My installer wants me to go with a Memphis set up of an 8 mid bass, a 5.25 mid bass, and a tweet. For subs he said go with either two M3 10's or two M1 10's. Has anyone heard their components. Was thinking DLS 8.3 but my installer has no experience with them. There is no DLS dealer in Colorado. He seems to think that the frequency gap between the 8" bass and 3" mid bass might be too much? What about Dynaudio?
As far as the components above go, I'll try to give you an idea of how they sound.
The Focals can be very neutral, but being an inverted dome, the tweeter has odd dispersion and is very difficult to get the installation right. Another thing that boils down to installation. Midbass has a lot of output and is stronger than a lot of components, not as airy and natural as others. Midrange is clear and liquid sounding, very pleasing.
The SEAS components are excellent and the midbass is one of the most detailed out there, but low end extension isn't quite as good as others and bass tends to be a little dry. Upper end requires a notch filter to tame the resonant peak of the magnesium cone. Good news is the x-over does the work for you. Somewhat neutral sound, not harsh at all, accurate midrange reproduction, and neutral tweeters (even the metal dome) to match it. Drivers are very dynamic.
Dynaudios are very warm, airy, and neutral. They are also quirky with their install, while they will work in doors or other locations, to bring out their best requires custom mounting and experimentation. Their strong point is the transparency of the drivers. They can disappear better than nearly any car speaker out there, and don't color the music as much as most others do. All the detail is there, but they aren't aggressive with the detail as others are, it doesn't jump out at you. Lower bass is performed well and is very accurate, but it is more airy and not as authoritative. Most of the general population would prefer a punchy midbass.
DLS is smooth and natural in their sound reproduction, similar to the Dynaudios mentioned above, but a bit more lively. Upper midrange tends to be a bit dark due to a rolloff, but not by a lot. Bass reproduction is strong and accurate. Tweeter is very smooth. Set isn't harsh by any means either.
Morel is similar to Dynaudio, which makes sense as they license a lot of Dynaudios technology. Sweet and warm sound, very strong bass performance. Overall very neutral performance, similar to that of Dynaudio.
CDT is also known for natural sounding speakers, they use mainly Vifa drivers in their component speakers. Their crossovers are what make the systems what they are, they are very good sets for the average installer, especially the braxials. CDT is geared more for people that want great sound, but don't want to do an extensive installation to get it. Not saying that a custom installation won't bring that much more out of them.
MB Quart makes great components, but as Focal, they are controversial because they are difficult to get the tweeter right. Smooth, detailed midrange reproduction, tweeter is very detailed, but bright by many people's ears.
All in all, though, the end result is determined by the installation. Installed optimally, these components will sound similar to one another in the fact that they will give clean, detailed sound reproduction and good imaging. The overall sound character is determined by many factors, the surrounding vehicle and installation location determines it more than anything, though. While all the speakers have a different character, you have to determine whether the components you're considering will work well in your application. You'll get better results choosing components that work well with your installation than you will just choosing what sounds good. There are many methods to get great sound, and that is the reason these manufacturers have different engineering principles. What sounds harsh or dull in one vehicle may be just right in another, determined by the environment and also the ears.