ID OEM's.. not impressed

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

more power..... more headroom.

also, how long have you had them installed? how many hours do you think are on them? they may need to be broken in. every review i read on them says to give them a week or two to loosen up, and after they do they are much better.

i still have very high hopes.

 

[dftnz7 10+ year member]

Something isn't right here...What HU are you using?

I have been running mine for over a month with 150wrms strapped on them and these are my honest findings:

On my 880PRS with the BBE and Comp/BMX off and running flat except for a 3dB boost @ 31.5hz, 1 dB boost at 50 hz, and a -3dB cut at 3.15kz, I was running these crossed at 63hz @ 12dB/octave and they were as clean as can be, my pant leg vibrating making me think my phone was ringing. I can turn them up louder than I can stand to listen to them and still they are as clean as can be.

Now that I have incorporated the BBE feature into the mix, which has helped bring the guitar passages out of the murk a little bit, and I have it set at the 0 level, and have needed to cross the OEMs now at either 80hz @ 12db/oct OR 100 or 125hz @ 6 dB/oct. The 80 hz setting is fine for about 99% of what I listen to at that setting, but every now and again I will come across a really hard hitting song in that 80hz region that wants to bottom them out.

The BBE feature obviously is incorporating some kind of boost to the lower frequencies which is causing this to happen. But again, this is EQ specific. I am running them this way because it sounds better to me with BBE on and my mids crossed higher than with BBE off and mids crossed lower. With a truly flat, or close to flat EQ, in a fully deadened and sealed door, and a solid mounting baffle, these things should have no trouble accurately reproducing even the lowest of midbass frequencies with 150wrms on them. Start throwing in all the "gadgets" on these HUs and things can change in a hurry, which is not the speakers' fault.

You sound like someone who knows well what they are doing, but if you are anything like me, sometimes something can slip thru the cracks and leave you dumbfounded even if it is simple...double check the settings and gains, etc.. Almost sounds to me like an EQ feature is turned on that shouldn't be, or you dont have enough power for them and might be clipping the amp to get them loud enough.

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

have pics of installation?

 

[jrouter76 10+ year member]

Ya, but they obviously can't handle TOO much since they distort on midbass...
What did you have them crossed at? what were your EQ settings? My setup is crossed and Parametric EQ'd like so..

LOW: Freq: 80 hz Slope: 12 db Level: 0

MID-L: Freq: 80 hz Slope: 12 db Level: 0

MID-H: Freq: 3.2khz Slope: 24db Level: 0

HIGH: Freq: 3.2khz Slope: 24db Level: 0

Band 1: 50 hz Level: 0 Q: 1

Band 2: 125 hz Level: -1 Q: 1.5

Band 3: 400 hz Level: 0 Q: 1.5

Band 4: 1 khz Level: +3 Q: 3

Band 5: 3.2 khz Level: +4 Q: 1.5

Mid-H 2.5khz slope:18db level :-2

also you need to turn down your levels a bit around -3 to -1 this is why you`re getting distortion and as mention earlier doors need to be deaden good, I have these same mids and they sound very very good and I`m feeding mines` 125 watts each side...lmk if this helps it took me awhile to fine tune them but once tuned in it was good to go nice solid midbass and crystal clear midrange.

 

[Phlipbak 10+ year member]

...these mids are made to run up to 4k why would I cross them at 2.5... I just recrossed them to 4k at 12db and they sound even better.. and adjusting the levels to -1 or -3 does nothing but reduce sound that will have to be countered with upping the gain on the amp to get 120w... that makes no sense.. because at 0 then it's at 0 db, which is what it should be..

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

have pics of installation?

x2

or check phase.

 

[Phlipbak 10+ year member]

The doors are heavily deadened, that's not the problem.. and don't get me wrong, they're dang loud, but not what I thought

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

so they're dang loud, but eDs were louder?

 

[Phlipbak 10+ year member]

lol ya.. long story with my ED's... when I uninstalled them (the ED's were my first ever sound system in my first ever car, with 2 ascendant arsenals in the trunk), the tweeters were disconnected.. the shop had never had my freaking tweeters installed because they had come unplugged since I had them.. so basically my mids were attached to the crossover which was run to the amp.. so my ED 6500 mids were getting 75-100w a piece, because they had over compensated the gain since the tweeters weren't on I guess..

So.. no, my ID mids aren't as loud.

 

[twisztdauthorit 10+ year member]

I have 4 of them running off 100 watts each

If i could tune the crossover slope on my amp better im sure i can go louder but they bottom out because its only a 12db slope at 100hz i believe. Still doesnt sound right to me but ive heard these can take some power.

Once i get a better crossover i cant wait to crank on em but even with the way they are right now, 4 of these up front are amazingly loud. If ya ask me, it feels like im standing right in front of the stage at a concert next to a big speaker...

I still have 2 sets sitting bnib

selling one to my bro and keeping another as a backup incase any of mine go damaged. I love em though

ps. showed it to all my buddies and they agreed that it was the loudest front stage that they have heard in person.

 

[its_bacon12 10+ year member]

I doubt it's at 1w/1m...either way, with proper amplification and EQing they should be able to scream.

If it were a 2.83v measurement, then it was 2w/1m since they are 4 ohms.

 

[its_bacon12 10+ year member]

lol ya.. long story with my ED's... when I uninstalled them (the ED's were my first ever sound system in my first ever car, with 2 ascendant arsenals in the trunk), the tweeters were disconnected.. the shop had never had my freaking tweeters installed because they had come unplugged since I had them.. so basically my mids were attached to the crossover which was run to the amp.. so my ED 6500 mids were getting 75-100w a piece, because they had over compensated the gain since the tweeters weren't on I guess..
So.. no, my ID mids aren't as loud.

So, you had the OEM's running on a crossover designed for the ED's?

 

[UCF52 10+ year member]

So, you had the OEM's running on a crossover designed for the ED's?

My setup is crossed and Parametric EQ'd like so..
LOW: Freq: 80 hz Slope: 12 db Level: 0

MID-L: Freq: 80 hz Slope: 12 db Level: 0

MID-H: Freq: 3.2khz Slope: 24db Level: 0

HIGH: Freq: 3.2khz Slope: 24db Level: 0

Band 1: 50 hz Level: 0 Q: 1

Band 2: 125 hz Level: -1 Q: 1.5

Band 3: 400 hz Level: 0 Q: 1.5

Band 4: 1 khz Level: +3 Q: 3

Band 5: 3.2 khz Level: +4 Q: 1.5

Apparently he's active. Unless those are the specs for the eD passives.

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

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[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

have you tried a 24dB slope on the HP for them? I'm "assuming" it's the low end that's distorting and preventing you from turning them up any higher...