Can you get "competition grade" SQ on home drivers?

Why would you use home drivers inside your car? Your more than likely better off using raw drivers, such as from http:///www.partsexpress.com then run them active off a good HU, such as Pioneer 80 prs or something similar. To get that in your face artist feeling depends upon driver placement and time alignment. All this takes time to do. It's not an overnight thing to happen. @Jeffdachef can give ya more input than this as he's the expert in the field.

[quote name='Boomin_tahoe']Why would you use home drivers inside your car? Your more than likely better off using raw drivers, such as from http:///www.partsexpress.com then run them active off a good HU, such as Pioneer 80 prs or something similar. To get that in your face artist feeling depends upon driver placement and time alignment. All this takes time to do. It's not an overnight thing to happen. @Jeffdachef can give ya more input than this as he's the expert in the field.[/QUOTE]

its the same sh*t lmao.

Can you get that "artist in front of you" sound using home drivers? faital pro 3fe22 mids in the pillars along with some kind of silk tweeter to be exact. Or do you need expensive sq components?
The difference I noticed between "good" systems and "amazing sq systems" is that in SQ systems every instrument stands out so much from the others, as does the voice. And the sound is so warm. How the hell do these guys do it? Some kind of dark magic I swear.

Click to expand...

Network mode tuning, quality drivers, perfect time alignment and proper EQ tuning. sound treatments, turning your door into a perfect speaker enclosure aka Keep Hope Alive's build logs. Just some deadener alone wont work, thats basically near garbage still.

its the same sh*t lmao.

Click to expand...

Well perhaps I'm picturing OP removing his tower speaker drivers and somehow massage them in his car....depending upon what drivers they are, better off starting from scratch with raw speak-ah's.

Well perhaps I'm picturing OP removing his tower speaker drivers and somehow massage them in his car....depending upon what drivers they are, better off starting from scratch with raw speak-ah's.

Click to expand...

most pre-made home setups use the drivers from parts express. Its literally no difference.

most pre-made home setups use the drivers from parts express. Its literally no difference.

Click to expand...

Gotcha.

The only thing going in the door is an 8" midbass, and would play just that. The inside of a door treated with dynamat makes for a great enclosure. The midrange would ideally go in the pillar along with the tweeter.

Click to expand...

well i'm just judging from your current setup and how it might be able to be improved. A pillar mids are the way to go to bring the stage up.

Can you get that "artist in front of you" sound using home drivers? faital pro 3fe22 mids in the pillars along with some kind of silk tweeter to be exact. Or do you need expensive sq components?
The difference I noticed between "good" systems and "amazing sq systems" is that in SQ systems every instrument stands out so much from the others, as does the voice. And the sound is so warm. How the hell do these guys do it? Some kind of dark magic I swear.

Click to expand...

The sorcery of which you speak is time and money mostly.

it appears the main difference between home and car drivers is that car speakers are designed for better off-axis performance. whereas the home drivers play the sound in front of them(lows are better at going off-axis, so a dedicated midbass in the door will work fine)
So yea I Don't see why it can't work.

Click to expand...

It can work. As you say, "car" drivers are typically made for better performance off-axis. Really a car is just an awful acoustic environment so that's your #1 hurdle to get over. You can pick any driver you like of reasonable quality and with enough digital processing and trial and error as far as location and aiming make it sound very good. Pillar mounted tweeters and 3" full range/midrange is a tried and true method. You'll need some time alignment for sure to center the stage and may still have some peaks and nulls. Give yourself a way to put any high mounted pods on a swivel so you can tweak the aiming of them. A small adjustment in the aiming of a tweeter on one side can make a dramatic difference so allow yourself some flexibility and with sufficient patience in testing you will get there.

I have been using and testing various raw drivers from Parts Express and Madisound in all my vehicle and all active setups with great success. I find You get better quality drivers for less money provided you do your research and pick the right drivers. The Celestion 3” full range drivers I’m currently using in my CX5 are hands down the best I’ve used yet.

I have been using and testing various raw drivers from Parts Express and Madisound in all my vehicle and all active setups with great success. I find You get better quality drivers for less money provided you do your research and pick the right drivers. The Celestion 3” full range drivers I’m currently using in my CX5 are hands down the best I’ve used yet.

Click to expand...

Here’s the issue. Home drivers are more quality for less. But if you understand the parameters you will see they are designed to be installed in sealed cabinets. Car drivers are designed for IB. Also moisture protection and UV.

Here’s the issue. Home drivers are more quality for less. But if you understand the parameters you will see they are designed to be installed in sealed cabinets. Car drivers are designed for IB. Also moisture protection and UV.

Click to expand...

This is true, especially for larger midbass and woofer drivers; so you do have to select carefully there. For tweeters though, you can score big time over more expensive lesser quality automotive specific types, provided you can fit them as some are large. For mid range drivers where an enclosure is less important, especially the higher you high pass them, you can attain great results.

For the OP, Car Audio | DiyMobileAudio.com | Car Stereo Forum is a place where this has been discussed many times and where members share their experiences. If you want to learn more than that is the place to go. As LosIsATool stated, you do have to be careful about moisture control within a door with a woofer for example. In my CX5, the back of the woofer is protected and out of the drip line of the window above. I did however take some precautions and created some rain shields just in case. The Dayton woofers in my truck use neodymium magnets with underhung VC that is shielded from the enviromeant and they have been in their for a year now without issue.

I’m just getting into small full range drivers and so far i’m impressed. I think my goals are different than most here so it all depends on what you’re looking for. Every vehicle and every person will be different.