Getting my older CDT ES mids to come alive

[Shouse94]

I have the older CDT ES 6.5 woofer with the yellow cone. I just installed it into a new car and am trying to get the woofer to wake up. Right now everything is flat. Those have owned them, what would you recommend?

[KOL]

Active or passive?
Are your doors sealed &/or deadened?
What amp are you running?
The more details about the install, the better we can help.

[Shouse94]

Sorry, I guess that was pretty stupid of me.

Doors are basically sealed (came that way OEM, Jetta).
Doors are deadened.
Cadence amp delivering 100w per channel
Passive
Everything flat, turned off, as of now
Kenwood X693 headunit
DRT-26's silk tweeters, located in sails
mids located on MDF baffles in doors.

It's not that the mids can't get low. I feel they do quite well for being a 6.5" woofer, it's just there is more highs than midbass.

[mcsoul]

Not much you can do but eq, do your passives have multiple tweeter settings? If so, put the tweeter on the lowest setting, and eq down your low bass (70-120hz) by 1 or 2 db.

[Abarca]

more power... those es models can take more than 100rms

[pjhabit]

Sorry, I guess that was pretty stupid of me.

Doors are basically sealed (came that way OEM, Jetta). Though its basically impossible to completely seal doors, seal as best you can.
Doors are deadened.
Cadence amp delivering 100w per channel I had 150 wrms per side & they still wanted more to really 'come alive'.
Passive I didn't care for the passives x/over pt. so I went active. The mids now see 150 wrms alone & don't have the 'lifelessness' of being under powered.
Everything flat, turned off, as of now I'd have the HPF set no lower than 70Hz. With a steep slope or higher setting if you give them anymore power
Kenwood X693 headunit
DRT-26's silk tweeters, located in sails
mids located on MDF baffles in doors.

It's not that the mids can't get low. I feel they do quite well for being a 6.5" woofer, it's just there is more highs than midbass. Do you not have a sub, to handle the low end? Those mids have excellent midbass. Check the phase relationships between the drivers & flip the polarity of one of them to see if it improves HERE. You might need to attenuate the tweets as well. If that doesn't do it for you, I'd look into adding more power &/or possibly even going active

Hope that helps

[PerformanceAuto]

Try turning up the output on the amplifier for more gain & power to the speakers...
Sometimes you get that flat sound from just not enough power, no matter how much EQ you try to compensate it with.

[KOL]

Try turning up the output on the amplifier for more gain & power to the speakers...
Sometimes you get that flat sound from just not enough power, no matter how much EQ you try to compensate it with.

And sometimes you get bright overpowering highs from clipping. I'd try turning the gain down before turning it up.
The gain doesn't produce the output, it just changes it relevant to the volume controls.

[subydude81]

I think more power, I had 180 to each of my ES mids with the doors deaden well and they came alive.

[Hoodlum007]

If they are brand new they will sound better as they break in.

[Shouse94]

They are not brand new, had them for a while. Unfortunately I do not have a sub at this time so I'm trying to make do w/o one. Why should I HPF at 70hz? Why not 50hz?

As far as I'm aware, there is no settings on my crossover or h/u to tone down the tweets.

Also, unfortunately, getting another amp or going active is out of the question too. I will try the polarity trick though and mess around w/ EQ a little bit.

[pjhabit]

I do not have a sub at this time so I'm trying to make do w/o one. Why should I HPF at 70hz? Why not 50hz?

A 6.5" midrange driver isn't designed for low/sub frequency reproduction. To get any kind of functional output @ those frequencies would require more surface area &/or throw. A higher HP setting will increase efficiency (& power handling), within the smaller bandwidth, & tighten up the midbass response. Simply, the lower the HP setting, the sloppier the mid will become. You should really look into a sub, to fill in the bottom end IMO.

[Shouse94]

Well while I got you here. What would you recommend? I have a nice Cadence 1200w amp but I really don't think I need that kind of power anymore. Looking for strictly a sq sub. I like bass but I don't need to be bumpin down the freeway.

Would you recommend 10", 12"? and what would you LP the sub at? 70hz?50hz?
I used to have a CDT ES 12" and that was the tightest sub I've heard to this date. My XXX was nice but man that CDT was tight! Not sure what else there is out there comparable to that. ID?

[pjhabit]

Well while I got you here. What would you recommend? I have a nice Cadence 1200w amp but I really don't think I need that kind of power anymore. Headroom is nice to have. You only need to use the power required, to get to your desired output Looking for strictly a sq sub. I like bass but I don't need to be bumpin down the freeway.

Would you recommend 10", 12"? I prefer a 12" but a 10" would do the job if space is a concern and what would you LP the sub at? 70hz?50hz? Just start low & bring it up till it starts to blend w/ the fronts. Don't worry about overlaps or gaps, just use your ears to find what sounds right to you
I used to have a CDT ES 12" and that was the tightest sub I've heard to this date. My XXX was nice but man that CDT was tight! Not sure what else there is out there comparable to that. ID? I've never heard a CDT sub but if you were pleased w/ it, you could always go that route again (exige is the hookup for CDT, here on the forum). Otherwise, you have all kinds of options (w/ ID being a great one) depending one your budget & space constraints