Hertz HSK ,ID CTX or SOUNDSTREAM RF-60C

[altoncustomtech 773]

Most high end components have a tweeter protection. You can add more by using a small light bulb for a car, I cant recall how many amps. Could someone shed some more light on this for me?

I've done that in the van though I believe now it was required due to issues with the amp i had then as it seems the lights barely even flash with the new one.

I started a thread HERE that details what I did and used for you or anyone else who may be interested.

[swagger_wagon468 53]

I see where you are coming from. But i took a big chance on the Hertz hsk165s being thst they are over $300... And im glad i did.

Edit... (@ Sean)

[altoncustomtech 773]

I see where you are coming from. But i took a big chance on the Hertz hsk165s being thst they are over $300... And im glad i did.

I agree.

As did I on the Bravox 3 ways, CS60K's, ID's and pretty much every component set I've purchased. It's always best if you can listen to them, sure, but in some area's there's just no way you're going to get the opportunity to listen to anything much better than the standard mainstream offerings and even then you're only going to hear them in the demo wall, not even installed in a vehicle. Does than mean a person should only buy the mainstream crap that's available? Sometimes all we can rely on are the reviews and comments of others. It's hit or miss, but I'd rather take the chance of hitting one out of the ball park than never taking a swing. Besides, if it's a swing and a miss they can always be sold and another set bought.

[sa5150 0]

all i can hear around here is the same junk alpine,sony,jvc,kenwood,. some jl,bostons . i have to try and find a set online and take a chance that people know what there talking about .

Too bad the hertz on ebay are fake cause there over my price range from legit shops . it looks like i'm down to the beymas or the ID's at the moment .

[Luke.H 33]

There's really nothing wrong with the brands you listed. I think M5 mentioned the law of diminishing returns in this thread. Considering that, listening to some components in store and buying what you like isn't a bad way to go. Use the money saved towards the install and I think you will be happy with the results.

If you really want a nice front stage you would already have the foundation for a nice install (deadening, experience,aiming etc) if you went this route. This way later when you're ready for something nicer you can learn to run active.

[sa5150 0]

i've heard this on the boards a few times but don't understand what they mean running active or passive ? can someone explain the 2 . Thanks !

[Luke.H 33]

There are several topics on here asking this question.

Crossover occurs before amplification in active and it occurs after amplification in passive. For active you control your crossover points electronically rather than with the passive crossovers that come with component sets.

[///M5 2,833]

I see where you are coming from. But i took a big chance on the Hertz hsk165s being thst they are over $300... And im glad i did.

Edit... (@ Sean)

And how do you know that a $150 set from somewhere else wouldn't suit your listening preferences better?

It's always best if you can listen to them, sure, but in some area's there's just no way you're going to get the opportunity to listen to anything much better than the standard mainstream offerings and even then you're only going to hear them in the demo wall, not even installed in a vehicle. Does than mean a person should only buy the mainstream crap that's available?

Why do you assume that mainstream gear is crap? Typically far from it.

You guys highlighted exactly the problem that exists when buying a set of recommendations from people on the internet. Glowing reviews of what you have, but with no detail on what you compared them to and why. Even then, front stages are rather personal in what sounds good to anyone particular person as we all have different tastes. And of course, the coup de grace is ignoring the installation in all of those comments which I have yet to see anyone address in this thread yet (and in hardly ANY front stage threads).

Either way in this case the OP is buying a set of speakers on a budget. His budget is such that no matter what he buys there are SERIOUS compromises put into the design of that comp set. All of them have cut serious corners on the crossovers and mostly have even used boutique materials for marketing purposes when in general a more tried and true design would be better. Personally I'd MUCH rather decide with my ears and even end up with a less than "home run" instead of swinging at pitches that aren't even close to the plate. And again, if they sound great to you isn't that the set you want?

[altoncustomtech 773]

You guys highlighted exactly the problem that exists when buying a set of recommendations from people on the internet. Glowing reviews of what you have, but with no detail on what you compared them to and why. Even then, front stages are rather personal in what sounds good to anyone particular person as we all have different tastes. And of course, the coup de grace is ignoring the installation in all of those comments which I have yet to see anyone address in this thread yet (and in hardly ANY front stage threads).

Either way in this case the OP is buying a set of speakers on a budget. His budget is such that no matter what he buys there are SERIOUS compromises put into the design of that comp set. All of them have cut serious corners on the crossovers and mostly have even used boutique materials for marketing purposes when in general a more tried and true design would be better. Personally I'd MUCH rather decide with my ears and even end up with a less than "home run" instead of swinging at pitches that aren't even close to the plate. And again, if they sound great to you isn't that the set you want?

I don't know what kind of area the OP or swagger is from but if they're home towns are like mine there's not a good place at all for a person to go and listen to anything other than the bottom line equipment from any company. Now "Crap" may have been a little strong a word, but locally the only items available are generally the lowest end offerings from any of the brands available, and as I said the only thing you're going to listen to them in is the demo wall which I'm pretty sure you yourself have mentioned is useless, I think. (<- I could very well be wrong there and remembering someone else saying that.) I've heard the offerings around here both in (close to) proper installations and in less than optimal situations and they don't impress me at all. As you mentioned to reach the very low price points they sell at there's so many compromises that it's hard to expect them to do very well for everything they're giving up. Sure some of the dealers here can ORDER the higher end components from these companies, but they're not in stock nor are then installed in anything if they are.

If a person isn't afraid of trying something they can't listen to and is able to accept the fact that they're going to lose some money installing, trying and selling a product that didn't work out to try something else then why argue with them about doing it. For some of us there's just no better option since we don't want to settle for the less than stellar performance of the items we were able to listen to. The ONE and only time I was actually able to listen to a half way decent component set with a decent installation from a local retailer was very nice, but really the only time it's ever happened. I also gave no recommendation on anything, only listed some of the items I've purchased only on the recommendation of others. You're very right, no one has asked him how he intends to install them or made recommendations to him on making sure he no matter what he buys that he pays the most attention to the installation. You're right also that it's simply not mentioned enough in any thread about components, front stages or anything else of the like.

Perhaps we need to revisit the core of the problem, as you identified it, and ask what he HAS listened to and why he didn't like them or at least why he's not considering them and try to help from there. Believe me I know how you and Brad feel about listening to something before buying it, but some of us may have to travel several hours one way just to be able to listen to something above the offerings at our local dealers. On a low budget or not that's quite inconvenient.

[sa5150 0]

I put off buying the beymas set after reading the reviews to listen first , I did find a shop with a very big selection of some really good brands , Unfortunetly all they had for show was Focal,Hertz and Alpine . They had 15 brands of stuff for sale but only three to try out . After hearing the hertz at $600 list best price offered was $400 they sounded very unnatural , The focals were brighter cost even more and the Alpines were pretty dull sounding . Leaves me back to to guessing again . I was told the ID ctx series was no where near the quality of hertz but i can get them for $160 again i could not hear them . Same with the beymas and massive audio , They had them under $200 but can't compare how they sound . Everyone raves about Focal ,Hertz yet they did not sound all that great to me for that amount of money i have heard better (but thats just my ears) . At least what was installed in my car before sounded better then what i heard on there sound board .

[Julian 641]

I'd look into a used/new set of Bravox CF60's the mids are very warm ad the tweets are fairly bright and can be toned down with a switch on the x-over.

[Shogen 325]

I'd look into a used/new set of Bravox CF60's the mids are very warm ad the tweets are fairly bright and can be toned down with a switch on the x-over.

Good luck finding a set... I've been trying with Mark for a while now... I'm gonna take a plunge next pay check and get the Hi-Vi F1600 from www.madisound.com

[sa5150 0]

Hey all , I wanted to thank everyone who has helped in answering the many questions i have asked . I know some of the stuff i ask is repetitive and people are probably tired of newbies on the board . I'm not actually a newbie but i have been out of the car audio hobby for quite sometime . there a lot of nice and informative people here and i appreciate it . my car is a mess right now with my door being torn off and now having to re-dew my front speaker system and sound deadening , plus all the installation charges are going to add up big time . So while i have a budget i also don't want to jump on a cheap pair either but my budget is around $200 since the install of everything is easily going to double that to get it done right , When i blew the last 2 pairs of speakers a while back i ended buying a crappy pair of Hifonics zues components and that was a big mistake .

The bravox I'm going to look at and the Hi Vi from madisound looked good though i'm not sure about the rated 50rms is quite low . The massive audio ,beymas and ID ctx are high on my list still , Hope I'm not asking too much but would anyone even consider MOREL MAXIMO ? When i got to that store today and seen the many brands i was hoping for i was set to buy the ID ctx at a good price but They wanted to sell me 2 times as much Hertz speakers , So i went home with more questions then when i entered the store . It sucks they could not audition for me more then just the 3 brands they had on there sound board , it was like being teased we have cool stuff but we will sell you $500 speakers only . Also in my previous post I'm not putting down hertz and maybe it was just the cd they were playing but are Hertz known for unnatural sounding speakers , The Vocals were awesome but the music was very metallic sounding not smooth ,Nor was there much mid-bass . The plus was they did not distort and got very loud. The guy there offered me a pair slightly used for $250 very tempting , New at $400 way over my price range .

I'm really curious about those Morels at the moment .

Is a big magnet of any importance as the ID were very heavy and the Hertz were very light , Sorry if this is a stupid question . But the guy said usually the bigger magnets are for power handeling . That does not make much sense then cause the focals,Hertz and alpines he was pushing were pretty small .

[rysc86 1]

another suggestion to confuse you somemore. Hybrid Audio Technologies Imagine. run for 250 and can be brought from 12voltelectronics authorized.

[sa5150 0]

Awww . More good stuff .

Hybrid Audio Technologies Imagine looks pretty darn good .

I also found this one for about the same price

DLS Ultimate UP6i - 2-way 6.5" System

Any input on speaker material paper treated seems to be better for SQ the DLS are aluminium cone . I found sights that go over the cone materials but don't really get into detail about quality .

Poly seems to be something i would not want , Glass fiber,kevlar and other fibers seeem to be good ?

[sa5150 0]

Well i bought something finally LOL ,Just picked up the New Massive Audio CK 6 Stage 5 .

[jcarter1885 995]

nice, gotta give us a review on them once you get them installed.

[Audiogasm 0]

I would go with the Image Dynamics, but I am biased. I have ran horn loaded compression drivers since 1997. My original build was all Image Dynamic Speakers (CD1s, 6.5s, and IDQ15s). I still run my same horns in my car to this day. The Cd1s and 6.5s had been driven with a PPI AX404 originally and are now driven by a Zapco AG650 (front stage amp). I have always ran the horn and mids with separate amp channels and used a crossover and 30 band EQ.

[sa5150 0]

I will get them installed in the next few weeks and post to let everyone know what there like . They were just added to Massive audio's sight . I would have bought the Image dynamics but there out of business and no one was saying much about them so i could not wait . Anything is better then the Hifonics i had ...what junk .