How do the Parts-Express speakers compare to other Car audio speakers?

[way2sl0 10+ year member]

Right now im running an Energy 6.5 component set (Made by Klipsch, limited run and they got great reviews while being made). I am guessing pretty much nothing(from Parts express) will be much better, but how much worse are some of those setups? Im considering a 3 way or new 2 way active setup to try instead of my passive 2 way. Just wondering if anyone runs this stuff in their car and if it sounds good, or are the tried and tested brands like the Alpine Components, Hertz, JL etc. that much better. Thank you for responding guys,

Matt

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[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

its all what you do with em.. madisounds has a better selection

 

[way2sl0 10+ year member]

Care to elaborate a bit more? I am not versed in pro SQ quality installs, I am just a starting mind in terms of speaker knowledge so when you say what I do with them....if we are comparing these level of speakers, versus say the Alpine Type -R components in the same install, can comparable SQ be achievable, or am I smoking crack?

 

[thehardknoxlife 10+ year member]

DIYMA is where you need to go. Much much more info on these type of drivers. The Dayton Reference line at Parts Express has been known to be excellent when compared to drivers 2x the cost. Particularly the RS100 and the RS180. The Reference 2 way (RS28, RS180) would shit on the Type R's. I also agree that Madisound has a better selection, and their prices are reasonable. You'll also need to keep in mind you'll need processing power.

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

with the exception of a few people on here most have no idea about anything non mainstream for raw drivers etc.. james bang has some decent knowledge but its not worth the asking lol

 

[way2sl0 10+ year member]

What do you mean processing power? You mean for active crossovers or what?

 

[thehardknoxlife 10+ year member]

What do you mean processing power? You mean for active crossovers or what?

Yep, X-over, EQ, Time Alignment.

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

Parts Express is a company who knows what they're doing when it comes to speakers. Their MKIII Titanic subwoofers are supposed to sound awesome for the price. They also sell a lot of raw drivers that are used in home speakers that costs over 5 grand a pair.

 

[way2sl0 10+ year member]

Yep, X-over, EQ, Time Alignment.

I am running a KDC-HD942U right now. It does front/rear/sub (not individual sides) TA, and HP crossovers. The EQ is just a 3 band parametric (garbage). Could I get away with a 4 channel amp doing active you think? I guess it depends on the frequency range of the amplifier crossover...id have to use it as a lowpass and the deck as highpass since my deck doesnt do active...

I always thought adding a 360.2 would be easiest but I am starting to think even though I just bought my deck, one that does active is much better than an add on processor....right?

 

[AudioDave]

Parts Express is authorized for all they carry. All I use is raw seperates, and in the past have bought many speakers under names that are the same drivers as Focal, Peerless, Morel, TB, etc. If you need help matching let me know. Madisound is also good but a bit higher in cost.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

I love mix-matching speakers and going the active route...much more rewarding, fun, and cost-effective since raw drivers will run you less $$$ than a mainstream component set of the same caliber.

 

[thehardknoxlife 10+ year member]

I am running a KDC-HD942U right now. It does front/rear/sub (not individual sides) TA, and HP crossovers. The EQ is just a 3 band parametric (garbage). Could I get away with a 4 channel amp doing active you think? I guess it depends on the frequency range of the amplifier crossover...id have to use it as a lowpass and the deck as highpass since my deck doesnt do active...
I always thought adding a 360.2 would be easiest but I am starting to think even though I just bought my deck, one that does active is much better than an add on processor....right?

Hmm, I myself would rather have a processing unit if it fit the budget. It gives you more precise control and usually more options. An active deck is fine, but something like a 360.2 is much more powerful.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

I am running a pair of Mach5 Audio MLI-65, 6.5" drivers with a Tang Band W4-1757SB full range driver obtained from Parts Express as my "tweeter". Aside from having to tame some anomalies at 250 Hz, 1.6 kHz; and 8.5 kHz with my Alpine CDA-9887, that is about as good as it gets for drop-in factory replacements in a 2005-2009 Mustang.

I chose the Tang Band drivers because their "on-paper" off-axis performance seemed better than the other drivers that I was looking into. I also wanted to have the majority of my vocal range being reproduced by a single driver versus splitting them between a woofer and a tweeter.

Right now I have my subwoofer handling 80 Hz and below; my Mach5's playing 80 to 315 Hz; and my Tang Bands playing from 315 Hz on up all with a single seat, time aligned, setup.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

I can't imagine ever buying anything that comes from a car audio company outside of a hu's and amps, since you kinda need somethig that runs on 12v. For speakers almost everything is WAYY overpriced an underperforms vs home and pro audio gear of similar prices if you know where to look. Car audio subs are durable, since most car audio fans have no idea wtf they are doing, beyond that, meh.... When I imagine someone spending 2k on set of focal components checking in at 86db's/1w/1m so they can run it off a passive crossover with no eq network I really want to vomit in my mouth. (not srs, you get the idea tho) Especially since people like to call that "sq" lol. Maybe if you got 6months and 500 hours to play with speaker positioning and your install, and don't like listening at realistic volumes levels above road noise without stressing your speakers..... God i sound bitter sometimes lol.

Anyway to answer your question. Most of the 200-400 component speaker sets are made up of 30 dollar mids and 15 tweets off parts express with a pretty casing around a 30 dollars worth of crossover (sometimes less if they dont' need to bandpass the mid). Oh, then they put it in a pretty package and box, then mark it up 2-300%. Most times it a 4 ohm coil too, since car audio 4ohm is the standard vs 8 at home or 8-16 in pro audio. That's not as big of deal as it sounds though. 3db's really isn't the end of the world and you can always get a bigger amp. Heck, my 8ohm mids get as loud on 16 watts as a normal car audio mid would get off of 300, assuming they could take that and not smoke. Effeciency counts, a heck of a lot more than power handling, which is a nearly useless spec on components.

 

[way2sl0 10+ year member]

This is exactly what I wanted to know. I am glad you all responded and cleared my mind for me. Thanks to those who posted very much. I am starting to learn more and wanting to do more "diy" kind of stuff and mix and match.

I have to admit I am very intrigued by what you said Gunz, the fact you are running a full range and not a tweeter! Is the response equal to a good tweeter set? Or is it a little less at higher freq? To be honest I dont want to rip the doors apart and run 3-way active I just want to stick to two way. This sounds like a great idea though.