Glass, I was looking into the Dynaudio 360s. What amp do you have running your set and how are they mounted in your car? I was thinking of having the tweeter and 3" in a kick panel facing upwards toward the center of the car and the remaining 8" in the door off axis. Would the speaker in the door adversely affect my soundstage since I will be closer to the driver side door speaker? If so, how could I alleviate it? I have a 1994 mustang. I want to use a Zapco 750 to push them but am still unsure between these speakers and the Focal K3s (only two as of yet, haven't auditioned other high end models sold in my area). I auditioned the 2 way Dynaudios and all of the 2 way Focals at a local shop but I find it hard because every speaker is mounted on a different position on the wall and I felt that the speakers pointed at me sounded much better then the speakers pointed away or mounted closer to the floor. From that audition I was most impressed with the Focal 165KPs. They had a sound that seemed to make them come alive more then the dynaudios and Focal Utopias but again I think they were in the best position on the wall. The Dynaudios were much different sounding compared to them and seemed to lack the same punch in the midrange and had a much softer high. Matter of fact, all of the most expensive speakers I tested there (MB Quart top of line and Focal Utopia) had these similar characteristics. Could it also be that the dynaudios and Focal Utopias are less efficient and need more power compared to other speakers given the same volume on the head unit and same amp? Is this how top dollar speakers are supposed to sound? How much different are 3 way systems in sound to the 2 way systems? I ask because I cannot find a shop that has a 3 way component floor model (JL Audio, Dynaudio, Focal, MB Quart, CDT, etc. for me to sound test). Is it a quality of sound that is easily noticeable if I didn't see what set was playing?
I already have purchased the low end and deck of my system. I have a JBL 1200.1 with 2 ID MAX 12s and a Pioneer Premier P860MP. The deck has 6.5 volt outputs and I recently noticed the JBL has 4 volt capable RCA inputs. Is this going to be a problem? Also, I originally wanted to mount the subs behind me in place of my back seat in a sealed fiberglass box but the shop told me it would be better to mount them farther from my ear in the trunk because it would increase overall SQ. Does this sound right?
The Dynaudios, Utopias, and Quarts have a softer sound and don't impress a lot of people to start with. They're truer to the music, they don't overemphasize the music, they just play what comes to them. People are usually more impressed with systems that have more midbass and a strong tweeter over one with a neutral response, I encourage you to really test them out and listen for a long time. Take your own CD's (good quality CD's that are mixed well) and play them on all sets, something you're very familiar with. All those sets you listed (besides the K2P) are more for people concerned with flat, neutral response and accuracy. Once you get accustomed to high end sets and soft sound, you'll appreciate their accuracy, but since you aren't used to hearing that, it doesn't sound as good to you, that's why I encourage you to listen to all sets for a really long time. I've had many people who were impressed with sets like the K2P, then a week later come back and say "these tweeters are so harsh, they hurt my ears". 3 way sets CAN offer more accuracy if they're installed CORRECTLY. Remember the more speakers that are in a set, the more chance of phase and time issues. Your idea with the midbass in the door and midrange and tweeter in kicks is good, I prefer to aim the midbass up and pointing towards me a tad instead of off axis, though. Those subs would sound great in the rear seat location, and will usually offer better SQ than in the trunk because the subs are in the cab with you.
I also prefer 3"-4" midrange and tweeters firing up from the dash; it's a very different experience from side-firing/on-axis mounts and is far more analog to a concert than door mounts.
It's too bad sound shops don't have "test cars" to demonstrate how it would really sound in that environment; it's often very different from having a wall-mounted set firing at you with 6'-10' of space between them.