opinions on rear fill

[Ryon Johnson]

I have a set of hertz hsk165xl's, alpine pdxf6, elemental designs Nine4, dc 3.5k, dc xl 15"... was wondering if its better to have the alpine bridged to 2 channels and push the hsk's past 150rms and have a pair of hertz 3" hl70's (not purchased yet) up front running off the a/b channels of the elemental 4 and then something for rear fill off the c/d channels, or leave the elemental amp out and grab another pair of hsk165xl's for up front ran off the f6... I have no experience with rear fill what are my options should the woofer match the front or What size of speakers are good? What frequencies am i staying away from? I havnt finshed my box so I havnt heard the dc xl yet... but with that amount of bass should I even give a fuck about rear fill and concentrat my money on front stage only?... The vehicle is a 1996 mitsubishi Montero sport, I listen to hip-hop and oldies.

[Nick580]

Rear fill is always nice to have especially in an SUV. A DC XL will give you lots of bass but I don't think it would be enough to drown out the rear channels. Personally I lean pretty far back in my seat so the rear doors tend to give a nice full sound. Do you typically have people riding in the back? You might try to find something comparable to what you decide to run in the front, however matching the same power may not be necessary. As far as frequency range I personally wouldn't worry about anything too low as the sub will be a little over powering in that respect, but I still feel rear fill is necessary. This is only my opinion based off of experience. I like my mids and highs to be loud. Im not really a fan of straining to hear lyrics over a bassline.

[Ryon Johnson]

No I don't usually have ppl in the rear, what another set of hskxl's and onky put the mid in the rear an have the tweeters upfront, if I install the tweeters in the rear wont that bring my stage behind my head?

[jerry773]

I have a jeep grand cherokee, I do not have rear fill because I like my staging up front, as you are saying. I run focal krx2s in front doors. I want to double the front stage eventually, but am considering running a focal krx2 midrange in the rear doors. If I do this, I probably will not use a tweet, only woofer. Also, on a much smaller amplifier. I have often heard rear fill messes with staging, and myself do not like rear speakers, but in my jeep, or any car where someone feels something is lacking, careful placement and eq, power ect, could help! Just dont turn into someone whos rear stage overpowers the front stage. Thats my biggest pet peeve. Lol good luck!

[Colin - STAPUFT]

Personally, I like rear fill.

I have the same speakers in the back corners as I do in the front. BUT- in the front I have additional tweeters and an 8 on each side. Get your front stage all dialed in the way it should be (dd-1, o-scope) and then do the same with the rear. Then adjust the rear down where you don't perceive it to be there any more. ...just turn it down until it JUST disappears. Keep a note of where that is (setting wise) and listen to it that way for a while. Then turn it to nothing but front and your subs. I guarantee even though you don't think you hear a thing from the rear speakers, you will miss them.

Every single time I do something where I ditch my rear fill, I end up missing it. But like has been said- it is a preference. I also just like having the option.

[Ryon Johnson]

Personally, I like rear fill.

I have the same speakers in the back corners as I do in the front. BUT- in the front I have additional tweeters and an 8 on each side. Get your front stage all dialed in the way it should be (dd-1, o-scope) and then do the same with the rear. Then adjust the rear down where you don't perceive it to be there any more. ...just turn it down until it JUST disappears. Keep a note of where that is (setting wise) and listen to it that way for a while. Then turn it to nothing but front and your subs. I guarantee even though you don't think you hear a thing from the rear speakers, you will miss them.

Every single time I do something where I ditch my rear fill, I end up missing it. But like has been said- it is a preference. I also just like having the option.

[Ryon Johnson]

What do u have your 8"s crossed over at? And the second set of tweeters are they the same as the first? And where are they located?

[RidingTooLow]

Just put something in the rear for fill. It's kind of ghetto if someone hops in the back and asks why the rear speakers don't work.

[mbdblue]

Just put something in the rear for fill. It's kind of ghetto if someone hops in the back and asks why the rear speakers don't work.

they don't work because he's not back there...who cares what they think?

OP, the only way to really find this out is to play with it. We can't tell you what will sound good to you. Personally, I'm convinced I like rear fill.....but at the same time, I've never sat in a car that had an amazing front stage and no rear fill.

[Colin - STAPUFT]

What do u have your 8"s crossed over at? And the second set of tweeters are they the same as the first? And where are they located?

Sorry for the late reply- just saw this thread again.

8"s are crossed over at 250 hz. They are located in the doors. <--- By far one of the best things I've done.

Additional tweeters in the front are one set of 1" Silk Domes and 2 sets of "super tweeters". The Silk Domes are acting as the tweeters in a component set and are located waaay up high on my A pillars (the back component set is wired the same though a crossover, same size amp, etc... just no tweeters hooked up). The super tweeters are down in my kicks and are wired to their own channels of a separate amp at 8 ohms. They can be turned down to the point where they almost are off- I did those because I wanted to stuff some more speakers in the car.