Audio system poll, lets hear your opinion

[chuyler1]

I take single product reviews with a grain of salt unless there are specific comparison references in the article. I much prefer head-to-head or group comparison tests where each products strengths and weaknesses can be compared. The author is still going to be careful what he or she says but you can read between the lines and find out which set they really liked.

To clarify about my views on CDT. I've heard the ES and they sounded good...but I wasn't blown away (like the first time I hooked up my DLS Iridiums). My wife's car has the 3-way CL series in it...I hate them. I cannot get a balanced output from the passive crossovers. They are very high-freq heavy but not in a good way...sorta grainy. So that's my personal experiences with their products.

As far as research goes. Take a look at the Vifa MG series speakers at www.madisound.com. They are virtually identical to the CDT ES woofers and the tweeters can be found there also. I'm not 100% certain but I believe CDT has Vifa make their drivers with some minor changes such as making the basket yellow. The only thing you'd be missing by purchasing the Vifa drivers would be the crossover...which as Poseur and I have ascertained sucks ass. Run active and you'll be all set. Search for "cdt madisound" at www.diymobileaudio.com and you'll see that this cdt/vifa thing isn't just a rumor.

 

[1sty]

Anyone else annoyed that all a "speaker" builder is now is a 4 guys in an office that shop drivers from part mags and MAYBE design a crossover?

ick...where's my Ipod?

(rofl)

 

[chuyler1]

Hmm...1sty, we should start our own line.
1) Come up with a nifty logo to stick on the dust caps
2) Contact Vifa and have them make the drivers in a cool color
3) Make a basic xover
4) Design a bad website with lots of reviews and a forum to plug our product
5) recruit decent DIYers to install our equipment and rave about how awesome they sound
6) mark up the prices when sales go up and reap the benefits.

 

[FoxPro5]

^^ You got the magic formula.

I remember emailing CDT back in the day to see which comp set would be best for me. I specificially remember the dude saying "dont put your tweeters in the stock sail location, there bad there." Word for word....incorrect spelling and grammer and all. Plus he acted like his speakers were God's gift to my system. From then on I knew that CDT stood for Certainly Downright Terrible.

As for EDuh...well...they are from Iowa, go figure.

 

[fourthmeal]

Say I give you a budget of $300 or less, for the necessary midranges and tweeters for components. Assuming that I will use an active crossover either on the amp (not the best idea), or in the Audiocontrol (a better idea), what would you spend your money on and WHERE? My goals are to install them in the stock location of the doors (naturally with tons of sound dampener), with a nice high soundstage and excellent midbass. The tweeters will be flush mounted in the sail panels as per stock, though I'll run them flush and grind out the plastic a bit to fit them smoothly. I'll likely be running the fronts at 100-120hz during loud and proud times, and 65-80hz during SQ or softer moments. The door of the "3" is fairly well sealed for a car door, in fact the only place I know that it isn't sealed is the top by the window sill. The entire face of the door panel is either hard plastic covered or metal. I also prefer smooth flowing highs over sharp piercing types. I will be running them with about 100W either to each pair or to each piece of equipment. I listen to mostly Techno/Electronica/Rock, and I listen loud.

That said, what is your suggestion?

 

[FoxPro5]

A nice high soundstage is dependant on your tuneability and installability (i just made those words up ) not on the speakers.

Why does "SQ" warrant a lower HP on the mids?? I listen to my music loud and proud and HP my mids at 63hz with 260 watts each.

Not sure if they still have them but PacParts had the Alpine Type X ring-radiator tweet for like $14 each. Pretty tought to beat that!!!

Take your $300 over to madisound.com, solen.ca, or partsexpress.com and see what you can get. Lots to choose from man. Seas drivers are popular with the DYI crowd. I run the in-car Seas drivers and they are accurate, detailed and snappy....but they will cost you.

I'd also follow Chuyler's advice and spend some time in the Review section on diymobileaudio.com. Pick any driver and search the whole site, you are bound to find something. If not, post up a question and you will get lots of help.

 

[Poseur]

Really what this all comes down to is speakers are a PERSONAL thing. You still seem to want someone else to make a decision for you. This migth save you some time, and there's obviously some knowledge around here, but part of it is that at this point there's tons of options, and who knows what will suit you but you? Look at speaker-shopping as an adventure not a chore. In the end you might find your paradigm shifting.

 

[fourthmeal]

speakers ARE a personal thing, but there are a few things that I don't have: the multitude of combined experience of all of you...hence why asking for your opinions is so powerful as a tool for me. I DO enjoy testing speakers, however there are so many variables that can change how a listening test goes, I find myself asking how others felt, to see if there is a constant amongst the variables. Example, I really enjoyed auditioning Polk's MMC series, but the soundboard used was clearly, audibly, a problem.

What interests me quite a bit at the moment is the Pioneer Premier components. Strong reviews, strong personal experience from owners, good price, and possibly most important to me - smooth and flowing sound.

I've owned
Blaupunkt (we all start somewhere)
MB Quart Discus components
Alpine Type R comps
Alpine Type X comps (I enjoyed these quite a bit, and wouldn't mind doing them again, especially in a DIY version. The crossovers in the X series are an issue, since the jumpers never seemed to be in the right configuration, no matter how many different setups I tried)
Diamond Audio D6 comps
Infinity Reference comps

Of those, I absolutely preferred the X's sound, and would be all about doing them again, especially if I could make them DIY and have more power handling capability. At one point, I was asked why I change my freq. crossover points depending on volume. Answer: naturally I'm talking about how a speaker will bottom out easier with lower crossover points, at higher volume. My compensation was to roll them off up higher, and reduce the excursion to the woofer. This was, I thought, a standard affair for people when they want to get it loud. I'd love to find a driver that had the sound quality of the X's and the ability to run around 60-70hz @ 18-24dB/oct crossover point. That'd be the shiz.

So far I've pinned down this:

Eclipse SC8264 components
Polk MMC 6500 comps
Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS comps
Seas CA18 woofer w/ LPG25nfa tweets (then actively running them off the Eclipse Amp's X-over on board)


Of these, then, what would you run? Or other DIY combination...

 

[FoxPro5]

The Eclipse x-overs are not flexible enough I don't think. You'd need a LP on the mids around 2k and a HP on the tweets between 3-5k or so. I thought they only go to 300hz with no x10 multiplier.

Consider the Seas Neo tweeters as well. Great budget compact dome for $30. I have the metal domes and they are nice, but not unbelievable. They can play down to 2k.

Also, since you are considering DIY spend some time over at www.zaphaudio.com. The tweeter mishmash is a must read.

Add the MBQ QSC's to your list. Awesome speakers for $325 shipped w/ warranty from Sounddomain.