speaker selection for 2way active

[lithium 358]

ok after a bit of research ive decided to try something alittle different then the standard 2 way with a mid and tweet. what i'd like to attempt will use a midbass with a small full range driver.

current stuff

equipment- Clarion DXZ785USB, kicker 100.2, kicker 250.2, pg rsd 6.5" components.

door treatment- 2 layers of raammat on inner and outer, plus a layer on door panel

speaker location- mids in doors, tweeters in diy a-piller pods aimed towards the middle (driver sides about 30 degrees off axis)

sub stage- AA arsenal but usually i have it turned down and blended in unless im feeling like some rap...

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plan is to throw the biggest and baddest midbass in the door that i can and either mount the full range, in a similar manner as the tweeter, in the a-piller or try some kick pods...

what im trying to achieve is a easy to implement sound stage where id have great midbass and a detailed midrange with a soft high end. others who have tried this say it requires less tuning then comparable "normal" 2 way set ups. also with the current 2 way im am severely off axis to the driver side mid.. like 80 or 90 degrees off lol,

listening preferences- metal, rock, alternative, (bands like metallica, nirvana, alice in chains, the mars volta, sound garden, megadeth, etc)

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budget 200 or so..

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install specifics- stock location was 5.25" but i made a mdf baffle to fit 6.5s.. 8s would be cool but im not sure if i wana cut up my doors or not, YET...

depth wise, with my current baffle, im somewhere close to 3.25 inch available. i dont want to rule speakers out on depth just yet so lets say i can get anything in there up about 4inch mounting depth.

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speaker selection time!!!

midbass!... these will only have to play as high as 200~ hz tops, could go higher if anyones think they should

peerless sls 6.5" link

mli-6.5"

AA carbon 7"

Tang Band W6-1139SI 6.5" (its a sub but for some reason i thought these could play up a tad higher... i think i read it on diyma... ill try to find it) link

open to suggestion here, but im leaning hard on the peerless sls...

full range... i was thinking 3 inchers here

Fostex FF85K 3" Full Range link

Tang Band W3-1364SA 3" Bamboo Cone Driver link

i pretty much stopped looking after seeing the fostex, looks very capable, from its specs and what others have said..

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well, sorry for the long post guys... if anyone manages to get this far down the page id appreciate some input!!

ill be posting some pics shortly

[///M5 2,833]

3" is going to require that they be more on axis that in the pillars. Either do kicks or cut up your dash.

I'd let the location lead you a bit on selection as well. Also would really help to seriously know your limit on midbass size. If you can do an 8, you should.

[lithium 358]

i was planning on aiming new a-piller pods on axis for the 3". would that still work? i dont mind trying... since i have holes in my a-pillers already lol

im trying to get some pictures uploaded from my phone but im having bluetooth problems... but here is what they kinda look like. link

8's are goin to be a tight fit, if i go in that direction im pretty sure i could force some sls 8s in there. i forget the distance from the door panel to window (when its down).

id love to say screw door panels and completely cut them to hell and fiber glass them back to life... haha

[lithium 358]

found a pick of the door with the rsd's in..

vertically will be tight but if i move the woofers placement to the right it might be good, im also considering removing the plastic part of the door panel and cutting it down alittle so its not in front of the speaker. furthermore, if i can move the mid into the door more (ie. further from the panel) if could create even more clearance but a mid like the sls, with a mounting depth of about 4 inches, may not work... any suggestions?

[///M5 2,833]

That sort of clears up my confusion. Earlier you talked about being way off axis, glad that you aren't going to try that with the widebanders.

It looks fairly easy to get an 8 in there. And you guessed it, if the SLS will fit it is a hell of a driver to use with t a 2 or 3"

I am a little concerned that you are going to be cramping the mids in such a small enclosure. A 2" would work better in one of those, but then the SLS might not play high enough.

First things first though you really need to figure out how much space you have. ie will the 8 truly go and can you upsize the pods a bit more.

[Adrian_D 520]

I'll vouch for the SLS. The 10 inch version is absolutely killer. A lot of midbass for the money.

Listened to the ff85k in the house, on axis and they extend way up high.

[lithium 358]

if i use the 3 inch in the same manner i am using tweeters now (with the end caps) i could use a larger threaded rod and potentially make it ib behind the a-piller... ill get some measurements on the end cap i would use for the both a 2" and 3" full range to find out about how much air space id be looking at.

ill get some more info up in a day or two, thanks for the help so far.

[///M5 2,833]

No worries, just want to make sure that mid can get down and boogie with the midbass.

[lithium 358]

im pretty sure that fostex can get down pretty damn low based on what others have said about it (i think one guy had it crossed as low as 165hz if i remember correctly). ill get back to u guys with some measurements for the midbass this weekend. i may even attempt a baffle with some left over mdf just for fun.

[crosspug 2]

I know you like the Fostex but.......Have you looked into the Peerless 3" fullranges?

Don't seem to quite have the clean upper range of the Fostex (which seems to play amazingly high quite well by the graphs at least!) but look easier to mount with a small magnet structure and graphs look like they play nice and low to match the mids. With creative install and tuning they could work?

Jono

PS. Cheap!

Peerless 3" Link

[lithium 358]

thanks for the info on the peerless 3". ill deff consider it.

anyone is welcome to post other drivers that might work better!

[///M5 2,833]

For full rangers those are really pretty good choices.

The Vifa TG9, Tangband W3, and Aura NS3 need some sort of help up top.

In a 2" I really like the Peerless as well.

[crosspug 2]

In a 2" I really like the Peerless as well.

Thats what I'm putting in my car next........... Either as a two way or with some metal dome tweeters up high for a 3 way.

Jono

[///M5 2,833]

In a 2" I really like the Peerless as well.

Thats what I'm putting in my car next........... Either as a two way or with some metal dome tweeters up high for a 3 way.

Jono

On axis you won't need a tweeter with the 2", not even close

[crosspug 2]

Excellent, thanks M5........

To the OP - Sorry for the topic steal

Jono

[///M5 2,833]

They'll blend nicely with the Mli's as well.

[ungodlyrooster 0]

What would you recommend as a starting point for crossing them over at? The peerless 2" and mli65s, I mean. Would mli65s in doors and the peerless in obviously very small kickpods yield satisfactory results?

[///M5 2,833]

Going to depend on your listening tastes, the goal would be to have the full ranger play as much of the spectrum as possible so I'd test its limits with your behavior and then fill in with the Mli.

[lithium 358]

ok ladies and gents, the 8s are good to go! peerless sls ftw!

however, im still debating between the 2 and 3 inchers... leaning towards peerless here aswell.

3" is 15 bucks each

2" is 20 bucks each

but i dont really care about 10 bucks

the only two differences i see are a bump at 10k on the 3" 's graph and the 3" being able to play alittle lower.

i believe the sls will make it up in to the 200-300 hz range, if im not mistake.

any advice?

id like to order tomorrow/ this weekend!

[///M5 2,833]

I'd run the SLS and the 3, if they drive you nuts (which they won't) you can sell them and put the 2 in...going the other way is tough. The extra dynamic capability could go a long way; however, on axis a pair of the 2's isn't out of the question either.

If you go 3, you c buy the Fostex as well. If you only buy a single and don't wail on it Madisound is usually pretty nice about exchanges. If not and you get a pair, both sets should sell fairly quickly at not a huge loss.

You might find you like something other than what others do, but either way it will be a heck of a setup.

[lithium 358]

thanks m5, i think im going with the 3" peerless. and at only 30 bucks for the pair, its cheaper then 1 of the fostexs haha

i think these 4 speakers will be the best upgrades ive made to my system so far!

ill start a new build log for this stuff and afew other things im planning aswell...

[crosspug 2]

Cool setup you'll have there!

Will be very interested to see the build of this..... I've got to wait weeks for my 2" to arrive in the country(Australia) DOH!!

[lithium 358]

Cool setup you'll have there!

Will be very interested to see the build of this..... I've got to wait weeks for my 2" to arrive in the country(Australia) DOH!!

thanks, hope your's arrives soon. some one just pm'ed me that the 2" model, on partexpress, is selling for 9.50 each! i think ill still go with the 3" tho..

[///M5 2,833]

If you can really get them on axis the 3 has enough top end for most, off axis the 2 will do a better job in that regard of course.

[lithium 358]

just ordered everything, i spent 150 with shipping for the 8s and 3s! i also picked up some extra random stuff to finish some little things up like a new power distro, a side post battery terminal so i can do the ground run on the big 3, some door clips for about half of what i pay here, and a cigarette outlet thing so i can wire up my gps's power cord real stealthy like!

i also deadened the door panels with about 25-30 percent coverage... i just hit some flat spots that tend to resonate... i got a question here for anyone, my door panels had some of this stock foam stuff that covers the back of the panel... i ripped it of to put the deadening on but i was wondering if i should bother gluing it back on? and what kinda glue would i use?

im also pining down some rattle around the window mechanism before the beastly sls's power up!

Edited June 6, 2009 by lithium