Advice on SQ Component Speakers. Price Range $150-$300

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

bumping this thread because I am looking for new front stage in the same budget. I'm after a warmer sound, hate harsh highs. how would I determine out of those speakers listed above, which ones would sound "warm" and which ones would be more detailed/brighter etc. ?

Has to do with the presence of the mid. Warmer sets tend to have more midbass presence while the tweets are laid back. Bright sets will have a higher emphasis on the tweeter. They'll also be called crisp of overly detailed.

I picked my JBLs because I thought they were a good middle between both extremes. Plenty of midbass, well detailed (especially with live/acoustic instruments), but not shrill or sibilant.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Also keep in mind the harshness of a tweeter has more to do with install than it does the driver itself. Give it too many surfaces on which to reflect and even the best tweeters will sound awful. Most people prefer mounting their tweeters on the a-pillar roughly 2-3 inches above the highest point on the dash to minimize reflections.

Common beliefs when it comes to a tweeter's harshness has to be in its material. Textile domes (silk) are softer while metal domes (aluminum/titanium) are harsher. There are exceptions to every rule though...

 

[blakgtp 10+ year member]

thanks for the reply. Do you think I'd get better value for my dollar buying a component set, or piecing together a set? possibly with silver flutes for the mids. I've wanted to try a 3 way setup with dash pods, but I'm not sure if it's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

thanks for the reply. Do you think I'd get better value for my dollar buying a component set, or piecing together a set? possibly with silver flutes for the mids. I've wanted to try a 3 way setup with dash pods, but I'm not sure if it's more trouble than it's worth.

Are you already set up to go active? If so then yes, you can save yourself dough by piecing it together yourself. My personal recommendation would be the Dayton RS-180 mids and Vifa ring radiators for tweets. Both at Parts-Express.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Or you could go nuts and get the planar magnetics on PE. Saw a setup of those planars on DIYMA and started drooling involuntarily.

 

[blakgtp 10+ year member]

Are you already set up to go active? If so then yes, you can save yourself dough by piecing it together yourself. My personal recommendation would be the Dayton RS-180 mids and Vifa ring radiators for tweets. Both at Parts-Express.

Yes I have the clarion cz702 hu so I can go 2 or 3 way active. the thing i like about 3 way, is that I don't have to worry as much about the mid woofer being off axis, if the tweet and midrange are on axis. at least I think that's how it works? i'm kinda a noob

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Yes I have the clarion cz702 hu so I can go 2 or 3 way active. the thing i like about 3 way, is that I don't have to worry as much about the mid woofer being off axis, if the tweet and midrange are on axis. at least I think that's how it works? i'm kinda a noob

There's more to it than that. I'd consider starting 2-way and adding the midbass when you get the hang of things. Setting up a 3-way, from what I've heard, is a bitch. Since you have an active-capable HU, you can use phasing, TA, and EQ to compensate for the lesser-than-optimal mounting locations of your mid and tweet. I'd spend some time in the DIYMA How-to section to learn a few tips and tricks for going active as well.

How are you able to mount your mid and tweet on axis, btw?

 

[blakgtp 10+ year member]

There's more to it than that. I'd consider starting 2-way and adding the midbass when you get the hang of things. Setting up a 3-way, from what I've heard, is a bitch. Since you have an active-capable HU, you can use phasing, TA, and EQ to compensate for the lesser-than-optimal mounting locations of your mid and tweet. I'd spend some time in the DIYMA How-to section to learn a few tips and tricks for going active as well.
How are you able to mount your mid and tweet on axis, btw?

I was going to make dash pods

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

I was going to make dash pods

That's smart. I'd say keep the dash pods as your plan and just go 2-way for now. Learn how to tune that active. You can always add the midbass later.

 

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

I can get you a good deal on some PHD MF series components. I would put money on the fact that they would sound better than the imagines. Hell, even the CF line should sound about equal with the imagines. PHD - Speakers - Model MF 5.1 KIT -

Can you pm me some info on the PhD mf 6.1 kit? And price

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Vifa xt25 ring radiator is an excellent sounding tweeter, but it needs to be mounted on-axis or output drops off a ton...

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Or you could go nuts and get the planar magnetics on PE. Saw a setup of those planars on DIYMA and started drooling involuntarily.

OMG yes. I did the same thing.

 

[Chriszle 10+ year member]

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet, but if you blew your tweeters in less than a year, you might want to find out what is causing the issue before spending money on more speakers. Also, the speakers you choose will only sound as good as the installation allows. Properly installed 50 dollar coaxials can sound as good or better than 300 dollar components that are poorly installed.

 

[blakgtp 10+ year member]

so. I haven't made up my mind on the front stage yet because I've heard mixed things about the daytons rs180 and vifa radiator tweet combo. Do you think they will have enough output to keep up with my sub stage (sundown sa-15 on 1700watts, soon to be 2 sa-15's on 2500watts)? I'm pretty much a "SQL" guy. I like sq but it needs to be loud (at times). I'm thinking of giving the front stage 250 watts per side. 150watts per mid woofer and 100watts per tweet. (obviously tweets will never see that much) opinions?

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

If you run your mids and tweeters in their pistonic range you don't even need them aimed on axis. This works if you apply the logic of keeping the speakers operating so their polar response is the same whether you're in the driver's seat or the passenger's seat. I did this with my latest setup so I have a 3-way entirely on/in the doors below the glass. I use the factory speaker location up front for a 6.5" driver and I have 2" mids and 1" tweeters on the door panel near the latches. I've found that in conjunction with my MS-8 for tuning I get better tonality and more stable imaging than I ever had with the mids and tweeters above the dash. Stage depth has been compromised only slightly and all sound is on the dash.

You can run 100W to tweeters that are rated for much less power if you use a high crossover frequency with a 24 dB/octave slope. This requires a midrange driver unless you use a woofer that can play up to or beyond 5 kHz or so. I have my tweeters crossed at 6 kHz with 120W RMS per tweeter.