a little unhappy with my 'comp's help!!!!

[shaunls1 10+ year member]

hey guys i need some help and some recomendations.

i have 2 mb quart comp sets in my 98 camaro the rear is a installer series and the fronts are premium series 6 1/2 comps with there wide sphere tweets.

the amp is a memphis belle 1300 thats rated at 75wx4 @4 ohm and 115 x4@2ohm

so i have a decent amount of power and from what i have read they put out a little more than there rated at.

now for my problem the get a little harsh when turned up and start to distort a very little and i think it has a lot to do with the tweets being metal.

they are mounted in the bottom pillars near the dash like most factory gm's are sort of like a gm bose system.

im thinking of selling them and geting some thing with a silk tweet for a warmer sound.

ill spend 250-300 max

i have read a lot of good things about the pgrsd 65 cs comps so they might be an option if they will handle the power and take the volume.

the amp x-over is set on high pass and the gain is set a little over 1/2 way and it get plenty loud but its not the warm natural sound im looking for.

let me know what you guys think.

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[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

Check into the Pioneers PRS 6.5 set. Can be had under 250 and sound fantastic. I ended up the the 720c's, as I am a cheapy! Still got steallar reviews.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

hey guys i need some help and some recomendations.i have 2 mb quart comp sets in my 98 camaro the rear is a installer series and the fronts are premium series 6 1/2 comps with there wide sphere tweets.

the amp is a memphis belle 1300 thats rated at 75wx4 @4 ohm and 115 x4@2ohm

so i have a decent amount of power and from what i have read they put out a little more than there rated at.

now for my problem the get a little harsh when turned up and start to distort a very little and i think it has a lot to do with the tweets being metal.

they are mounted in the bottom pillars near the dash like most factory gm's are sort of like a gm bose system.

im thinking of selling them and geting some thing with a silk tweet for a warmer sound.

ill spend 250-300 max

i have read a lot of good things about the pgrsd 65 cs comps so they might be an option if they will handle the power and take the volume.

the amp x-over is set on high pass and the gain is set a little over 1/2 way and it get plenty loud but its not the warm natural sound im looking for.

let me know what you guys think.

Two things. First set your gains with a meter and a refrence test tone. Read the threads on setting your gains with a meter.

Second you need to understand how the loudness curve of our ears works. Our ears hear have different sensitivities to different frequencies. When playing your stereo at low volumes you will usually need to boost the highs and lows (+2 or +3) to make it sound "normal". As you turn the volume up to a mid level, you will need to back down the boost on the highs and low back to zero. At high volumes you will need to cut the highs and lows (-2, -3, -4).

This is called the loudness curve. It has to do with how our ears work, not the quality of the speakers. Some stereos have a "Loudness" button/feature. This boosts the highs and lows for you with the push of one button, and then turning it off will remove the boost on the highs and lows without having to dial in the highs and lows seperately.

Try turning down the highs when you have the volume cranked before you pull them out and sell them. Make sure the "Loudness" feature is off when you have the volume cranked.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

Also what is the crossover frequency point on the HP filter at the amp? Should be about 100 -125 Hz. If it's too high that would be robbing you of your "warm" sound.

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

Two things. First set your gains with a meter and a refrence test tone. Read the threads on setting your gains with a meter.
Also what is the crossover frequency point on the HP filter at the amp? Should be about 100 -125 Hz. If it's too high that would be robbing you of your "warm" sound.

I disagree.

Use your ears to set gains. The harshness of your comps might be coming from your tweets. If your passive crossover is able to attenuate the tweets, try that first.

for a HP crossover point, I'd suggest around 80hz.

 

[shaunls1 10+ year member]

well i do just set my gains on what sounds good to me and my ears lol. i can turn down the tweets -3 and -5 and i think they are on -3 now but im going to try -5.

should i have the x-over on my amp set on hp or full range?

on my alpine hu the signal from it going in to the amps is full range to the mids and highs and when i have both x-overs on full range i seem to get to much bass to my mids.

im going to try and mess with it later and see if i can get it to sound better.

 

[stuckinok 5,000+ posts]

well i do just set my gains on what sounds good to me and my ears lol. i can turn down the tweets -3 and -5 and i think they are on -3 now but im going to try -5.should i have the x-over on my amp set on hp or full range?

on my alpine hu the signal from it going in to the amps is full range to the mids and highs and when i have both x-overs on full range i seem to get to much bass to my mids.

im going to try and mess with it later and see if i can get it to sound better.

hp on the crossover...

Your not the first person to complain about the harshness of a MB-quart tweeter. If you really dislike it then yea I would reccomend trying a different one.

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

MB Quarts are famous for being harsh on the high notes.

Their metal domed tweeters need to be mounted off axis below ear level or else they scream.

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

well i do just set my gains on what sounds good to me and my ears lol. i can turn down the tweets -3 and -5 and i think they are on -3 now but im going to try -5.should i have the x-over on my amp set on hp or full range?

on my alpine hu the signal from it going in to the amps is full range to the mids and highs and when i have both x-overs on full range i seem to get to much bass to my mids.

im going to try and mess with it later and see if i can get it to sound better.

Set it on HP and try to get it around 80hz.

try to attenuate the tweet more or eq then down some, before spending more money on new tweets