Best Sound Quality Budget Comps...

[mpbojangles 10+ year member]

I have $200 to spend on a new set of comps and after a little research and zero actual listening to anything, I am leaning toward the CDT Audio EF-61FG on woofersetc.

I listen mainly to post-rock, metal, and prog rock. I am planning to run whatever I get through a JL 300x2. I AM MAINLY CONCERNED WITH THE BEST SOUND QUALITY. Anyone have any other suggestions besides the CDT's? Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

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[Racerx250 10+ year member]

most ppl here will vouch for pg rsd's.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

pg rsd65cs comps

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

If you're truly concerned about SQ, then going active will best anything else you can find in that price range, by far.

 

[mpbojangles 10+ year member]

You guys are saying that the PG's are better sounding than the CDT's, or they are just good comps for under $200?

 

[dbaudio 10+ year member]

Rainbow SLC 265's are a great comp set that can be had for around $230 new (from one of the two authorized forum dealers of Rainbow) or around here on the forums for the mid 100's slightly used in great condition. I personally own a set, and they are great sounding comps. They perform well with every genre of music and they shine with any amount of power from 75 to 150 or so watts.

If you really want to pinch those pennies, the Phoenix Gold RSD65cs can be had for $90 on ebay. There is a review about them in the speaker review section of the forum, and I have heard from many others that they perform quite well. Only downside is that some component sets are faulty out of the box, weather it be bad quality control or sketchy dealers I don't know. But many have been satisfied with their PG RSD purchase and only a few have been problem plagued.

I have heard that the CDT's are either love it or hate it. Best bet is to try out a set before you buy them.

 

[mpbojangles 10+ year member]

Alright fair enough, thanks guys. Keep the suggestions coming.

 

[mpbojangles 10+ year member]

If you're truly concerned about SQ, then going active will best anything else you can find in that price range, by far.

It's been a very long while since I've been around the car audio world. Can you explain what going active entails and how it can be done for under 200?

 

[sdmtnbiker420 10+ year member]

In my work truck, I have JBL GTO 6.5" components. They are about $100 a pair and I like them enough to buy them,

when I bought them, I tested and compared them to the infinity kappa, cerwin vega, alpine, and rockford fostgate 6.5" components. I ended up choosing the JBL GTO, with Infinity Kappa in a close second place.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

It's been a very long while since I've been around the car audio world. Can you explain what going active entails and how it can be done for under 200?

It's moving the crossover from a physical one located after the amplifier, to an electronic one either in the head unit itself or an external piece. Then, you run each driver off its own amplifier channel...so you'd need 4 channels to run a basic 2-way setup (two tweets, two midbasses).

The advantage is that you're not stuck with some shoddily-built passive crossover that's set to some arbitrary value; you can fine-tune your Xover points and slopes to whatever works best in your actual install, by hearing it. And, when you want to upgrade drivers, you can simply swap them out and retune, instead of having to change everything all at once //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[NJAV1 10+ year member]

It's moving the crossover from a physical one located after the amplifier, to an electronic one either in the head unit itself or an external piece. Then, you run each driver off its own amplifier channel...so you'd need 4 channels to run a basic 2-way setup (two tweets, two midbasses).
The advantage is that you're not stuck with some shoddily-built passive crossover that's set to some arbitrary value; you can fine-tune your Xover points and slopes to whatever works best in your actual install, by hearing it. And, when you want to upgrade drivers, you can simply swap them out and retune, instead of having to change everything all at once //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Good explanation ...FTW! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

If you're truly concerned about SQ, then going active will best anything else you can find in that price range, by far.

indeed.

coustic xm6 = 60.00 on ebay

pair = 70 shipped

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=295-364

pair = 80 shipped

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=275-130

eh $10 over but good combo

 

[mpbojangles 10+ year member]

It's moving the crossover from a physical one located after the amplifier, to an electronic one either in the head unit itself or an external piece. Then, you run each driver off its own amplifier channel...so you'd need 4 channels to run a basic 2-way setup (two tweets, two midbasses).
The advantage is that you're not stuck with some shoddily-built passive crossover that's set to some arbitrary value; you can fine-tune your Xover points and slopes to whatever works best in your actual install, by hearing it. And, when you want to upgrade drivers, you can simply swap them out and retune, instead of having to change everything all at once //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Hmm...okay, but this is still a bit over my head. Does going active mean you don't buy components? Can it be done for under 200? And if I need 4 channels to run a 2 way set up, does this mean I need another amp? Thanks again.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

^if you are new to this stuff stick to passive for a lil while until you get comfortable.

you can get excellent sound from passive anyway.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Does going active mean you don't buy components?

It means you piece together individual tweeters, midbasses, and a crossover. So you're the one making the component set instead of a company doing that all for you and packaging it together. The links above are a good place to look...

As for the amp, yes, you'd need two more channels. But you don't need a lot of power for the tweeters, something like a PG M25 would work and would be really cheap on Ebay...or a ton of other vintage amps that would be reasonable and provide reliable power.