Advice needed: 6.5" drivers for Rock (not rap) that will NOT fry?
|
New member Username: AnjinsanLos AngelesUSA Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-05 | I'm in the middle of what I'd thought would be a piece-of-cake installation but which has turned into a study in teeth-grinding frustration. As listed in my profile, I'm driving a 2002 Civic Si and currently have: - an Alpine 9827 head unit, which I despise and already have a Blaupunkt Casablanca MP54 ready for replacement purposes; - PPI PCX4125 (4 X 125W) amp; - two pairs MB Quart PCE216 component 6.5 speakers mounted coax in the doors and back side panels. - I also have an Infinity Basslink powered sub that will be installed with the new head unit, but for the moment it's just the four MB Quarts. I listen almost exclusively to rock - as in heavily-distorted 70s-80s guitar-oriented hard rock, and never, ever, run rap through my circuitry. Unfortunately I don't know diddly about tuning up a car audio system, and the idiots who installed the system at [rhymes with "Workit Sh*tty,"] along with most of the car audio world, are apparently lost when they try to dial in anything that's not rap. So I had to tune it up myself, in half-arsed fashion, after the install. The PCX4125 / PCE216 combination is supposed to be an amp/speaker marriage made in heaven [I bought it largely on the basis of this rave review,] but I'm fairly certain that I've got damaged speakers. At higher volumes there's a whole lot of mid and high freq distortion that has nothing to do with the natural distortion of rock guitar, and it's gotten progressively worse since the install. I hasten to add that I haven't been irresponsibly cranking the thing to max heedless of the consequences, just listening at a level I consider adequate for rock. From the very beginning the volume level and punch factor were vastly disappointing. Obviously there's only so much bass you're going to get out of 6.5" speakers and the Infinity sub will take care of that once it's in, but bass is not the point. I jumped into a friend's car a couple months back and listened to his comparatively cheap system - I think his 6.5 speakers are a pair of mid-level Infinitys - and I was emerald-green with envy. He listens to the same kind of music I do (I distinctly remember the Rush "Moving Pictures" disc was one he played,) and his mids and highs were so powerful and crystal-clear I almost had to get out of the vehicle. I have a hard time believing that MB Quart's top-of-the-line 6.5 components can be so lame at reproducing rock, but hearing is believing. I'm assuming most of the problem has to do with my setup job, but even so, with a head unit/amp combination with as clean distortion specs as what I'm using, should this kind of nonsense be happening? Three questions - please pick one or more and sound off: 1. Given that I hear varying degress of buzzing and static whenever I get close to high volume, can I assume my existing speakers are fried - and if so, is there anything that can be done to refurbish them short of replacing them altogether? 2. Does anybody know of a speaker manufacturer with a 6.5" mid-high speaker system that's built like an M1 Abrams tank and is capable of handling 125 watts of heavily-distorted rock guitar* on a more or less continuous basis? 3. If there's anybody reading this from Southern California, can you recommend a good, reputable car audio installer who doesn't mind installing stuff without selling components and who is into rock exclusively and is therefore fully competent to tune up a system for optimum performance once the install is complete? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. [* For specific examples of what's on heavy rotation on my system, open the Mahogany Rush MP3 player - click on #00 "RealLive-Trailer" or #06 "Mahogany Rush Live," turn it up, wait for the download, and bask... Also the clips at Amazon for Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Live On & Trouble Is, and Dogman by King's X.] . |
|
Silver Member Username: Lil_jonPost Number: 220 Registered: Jul-05 | y do u dis like the alpine |
|
New member Username: AnjinsanLos AngelesUSA Post Number: 2 Registered: Nov-05 | The Alpine 9827 is actually a real good CD/MP3 head unit - but the fine folks at Alpine put it behind a bargain-basement low-contrast display that is flat-out impossible to read in anything but pitch darkness. So I'm driving along and, oddball that I am, I'd like to know what track is playing, or what time it is, or what station I'm tuned into, etc., and in order to find out I have to lean over, cup my hand over the worthless display and get my eyes about 8 inches from it so I can just barely make out the low-contrast text. If you try really, really hard you can tell that there are some blue dots that are a minor shade brighter than the entire field of semi-lit blue dots that make up the entire display. Meanwhile you've just become Siamese twins with the 18-wheeler on the road next to you. In short, I despise Alpine head units because I have a strong aversion to violent freeway death. The great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi once wrote that there is no shame in dying, only in dying a stupid death. I think "death by ineptly-designed car audio" would qualify - and "violent freeway death" is something more justly deserved by Alpine's criminally incompetent engineering staff. After I'd gotten that turkey installed and had discovered the true nature of what I'd bought, the one overriding question in my mind was how a supposedly reputable company could ethically justify approving sh*t like that for sale to the general public. I'll never spend a dime on another Alpine product as long as I live. If you want more details you can read the full review I did on it over at Epinions.com: http://www.epinions.com/content_140833230468 Now, does anybody know of a.) a 6.5" speaker that can play high-intensity rock guitar at continuous high volume without wussing out and turning into a smoking lump of polycarboniferous sludge; and b.) a reputable Los Angeles-area car audio installer that can be trusted to install and fine-tune an audio system? Thanks~ |
|
New member Username: AnjinsanLos AngelesUSA Post Number: 3 Registered: Nov-05 | Nobody knows? |
|
Gold Member Username: Jonathan_fGA USA Post Number: 4990 Registered: May-04 | "1. Given that I hear varying degress of buzzing and static whenever I get close to high volume, can I assume my existing speakers are fried - and if so, is there anything that can be done to refurbish them short of replacing them altogether?" That doesn't necessarily mean that they're fried, but it's hard to call without hearing it. They're likely distorting at high volume, set your HPF to around 100-120hz with a 12db/oct slope if you haven't already done so. That'll clean things up quite a bit. "2. Does anybody know of a speaker manufacturer with a 6.5" mid-high speaker system that's built like an M1 Abrams tank and is capable of handling 125 watts of heavily-distorted rock guitar* on a more or less continuous basis?" Adire Audio Extremis. This will take some custom mounting to fit in your car, but it's loud, very clean, and can handle having the snot beat out of it on a regular basis. You'd need custom crossovers made to run the woofer in your system, but your amplifier puts out plenty of power for that mid. Main benefit of the driver is the motor topology, which gives a very long, clean stroke, resulting in super low distortion at high volume levels in comparison to other speakers. It'll handle your needs, just make sure you mount it solid in the door and apply some sound deadening because it'll rattle the door panel. I'm not from SoCal, so I can't help you there. |
|
Bronze Member Username: OlogyaudioColumbus, Oh USA Post Number: 37 Registered: Oct-05 | <<<<<<< custom xover guy... however were coming out with some mids ;) Just higher sensitivity and were cleaning up the midrange a bit... or thats the goal... Dan is just slow as hell... Possibly he doesnt like the fact were gonna give the extremis a red runny nose  and offer the base model for less money... |
|
New member Username: AnjinsanLos AngelesUSA Post Number: 4 Registered: Nov-05 | Thanks for the info Jonathan - I'm trying to assemble a short list of manufacturers as options. The Adire looks admirably heavy-duty and I could live with a custom mount on the rear side panels, but how can I run 8 Ohm speakers off of the PPI amp? The PPI doesn't mention any other configs but 250W X 4 at 2 Ohms, 125W X 4 at 4 Ohms, and 500W X 2 at 4 Ohms bridged mono. Can you run 8 Ohm speakers off that amp without damaging it? Also, if I put in two of those and ran them off of two channels of the PPI amp, would I be able to run the other two channels into a pair of the 4 Ohm MB Quarts - IOW, can you mix speaker impedances on different channels of the same amp? (You may have noticed I'm a tad clueless on audio electronics.) Are there any drivers out there with the same general durability that are 4 Ohm and don't need customizing? The Adires are mid-bass and appear (at least from the writeup,) to have outstanding bass response. For rock purposes would they make the self-powered Infinity sub unnecessary? Lastly, what would you recommend for the high freqs with the same durability? Would one pair of the MBQs combined with the Adires do the job with adequate high end? Thanks again. |
Main Forums
Today's Posts- Home Audio Forum
- Home Video Forum
- Home Theater Forum
- Car Audio Forum
- Accessories Forum
- All Forum Topics