dead amp, need new recommendations

A mains crossover only needs to be set to one frequency, the frequency that is optimized for the woofer and tweeter that you are using. As far as "interactions between the speaker and crossover," I'm not sure what you're getting at but "interaction" is how they work. In general the reasons why I prefer a properly designed passive includes reducing system complexity ( only one amp per channel and less wiring required) much better system integration (meaning the Xover is designed to work with the speakers taking into account their FR and impedance curves), better system voicing (a Xover includes the proper padding, impedance leveling (zobel) and EQ (filters) that might be required by the specific characteristics of the drivers. Setting up an active system you are not likely to know or be able to measure all of this) and lastly a proper passive Xover increases system efficiency and protects the tweeter from over power. As a system designer I can tell you designing a passive Xover can take many days of testing and they are often the most expensive part of a system. Some crossovers cost twice or three times what the drivers cost. The Xover is the heart of a system and is really what determines how it sounds. So that's why. :)Support the12volt.com

well i guess i cant really argue with that, although i find passives to be more complicated as an installer because you need to find a location for the crossovers(mine is an extreme case) whereas a passive is easier to install in the signal path. you usually end up putting passive's in the doors somewhere because there is little room for anything in the kick panels or under the dash for a nice quality crossover. the special interactions are exactly the ones you have mentioned, leveling out an impedance curve or filtering the frequencies above or below the resonant frequency so that the speakers play together in harmony. but, my assumption is that these variables are known. lets say we have two of the same systems with one being active and the other using passive crossovers, both set at the same frequency, do you think the passive crossovers would still make a big difference over the active crossover?

this is the reason why i dont use my passive crossovers, the other crossover is a regular diamond HEX crossover and its pretty big by most standards, the HEX PRO is like a small amp.

ok so i took apart my alpine and i want to know if this is fixable: the board is burnt on the top and bottom in the same spot. i dont know what side started burning first but the bottom looks like it got the worst of it with those two chips being almost completely burned.

I hear IAAI furiously pouring through his manuals to find those schematics, even as I type this... It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

I say again, not using those crossovers because they are large is like not installing a subwoofer because it requires an enclosure. I highly recommend finding a way and I bet the system sounds better... As far as repairing the amp, while I'm sure it is possible I'd answer the question "why did those ICs fry?" before I spent any time or money on it.Support the12volt.com

yea ive already asked myself that question and i have no idea. i dont know enough to even begin to think about what these parts even do. they seem to be part of the power supply side of the amp but that is just a guess based on their location. i guess ill have to consider finding a spot for the crossovers since they are bi-amp compatible i really wont have to rewire anything, ill just install them in between the speakers and amp and turn the filters on my active crossover off. i wont un-install it until im happy with the passives. i have to run new speaker wires anyway because i had to extend them when i replaced the amp and i dont like having them extended with lower quality wire than what i had.