Need help picking out speakers.

[slvrdrgn123 10+ year member]

Hi guys, I'm new to car audio and really need some help picking out a set of speakers and an amp. Budget will be around $400. Thinking around $200-$250 for speakers and the rest for an amp. Will be adding subs later on down the road.

Right now I'm running factory bose speakers in 03 Acura CL-S with a Pioneer Avic F90BT. They sound ok, but I know I can do a lot better. More interested in SQ and clarity over loudness.

The speakers I'm most interested in right now are the HAT Imagine series. I was pretty set on them until I read a few reports that the tweeters are louder than the mids when they're placed apart from each other. If I ran them in active, how much would it cost for the crossovers?

Also looked into Image Dynamic CTX65CS 6.5 set and Massive Audio CK6V, but both more people seem to recommend the HATs over those 2.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

The Hats are really meant to be run as coaxials which is why the tweet is pretty loud. If you go active with them just get an amp that's active capable that way no extra things to buy. You can't listen to everyone about those HATs though. They've been the recent sq boner for a minute here. (I do believe they can ssound good setup correctly though).

Also if you're wanting to go active you can also check out parts express and madisound websites for raw drivers to mate together. You may Even ssave a bit of cash and still sound just as good if not better than comp sets in your price range.

 

[slvrdrgn123 10+ year member]

I'm thinking I should probably go passive since I don't have the know how to fine tune and active set up right now. Would rather just get something that's already set up so I can just install. Are there any other sets you would recommend in that price range? Thanks.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

I like Boston acoustics so ill say the Boston sr60. The Hat set will do well too its just a matter of using it correctly. Depending on how picky you are about stage height and whatnot u may be just fine with them coaxial mode in your door as the clarity will still be there. Infinity kappa comps are known for having a nice warm sounding mid. You could also look into DLS comps. There's a nice set over on diyma.com now for like 150 shipped.

Whichever set you choose, be sure tto seal and deaden your doors properly and play with tweeter placement and aiming to see which sound you like best

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

The Imagines are really nice. I don't have any problems with the tweets being too loud. I do have the tweets & mids fairly close to each other though. It's only when you run the mids low in the doors & the tweets up high , in the sail panels or a-pillars, that you might have a problem.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

if your going to run active I deff suggest the HAT's. Active is a million times better then a ''one size fits all'' passive system.

 

[slvrdrgn123 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the helpful input guys.

I like Boston acoustics so ill say the Boston sr60. The Hat set will do well too its just a matter of using it correctly. Depending on how picky you are about stage height and whatnot u may be just fine with them coaxial mode in your door as the clarity will still be there. Infinity kappa comps are known for having a nice warm sounding mid. You could also look into DLS comps. There's a nice set over on diyma.com now for like 150 shipped.
Whichever set you choose, be sure tto seal and deaden your doors properly and play with tweeter placement and aiming to see which sound you like best

Will definitely check out the SR60s later tonight. Thanks for the tip.

The Imagines are really nice. I don't have any problems with the tweets being too loud. I do have the tweets & mids fairly close to each other though. It's only when you run the mids low in the doors & the tweets up high , in the sail panels or a-pillars, that you might have a problem.

The mids are a little above knee height in the door close the hinge. It's about 1 foot away from the tweeters which are located on the inside right where the side mirrors are. Do you think that is close enough for it to not make too much of a difference?

if your going to run active I deff suggest the HAT's. Active is a million times better then a ''one size fits all'' passive system.

I would like to try active but not sure if I'm knowledgeable to do the fine tuning. I was trying to look for an amp that can do active earlier like princ3cmo suggested, but didn't know what to look for. Did a google search too, but that didn't help much either. Might be going with the HATs since they're in my price range and being only a foot away might not make too much of a difference. I'm going to go around and see if I can find some shops and maybe do some comparisons.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

if your mids are located there try them coax it may work out for you. and active is a lot easier then people make out to be. biggest thing is getting an amp that has high enough x overs for tweeters.

I'd do this for budget

imagines and this amp WoofersEtc.com - RUB4.600 - Soundstream 4 Ch. 600 Watt RMS Rubicon Series A/B Class Amplifier

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

if your mids are located there try them coax it may work out for you.

This would be my recomendation as well.

 

[slvrdrgn123 10+ year member]

Looks like I will be going for the HATs in coax. It shouldn't lower the sound stage too much right? I like it to sound as if it were coming from in front around head level rather than from the floor going up.

Another question, should I wait for a used set since they seem to pop up quite often or just spring for a new one? Thanks.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

that will depend on other aspects of your install. No way for us to tell from the internet

 

[slvrdrgn123 10+ year member]

That's true. Guess I'll try it out and adjust accordingly. Thanks for all the help.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Maybe I am deaf, but I wouldn't describe HAT Imagine's tweeter as harsh, even running passive with tweeters in the sails and aimed at head of the opposite passenger's head. It's fairly musical speaker set as is, but in an active setup I would tone down the tweeter a bit and may be use a sharper crossover slope than -6dB for better imaging and FR. (At times, from imaging perspective, it seems like there is too much info coming from the tweeter IMO).

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Looks like I will be going for the HATs in coax. It shouldn't lower the sound stage too much right? I like it to sound as if it were coming from in front around head level rather than from the floor going up.
Another question, should I wait for a used set since they seem to pop up quite often or just spring for a new one? Thanks.

I don't see a reason why you couldn't buy a used set if the price is right.. a lot of people just sell them after some light use in the search of n-th level of fidelity. The sound stage might drop with coaxial speakers in default locations though.. it depends on how low they are installed.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Looks like I will be going for the HATs in coax. It shouldn't lower the sound stage too much right? I like it to sound as if it were coming from in front around head level rather than from the floor going up.
Another question, should I wait for a used set since they seem to pop up quite often or just spring for a new one? Thanks.

theres a used set over on Diyma.com for 150 shipped. as far as imaging that is def your install. It may work out in your car with a nice stage height, if it doesnt you can always add another tweet high passed and placed up higher to pull the stage up. or try installing the HATs in kicks on axis with listener using aiming to place your stage up high