1sashenka

Sundown

If you dont need current features like latest HDMI and wantnot, you may want to look in classified for used receivers. Lotsa bargains to be had on some high end gear from 3-5 yrs old stuff, if you don't mind hooking it up with regular component cables. In this case, definition upscaling is basicly out of the picture. Depending on your TV size too. Ask yourself how hi-def you wanna go. I would quicker jump on used Denons, Marantz's, NAD's, Harman Cardons. But you may find some rock bottom prices on mid-fi gear, cause some movie buffs always ready to unload their 2-3 year old equipment to get current stuff. You can bargain with them. Trust me, they just want to get rid of it. And look at the power supply ratings in the spec section to get an idea how powerfull the receiver is. It should be current hungry.

Those XXX's are 2-ohm speakers, and should slam to keep up with your subs. I only like K2P's with TN52 and up from Focal.

All Kicker sets blow, even top of the line. XXX is a better choice.

CDT ES610 is on sale at woofersetc for 299.

Also, it is important to know if you're getting DRT-25 tweeter, which is around 90db sensitivity with 480 xover, or DRT-26 with around 92db, cause the mid is around 89-90db. So, actually DRT-25 is a better match, and DRT-26 is not a better tweeter in reality, just freaking louder, which is unnecessary. 480 xover has tweeter attenuation, which is good, but has a dreaded tweeter protection, 560 does not have the protection(good), but if you want to lower the tweeter output, you have to use "image" input instead, which is 3db lower. I would actually be happier with regular ES mid, DRT-25 tweeter, and 560 xover - if at all possible. Upgrading to DRT-26 is pointless as it is not better, plus it is a bad idea as it is too efficient for this set. All is good, even 480 xover, just away from the DRT-26 if you can. Also, CDT silks are better than Aluminums or Titaniums. Silks are bright enough, but CDT metal will break your ears at loud volume levels.

Actually that KS900.6 does not seem to have a freq x10 multiplyer, so you still need a processor, so I guess it is out. Hope all this helps... In your case, if you're set on AQ amp, I would not go active. You may be very happy with bridged 4-channel. Back to square one You could theoratically go active with AQ amp, but I am not sure if you will be pleased with the results. Also I have tried working with several CDT tweeters. None of them liked active for whatever reason. I always felt CDT mids were incredible, but tweeters always left me wanting more, and I think CDT makes them work rather well with their passives. Not sure if there are any people out there running CDT tweeters active and are happy. They just hate being crossed low, and I am saying they are happier in a 3-way active set-up, where they are crossed over 5-6khz. Just like LPG NA's, they are perfect for 3-ways, but become pretty screamish at low freqs, but somewhow CDT makes it work at 3.7khz with passives, if you attenuate the tweeter like 3db lower. And having CDT mids going as high as 5-6khz may be streching it. Not a lot of 2-way design mids are happy going that high. I think CDT's are happier in passive mode.

It was covered already. You pretty much need ahead unit like Alpine 9887, which is ideal for active set-ups, or an outboard processor, or get a 4-channel amp with different power on fronts and rears. Plus, is that AQ amp for SPL, and not known for it's SQ. I am sure there are cleaner amps out there to feed your front stage. I would look into Audison Lrx or Vrx, Zapco Ref or C2K, Arc Audio XXK or FD or SE, or if cheaper - Sundown. There is a 2500XXK on Ebay right now for a passive set-up, and also a 6-channel Arc KS for active, in which case you could use the 2 channels for your tweeters, and bridge the other 4 to 2 for your mids.

Well, to me, it seems you're lacking processing capabilities to do a great job at this point, so active is out IMO. I hope what I wrote above clears up a few things, cause you may want to do it right if you go active, or not do it at all. That CDT passive set sounds pretty incredible, and I bet you are getting it for a very good price, as they are on sale these days. You can get a two channel amp, or a four channel and bridge it, if you really want to got that way. I am just saying that guys that are picky about SQ, would not do any bridging on the front stage, as distortion is more audible on higher freqs.

It's about balance too. My standards are very high, when it comes to tuning, and I found it very difficult to tune an active front stage with having to feed lets say 75w to each speaker. No matter how much you play with the gains, the results are not good enough in most cases. The tweeter is just so efficient, that it is too loud in this case. This might be ok, if you play the music at moderate levels, but once you start blaring it, it shows the tweeter is overwhelming. I always liked the idea of feeding the tweets like half the power from the mids 75/150. That could be done with two separate amps, or amps already designed with this in mind like JL 450/4 with rear channels half the power, or the new Audison Lrx 5.1k, etc. The other alternative is to get a processor like AudioControl or Alpine 701, etc, so you can adjust the output levels. So, I hope you can see what I mean, and in this here case, it does not look if any of these things are happening. So given the equipment at hand, I choose a passive set-up hands down. Plus, the passives probably have attenuation settings you can play with.

Agreed and agreed.

If you go active with that amp, your system will not be loud enough for LSQ purposes for example. SQ guys love active set ups, but I like power, so unless you got at least 150 watts going to those mids, it will be pretty quiet system. I have gone back and forth with passive and active, so now I know I need power. 90w is not too good, man. I would go passive with double the power, and the system will be loud and clean. Also, I am not a big fan of bridging 4 channels into two, cause you never know how that amp will behave in bridged mode. If your preouts dont have equally balanced voltage levels, you are looking at increased distortion issues, which is the case with pretty much all amps out there. Some are worse some are better, but all have these issues. Physics to blame. You can google that. Go ahead and try it, you may not notice anything, it's just me and some other people may be anal about such details. Oh and, I am not intending to get into arguements on how passives are adding resitance, losing 3db, etc, etc. I know all about the benefits of going active. All I am saying in this case I will choose more power over everything else active set-up has to offer, unless he gets a bigger amp. I feel, 150w/side is where it starts to sound good, and anything over 200w/side becomes overkill.

I think those PG's you're getting are the best bang for your buck. A lot of people were blown away by their performance at the price. And like any other speaker, give them little time to break in, and they will get punchier. Oh and I just noticed your sig, and you already have an amp and a sub, so all you will need is another amp later. Cool!

Those components def need an amp at only 88db sensitivity to sound loud and clean. But for my taste, you can't make any speaker sound good of the deck power. Come on, get an amp. Maybe like a nice 4-channel for now, two channels for the fronts, and bridge the other two for a sub

I do not see a poll, but it is a tough choice between Yamaha and Pioneer. Both make excellent product. I guess it all comes down to features, price, and cosmetics.

I love my Denon 3808 driving a pair of full size 3-ways(1" tweeters, 5.25" midranges, and 10" midbasses), and I have a rack amp Dayton 1000W for my two ported 12" subs. I have nothing but praises for these units. My home system is loud enough to peal the trim of my neighbours car parked in his garage. No need to go clubbing. Lung collapsing experience. Now I am just bragging. But seriously, this Denon is extremely loud and clean. I cannot get it to destort, I get blurry vision from sheer output and still without a hint of distortion.

Some JBL components come in 2 ohm as well.

I agree with all who said you need an amp to get anything decent out of your system. My pick for a non costly set would be Phoenix Gold RSD on Ebay. I think you can get them for under $150 shipped. They sound much much much better than Alpine S or Kicker KS.

350Z. It's not an SPL car, it's my daily driver. It's more like a LSQ car as I'm running a set of SEAS Lotus Reference up front and just two 10's in the hatch. Sweet ride with kick-ass system. I run a bit less power with 120A alt, and have no voltage drop issues even at full blast while driving. Drops a bit at idle, and drops even more if I use AC. It looks like you should be more than OK as is with your battery and 180A alt.

Hybrid Clarus under $200 - hardly. CDT in that price range is good. Focal Access is horrible.

You opened up the can my friend. Woofer size does not correlate to woofer speed or what notes it can or can't hit. It's all box dependent. I thought woofer speed was more an attribute of Le (or inductance of the voice coil), but I agree with your statement. I am not talking about woofer speed. Bigger subs always seem to have deep bass drag of some sort on fast music. 10s don't.

Ok, this is more of a comment, as I don't have any experience with Havoc. TC3k is a great sub, but I have found that 12" and up subs have some sort of deep bass drag, and I love the sound of 2-3 10"s as they are way tighter sounding, probably cause they don't dig as deep. In my opinion, if you want "tight" then go with 10s, if not, than skip the 12s, and go straight for 15s or bigger. It seems that deep bass drag is like a plague with larger subs even in various enclosures. I listen to a lot of fast music like trance and house. House is alright with any sub, but trance sounds way better on 10s, as deep bass of a bigger sub just ruins this type of music. And of course, I could be opening up a can of worms on the debate of sub size and their speed, but this is not my intention, just my experience. If I had to guess and make my own pick, which one of the two subs you are comparing is better, I would have to go with the TC3k.

I intend on purchasing the new SI Mag based on testimonials and reputation ALONE, so excuse yourself that I'm asking a question as SIMPLE as the preferred crossover point. BTW, thank you JimJ for your honest, helpful opinion.... One of the major reasons, why you don't cross your subs so high has nothing to do if it can play clean in that range, but so you don't get yourself into localization issues, so Mag or not, no manufacturer will recommend a preferred crossover point of higher than 80hz based on that alone, so unless you like hearing your bass obviously slamming you from the rear and thus ruining your soundstage, you should avoid crossing high. Hope that helps. On another note, I had an older generation Mag before, and I loved it. I am buying a pair of the new version based on that. If you are buying a Mag based on reputation, there is probably no one on this forum, who does not already think a world of the Mag. I personally have yet to hear a sub, which tops the Mag in my book, and I've gone through many, cause I am hooked on car audio that way, as I try new subs and new sub amps all the time. I have personal experience with my car and cars of friends with high end subs from JL Audio, Adire Audio, Image Dynamics, Arc Audio, Diamond Audio, Focal, CDT, Resonant Engineering, TC Sounds, DIYMA, and many more. Mag was the best of all. I don't know how Nick did it, but he did. And to try all these subs, I have a couple of sub amps to choose from - Arc Audio KS1000.1 and Sundown SAZ1500d. These are my faves, and I've gone through a few. So, you've got my vote on the Mag!!!

...and yet, we have another question, which could have been unasked, if people read through threads carefully. To answer your question - YES. Playing very high and remaining very clean is one of this sub's fortes. ... and yet, we have another jerk... For your info, I've been reading THIS thread and most of SI's theads about the new Mag daily for almost 3 weeks. Why don't you read through them carefully? I know it was stated that it COULD, that's why I asked smart-ass. Just because it COULD doesn't mean it's recommended does it? I know I'm new to posting on this forum, but that "jerkness" was not appropriate... I intend on purchasing the new SI Mag based on testimonials and reputation ALONE, so excuse yourself that I'm asking a question as SIMPLE as the preferred crossover point. BTW, thank you JimJ for your honest, helpful opinion.... Don't be so sensitive. No need for name calling, but I have been known to be a jerk sometimes. Thanks for putting me in my place.

Indeed. Not sure why anyone would shop for an SQ sub and then cross it higher than 50hz anyways. Agreed x2