CDT Components are they as good as some people say??

[Hebrew Hammer 10+ year member]

HH-I have great respect for you. I have read many of you technical post on other forums and gained some great knowledge. You do have great knowledge and tuning ability. You also have the opportunity to audition a $5,000 set of comps.
However, you do yourself go through high-end equipment much like the normal audio guy go's through $150-$300.00 sets of comps. You just do it at a much higher price point or so it seems. If I could do that I would also.

I am doing a complete CDT set-up to see if they are complete garbage or not. If they are they are gone and its back to Rainbow Profi's. However I do have that option and means to do that. I also have Morel and Seas laying around as options.

You make a good point here but most of the guys would just save up and before they save enough buy that comp set would blow the cash on something else, not everyone but I would say a lot of them. So at least they keep a steady rotation of cash flow for car audio industry.LOL

I don't go through sets at all....there has been and only will be 2 brands that go in my cars...... I do however try to keep well versed on how close other companies compete...plus give reviews on pieces to see if they are truly worth the money...most aren't......

 

[genxx 10+ year member]

I agree on your statement 100%. However you do rotate or audition high end sets. So they may not rotate into and out of your car. However, you do go through some nice sets as people oooh and aahhh at them in the for sale sections.

I would like to thank you for the reviews of these high-end sets so some of us do not waste our money on them when they are not worth ever penny.

I am glad that I do not have a great deal of money in the CDT's though just incase they ****. I will say I got less that $400 in 5 sets of CDT's to play around with.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

I have to say that I'm not a big fan of a lot of judges out there. What they're looking for, and what I like are very often two very different things. I don't change my preferences for anything due to somebody else's opinion on what something should be. If I like my tweeters a little more laid back, but I won't win a comp because of it, well then, screw the competition. If I like more red in my video, then screw what the salesperson says it should look like.

I agree, you like what you like. The problem with this is that if you compete, it has to sound like the judges have been taught for it to sound. I don't know if you have listened to any systems but most sq vehicles (that I have heard) sound flat.

So, I don't like that argument. It also tells me that a lot of judges are brand loyal, and let's face it, they are. If the judge feels Utopias are the greatest sounding speakers ever, and you show up with a set of DLS Iridiums, which sound completely different, you're going to have a hard time scoring points over the guy in the next lane sporting his shiny set of Focals.

I don't know if I would necessarily say that they are brand loyal. Are there some judges out there that have "friends" that they give a few extra points to to win.....I'm sure there are. Just remember that Gray Biggs won his class I don't know how many years just using a set of 5 1/4" JBL components up front with a sub in the dash and the judges knew what he had in there. Installation is probably the most important part of it.

Now on to your point about saving for something of quality as opposed to settling on something cheaper, just to have to buy something again later is a VERY valid point. On this I will agree 110%.

Agreed

I'm not a CDT fanboi, but they have their place, and to completely rule them out is purely based on preference and nothing else. You can't state anything as fact when it comes to SQ. I can make a set of Pyle components sound decent, and probably great to an untrained ear. So, it is all subjective.

True. You can make an inexpensive set sound pretty good if installed right and have plenty of power. BUT, there is a difference in the normal everyday person and someone who has been trained to judge and also different qualities in components.

CDT is very laid back, and that doesn't bode well for competitions where screaming highs are the norm. It does bode well for long road trips where you don't want your ears bleeding after 1/2 an hour.

I've NEVER heard a sq vehicle that would come anywhere near close to having "screaming highs". Most of the frequencies throughout the spectrum are rather close and give a somewhat flat response.

 

[WhoSayWho? 5,000+ posts]

no...it's like this......I'd much rather see you guys do with out...save money....and buy something solid...instead of buying 150-250 dollar comp sets

I have never seen you speak highly of any set below say $500. I am not saying that such posts do not exist only that I have never seen them. Please let me know if I am wrong because I would like to know if there is any component set in that price range that you feel is worth buying.

 

[MiniVanMan 10+ year member]

I've NEVER heard a sq vehicle that would come anywhere near close to having "screaming highs". Most of the frequencies throughout the spectrum are rather close and give a somewhat flat response.

I probably should have stated that better. I'm not really saying an overly present high end, but rather a sharp, extremely detailed high end. I find that to sound brittle and unnatural. Again, personal preference, but when it really comes down to it, detail is what the judges are looking for. That's why a flat response is critical. Any one frequency range overpowering the other detracts from the detail of the overpowered area.

I personally do not like MB Quart, and somebody would have to really convince me that that is the sound their looking for for me to go ahead and recommend them. Same goes for Focal. However, I can't argue with their ability to provide great detail and dynamics to the music. It's just not the sound that I'm looking for personally.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

I personally do not like MB Quart, and somebody would have to really convince me that that is the sound their looking for for me to go ahead and recommend them. Same goes for Focal. However, I can't argue with their ability to provide great detail and dynamics to the music. It's just not the sound that I'm looking for personally.

Same for me. Hell, I chose Alpine Type X's over some comps that cost twice as much just because I really liked the uncanny clarity and "smoothness" they offer. Of course, this was before I was able to listen to some Rainbow SLC's. I would have gotten those over anything I had auditioned. I have no regrets though.. I love my X's.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

I had a set of the X's at one time. I really liked the way they sounded but I traded them in on my Dyn's //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[WhoSayWho? 5,000+ posts]

I have never seen you speak highly of any set below say $500. I am not saying that such posts do not exist only that I have never seen them. Please let me know if I am wrong because I would like to know if there is any component set in that price range that you feel is worth buying.

HH?

 

[TrakDay 10+ year member]

I just installed the CDT EF61EG with upgraded tweeters and crossovers along with the EF51 Neo with upgraded xovers. I put a Kicker zx640.4 amp on them and am somewhat happy.

Basically I feel like they are a good speaker for the price, not the best, but definitely a fair value. I have owned Focal Poly Kevlar speakers along with multiple sets of high end MB Quarts as well as a few other top brands. I absolutely love the tweeters in this setup, but the midbass drivers leave a little something to be desired. Thats not going to be a big deal though. I am not disappointed in the speakers, but not 100% satisfied... I need to get my 3 8s in the truck and then I think I will be 100% satisfied.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

... If you just installed them and they're completely fresh out of the box.. I'd be interested in how you like them after they get some play time enough to break them in a bit. Nothing like a decent speaker that isn't broken in.. Can scare you sometimes.. My home speakers were scary until they got quite a few hours of playtime.

 

[Hebrew Hammer 10+ year member]

HH?

the cheapest set I can put together is in the 600-650 range....

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

it's all economies of scale I guess. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif One man's porsche is another man's VW thing.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

it's all economies of scale I guess. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif One man's porsche is another man's VW thing.

Well at least some models of each shared the same engine.

HH, what are the specifics of the set you can put together for $600-650? Out of curiosity?

 

[spike_e 10+ year member]

well i thin ima try a pair. 160 shipped, if they **** i dont loose that much on em

 

[Hebrew Hammer 10+ year member]

Well at least some models of each shared the same engine.
HH, what are the specifics of the set you can put together for $600-650? Out of curiosity?

the hiquphon ow1f's and the scan 18W.... pure heaven IMO....