I don't see how that tutorial is of any use unless he has one of the JL audio amps. You'd need an o-scope, not a DMM, to find clipping (unless you had a handy chart, like the one JL provides). You can set your gains pretty well by ear. It's not perfect, but honestly, it really doesn't have to be. Just err on the side of caution and you'll be fine. Coming up one or two watts short of a system's potential isn't really going to be audible. Too much power, on the other hand, can burn a speaker out.
And yes, proper midbass can and will give you that chest thump. MB Quarts have done that for me, I just can't take the tweeter. And yes, two way sets. No dedicated midbass. I suppose CDTs might struggle with that, but not all speakers do. I can say for certain that Quart premiums don't need a dedicated midbass to pound your chest. And no, in two way sets, the mid woofer is not a "mid range." It's a midbass playing into mid range. Dedicated midranges are usually between 3-4 inches, sometimes smaller. You aren't going to see any 6.5 inch dedicated midranges in two-way component sets.
And no, silks aren't "for SQ." This really depends on preference and install. Many, many competitors have been very successful with metal-dome tweets. For a long time, MB Quarts' Qs ruled the roost in SQ. I don't personally like them, but I don't think that you can make a blanket statement about all metal tweets being harsh and annoying and silks being "for SQ and staging." I certainly have a preference for silks, but that's because its easier to get a smooth sound without a lot of fabrication. You could do well with metal-domes, if you were willing to do a lot of fabrication work to get them a bit off axis and mitigate some of the brightness. Not always an option, so I think it's easier to get a good sound with silks in out-of-the-box applications. But technically, metal-domes should be superior. Just takes a lot of handywork.
And I doubt his problem has anything to do with subs. Two Image Dynamics subs. Definitely not lacking in that area.
And if the problem is a dull tone, I don't think levels have much to do with it, either. If the speakers are loud and the sound is dull, it's not the levels.
There's an outside shot that it's the crossover points, but if the tweeters sound dull to his ears too, that can't be the issue if he's on passives. Well, unless CDT doesn't know how to design a passive.
I think it's worth playing around with. Why spend money if you don't have to? But something tells me the CDT sound just doesn't agree with Nebraska. He wouldn't be the first to think they sound dull.
