bozzchem

Just won a set of Image Dynamics CXS54 comps on ebay.

Guess I know what's going in the front doors. Hope the Polk DX6s hold their own in the rear doors.

Better break out the router and the roto-zip to fit these baby's in.

Perfect, one more project.........

AcuraX2

I have a set of those in my MDX. They sound great. Probably, the best speakers I have owned. Let us know when you get them in. I would love to hear your thoughts on them.

systek

oh yeh, and how much did u get them for???

bozzchem

$127

systek

very nice!

AcuraX2

I got mine for $200 and I thought that was a steal. $127, that's not right, hehe.

bozzchem

Actually, $147 with shipping.

They're not here yet so we still have to wait and see whether the buyer or the seller got the steal!

AcuraX2

Were they brand new or used? I bought mine from someone used off Sounddomain. They looked like new when I got them. You will love them. I wanted to get a pair of the 6 1/2's for my TL but, decided on an all Alpine setup instead. Not the quality of the Image but, should be pretty good none the less.

systek

hey, i went ahead and ordered the kicker RS62's for a whopping $125...!!! also got a hold of the kx600.4, and will be getting the 600.1 as well w/ my next payck

bozzchem

The IDs were used. He assured me that they were good as new and come in the original packaging. We'll see.

Those RS6s sound very nice. They were the best sounding comps my local shop had. They wanted $370 for the set. I've seen them as low as $175 online. You got a hell of deal on them. Where did you get them?

If I hadn't gone with the IDs I was going to go with Kicker RS5s.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the install goes and what is required to get those 6.5s in comfortably. Maybe it will be an inspiration to put the CXS54s in the rear and the CXS64s in the front!

AcuraX2

All I can say is, if you are going to put 6 1/2's in the doors, prepare to cut some metal. The holes in the door are just too darn small. The 6 1/2" Type R did not even come close. I would have to cut an inch bigger on the hole. Just a small bit of advice, be very sure before you start cutting.

I think 2 sets of Chameleons would sound great. I am going to go that route in my MDX but, they will be 5 1/4 in front and back. Good luck and keep us posted on the install.

systek

i have a contact at kicker...jejeje. this is simply the best reason to visit car audio forums you make contacts and find special deals direct from manufacturer w/warranty to boot:wow:

i also got great prices on the amps...so there ya go...! i'll keep everyone posted on my advanced mods to make these things fit once i get them(hopefully tomorrow)

oh yeh, that reminds me, i need to finish taking pix of my amp rack before i tear it out...since im gonna try my subs firing through the ski hole. if it works out, im gonna have to find a better place to put the amps at

RiDin00TL

arite i just got my tl, put some 18s, tint, and the panasonic ghost face head unit in. what size speakers can i fit in the front and rear doors??? of course the blose speakers sound ****ty with the new HU and i've been lookin all over the place but i can't find anywhere that gives the sizes or specs for the door speakers. can some1 enlighten me?

bozzchem

Read the post named "Hey Southbound, what fit's the doors" it's about around 8 or so posts down from this one

Southbound

hey bozz, et al...

Please re-read the thread "Hey Southbound, What speakers will fit the doors".

I MADE SOME ERRORS IN THE FIRST STATEMENTS. THE mounting depths that I spoke of being from the door frame to the window were actually measurements used including a spacer. There isn't much room to go deeper than the stock POS. There may be a bit of tolerance between cars and my measurements may be off by 1/8"... but a 2-7/8" mounting depth speaker will most likely require at least a 1-1/4" thick spacer. That will probably require the use of some longer door panel snaps. One guy on this board installed some POLK MOMOS and had to go with a custom 1-1/2 inch thick spacer. He said that he got some longer "GM" door panel snaps and everything went back together just fine. Although I'm sure the speaker is tight up against the panel. But he had no complaints, saying that the sound was worth it... and no buzzes or rattles against the door panel.

GOOD LUCK!
SB

systek

hey SB, i just installed the kickers in the doors, and i measured the space from the sheetmetal to the window, it was exactly 2" +/- 1/16"

my mids that i was replacing were just fine, they were not imprinted in any way, which would indicate that they were pressed against the door panel. these mids were spaced out 15/16" from the sheetmetal.

as for the ordeal i went through to install the rs6 mids from kicker, i'll post in another thread which deserves some reading

Southbound

So I guess we can say that the depth from the sheet metal to the window is somewhere between 1-3/4" and 2" depending upon the vehicle and who is doing the measuring.

Thanks for your input.
SB

systek

im always helpful, even when im being cynical or sarcastic at the same time...jajajaja

bozzchem

Got the speakers in. They look to be in great shape. Wow, 5 1/4s look really small to me. I guess I'm just used to the 6 1/2.

I'll post pics of all my installation woes on my cardomain page.

Stay tuned.

systek

yeh, i'll be posting pix of my hacked (literally) door....i think ya'll will be surprised when u see it.

bozzchem

I'm looking forward to it!! You're going to be the grain in my oyster shell so I will have to follow in your footsteps.

What are your experiences with 5 1/4s? I've already got the ID Chameleons and a set of Polk DX6s going in. What are your thoughts on this combo?

What do you use for your rear fill? It doesn't seem to me to be worthwhile to put killer comps in the rear. It IS the rear. Why bother. Just stick a decent coax back there and all should be well, right?

systek

about 9 yrs ago, i bought my first 6.5 comp set. they were infinity reference comps. since then, i have fiddled w/high end stuff from Soundstream and Diamond Audio. With money being tight, ive stuck to 5.25 comps. so with all this time that has passed, i forgot just how much of a difference 6.5 mids make in the front doors

i am truly happy w/my decision to go large(mids and amp) i truly believe that if my small amp for the mids/highs had not messed up(yet again) and helped blow my left mid, and i had stayed with it, that my mids would not sound as great as they do right now.

that extra wattage truly makes a difference. after i got the gains set just right, xover not too low, not too high, and the soundstage balanced as best as i could do so for now, it really was an eye opener. i stuck in the usaci sq cd, disconnected my subs, and put the doors through its paces. low level, mid, even at ear piercing levels, the mids and highs were simply a pleasure to listen to compared to before. my front stage is alot fuller and the width extends further than it used to. actually, i finally know what it sounds like to hear a soundstage from left side mirror to right side mirror. the low extension also makes helps create upfront bass. the midbass impact is unreal. i dont know why i stuck w/5.25 mids for such a long time.

as for the rears, my 5.25 Soundstream reference comps(ss511) never did go bad. they were just a sight to behold when they first came out, butyl rubber surround, cast magnesium basket, machined top and bottom plate, 1" silk dome neodymium tweet, and a 24 db passive xover(a first for me). they outlasted my mtx thunder 2300 that used to power them. i set them aside and never could part with them after i got my diamonds, so they collected dust.

since i have competed in sq arena w/my setup, i know that judges hardly like rear fill. but at the same time, this is not strictly a competition car, so i make compromises. at the same time, i cant stand cars w/6x9's in the back, cause they pull the soundstage to the back, where it doesnt belong. so the only reason i mounted those comps in the rear doors is cause my diamond audio xover has a rearfill output that is attenuated 10dbs. i cant hear them, but when u sit in the back seat, they do make a difference(which is good considering u are sitting in front of 2 15" subs )

so, if u care about rear passengers, go ahead and install something decent. if not, just any coax will do...hell, save some $$$ and install 4" coax back there.

bozzchem

Systek,

It was nice speaking with you today. Sorry for waking you up

Well, I have to say that I don't really care about rear passengers since 9 out of 10 times my only rear passenger is my 1 year old daughter and I don't play the system while she's in the car. The only reason I bought a 4 door car was for her.

My home theater system scared the $hit out of her so I don't want her being afraid of my car too.


If that's the case, then the Polk DX6 speakers should do fine for rear fill. I've read that this rear soundstage issue can be fixed by clipping the tweeter leads so you actually have only a mid-bass in the rear rather than a coax. Apparently it's the upper frequencies that cause the shift in the soundstage. Since I'm not building a competition system, I'll play it by ear...no pun intended. I don't see a reason to put comps in the rear due to their high cost and the fact that you really shouldn't be hearing that much from the rear. Hence the judges BS about RTA scores. It's supposed to sound like a concert where all the main sound comes at you from the front. Whatever. I say do what sounds good to you.

Where you've made me nervous is about the 5 1/4 vs. the 6 1/2 drivers in the front door. Can you really tell that big of a difference? I figured with a crossover point of 90Hz it shouldn't really matter that much. Both a 5 1/4 and a 6 1/2 should sound about the same crossed over at 90 Hz depending on the quality of the amp, speakers, and install.

Am I wrong here?

My two 12" IDQs will more than handle everything below 90Hz getting 300W each, so why should I worry about the front door speakers? I think the slope on my ID Chameleon crossover is 18dB, so it's pretty steep. Not too mention I have the AudioControl THREE.1 with its built in bass control and parametric EQ.

Thoughts or suggestions?

systek

you are correct in stating that cutting out the tweet in rear fill speakers, or simply using mids is the way to go, since that way, there is more ambient sound from the rear(midrange freq's) and there are no high freq's to pull the soundstage toward the rear. the reason i used the tweets in the rears as well is cause i have been wanting to be ready for whenever DD/DTS decoders becomes cheap enough in car audio that i can purchase the processor and go HT in the car...!!! so its better to plan ahead than do the work more than once.


as for the 6.5 vs 5.25, with speakers, bigger is better only if the quality remains the same. for example, who would try to compare a jl 12w0 vs a kicker 10L7??? i wouldnt cause i know the 10 would decimate that 12. why, cause the 10 can handle more power, has the potentional to displace more air and the build quality is there as well. i remember when i first bought 2 jl 12w0's and mated them w/a rf 800a4. they couldnt take that much power. in contrast, my old school s10ds(round solos) took that power all day long w/out bottoming out ok, enough with the example...

going back to the mids, if you can get a comparable quality mid that is simply bigger, what happens? you get more displacement of air which equals more audible output. yes, its true that you are only sending 90hz and up to the mids, but the impact will still be noticeable. you didnt say you would install 4" mids, cause its only playing 90hz, right? its the same idea...the bigger you go, the more output you get. plus putting a bigger mid allows for more wattage to be applied to the mid w/out reaching its mechanical or thermal limits. again, this helps give you more output, or more headroom when played at normal levels(dynamic range always seems to come up )

to answer your last concern. you are gonna run 2 12's, so do u really think you will have any decent up front bass? not w/5.25s. even w/6.5 mids, it will not be just right, unless you turn the gains on the subs way down. again, the bigger the midbass, the better it will integrate with subs. since we can only fit so much in our doors, there has to be a compromise. i made mine when i decided to cut the doors and make kicker's best comps fit in there!

btw, i sent off that email, i'll let you know something tomorrow nite, cause he is good about replying the same day