XHiFiX
10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
First Impressions
The PHASS HR 6.5’s come in a clean, classy blue box with all the different parts individually packaged.
When first handling the MW 650 Neo mid-woofers, I noticed they were very lightweight, and this might fool someone who thinks that big sound comes from big, heavy magnets. The cones are made of very stiff, coated paper with a texturized finish that comes from the combination of “aluminum ribbon wire coil and rigid bobbin”. I assumed the dustcaps were just oversized, but after observing the motor structure, I saw that they actually cover the entire diameter of the 3” voice coils. This would account for the speakers’ increased power handling which is rated at 120wRMS/180wPeak.
The HR 6.5 component system originally comes with the NT 28B tweeters but my set came with upgraded NT 28C tweeters. They're beautifully crafted, with treated silk domes and a rear damped chamber. They only come with a set of screws and NO extra mounting hardware ( i.e. flush, surface mount cups, etc.) so you have to carefully consider placement and installation.
The PX 220HG crossovers have sleek, matte black cases and they do have some heft to them. When I opened the top covers, I could see the use of high grade components assembled on a red PCB. The crossovers feature tweeter attenuation (0, -3, -6) that’s dependant on which terminals the tweeter leads are connected to.
Installation & Critique
Installing the mids were pretty much straightforward. They share the same average dimensions as other 6.5” speakers and it was just a matter of removing my old Rainbows and dropping in the PHASS woofers.
The tweeters became a problem for me because like I said before, other than screws, there’s no other mounting cups or hardware. I used pieces of Velcro to try different, temporary locations and didn’t worry about permanent installation until later.
The crossovers are neither too big nor too small and they could’ve been mounted anywhere, but I decided to install them inside my glove compartment in case I needed future access to the tweeter attenuation.
The HR 6.5 components are 8 Ohm drivers, and I was worried that with that load, my Eclipse PA4212 2Ch amp wouldn’t be sufficient. But the first time I powered them up, I was surprised and impressed with how well they performed (they seemed more sensitive than their 90db/Wm rating). With a 12db/Oct HP at 80Hz and my head unit’s EQ set to flat, the comps sounded natural with a touch of warmth. I played lots of different music that covered a broad range of instruments and vocals (ie. Snow Patrol, Paul van Dyk, Shop Boyz, Enya, Fergie, IASCA, etc.) and I was happy to find out the HR’s sound great all-around. I only had to make very slight adjustments with my EQ to get the sound that I preferred. Low = +2 at 100Hz/1.25Q, Mid = -1 at 1.5kHz/2.00Q, High = +1 at 12.5kHz. I found myself sitting in my car for a LONG time just listening and enjoying every song I played. The mids are rich and pleasant, midbass is really solid and I loved the quick attack and accuracy of kickdrums. I even got a little bass hungry for awhile, and turned the lows on my EQ to +7 and set the HP filter to 60Hz and the speakers didn’t even mind. They played strong without fatigue or strain and no sign of distortion. The highend was laid back, and like others have noted, on the mellow side, but it blends perfectly with the rest of the system. Overall I’d describe the HR 6.5 comps as pure SMOOTHNESS with good clarity and impact.
Links
PHASS HR 6.5 Product Page- http://www.phass.com/esp-62.html#HR2way
HR 6.5 PDF - http://www.phass.com/pdf%20files/pdf%20files-e/HR%20system.pdf
NT 28C Tweeters - http://www.phass.com/esp-93.htm#NT28C
NT 28B Tweeters - http://www.phass.com/esp-93.htm#NT28B
PHASS Homepage - http://www.phass.com/phass-index-en.htm
Notes
Though I really, really wanted to keep the NT 28C tweeters, my mounting options were limited and I didn’t want to modify my car or do any fabrication. I decided to use the Rainbow silk neo tweeters that I had before and they ended up being a great match. They even offered a little more extension on the top end which was nice.
The PHASS HR 6.5’s come in a clean, classy blue box with all the different parts individually packaged.
When first handling the MW 650 Neo mid-woofers, I noticed they were very lightweight, and this might fool someone who thinks that big sound comes from big, heavy magnets. The cones are made of very stiff, coated paper with a texturized finish that comes from the combination of “aluminum ribbon wire coil and rigid bobbin”. I assumed the dustcaps were just oversized, but after observing the motor structure, I saw that they actually cover the entire diameter of the 3” voice coils. This would account for the speakers’ increased power handling which is rated at 120wRMS/180wPeak.
The HR 6.5 component system originally comes with the NT 28B tweeters but my set came with upgraded NT 28C tweeters. They're beautifully crafted, with treated silk domes and a rear damped chamber. They only come with a set of screws and NO extra mounting hardware ( i.e. flush, surface mount cups, etc.) so you have to carefully consider placement and installation.
The PX 220HG crossovers have sleek, matte black cases and they do have some heft to them. When I opened the top covers, I could see the use of high grade components assembled on a red PCB. The crossovers feature tweeter attenuation (0, -3, -6) that’s dependant on which terminals the tweeter leads are connected to.
Installation & Critique
Installing the mids were pretty much straightforward. They share the same average dimensions as other 6.5” speakers and it was just a matter of removing my old Rainbows and dropping in the PHASS woofers.
The tweeters became a problem for me because like I said before, other than screws, there’s no other mounting cups or hardware. I used pieces of Velcro to try different, temporary locations and didn’t worry about permanent installation until later.
The crossovers are neither too big nor too small and they could’ve been mounted anywhere, but I decided to install them inside my glove compartment in case I needed future access to the tweeter attenuation.
The HR 6.5 components are 8 Ohm drivers, and I was worried that with that load, my Eclipse PA4212 2Ch amp wouldn’t be sufficient. But the first time I powered them up, I was surprised and impressed with how well they performed (they seemed more sensitive than their 90db/Wm rating). With a 12db/Oct HP at 80Hz and my head unit’s EQ set to flat, the comps sounded natural with a touch of warmth. I played lots of different music that covered a broad range of instruments and vocals (ie. Snow Patrol, Paul van Dyk, Shop Boyz, Enya, Fergie, IASCA, etc.) and I was happy to find out the HR’s sound great all-around. I only had to make very slight adjustments with my EQ to get the sound that I preferred. Low = +2 at 100Hz/1.25Q, Mid = -1 at 1.5kHz/2.00Q, High = +1 at 12.5kHz. I found myself sitting in my car for a LONG time just listening and enjoying every song I played. The mids are rich and pleasant, midbass is really solid and I loved the quick attack and accuracy of kickdrums. I even got a little bass hungry for awhile, and turned the lows on my EQ to +7 and set the HP filter to 60Hz and the speakers didn’t even mind. They played strong without fatigue or strain and no sign of distortion. The highend was laid back, and like others have noted, on the mellow side, but it blends perfectly with the rest of the system. Overall I’d describe the HR 6.5 comps as pure SMOOTHNESS with good clarity and impact.
Links
PHASS HR 6.5 Product Page- http://www.phass.com/esp-62.html#HR2way
HR 6.5 PDF - http://www.phass.com/pdf%20files/pdf%20files-e/HR%20system.pdf
NT 28C Tweeters - http://www.phass.com/esp-93.htm#NT28C
NT 28B Tweeters - http://www.phass.com/esp-93.htm#NT28B
PHASS Homepage - http://www.phass.com/phass-index-en.htm
Notes
Though I really, really wanted to keep the NT 28C tweeters, my mounting options were limited and I didn’t want to modify my car or do any fabrication. I decided to use the Rainbow silk neo tweeters that I had before and they ended up being a great match. They even offered a little more extension on the top end which was nice.
