Which Tweeters and How Much Power

[planedrop]

Hey everyone, so I am doing a new audio setup in my Ford Contour and have already got the sub all figured out, but wanted some opinions on the door speakers and tweeters as I don't have anywhere near as much knowledge in that area as I do subs. I will be using the system for daily listening and will rarely, if ever, compete with it (although I will be of course showing it off to friends). I am looking more for quality and less for SPL, and the less money the better (to an extent).

A few other notes, my max mounting depth is 2 5/8", I can fit 5.25 inch speakers, no bigger, the tweets should really only be 2" max depth. The sub I will have installed is a single SSA XCON 12 in a ported 32hz enclosure on 2.5K watts, so I need the mids and highs to "keep up" with that.

So my first question is, should I even go with SuperTweeters (such as the Crescendo FT1's) or would normal tweeters (such as the CZ series from Crescendo) work better in my situation?

Second, does anyone know anything about PRV Audio? I hadn't heard of them until just before posting this and they seem to be the only company that makes high performance 5" door speakers that will fit in my mounting depth. I am looking at the PRV 5MR450 4 ohm version, but they are 100 a piece which is pushing my budget a bit.

Third, will some more "normal" component set with "normal" tweeters do just fine for a setup like mine, or should I try and get something louder (ie supertweeters) to keep up with the sub?

Fourth, if I do go the FT1 and 5MR450 route, will 150 watts RMS be enough to push them fairly loud? As they are rated at 80RMS for the tweeters and 225 RMS for the woofer.

Final question, when it comes to crossovers, I know how normal ones are hooked up, but what about the FT1 Tweeter Crossover from Crescendo? Do I just hook up one end to the same power wire the speaker is using and then the other on the tweeter? I would prefer to not run 2 sets of wire through the doors if possible (ie 2 sets from the amp).

Thanks in advanced for anyone that can help, like I said I am a total noob on this part of car audio so sorry if some of the questions are super simple.

Click to read more...

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

single Xcon 12, there is absolutely no reason to go with super tweeters. Just get regular soft domes and run active with whatever midbass you end up going with on the head unit. A good active capable sound quality oriented head unit like an 80 prs will help out immensely. Check out image dynamics XS 28s. If you absolutely cannot swap out the head unit, you'll want either a DSP or an active capable amp.

 

[planedrop]

single Xcon 12, there is absolutely no reason to go with super tweeters. Just get regular soft domes and run active with whatever midbass you end up going with on the head unit. A good active capable sound quality oriented head unit like an 80 prs will help out immensely. Check out image dynamics XS 28s. If you absolutely cannot swap out the head unit, you'll want either a DSP or an active capable amp.

Alright I had a feeling someone would say that, I will move away from super tweeters then for sure! Thanks for that! I am thinking I could go with the CZ series from Crescendo since their fairly cheap and come with crossovers. I will be getting a DEH-9600BHS deck unit for the setup, but I still want to grab a dedicated amp for the door speakers. From what others have said the CZ series is pretty good, but what are your thoughts?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Alright I had a feeling someone would say that, I will move away from super tweeters then for sure! Thanks for that! I am thinking I could go with the CZ series from Crescendo since their fairly cheap and come with crossovers. I will be getting a DEH-9600BHS deck unit for the setup, but I still want to grab a dedicated amp for the door speakers. From what others have said the CZ series is pretty good, but what are your thoughts?

so there's some major flaws with your choices. For not much more, you can get the cream of the crop 80 prs head unit which is infinitely better than a 9600 bhs in every way possible. crescendo is not known for SQ, its an spl brand. VS Image dynamics which is a highly rated SQ brand that can also get loud.

You dont need any crossovers at all, you will run active on the head unit meaning the head unit has all the crossovers options that are infinitely better than the passive junk crossovers that come with the sets. The 80 prs has a 3 way network mode which allows you to crossover the midbass and tweeter right from the head unit and has adjustable slopes which can make things sound way better than a passive component set.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

*** a super tweet or horn unless ur ride does 160 daily on music. If that's not u and u have some well that's ur problem. Lol no hate just laughs

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

the 9600bhs has the same features a cheap 130 dollar head unit does. No tuning options whatsoever for the high price you pay.

 

[planedrop]

so there's some major flaws with your choices. For not much more, you can get the cream of the crop 80 prs head unit which is infinitely better than a 9600 bhs in every way possible. crescendo is not known for SQ, its an spl brand. VS Image dynamics which is a highly rated SQ brand that can also get loud.
You dont need any crossovers at all, you will run active on the head unit meaning the head unit has all the crossovers options that are infinitely better than the passive junk crossovers that come with the sets. The 80 prs has a 3 way network mode which allows you to crossover the midbass and tweeter right from the head unit and has adjustable slopes which can make things sound way better than a passive component set.

Ok well I will go for the 80 PRS then instead, considering it's only 50 dollars, didn't realize it was so good. Now when you say it does all the crossover work are you saying I should have a separate amp for the tweets and the woofers? Or are you saying to use the deck as the amp? I will look into Image Dynamics as well. Again thanks for all the info!

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Ok well I will go for the 80 PRS then instead, considering it's only 50 dollars, didn't realize it was so good. Now when you say it does all the crossover work are you saying I should have a separate amp for the tweets and the woofers? Or are you saying to use the deck as the amp? I will look into Image Dynamics as well. Again thanks for all the info!

get a 4 channel amp, wire your midwoofers directly to the rear channel, wire your tweets to the front channel. now your head unit will have a network mode will have High, Mid and low. It lets you set the crossover points and slopes for your mids, subwoofers and tweeters along with letting you adjust the gain on the fly as well with the speaker level.

 

[planedrop]

get a 4 channel amp, wire your midwoofers directly to the rear channel, wire your tweets to the front channel. now your head unit will have a network mode will have High, Mid and low. It lets you set the crossover points and slopes for your mids, subwoofers and tweeters along with letting you adjust the gain on the fly as well with the speaker level.

Ohhhh alright this is making more sense, so would I then have 4 mid woofers connected to 2 channels on the amp? Same with the tweets, 4 for 2 channels? Are there any component sets you would specifically recommend for quality without a really high price? Again sorry for any dumb questions lol.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Ohhhh alright this is making more sense, so would I then have 4 mid woofers connected to 2 channels on the amp? Same with the tweets, 4 for 2 channels? Are there any component sets you would specifically recommend for quality without a really high price? Again sorry for any dumb questions lol.

yeah you can connect it like that as long as the amp handles a 2 ohm impedance which most do. I would stay away from component sets if you want value for your money. Some vifa XT 25 tweeters and Crescendo pwxs would work pretty well. You can do soundqubed pro 6.5s if you want it even more budget.

 

[planedrop]

yeah you can connect it like that as long as the amp handles a 2 ohm impedance which most do. I would stay away from component sets if you want value for your money. Some vifa XT 25 tweeters and Crescendo pwxs would work pretty well. You can do soundqubed pro 6.5s if you want it even more budget.

I would go for the PWX's but I cannot fit 6.5's, so I need to do 5.25's. So I will have to find something good in that area. What are your thoughts on Alpine? Overpriced I would think, but still good?

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

If you're really set on a 5.25" mid-woofer and you want good sound quality then I recommend CDT Audio CL-51. These speaker have the sensitivity to sound nice on head unit power, to get you started, and they will take a good 50-100W per side if you upgrade to a separate amplifier.

 

[planedrop]

If you're really set on a 5.25" mid-woofer and you want good sound quality then I recommend CDT Audio CL-51. These speaker have the sensitivity to sound nice on head unit power, to get you started, and they will take a good 50-100W per side if you upgrade to a separate amplifier.

Thanks I'll be sure to take a look at them!

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I would go for the PWX's but I cannot fit 6.5's, so I need to do 5.25's. So I will have to find something good in that area. What are your thoughts on Alpine? Overpriced I would think, but still good?

bleh try to make adapters to fit 6.5 or something. 5.25 choices are extremely limited. If thats the case just do crescendo cz series since they have 5.25s

 

[planedrop]

bleh try to make adapters to fit 6.5 or something. 5.25 choices are extremely limited. If thats the case just do crescendo cz series since they have 5.25s

Alright done the measuring and 6.5's would require cutting which I am not willing to do on this car, if it was something I cared less about I would go for it. But I am getting a 6.5 inch sub to go behind the rear seats on the backboard which will help make up for the lack of mid bass, I hope... Any 5.25's you would recommend other than Crescendo, I am going for sound quality afterall. Alpine makes some nice looking once, fairly spendy though thanks to the brand name.