exlex

Cross posting this here since I'm not sure who's on DIYMA.

So far I have some Dynaudio Esotar 650 woofers, Dynaudio MD102 tweeters, and a single Focal 33kx subwoofer. I'm leaning towards keeping it simple and going 2-way active, but I'm still debating between whether I should try to add some midranges now, leave myself open to adding them down the road, or just forget about them and keep it simple. Right now, the costs just seem too high to go 3-way: drivers ($200 for used MD142), kick panels ($350 for Niebur3 to build kicks), bitone.1 instead of BitTen, and an amp upgrade.

That said, here are my biggest considerations for power:

• Cost - keep the amp setup $1000 or less
• Power - sufficient power to the drivers? 2x200w@4 for the midbass, 2x100w@8 for the tweets, 1x600w@4 (or more) for the sub. Maybe my woofers and tweets don't need that much power... This is my first DIY build so I'm probably shooting too high.
• Space - I'm trying to find a delicate balance between performance and practicality, as I want to be able to fit a golf bag in my trunk. I would prefer not to go with two huge class A / class a/b amps, but I think I could make this work with one big amp and a smaller amp. Ultimately, I think I can only fit a maximum of 2 amps.
• Flexibility - I'm probably over-thinking this... but is it possible to get an amp setup that would make going 3-way cost effective? If I go with a 4-ch for the front stage and a monoblock for the sub, going 3-way (or adding rear fill for my passengers) means a whole new set of amps.

So if I'm limited to 2 amps, here are my options:

2-way

1. 2-way: 5-channel like the Audison AV 5.1k) or LRx 5.1k (tough to find used, expensive new)
2. 2-way: 4-channel (front) + monoblock (sub)
3. 2-way: 4-channel (midbass, BTL for sub) + 2-channel (tweets)

3-way

1. 3-way: 5-channel (midbass, midrange, sub) + 2-channel (tweeters)
2. 3-way: 4-channel amp (midbass + sub) + 4-channel (tweeters + midrange)

There's a Mosconi AS 200.4 (4x200w@4) on DIYMA for $650 right now that's pushing me towards 2-way setup #3, but it seems excessive. What do you guys think I should do?

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

That 2-way will sound great. In a properly deadened/sealed door & car, they will sound even better. With that being said you need to ask yourself if the cost for adding midranges is worth it to YOU. Only YOU can answer that question. I'm sure I'll get ridiculed for my decision to sell all my gear, but I just didn't need that much stuff and when I can run something that will still make me just as happy 99% of the time and pocket and extra $500+...why the hell not!! Dedicated mid-ranges will sound better most of the time, but is the price worth it to you?? Once you make that decision then you can worry about amps.

Honsetly..if you think you'll keep the car for awhile and have the money to do it without crunching for money...then do it.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I can already tell from your post that you know way more than me for me to post anything useful here. (both of you actually).

I will say that I'm VERY happy with the power, clarity, cost and quality of the MB Quart Q series amps I recently put in to replace my old hifonics amps.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

And I will say that a MB Quart Q4.150 popped 2 of my tweeters lol

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

LOL, that's right, forgot you had warned me about that! I'm still going strong, brother!

I hate cars

That's a tough one.

It's always nice to have enough channels so you can go with a 3-way later on if wanted. I prefer small class D amps that will fit under the seats like the JL HD series. I've got one amp under each seat and the processor behind the factory carpet in the trunk so no room is wasted on amps.

This is my trunk as I was putting it back together and the spare tire is in :



The 650 does midrange as good and better than some dedicated midranges. The 102 will play 2,200hz effortlessly at high levels. With a very good midrange there is an improvement but I don't know if you would get anything out of many of the midranges out there. One advantage to a 3-way is being able to optimize installation, having the midrange closer to being on axis. I think the 102 sounds slightly better in a 3-way.

This setup doesn't NEED a midrange to sound great but it could help with the right mid. I hate to suggest the 430 because it's so expensive but it surprises me almost everyday.

It's hard to give advice because you're going to be spending a lot of additional money for a 3-way. For me it was worth it, for others, who knows. I have a hard time knowing when to stop, if there's something out there I really want to try, it's going to bother me until I get it. So far I've never been disappointed with my Dyn purchases.

The MD142 was very nice as well. My experience with it was a little brighter than the typical Dyns that I've run but far from bright. It's very detailed and lively and it can be run up to 7khz and sound great. The only disadvantage with this mid and pretty much all domes is you can't highpass them very low. Personally I've never found this to be a disadvantage in the TL and especially with the 650 that sounds great in that range. I ran the 142s at 950hz, that was what sounded best to me in my car. I got the 430s that will play down to 200hz while sounding good but everything just sounds better with the higher midrange highpass. Right now it's a 550hz but I've run it for a long time at 1,600hz, higher then my 142 and that was probably the best my system has sounded.

eggyhustles

Zed dreadnought on the mids and tweets

Sundown 1000d for the sub.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Matt, PM me your address. I'm coming by to wash that SOB.

exlex

Thanks, IHC. After reading this I think I'm going to stick with 2-way. If I add rear-fill down the road I can power it with something cheap / small, but I'll see how everything sounds with just a front stage first.

That dreadnought is pretty beastly, but I can't find it anywhere for less than $790. I also don't see any used Audison 5.1k's, so I think I'll pick up that Mosconi. The Sundown seems underpowered since I'll be running that sub at 4ohms (400w rms). I was thinking I should shoot for 700w@4... Am I incorrect?

exlex

LOL, I was thinking the same thing.

I hate cars

I got it washed Friday. Its currently raining. luckily I don't have to drive it so its going to look the same as before, the rear dirty and the rest clean. Washing my car makes it rain everytime.

I hate cars

Was it only the Leviathan that had the turn on pop problem? I sold mine because I was always too afraid it was going to blow my tweeters and maybe my mids.

eggyhustles

The sub is a dual 2, right?

Run at 1 ohm

The Mosconi is a good choice, though.

exlex

@IHC I think it was just the original V1 Leviathan that had those problems, and then a lot of people in the DIY community backed off after some of those problems were handled poorly by Zed. Everyone else is pretty satisfied with Zed from what I can tell--all their stuff is quite powerful.

Mosconi is on its way! Now I either need to get an amp for the tweets or an amp for the sub.

I don't have the balls!

I hate cars

Looking forward to your review of the Mosconi. There were so many really interesting amps I wanted to try out but the requirement to fit under our ridiculously low seats eliminated most of them.

Almost forgot, the car is clean, going to take more pictures and delete the dirty ones.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

LOL...yeah?!? I know what you mean, we had a week of gray here last week. My car hadn't looked so dirty in a LONG time. All clean now though!

exlex

UPDATE - found a guy selling a brand new Mosconi AS200.2 locally for $450 so I'm going to pick that up in a bit.

Alternatively there's a guy in Houston with a JL Audio HD750/1 who only wants $350 so I may get both and run a comparison. I can't imagine the Mosconi will be $100 better but I might as well find out!