Going Active --- $275 to spend on Mids and Tweets (Image Dynamics vs. HAT vs. CDT?)

[hari-bhari 10+ year member]

Finally looking into going active, and I've done a ton of reading about passive 6.5 comps (HAT Imagines, ID CSX64, Rainbows, etc.), but it's hard to find information on what would be good for separates. Clarity and SQ with tight, impactful midbass is more important to me than overall loudness. Here is my setup:

Vehicle: 2000 Toyota Solara, 6.5" speakers low in the door (2.75" mounting depth), tweets underneath the sails. Panels have been deadened to kingdom come.

Reason for upgrade: Want a little more midbass to keep up with my sub

Source: A CarPC that will allow me to set crossover frequency, eq, and timebalance per channel

Amp:MB quart DSC4125 providing 125 x 4 @ 4ohms, 250 x 4 @ 2ohms.

Current speakers to be replaced: DLS MS6A components. Very pleased, especially with the silk tweets, but want some more midbass to keep up with my sub

Sub: IDQ12 d4 v3 powered by an MB Quart DSC1500.1D

Music Type: Dubstep (bass-heavy, but also lots of drums and kicks for which I would like some IMPACT), Rock, and Rap

Budget: $275

Questions:

1) What mids would you recommend, and do I need midbass or midrange speakers?

2) What tweeters would you recommend? As I mentioned, I've been happy with silk.

3) Would it be better to just buy a passive set like the HAT Imagines or ID CSX64 and just run them active and ditch the passive x-over?

Thanks!

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[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Have you thought about doing an 8" + wideband setup? Switching out 6.5" mids isn't going to give you a noticeable increase in midbass, especially if you're limited to 2.75" mounting depth.

 

[dontbeaprix 10+ year member]

you can probably go deeper if you make spacers, that being said this would bbe a good setup.

Dayton Audio RS180-4 7" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm 295-374

SEAS Prestige 27TFFNC/G (H1396) 1" Textile Dome Tweeter: Madisound Speaker Store

LPG 25NFA 1" Textile Dome neodymium magnet Tweeter: Madisound Speaker Store

ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004/6020-00 Tweeter Textile Dome: Madisound Speaker Store

or you could get this and ditch the crossover

Hi-Vi D620 6" 2-way Autosound System: Madisound Speaker Store

 

[dontbeaprix 10+ year member]

you can probably go deeper if you make spacers, that being said this would bbe a good setup.

Dayton Audio RS180-4 7" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm 295-374

SEAS Prestige 27TFFNC/G (H1396) 1" Textile Dome Tweeter: Madisound Speaker Store

LPG 25NFA 1" Textile Dome neodymium magnet Tweeter: Madisound Speaker Store

ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004/6020-00 Tweeter Textile Dome: Madisound Speaker Store

or you could get this and ditch the crossover

Hi-Vi D620 6" 2-way Autosound System: Madisound Speaker Store

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

easy fix that's going to give excellent results..

use a vented biz wit a 1" port in .3 cubes..

 

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

 

easy fix that's going to give excellent results..

use a vented biz wit a 1" port in .3 cubes..

 

[dontbeaprix 10+ year member]

double posts

 

[hari-bhari 10+ year member]

i appeciate the input about the baffles but I would still like some recs on upgrades, please

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Option 1:

You can google for Massive CK6 speakers. They have mostly positive reviews, with midbass being the big star, and supposedly better than the popular DIY drivers for that price. The tweeters are silk, but the crossover does not attenuate them enough, so some people find them too loud. This shouldn't be a problem with active crossovers.

Option 2:

The Silver Flute mid sold by madisound.com is reportedly very good for bass and has a good extension into midrange. Combine it with the Seas Prestige aluminum or textile tweeter, sold by madisound again. The aluminum version is reportedly very good. I have heard it, and it sounds with smoothness of silks but with crispness of metal domes. This tweeter can be crossed safely as low as 2500Hz, so it can integrate with most woofers out there. I'd personally try to use a crossover point as high as the mid would allow in order not to split the vocal range though.

 

[benchambers80]

crossovers actually do a great job at attenuating the silk dome tweets of the stage 5, i think its the stage 3 that had issues.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

you can probably go deeper if you make spacers, that being said this would bbe a good setup.Dayton Audio RS180-4 7" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm 295-374

Hearing the RS180s IB in a door panel versus sealed in a mustang Shaker 500 location, I must say that I prefer them sealed for midbass response. IB, the RS180s were easily trumped in performance by the ID OEM drivers from many moons ago.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Your budget of $275 is not going to get you into the better mids and tweeters from CDT Audio. I'm speaking of the HD and ES Gold lines. It's a better value to buy one of their component sets and not use the passive crossovers than to buy their mids and tweeters separately.

 

[benchambers80]

i have some rs-180s for sale or trade, ill throw in some baffles i made of 3/4 inch mdf.. I also have some tweets for sale with some really nice crossovers(bi-ampable), from the qsd 216 set (700dollar set).

 

[smgreen20 10+ year member]

Save yourself the $$ and get these.

Silver Flute W17RC38-04 ohm 6-1/2" Wool Cone: Madisound Speaker Store

Look at that freq response. That's what I run and I run them sealed with 160w going to them. Great mid bass.

 

[hari-bhari 10+ year member]

when you say sealed, do you mean in an enclosure inside the door? How do you build a box behind the metal frame...?

 

[smgreen20 10+ year member]

For my truck there's ample room ON the door for an enclosure.