CDT Questions

[Arsonist 10+ year member]

I'm looking to put a three-way, active front stage in a Porsche Boxster. Regarding the CDT ES-06 & ES-04 vs. their ES-6 & ES-4, how would you choose between the two?

I'm kinda torn cuz it seems the "zero" series will have more mid-bass, which is important for top-down driving. However, dynamics are important since that what makes music sound "live," and the CDT site seems to suggest the "zero" series will lack a little in that dept.

Unfortunately, I don't have the benefit of a local dealer. Anyone with experience installing and/or listening to both series?

Thx.

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I'm the guy who talks to many, many people about these very questions. Go with ES-04. It has higher sensitivity than ES-4, meaning it will sound a bit louder on the same amount of power. Midbass from a midrange speaker is not even a concern to think twice about. Your midbass will come from the upper end of the subwoofer and the 6.7" drivers in the doors. I have never sold ES-4.

ES-6 will play a little louder on equal power compared to ES-06, which is a plus for top-down driving. ES-06 is a true midbass driver, while ES-6 is a wide bandwidth midrange. I would only use ES-06 in a 3-way speaker system, which is why I'm even typing this much about this decision. Due to the challenge of trying to achieve good clarity and output in a convertible my opinion is to choose HD-6. It's a solid 4 dB higher in sensitivity than ES-6. I'm really enjoying HD-6 with ES-04 in my vehicle.

 

[Arsonist 10+ year member]

Hey Barry-

I'll be using a Zed Leviathan with each channel powering one speaker - so 190 watts (conservatively) each. I like to play my music loud on occasion but I've respect for my long-term hearing.

So you're saying the various CDT drivers I'm considering have the same sound, it just comes down to efficiency and thus volume? I've been working on the principle that the higher in the line order the better. In other words, a flagship driver should have all the tech of a lower priced driver and then some.

I bought the QES-820 because it's designed for and operates really well in a small enclosure. Since the dash and doors of a car are more or less infinite baffle, how do you go about determining for a customer what best suites a specific vehicle? When it comes to driver specs, I only understand the basics (Efficiency, Power Rating, Freq Resp)... stuff like "Q," "Motor Force," etc. mean nuthin' to me.

 

[bradl79 10+ year member]

If Barry uses the HD over ES I am going hd

 

[bradl79 10+ year member]

I'm the guy who talks to many, many people about these very questions. Go with ES-04. It has higher sensitivity than ES-4, meaning it will sound a bit louder on the same amount of power. Midbass from a midrange speaker is not even a concern to think twice about. Your midbass will come from the upper end of the subwoofer and the 6.7" drivers in the doors. I have never sold ES-4.
ES-6 will play a little louder on equal power compared to ES-06, which is a plus for top-down driving. ES-06 is a true midbass driver, while ES-6 is a wide bandwidth midrange. I would only use ES-06 in a 3-way speaker system, which is why I'm even typing this much about this decision. Due to the challenge of trying to achieve good clarity and output in a convertible my opinion is to choose HD-6. It's a solid 4 dB higher in sensitivity than ES-6. I'm really enjoying HD-6 with ES-04 in my vehicle.

Hey Barry did u say if u had a used set of the HD-6

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

I'd got with the Es set over hd any day. I've ran both and the Es hands down sound more full the Es 6 would be the better choice. I talked to cdt the other day about a setup in a bike. Which will have minimal air space in the enclosure and the es6 was the best option

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Hey Barry-
I'll be using a Zed Leviathan with each channel powering one speaker - so 190 watts (conservatively) each. I like to play my music loud on occasion but I've respect for my long-term hearing.

That amount of power is good for headroom. In actual use with good quality recordings only a fraction of that power will be used on average.

So you're saying the various CDT drivers I'm considering have the same sound, it just comes down to efficiency and thus volume?

No. They do not have the same sound, but since we don't have the luxury of doing an A/B comparison there needs to be some criterion for picking among the litter. The technical parameters are one way to look at similar speakers, but they don't tell the whole story. The ear is extremely sensitive and it is the final judge of what sounds better. When we compare HD-6 to ES-6, ES-6 is voiced for a warmer tone. I am not a speaker designer, but somehow in that design process the result was a less sensitive speaker. HD-6 is voiced for a bit more aggressive midrange, which will help it stand out above ambient noise.

I can't forget to mention the importance of feedback from other people who have used the speakers. That helps me guide others in their projects as well.

I bought the QES-820 because it's designed for and operates really well in a small enclosure. Since the dash and doors of a car are more or less infinite baffle, how do you go about determining for a customer what best suites a specific vehicle? When it comes to driver specs, I only understand the basics (Efficiency, Power Rating, Freq Resp)... stuff like "Q," "Motor Force," etc. mean nuthin' to me.

Most vehicles have the speakers mounted in an infinite baffle situation. Since most people want to reuse factory speaker locations, we accept that limitation and first look at what can physically fit in terms of mounting diamter and top mounting depth. If there will be a small enclosure used I almost always defer to Ken at CDT for help, because he has most likely already modeled the response with better software than what I have. You can also reference Speaker Specs for enclosure recommendations, although this web page is not a complete reference.

 

---------- Post added at 04:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 PM ----------

 

Hey Barry did u say if u had a used set of the HD-6

I do have a used pair of HD-6.

 

[bradl79 10+ year member]

How much shipped

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

How much shipped

pm'd you