Part of my new system is going to be the MS8. I've read that it uses the center channel heavily and that it's best to have the center as powerful as the other mids. First off, anyone that has used the MS8, is there any truth to this?

Second, I searched Woofersetc for the best 3.5" for my application. Their highest end 3.5" is only $100 so with price not a factor I started looking solely on specs. I was looking for one with the lowest frequency response with decent power handling. The only coaxial I found that would go down to 80hz with 45 watts of power handling was this:

http://www.woofersetc.com/p7187/KX-8...l-Speakers.htm

These look nice too with 50 watts but only go down to 95hz.

http://www.woofersetc.com/p5080/EGS3...al-Speaker.htm

I'm not sure a few hz will make an audible difference. I generally keep the mids crossed over at 80hz anyway so this won't be that far off. I'm sure even though they're rated for 80hz they're probably not going to do it very well but I don't see any other options. I'm not willing to modify the dash. The goal is to have a completely stock looking TL including the trunk area but sound great.

Anyone have any better suggestions on both the equipment or other options?

 

I am working on my demo car build at the moment and will be posting a build log tomorrow. I am also using a MS-8 and have thought a lot about the center channel. I will be trying to fit a 6.5 in there (once everything is removed, there is a ton of room) but will probably go with my initial thought of a Dynaudio Esotar2 430 and a tweeter I will be coaxially mounting.

 

Damn..nice! I LOVE Dynaudio but jesus they're expensive!! I don't think IHC was looking for an $800 center channel haha.

IHC- Rainbow has always been known to make very nice speakers. I've never heard any but I've always read reviews that people love them.

 

Lol. I had to look that one up. Looks like one heck of a midrange but slightly out of my price range for a 3.5" mid. I don't think I would spend that much on two subwoofers. But hey, if I had the money to burn I would have to try one.

I noticed that particular one only went down to 250hz. How important is it for the center to be able to keep up with the mids in the doors/kicks when using the MS8?

Also, is is possible to fit a slightly larger mid in the center without external modification? I've never looked to see if it's hollow in there. Specifically if you could stuff a 4" or 5.25" in the hole. Even with part of the mid covered by dash I would think it would perform better.

Mostly, am I going down the wrong path trying to get a center that will keep up with the mids? Keep in mind I already have the Infinity Kappa in there but I consider this a small upgrade over factory. I bought these when the car was new before searching.

 

You got me going into audio again . Especially since i made the subwoofer sound really good. I have CDT components upfront which was the Set EF61-CF that Kingpin recommended long time ago and i like them but it was not enough midbass for me so i upgraded to the CDT ES-06 which at that time was $250 now i see it sold by woofers for $399. The mids from the original set i put in the back as rear fill. Everything sounds good but i think it can sound better if i get the matching crossover and tweeter to the ES-06 speaker. IHC im wondering if you took the preamp signal after the stock amp of before. I have mine after but im gonna change that as there is definitely noise from the stock amp that just gets amplified.

sorry to take you thread a little of topic, i just suddenly got really into it and im just thinking out loud

 

IHC, do like i did and put a 4" comp set in for your center channel. i used half of an mbquart 4" component set (model PSD210) in the center and powered it with a small orion 220gt amp brigded to 80 watts using the passive crossover. the output is huge and the clarity is unreal. just an option..

 

It is really open in there, but the only problem is getting the speaker through the opening between the dash and the air ducts. If you removed the dash, you could easily fit a 6.5 in there and have it blow though the factory opening....but that is a little extreme. If your 6.5 was really thin, it would work also. Apparently the larger the speaker the better (according to Andy at JBL) but a 3.5 would work fine (the processor will just send the info it can't send to the center, to the door speakers). I am going to see if there is any way to do a Dyn 162GT (which has a smaller stamped basket). Again, you should do a tweeter in there as well. Rainbow would also be a good option...they are very nice sounding. My best advice would be to stay away from any metal dome tweeter in the center firing at the windshield...might be a tad harsh .

FYI: I am a dealer (just started) for Dyn, Rainbow and Hybrid Audio (HAT) speakers and you can contact me, but I may not be able to help you out depending on where you live and the dealers in the area.

 

No problem. I'm in the same boat. I spent nearly 2 years without changing anything. Then I went to the IB setup just to get my trunk back and the newfound SQ has got me back into audio big time. I trued pre-amp and there was a definite difference. I could turn the gains way up on the amp without any hiss and it sounded great. Right now I limit the front power due to hiss at low volumes. I only did one side quickly just to see if it was worth it and then went post amp. It's big on my to do list. The GF is leaving for a 3 day weekend soon so I plan on having all of my parts and plans ready to go for 3 solid days of installations.
Would you mind a few details as to how you fitted it? I would definitely do a 4" setup. It seems like it opens the door to many more choices. Any pics?

 

Thank you for the info! My dash is about to crack so maybe I will do a 6.5" in the future. I will definitely hit you up when I decide to buy sometime in the next month. If you don't mind, could I PM you some more questions on what to get?

 

Absolutely. I am also over on DIYMA with the same screen name (since I have seen you over there as well). I actually did a 4" midrange test of 16 drivers posted on DIYMA (http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...7-post442.html) - link to the pdf. Hit me up anytime. BTW, my build will have a very different (hopefully interesting) solution to the non navi to navi/video most on here are interested in. Should be posting on here, DIYMA, MSS, CarAudio, and maybe a couple others starting tomorrow.

 

i just used the factory speaker grill to trace the outline on a piece of 1/2" mdf. before i cut it out, i placed the 4" mbquart on the wood where it would fit with the most material around it (its close to the edges) and then routed the opening and countersunk it so the speaker sits flush with the top of the mdf. did the same for the tweeter, used some clear silicone on the underside to "glue" them in and then cut the 1/2" mdf out in the shape of the original speaker grill that i traced. i bought some speaker grill material from partsexpress.com, stretched it over and shot a couple small staples to hold it taught and viola! being that my whole system is active except for the center channel, i used the passive crossover that came with the mbquarts and installed it in the factory amp location in the passenger kick panel. i took the mounting brackets off the factory amp, cut another piece of 1/2" mdf in the shape of the factory amp, screwed them together and mounted the crossover to it. so now the crossover is mounted secuerly in the kick panel and the panel itself fits like factory with no messing around. worked like a charm. now share the love and PM me the specs on that bandpass box like i asked for a year ago

 

Thank you! I've been looking for the past hour for them. I'll find them eventually, I made a ton of copies so I would never lose them.

I can tell you off the top of my head, the sealed portion was 1.29 cubic feet and the ported section was 1.8 cubic feet. I'll continue looking, I know I have them.

 

sweet. once you find the plans or whatever else you have, just email them to me. PM me when you're ready and i'll shoot you over my address. thanx.

also, wanted to give you another hint about tapping the preamp signals before the factory amp (this is what you're planning on doing if i read everything right, correct?). the harness that comes from the radio and plugs into the facory amplifier has the same plug that's used on the isimple ipod harness. i bought an extra harness from uncald4, hacked the female end off, and then soldered on my own JL Audio Premium female RCA ends. then i plugged my corresponding rca's into the small harness i made and ran them to my amps. the benefit here is that it's a plug and play deal with no need to cut or hack your factory harness. i have pics of it if you'd like to see.

 

That would be awesome! I'll look again for the plans. I made a ton of copies so I couldn't lose them like I almost did once. What I didn't do is scan them which I should have. I HAVE to have a copy somewhere.

My only suggestion is to change it a little (maybe the sealed section?) because while it plays to 30hz ok on a test tone CD, it doesn't have the impact that some systems have. I'm starting to appreciate how seamlessly it blended with the mids. I could cross it at 90hz and you couldn't tell what was the bandpass and what was coming out of the doors.

The new IB setup is not hard at all but no where near as easy to setup as the bandpass.