Time to upgrade. 6.5 comps $300 or less

[SuperDaveTX 10+ year member]

Hi Guys,

I am tired of my bose crap and ready rewire. I have a pioneer AVH-P300BT head unit.

Plan to purchase a Cadence ZRS-C9 unless someone tells me of a better amp for $200.00

I have a Silverado Crew Cab 2500 with a Duramax so it is a bit noisy and will deaden as much as I can.

I also am thinking of pulling out part of my built in sub and putting in a custom box with a sealed 8", but that is likely later. I have already built a dual 8" SA audio vented box that turned out nice for another vehicle.

Plan to buy new and not used equipment. $200 ish for amp. $300 or less for comps. Was looking at ID CTX65CS and Hertz ESK 165s. I have had Diamond comps ( not Hex ) which were nice but low on mid bass.

Input appreciated. Dave

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[Flex68 10+ year member]

Plenty of decent options for you at that budget, especially so if you're willing to go used.

I assume you're looking for 2-way...what are you planning to feed the set, power wise? Door mount , kicker panel, dash? Restrictions on mounting depth? Etc?

 

[SuperDaveTX 10+ year member]

I will not be going used..

The Cadance I listed is 100 watts RMS at 4 ohm. Will mount in stock locations. Door and A pillar. Yes, 2 way comp similar to what was listed.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

I vote for the CTXs

 

[Below20hzonly 10+ year member]

400 dollar budget and get dls ultimate

 

[SuperDaveTX 10+ year member]

I have not heard the DLS speakers. I have heard the Hertz. It has been a while since I heard the IDs.

Differences? I am not looking for loud. SQ all the way. I listen to most types of rock: Rush, Pink Floyd, Nickelback, Vallejo, AC/DC, etc. with an occasional random here and there like Eminem, Flo, etc.

Prefer to stick to something less than 300 so going to 400 is a bit much. 430 i could get Focal Polyglass.. are you saying that the DLS ultimates are that good?

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Try PMing 6spdcoupe. I got some Rainbow tweets from him a few years back and absolutely love them. Guy has access to a lot of really nice equipment.

Also, here is a list of amps that I think would be a better deal than the Cadence

WoofersEtc.com - 10ZX350.4 - Kicker 4 Channel 350 Watt ZX Series Amplifier

WoofersEtc.com - S760.4 - Precision Power 760W Sedona Series 4 Channel Amplifier

WoofersEtc.com - BK520.4 - Precision Power 4-Channel 520W RMS Class A/B Black Ice Series Car Amplifier

WoofersEtc.com - XT800.4 - US Amps 4-Channel High Power Premium Class A/B Xterminator Series Amplifier

The US Amps is rated at about half the power of the Cadence, but you'll probably get a bit more than rated power out of it, and I honestly don't think you'll notice much of a difference even if you get 100wrms components. For example, I've got about 37w going to my Seas G18 mids, and 25 w to my Rainbow tweets, and they're plenty loud.

Are you planning on going active, or just keeping a passive system for now (I ask because you're buying a 4-channel amp and your options get a lot more interesting if you go active).

 

[SuperDaveTX 10+ year member]

Thanks for the suggestions on amps. I looked at PP a good while back, but have had Cadence and was happy with it. What don't you like about Cadence? Just not as clean as the others?

BTW, I was also looking at the Rainbow SLX 265.

I was going with 4 channel to either do rear fill, or bridge for my sub in front. I may get a small amp for the sub as I want to put something in the stock location, or replace part of my console with a custom 8 box that somewhat matches. But, this is a later project. So, in short, not active.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Madisound Speaker Store

 

[Below20hzonly 10+ year member]

get the DLS over those rainbows unless you get a higher level rainbow, those DLS get loud and they sound really good, They won some SQ comps i believe but idk when for sure. $399.99 on woofersetc.com retails at 699.99

 

[Below20hzonly 10+ year member]

rainbow is very good too tho

 

[SuperDaveTX 10+ year member]

Hey below... I'm still trying to stay close to 250ish on comps. 400 is almost double my plan.

Still wondering why those other amps may be better than the Cadence. Cadence power is 100per at 13.5v. THD is .01. Solid build amp. One reason why I didnt go with PP before was they are huge when you get to 100watts/ch

Hintz - I read about some of those at Madisound. I like Seas, have Seas in my home speakers... but not sure I want to go that route. No chance to listen to those. On many of these others, I can go listen before I buy.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the suggestions on amps. I looked at PP a good while back, but have had Cadence and was happy with it. What don't you like about Cadence? Just not as clean as the others?
BTW, I was also looking at the Rainbow SLX 265.

I was going with 4 channel to either do rear fill, or bridge for my sub in front. I may get a small amp for the sub as I want to put something in the stock location, or replace part of my console with a custom 8 box that somewhat matches. But, this is a later project. So, in short, not active.

I don't have anything against the Cadence specifically, as I have never used it. However, I think the newer Cadence products are kind of entry level. If you're going to spend the money on a nice set of components, I would go with something a little more quality. I personally would pick the US Amps XT. If you're looking at products like Hertz and Rainbow, I think there are more important things than watts per dollar. The XT will consistently put out nice clean power.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Hey below... I'm still trying to stay close to 250ish on comps. 400 is almost double my plan.
Still wondering why those other amps may be better than the Cadence. Cadence power is 100per at 13.5v. THD is .01. Solid build amp. One reason why I didnt go with PP before was they are huge when you get to 100watts/ch

Hintz - I read about some of those at Madisound. I like Seas, have Seas in my home speakers... but not sure I want to go that route. No chance to listen to those. On many of these others, I can go listen before I buy.

By all means, if you can go have a listen before you buy, go with something you know you like the sound of. Madisound is only like 40 minutes from my house, and when I bought my Seas G18s from someone on DIYMA, they happened to have a set in their listening room.

As for the amps, like I said I've never personally used them. Just heard a lot more good things about US and PPI products than I have about the newer Cadence stuff.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

I will say that a set of hi vi mids tested very well in a big midrange round up I read a couple years back that included Seas, Scanspeak, Eton, etc. Not the specific drivers I linked, but I think the guys at Madisound know their stuff pretty well and I wouldn't mind trying a set they put together if I had another vehicle to put them in.