out and most subs have both left and right inputs. When there is a single signal being fed to the sub you use the subs left input or buy a splitter and send the signal into both left and right, but either way will work equally the same.

There is two ways to connect the speakers to the receiver.

1) Cross-over 'In': you connect the output speaker wires from the receiver to the speaker inputs on the sub and the speaker outputs on the sub to the satellite speakers; the sub will get its sound from the input speaker wires.

2) Cross-over 'Out': you connect the sub to the receiver using the receiver's single sub out, then connect the satellite speakers directly to the receiver's speakers outputs; in this configuration the satellite speakers are given a full range of signal including the bass.

I have used #2 with the same system and had great results.

-Chris

How do you know it's not the amp?  Have you tried hooking up good speakers to the same output terminals of the amp?

Speaker failure modes: Usually they fry, the foam surround disintegrates, or there's a bad internal wire connection/solder joint that fails. Subwoofers are designed to handle a lot of power and rarely fail.

There are three possibilities: 
1) The signal isn't getting to the amp from the crossover.
2) The amp is toast.
3) The speakers are bad. 

You don't tell me whether you have a separate amp for the subs with an external crossover, or whether you have one amp with internal crossover and separate internal amps and speakers outputs for subs and standard speakers, so I can't be more specific.

What you can do is:

Check all external connections, including the power connections.

Try substituting replacements for the patch (signal) cables to see if you have a bad cable.

Beyond this, it's pretty much up to a repair technician.

Line outs Left and Right from mixer to power amp Left and Right inputs,
Power amp outs to Subs(if they have passive crossovers built in check specs on subs).
From Subs then to Main spkrs. Make sure power amp is set in stereo mode using this way.

Alternative: You will need at least a 2-way stereo crossover unit inline after mixer and before power amps if the subs don't have a built in passive crossover. Most of them do have passive crossovers in the subs these days. Then separate amps or one channel would drive the subs and the other the main speakers. True stereo would require at least a 2 way crossover and two stereo power amps if hooking them up this way.

There is another option as is common with many sub setups. Send the signal to the mains using L/R outputs from mixer and a separate Mono output to the subs only. Putting only bass/kick and low frequency outputs in this send would help too.

First of all use the larger output amp to power the sub. You can tell if its free-to-air if in the middle of the magnet there is a hole for "air" to flow freely. The advantage of free to air is they dont require much of an enclosure or next to none so you can mount it on a single piece of mdf wood and use the cab in the truck as an enclouse itself. I would bridge the amp for the sub to mono but be careful to tune so you dont "distort". Secondly the amp for the mid's shouldn't be bridged any maybe you could run the front and rear speakers off the same amp.. I would get an amp for rear and front speakers each and one for the sub. Your ouput rca's should goto the cross-over first then to the amp (sub) - then wired to your sub (mono) which is bridged. Ensure to tune your cross-over to lowest frequency for sub. Its easy to bridge an amp if its 4 channel.. looking at the speaker terminals it will look like ( + - + -) use the two outer most terminals to bridge to mono.

I believe what your trying to do is to run 2 12" subs and some other satillite speakers? We used to do that all the time.. That is called running the amp in "mixed mono" that's where the mids & tweets are run in stereo while the subs are bridged mono. This configuration is what made Rockford Fosgate "The Bomb" back in the day. To do what you want your subs have got to be 8 ohms, NOT 4, Dual Voice Coil 4 ohms would be OK. Before i tell you how it can be done let me tell you what will happen... For one thing you will be "making" your own cross overs for the subs and mids and tweets. Forget about using the cross overs on the amp. 2ndly you will lose about 1/3 to 1/2 of the amps power because the crossovers are so inefficient, so don't even think your going to get anywhere near 1200 watts from the amp. More like 300, and that's on a good day. But if you still want to do it you go to your Radio Shack and get 1ea 6.0 mHy (milhenry) coil and two 47 mfd (microfared) capacitors, or something close to that value. So you would wire your mids & tweets normal in stereo and on the + line to each mid wire in the 47 mfd capacitor. That is your h/p crossover which will crossover your mids @ appx 130hz. Now on your subs. You want to wire them in parellel (both +s twisted together and both -s twisted together so it looks like there is just one woofer with a + and a -) Than from the L+ of the amp run a wire to the coil and from the coil to the + of the woofers, than using the R- of the amp to the -s of the woofers. Do not use any of the amps built in crossovers leave it on full. Good luck. Mark @ Sounds Good to Me Tempe, AZ

ok, connect the amp positive to the positive end of one sub coil, take the negative of that coil, and run it to the positive of the second sub coil, then run the negative out of the second sub coil to the negative of the amp.