So, after receiving 3 emails from 3 different people about these, one referencing this thread, I joined this forum so I could reply to all of you at once.
I have bought 2 sets of MLK 165's now, both from different vendors, both on
Ebay. A part of the reason I bought them was in fact to check them out. I have had many different sets of high end components and my friend that works at an Audison/Hertz retailer was raving about the MLK's so I figured I'd try them out. When he told me the best price he could do I immediately looked on
ebay and was like "beat that price", he couldn't as it was below cost so I went with the
Ebay MLK's without fear as
ebay/paypal's buyer protection is so biased to the buyer now as to remove all risk.
When you guys started emailing me about my experiences with these, I re-checked them all out (which was easy to do as they are all still sitting on my desk. I blew 2 woofers and haven't installed the new ones yet). They are all legit when compared to known real ones at the store and in addition, I think you guys should reconsider your scrutiny of details like sticker placement and general construction sloppiness.
If you havent had much experience with hand built italian items, you may have unrealistic expectations for them due to the mechanized precision of lower end gear you may have been used to. The first time I worked on a ferrari I was appalled at the inconsistencies in the manufacturing: inconsistencies that come from the items being assembled by humans and not machines. If you look at several sets of identical 100% genuine Hertz speakers at a retailer (which would never happen as no one stocks 2 sets of anything hertz makes due to limited demand) you would see that some are sloppy with the glue on the surrounds, some are perfect, some are sloppy with the paint etc.
If you considered Occam's razor in this situation, what is more likely, that Noms received a set of MLK's that Ambrosio did a ****** job on and Pavarato pushed through QC late on a friday to get home early, or that some people took the time and money to tool up machines and gather identical materials to build a doppelganger of a limited production run speaker for an incredibly small niche market? There simply isn't enough money in it for someone to make a clone of hertz speakers. It is barely worth it for Hertz to make them! In addition, even if they were "fakes" how different are they from the real thing? Can you hear a difference? Are your speakers really even the weakest link in your stereo?
this is all aside any actual review of the MLK's which should be looked at before even getting into this fake/real issue.
Firstly, if you are going for perfection (as it seems you guys are) and you get a set of MLK 165's, dont fuss over the legitimacy of the crossovers, just sell them. If you want to, throw a signal generator and a scope on them to see where they are crossed for future reference before you get rid of them. Next Biamp them on separate channels and do your crossover points in the amp if you dont have something like a rockford threesixty2 or a Audison Bit one. With the vastly varied environments of car interiors, your money is best spent on signal processing to correct for the different efficiencies of frequency production per power output and not even on speakers anyway.
If you goal is to impress your friends with what speakers you bought, buy whatever impresses your friends. If you want your car to sound good and have a budget, I would get a Bit one before anything else. power is so cheap now that your money is wasted on amplifiers (unless you already have the other pieces to the puzzle and are buying a class A/B or better amp) and the major advancements that have taken place in the car audio world are in signal processing, not speaker design. The MLK 165's are great speakers, but they aren't THAT much better than something you could get for much less money so stop worrying if they are fake, stop taking pictures of them, screw them in your doors, go buy a Bit one and listen to music.
If any of you are ever in the Philadelphia area, you can come listen to my
ebay MLK's through my Audison LRX 14.1k and bit one and let me know what you think; its the best thing I ever heard in a street car.
