BillAce

iTrader: (2)

Nothing personal, but $300 Chinese speakers labeled MB Quart or any brand for that matter aren't really the apropriate if the term Audiophile is used. Those $600 components installed properly would be far better than the 2 sets of $300 average speakers.

deffro

iTrader: (3)

Not taking it personal, now i'm just interested. I don't know why you say Chinese speakers, aren't they German? And they retail for almost $1100 just like the DLS. You can just get them at a very discounted rate if you find a good deal on the web. I just read a review of both the DLS and the MBQ's by Car Audio & Sound. While they liked both, they rated the MBQ's higher.

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

I didn't lose my dead pedal with my kick panels

deffro

iTrader: (3)

Did you do those yourself? Fiberglass?

badhabit90

iTrader: (13)

why couldnt you do a 8" in the rear deck. heck that would probably sound awesome if done properly. use a aperiodic membrane and tune the darn thing. you can make them hit hard and smooth. at a shop i used to work at and compete from, we used to have a ford escort WAGON that had nothing more than ONE set of Boston PRO 6.5 speakers in front in kick panels and a PAIR of Boston PRO 8" subs in a sealed enclosure in the spare tire well. we would compete in the PRO 100w class and destroy other competitors. not only with SQ but also in SPL. we would consistenly hit 104-106db with this set up. iirc, we were using the Orion HCCA amplifiers. they were rated at 25x2. every thing was hidden-everything. you would think that this was just a soccer mom car. you should have heard the 45hz in that thing. i firmly believe in 8" subs.

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I owned a shop for 14 years that did high end competitin work. I was always looking to do something different and that was the result for my car. The speaker is built to work well in a sealed enclosure and it has a silk cone. I made the stock kick larger because it didn't extend to the firewall and then glassed it inward towards the baffle around the speaker. The acrylic rods are me "grille" and can be lit. I'm pretty happy with how it came out being the little time you ever get to work on your own car.

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

AP is much more difficult. The vehicle has to be properly sealed like with freeair but you need to properly tune the membrane to flatten the imedance curve and get the improved response. You also need much more power because the membrane reduces efficiency. Its a more time consuming and expensive proposition so I normally just to freeair and tuning.

The results are awesome if someone does it properly though. I had an RX7 convertible with (2) 12" subs mounted inverted behind the front seats and above the rear axle. The membranes were between the floorboard and the front of the sub. It played amazingly low and linear. It was just as loud outside though since the atmosphere was basically my enclosure. IASCA limited the SPL cap for this type of setup after this though.

TDeMent

iTrader: (1)

OK, I feel like I need to revise my question. I want sound quality, but not necessarily competition level. I just prefer quality over loudness and I know some people want loud no matter what and that is not me.

Also, I know that you aren't going to get the same quality bass without a sub, but I am sure there are some components out there that can still do a pretty good job without a sub.

So here is my new question. I want to upgrade the sound in my Evo and the order in which I plan to replace things is first speakers, then receiver, and finally amp. The reason for this order is I already have a Clarion DXZ615 receiver and a Rockford Fosgate Power 400 amp (50x4 RMS) and I feel the stock speakers are the weakest link. I know some of you feel that with a cleaner and better signal the stock speaker would be fine, but as far as my budget and upgrade path are concerned I feel upgrading the speaker would be my best option RIGHT NOW.

Now, if some of you feel I need to have a sub, I have a 10” Infinity Kappa Perfect that I can use and that would change the amp to a Kicker Impulse IX405D amp that has 45x4 RMS and 200 RMS for the sub.

So, with 300 dollars or so per pair, what specific brands and models would you all suggest to be upgraded with the current components for each scenario (with sub or without sub)? Again, I am looking for quality over loudness and I would prefer to avoid using a sub if possible. They speakers don’t have to be the best quality sounding speakers ever, just speakers that have been designed to have a quality sound over going loud.

So in your opinions, what are the best speakers to use with a sub and with out a sub?

Thanks for all the input!

diegoalunan

i would suggest looking into focal, coz i am planning to buy em myself once i have the money for it

TDeMent

iTrader: (1)

So I have been looking around more and saw that there are 7" component sets out there and I know that the 6.5" sets need adapter rings. Do the 7" sets fit with out the ring? If I only got one pair of speakers for the front only, would it be worth it to just get a 600 dollar or so 7" set? Also, what size tweeters fit in the factory locations in the A pillars?

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

The DLS UR series are shallow because of the 3" voice coil and motor structure design. The 7" drivers make little difference. i would spend $500-600 on fromt components and run no rear speakers or the stock speakers from head unit power. One set of great speakers will sound much better than 2 sets of average ones. Also unless you are doing a 5.1 video system there is only a front pair needed for stereo reproduction.

MB Quart went bancrupt and was bought by Rockford. Prior to that they were already manufacturing in China to reduce costs and try to stay afloat. They just still live off of that german engineering BS when in europe they are on par with JBL.

TDeMent

iTrader: (1)

I think you are right BillAce. I am looking at Rainbow Kick Components for the front because they are designed for being in a door environment (I am not sure which line yet however).

With those speakers I will need to get a sub to get the results I want. I still need to research for a good SQ sub that is capable of working in a smaller sealed enclosure with a moderate amount of power (200-300 RMS), but so far I have found Soundsplinter RL-i series as a preliminary choice.

Thanks to everyone for their input, it has been very helpful in steering me in the right direction to achieve sound system I wanted.

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

The Rainbow reference drivers are not the best I've experienced, there was a big hole in the midbass to midrange transition. I didn't think the price was justified. Focal Utopia have a big spike (around 9db at approx 2.5KHz). I liked the DLS URS series for the ease of install and sound Q and I really like the Zapco reference Blue series. Dynaudio are also excellent but more tame and I find them better in a quiet environment since they have a laid back sound.

As far as a sub, a single 10" sohould be fine but there are a few things to consider/ There are 3 attributes to a sub that are ideal for a car.
Small enclosure
efficiency
Low frequency response

You can pick 2 of the 3 in most cases. A sub that operates in a small enclosure and has good low frequency response will likely not be very efficient and require more power. A sub that works in a small enclosure will lower power requirements will likely not have the best low frequency response. i suggest buying the amp forst since this will be the largest investment in a subwoofer system. Then figure out the amount of space you are willing to sacrifice for your sub. Lastly, select the sub that performs as you desire in those parameters. Given the Evo environment, I would target a 3db down point of 40-45Hz and want 6db more output than expected to compensate for cabin loss and road noise.

Think of this as a system. it is only as good as the weakest link.

TDeMent

iTrader: (1)

Considering I can't afford to upgrade all the pieces at once, I think the best move for me is to upgrade the speakers now, and then wait and save up to get a new amp and sub all at the same time.

In the meanwhile, the new speakers with one of my old amps will have to suffice, but I am sure that should still be an improvement over the stock set up.

The DLS UR6S components look like a nice fit as for as price and from some of the reviews/opinions I have read.

Thanks again for the help.

SandSanta

Make sure to add some sound deadening to the front doors once you do replace your speakers. That is, if you truly want high quality over just plain loud. The interior noise of the cabin is pretty high and additionally you're speakers will vibrate your door more then actually move air.