I'm pretty worn out and have only had about an hour of listening time so much more to come later.

I read review after review of these speakers for the past month. I've heard they were too laid back and too bright. No midbass and excellent midbass. Detailed and lacks detail. Most said they would make a bad recording sound worse and a good recording sound better. Some people said they would not even listen to bad recordings because they sounded so terrible with these speakers.Basically a bunch of BS to sift through. The one thing that seemed to stand out from the people that were really into car audio and knew their stuff was that they are near reference level with very little distortion. That sounds like a good starting point.

So today I ended up doing a ton of wiring and some other things I did not expect to do. I only got the passenger side done but with everything else out of the way the driver's side should literally take 30 minutes tomorrow.

First impressions.... Wow! Straight out of the box with no tuning they were amazing. I won't go into detail since my listening time is so short, I'll save that for a week or so but I'll give my initial impressions.

They are far from too laid back. Very lively and detailed but without being harsh. I started with the mid and tweeter in the 0db position and had to put the mid at the -2db setting and tweeter at 0db and it blends nicely. Tweeters fit almost perfectly in the TL's dash. They're larger than many so they basically drop in without the factory grill.

Midbass- I've always really liked my CTX65s and I believe there's not a whole lot for the price that can touch them. What surprised me was the midbass from these fresh Dyns. I was told they need 150-200 hours to break in and start sounding right. I believe midbass is one of the things that gets better after break-in. I always loved the IDs for their midbass and they're known for their midbass output. The Dyns are not known for midbass according to most reviewers but straight out of the box they blow the IDs away, no contest. It doesn't sound like artificially boosted output, very natural and effortless.

Several times I thought the sub was on and when I went to adjust it, it was not on.

For the first time I find myself listening to music with the sub off and when I did turn it on, it was just barely used to fill in the lowest frequencies. Turning the sub up takes away from this awesome front stage and I usually love a little extra sub volume. Right now I wish I had installed these before ordering two IB15s, I would have gotten just one.

What was nice is I was able to listen to the Dyns in the passenger door and the IDs in the driver's door back to back. I will never say anything bad about the IDs because they were great, I pushed a ton of power through them, sometimes full range, and they were flawless. But compared to the Dyns, they sound muffled, like there's something missing. The Dyns are just so crystal clear and accurate. I just sat in the car for nearly an hour listening to it and had to force myself to come inside.

As for bad vs good recordings.... A lossy digital recording sounds awful but luckily I own very few like this. However, older music such as my Eric Clapton CD that have flaws associated with the recordings of the day sound even better on these speakers. Yes the speakers bring out more of the flaws but that's not necessarily a bad thing, I actually like the sound.

I was hearing instruments and noises I have never heard from some of these recordings except with headphones on. The sound is just so perfect I could not get enough. They're very detailed without being harsh or artificial. I'm really trying to hold back about how good they are until I get some more seat time but they are better than I'm letting on right now.

People say they're power hungry but switching left and right, if anything the Dyns were the same if not a little louder than the IDs. One thing I was told by Niebur3 was that people associate distortion with high volume. Sometimes people don't hear the distortion so the speaker does not sound as loud as it really is. One thing I noticed is that I'll have them about halfway up and they're decently loud but not that loud. I walk away from the car with the windows down, doors closed and it's surprising how far they carry. I can only assume it's because they're actually louder inside the car than what they seem.

I thought I could just hole saw a hole in the kicks to temporarily mount the mids but not even close. I'm going to have to get the kicks ordered soon. Since I don't have passenger much I'm velcroing the mids to the carpet near the kicks temporarily. I just won't take any passengers until they're installed permanently.

The midbass went straight in the door. I had already done some cutting for the IDs and they were able to bolt straight onto the existing mdf rings. The basket design looks huge but I suspect a minimal amount of cutting would have to be done to fit if any and then there's the GT series that would probably fit with no cutting.

Probably going to order the MS8 on Friday along with the kicks. I have a feeling there's going to be another huge improvement when I go active with the processor and get the mids mounted properly.

I'm done for now until I get some more listening time in and the mids properly broken in. I know this was laid out all random but I'll have a proper and more organized review later on and hopefully after I get the IB15s too. I was feeling a little guilty about purchasing a $1500 (retail) set of comps thinking the improvement would not be worth it. After hearing these things I would do it again over and over and that's with no tuning, only one side working, running passive, and the mid not properly mounted.

A huge thanks goes to Niebur3 for answering all my dumb questions and steering me in the right direction. I think these are the perfect fit for my listening preferences.

 

Good job Matt, can't wait to see it whenever you finish. Its going to sound alot better with the MS-8. Are you planning on adding a double din also? Keep me updated matt, too bad i couldn't have stayed long enough to see the progress. GL on the install

 

I wish you were still here to hear it. It really sucks now things worked out with the hospital and all. If you're ever back in the area let me know ahead of time. I have a spare room and you can pocket that per diem.

 

sounds great, got any pics?

 

Yea matt, hopefully if i get to come back to bakersfield, and the system will be done. Tuning that MS-8 will be the hardest thing to do on your list. Just be patient with it. make sure all your connections are solid, and you please please solder everything.

 

Can you show us pics of your infinite baffle setup? I wanna do this as we talked through pm but I wanna see someone else's sEtup

 

Also where did you get ib15s from. From AE official site store they don't even have that option.

 

I've got some pics while I was unpacking the box, just of the speakers themselves. None of the install though I can take pics of the tweeters and mids in the car.
Here's the thread from my install. It's sloppy, I only planned on having it for a week so I tacked on a single piece of 3/4" mdf to my existing baffle, cut a little more clearance in the existing baffle while in the car and ran a bunch of screws into it. I didn't want to invest more than an hour into the install since it was coming out almost immediately.....or so I though. IB15s are still not done over two months later. I had literally ripped it apart at that time so there's wiring everywhere.

Here's some info from the site on the IB15 but you're right, no product listed on the homepage. I'll look on the forum to see what's going on. They might be way behind again so they took it off. http://www.aespeakers.com/drivers.php?driver_id=8

 

I got the rest of the system installed today in about 45 minutes and I've been listening to it ever since. I ended up settling on it with the tweeter in the -2db position and the mid back in the 0db position. Sounds amazing. I expected the clarity and detail but the midbass is probably the most surprising.

I don't know why but I'm having a harder time getting the sub to blend even though these speakers reach lower and with more authority. I've ended up taking the sub crossover from 70hz to 60hz and it's a little better. Tried changing the phase of the sub but it didn't do much. This sub setup has always had a peak in the 50hz range, I may try taking the crossover down to 50hz. I have no way of eq'ing the sub so until the MS8 gets here it will have to do.

This is as far as I'm going to go with the tuning since it's all going to be gone when the MS8 is installed and I suck at tuning anyway.

One other thing, I did not realize how huge these crossovers were. The two together are as big as a small amp.

Still debating on blacking out the Dynaudio logo on the tweeters since they're visible through the windshield. Not sure if a thief would even know what Dynaudio is though.

I'll probably bring this back up to the top in a month or two, whenever the midbass are broken in, the MS8 is installed, and the IB15s are installed. I'm just hoping to get the damn subs sometime this year. My order is still in the "processing" stage after nearly 3 months. It changed status from "recieved" after two months. It's starting to get a little frustrating. A suggestion to anyone ordering from Acoustic Elegance, after reading over 4 years worth of missed deadlines and broken promises regarding orders and some taking as long as 10 months to arrive, place your order waaaay ahead of time.

 

Yea I was on their website and I was reading up on them. Then tried to see how much they were and shipping and all and I didn't see them in the store section. But if you're gonna look into it please let me know what's up.

 

You posted your last post just as I was posting my last one haha so there is a huge waiting period for these? I don't know if I have the patience to wait that long. Talked to niebur3 about IDQ12s so might go that route

 

I've heard the 15IDQ IB and it sounds very good. I think the IB15 is the better and cheaper choice but if you can't purchase it or you have to wait a year its not really worth it. Down the road if I find that one is enough I'll probably sell the second one. But by then we might not even own Tl's anymore. I might do a single IDQ 15 to get me through. My 12 was sold a month ago to a good friend but he's going to need it sooner or later.

One thing with this awesome comp set is I find myself backing off the sub level to where its just fill. My single 12 keeps up easily with it set like this. The two 15s are going to be serious overkill.

One negative is they easily defeat my deadening in the doors. I have a rattle that the IDs never made at full volume and these are doing it at relatively low volume. The doors are seriously over deadened as are the door panels. Not sure what to do. Maybe adding some extra attachment points from the panels to the metal?

 

so you are going to be pulling the crossovers once the ms8 comes correct? did you install some dynamat inside of the doors? and goodluck on finding a spot to mount that ms8, its looks very big and bulky matt, keep us all updated.

 

So you got doors deadened and they still rattle? Weird. Did you do the floors as well? And what about the trunk area?

 

The doors are heavily deadened. The skin has dynamat extreme and foam. The frame is completely deadened. The back of the plastic panel is heavily deadened. If I push on the door handle it goes mostly away. Maybe my standards were lower because i've never run an expensive comp set before but the midbass amazes me everytime I listen.

 

Yep, those Dyns are pretty amazing speakers. I am very happy to hear how much you like them. As far as the door rattle, you may want to put a little gasket foam behind the door handle cable and have you deadened the map door shut so it doesn't open anymore??

You may be better off with only 1 sb for a couple of reasons. 2 subs is only 3dB louder than 1, so you are only talking a couple notches on the volume control, but 2 subs can cause cancellation and can be a little harder to tune.

Your PM's are full . I was curious where you were getting your MS-8 because I have connections on those as well from authorized retail shop.

You also may want to get a little grill cloth (from the fabric store or something) and do what I did to my tweets, so you are doing anything permanent.

 

That's a very good point on the subs. I'm locked into two right now, they don't offer refunds and even more scary is they claim to not have the funds for refunds. I'm fine with selling the extra one, these things sell quickly at full price since they're so hard to get ahold of so it's no big deal.

One question though, will it cause any issues if I build the baffle for two and use only one at first? Or in other words, offset the hole to one side but only cut one hole so I'll have a single sub on one side instead of center.

I'll try that with the cable. Mine have been broken for years where the sheath snaps into the bracket so I have to be real careful putting the door panels back on or the latch won't work. The passenger side has to come back off anyway because the cable came out of it's groove. I need to break down and spend the $20 to get new ones.

I deadened the map pocket. It's still functional but it doesn't rattle. The little mechanism was interesting. I guess it's to keep the pocket from flying open under hard cornering or slamming the door. My rattle is right by the handle on both doors. I deadened everything including the window switches but the door is made up of so many small plastic pieces I might have missed something. I've also noticed a slight rattle at higher volumes where the panel hangs over the metal frame at the very top. I was thinking of using some felt in this area to tighten things up.

Since you're the expert, is the Dyn's midbass considered good in this price range or is it just average? This is by far the best I've ever heard from a 6.5", it's actually surprising every time I listen. Everyone always talked about how the ID CTX65s had great midbass and I agree but they're not even close to the Dyns. I'm wondering if I'm just used to the cheaper stuff or if Dynaudio is considered very good in this area. I haven't put any real power to them yet, I was going to wait a few months until they hit the 150hr mark but I did try them with the door panels off to check excursion and they were barely moving. I also turned the gains up a little and even at the same volume they seem more dynamic but it could be my imagination.

 

if you decide to sell the AE IB15 consider me and I will get it off you.

Also you should empty out your inbox haha

 

Sorry, I'll have it emptied in 5 minutes. I left it full for a few days, just too many of the same transmission fluid questions.

I'll definitely let you know if I sell the one, hopefully it's not too much longer.

 

MDF is cheap, I would make a separate baffle for 1 vs 2. Okay, how in the hell did you rig the cable to work broken? Mine broke when I removed the door panels (all 4 doors) probably because it was about 20 degrees at the time, so I replaced all of them and the door lock actuator in the front doors (due to seeing them prone to breaking). The Dyns are great at midbass, especially good clean midbass. Turning your gains up would cause them to be more dynamic at the same volume because you are seeing your amps wattage sooner in the volume knob.

 

And what transmission fluid do you recommend? haha jk

 

Glad you like them

this should work for your vibration issues
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/products/ccf

 

Wouldn't an extra sub + the extra power net him 6db?

 

What extra power? If he is able to run 1 sub at the impedance in which the amp is producing maximum power vs 2 subs (with the amp producing maximum power), the difference will only be 3dB.

 

Which one on that page? I already have a ton of dynamat and damplifier vibration damping. I also have the second skin luxury liner pro which won't fit behind the door skins.

Would adding a second layer help at all?

I have no idea about the db issue. I have more than enough power to blow both subs at 4ohms.

 

No, do not need to add another layer....it will not help. The only thing I would do is take off your door panel and see what is rattling and fix it. If nothing is rattling, it is the door panel. Try to find what that is and fix it. If you can't, then welcome to the next problem of car audio....door rattles. Once you get a good, strong midbass, they are very difficult to completely remove and that is why people will put midbass in the kicks or even in the floor firing up, because they can't stop the rattles otherwise.

FWIW, I have 1 12" sub with 400 watts going to it in my car and it should be enough to keep up with the other 10 speakers and blend properly. You should only care about dB's if you are going to spl competitions, otherwise you want the sub to blend with the front stage (and maybe give a little kick for the "fun factor").

 

That's basically how it's set up now. If I was going to a SQ competition I would probably turn it down one tick on the stock HU. I used to listen to it with the stock sub controls halfway up or a little more. Before I turned the gains up to the Dyns I was listening to it one tick from completely off where it still says off for some reason but you can barely tell it's there. Now I have it two ticks from off. These Dyns are at least as loud as the IDs and for the first time ever I keep wanting to keep the sub turned down so it doesn't spoil the front stage. What a huge difference!

As embarrassing as it is, I left a screw in the map pocket and it was rattling. However, with just a little more volume, the entire door panel "lights up". I haven't begun putting power to these mids, I think door rattles are going to be a huge challenge. Next week when I have a few days off I'm going to dedicate a few hours to finding and fixing door rattles. I still can't get over the clean midbass of these things.

One thing I swear I noticed even though supposedly it's impossible is I seemed to lose dbs when I put the door panels on. Just wondering if it might be worthwhile to eliminate the factory grill and come up with something better.

I'm going to upload those pictures to the computer and get them to you in a few minutes...

 

I don't believe the factory grill is causing it per say. I would try putting foam around the speaker and try to get it to seal some to the door pan when the panel is on. The point is to direct the sound through the grill so as not to have too much getting lost between the door and the panel. Could help your rattle problems also.

 

You need to read this:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...ib-18-a-6.html

It looks like the AEIB15 are no longer going to be made. I would call or email them.

 

That stupid son of a bitch. He wasted 3 months of my time and $333. Thanks Jerry, know of any good IB subs in the$ 500 or less range?

 

IHC,

I've had pretty good luck with Luxury Liner Pro from Second Skin Audio. It's mounted with velcro.



The MLV does a good job at deadening ambient noise and isolating the reflected back wave. The CCF really keeps the door card from vibrating.

 

I had the mw170s in mine, and it rattled pretty bad. The issues in my car were the speaker grill and map pocket. I took the whole plastic grill housing off, you have to grind or cut the plastic weld, then put some foam around the speaker to couple with the grill. I then put a little strip of felt around the edge of the grill and screwed it back in where the plastic welds were. There is plenty of room for screws there. As for the map pocket, I strengthened it from the back and added two small pieces of felt on the "stops" where it closes.

After that, subwoofer type bass up front and, of course, still very dynamic with no rattles. Fantastic choice on speakers. Once you go dyn, you never go back. That is what the salesman told me 13 years ago when I purchased my first set.

 

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I'll just address one issue tonight since I need to get some sleep... i'm thinking of getting an FI IB15 and selling the AE subs if/when they get here depending on the reply I get on their board. Any pros or cons to the FI?/

 

CCF. More layers don't really help as far as i know.

He would be dropping the ohm load and getting more out of his amp, no? unless he's using something with a regulated power supply.

What an asshole

JBL GTI, IDmax

FI has one, too. No first hand experience with them, though.

 

I would go with either a FI or Image Dynamics (idq v3, not idmax). You may also look at a used Morel Ultimo. Which amp are you using for your sub(s) - it may rule out the ultimo.

 

The impedance the amp is seeing is determined by the ohm load of the speaker(s) that are connected to the amp, not by how many speakers you have connected. I can connect a single 2ohm speaker or 2 4ohm speakers and the amp will see the same impedance and therefore produce the same power. Most amps (even with a regulated power supply) will produce more power if seeing a lower impedance.

 

Thanks eggy.

I still have that old Infinity Beta 300. I *think* they put out close to 1,300 watts at 2 ohm in some of the old tests I read. That might be at 1 ohm for all I remember. But it's not that important, I will buy another amp if needed.

If I could go back in time, I would have stuck with two W6s and call it a day.

Going to check out the FI more closely. Just got to avoid the temptation to use their 30mm xmax 18".

 

I got a reply back on their forum that I will still receive the IB15s. No mention of a time frame though. If I was not afraid of it adding months to the delivery date I would pay the difference and get the new improved sub.

 

Well, at least you will still get them .

 

No, at most he will still get them. Can you cancel and get a sub or two from a more reliable company?