Mach5Audio or Peerless

[JonnieBlaze 0]

Hey Everyone.

I bought these 8 Inch Peerless SLS speakers a year ago to put in my Neon. I bought them because I was told if I could fit an 8 inch woofer in my door, there was absolutely no reason to go with a 6.5 inch woofer. Well I recently bought a used 2005 Subaru Forester and I can’t figure out any way at all to install my 8 inch Peerless woofers. My question is, would I really loose a lot of the punchy bass that I love if I go down to a 6.5 inch woofer in my doors?

My doors will be sealed and deadened. I have 4 inch peerless midranges and seas tweeters that I’m hoping to install in some custom kickpanels. They’ll be running off an alpine H701 for a 3way active with 4 8 inch Sundown subs in the back. I really like the higher, very punchy bass and I’m afraid if I go down to a 6.5 inch woofer I won’t be able to achieve that.

Secondly, I know you all love the MLI-65 from mach, but how does it compare to this 6.5 inch peerless? The peerless has more excursion so would that mean it would give me more of the bass I’m looking for? *Edit* --> The max I can go is 7 inches dia and 3.5 inches deep. Maybe there are some other woofers that would be better at giving me the bass I want than these two?

I wasn’t planning on installing any rear speakers, but would adding a second pair of 6.5 woofers to the backdoors completely mess up all my imaging or would it help a little to give me back some of the bass I’ll be missing from the 8s?

Thanks for the help!

Edited November 4, 2009 by JonnieBlaze

[mjmarovi 8]

I'm looking at those similar speakers myself, haven't had the Peerles but I think that's what I'm going to buy. Many ppl recommend them and I know the company is very reputable and does make a great product as far as history is concerned. the MLI-65 I have had, and a friend is using them now, IMO their mid-bass is quite weak, it is a decent choice for a budget 2-way system, but I would not recommend it as the lower end of a 3-way system.

since you are running them, how have you liked your SLS? I am looking at doing 3 pair in my doors for mid-bass, and can't decide whether or not to squeeze in 8's or just go with 6 1/2s. how deep do you have your's playing?

[Adrian_D 520]

the MLI-65 I have had, and a friend is using them now, IMO their mid-bass is quite weak,

Hardly the case. The install they are in is weak.

I've heard the SLS 10's. The sls 8's are going to have a higher output compared to the mli's. Both are very nice sounding midbasses but if you have the room, go for an 8.

[JonnieBlaze 0]

since you are running them, how have you liked your SLS? I am looking at doing 3 pair in my doors for mid-bass, and can't decide whether or not to squeeze in 8's or just go with 6 1/2s. how deep do you have your's playing?

Sorry, I can't help you out with that. When I bought the Neon, it only had two tweeters..all the other speakers were blown. So i made a baffle for the 8 inch peerless and cut out two huge holes in the door panels and put them in, wired to the factory radio. No deadening, door wasn't sealed, no crossover. I just needed to put something in there temporarily until I could get something besides the neon. I liked them, but I have no idea what they are capable of because I did not install them correctly.

I really wish I could put the 8s in my doors, but I dont think I can figure out an easy way to do it since I'm not very good with fiberglass. I've made a couple kickpanels before but nothing extravagant.

Here is a pic of what my door looks like. So either I pick out a 6.5 that will achieve what I'm after, or I try to figure out a way to mount an 8 to that door, and fiberglass around it to make it look decent while keeping that little pocket area.

[crosspug 2]

I'm looking at those similar speakers myself, haven't had the Peerles but I think that's what I'm going to buy. Many ppl recommend them and I know the company is very reputable and does make a great product as far as history is concerned. the MLI-65 I have had, and a friend is using them now, IMO their mid-bass is quite weak, it is a decent choice for a budget 2-way system, but I would not recommend it as the lower end of a 3-way system.

How much power did you have to them?

Personally I found the Mli's to be "ok" midbass wise off 50wrms, but when I threw 200wrms at them they really came alive. MUCH more authority and much more "fun".

Anyway that's my experience. I'd be interested to see how the SLS 6.5 went though as I've heard they are very good midbass, probably more suited to a 3way application to be honest.

Jono

[mjmarovi 8]

the MLI-65 I have had, and a friend is using them now, IMO their mid-bass is quite weak,

Hardly the case. The install they are in is weak.

I've heard the SLS 10's. The sls 8's are going to have a higher output compared to the mli's. Both are very nice sounding midbasses but if you have the room, go for an 8.

I am very critical of equipment, and know what I'm doing when it comes to install. IMO the mid-bass is weak. and i had 100wrms on them in my car, and friend now has 150wrms on them. He bought them from me cause I sold them to him for practically nothing. You can hear them, but there isn't much authority. I am happier with the hertz hi-energy's, but of course there is a price difference.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

My MLI's provided plenty of mid-bass. Ran them from 2.2k down to 40hz. They were happy with 60 watts and even more happy with 100. A little bit of deadening and dampening behind them made a difference. I have never heard someone say their mid-bass was weak, quite the opposite, some have EQ'd down their lower end.

[JonnieBlaze 0]

I looked at my doors again tonight and for me personally, its going to be too much to cut the doors up and glass the 8's into the door. I'm going to have to go with 2 6.5" midbass, 2 4" midrange, and 2 tweeters. 6.5 in the doors sealed the best i can, and the rest in kickpanels. I hope I dont end up disappointed with 6.5" compared to 8".

No one has mentioned the 6.5 Peerless SLS I linked to in the original post. Does anyone have experience with that compared to the MLI? My amp will be pushing 120 watts at 4 ohms rms. From what you all are saying, that seems like a decent match for the MLIs while the SLS only calls for 50 watts rms and 100 peak. I've also seem some people mentioning the CSS XDS7 but at 100 bux a pop that's out of my price range. 50-60 each is sounding a little better. I'm just really looking for the speaker that will put out the most. I know it depends mostly on the install, but it still depends on the driver pretty heavily as well. Can anyone compare any of these speakers to each other in terms of midbass output?

[JonnieBlaze 0]

I noticed the Sensitivity of the Peerless, CSS, and MLI were 86.5, 85.0, and 89.0 respectively. Are those close enough to not make a difference, or is that a significant difference?

Even though the excursion of the peerless is pretty far at 8 mm, does the higher sensitivity of the MLI make it a better midbass driver to achieve the punchy, 50-100 hz bass?

[Adrian_D 520]

the MLI-65 I have had, and a friend is using them now, IMO their mid-bass is quite weak,

Hardly the case. The install they are in is weak.

I've heard the SLS 10's. The sls 8's are going to have a higher output compared to the mli's. Both are very nice sounding midbasses but if you have the room, go for an 8.

I am very critical of equipment, and know what I'm doing when it comes to install. IMO the mid-bass is weak. and i had 100wrms on them in my car, and friend now has 150wrms on them. He bought them from me cause I sold them to him for practically nothing. You can hear them, but there isn't much authority. I am happier with the hertz hi-energy's, but of course there is a price difference.

TBH, I have listened to cars that won European SQ titles....I'm not into this sport since yesterday I know what sounds how. I've ran the MLI's for quite some time now and I can tell you that after hearing a car with a pair of high-energy's per door that the high-energy didn't cut the mustard. I've also listened to high-energies in a good install and I can't say they offer so much more output. Maybe a bit more defined but that's all.

You should really post pics of how those doors are built and some info on the install because that is what is keeping them down.

[Adrian_D 520]

I noticed the Sensitivity of the Peerless, CSS, and MLI were 86.5, 85.0, and 89.0 respectively. Are those close enough to not make a difference, or is that a significant difference?

Even though the excursion of the peerless is pretty far at 8 mm, does the higher sensitivity of the MLI make it a better midbass driver to achieve the punchy, 50-100 hz bass?

Look in the advanced discussion or tutorial forums, there's an explanation of the difference between 4 ohm and 8 ohm sensitivity and that should clear a bit of your problem.

[///M5 2,833]

Those SLS's in 8" form are machines. The Mli's and SLS 6.5's are also capable midbasses...for a 6.5. Hard to replace the extra surface area though.

Running a pair of them could do the trick, but you do NOT need 2 4's and 2 tweets to go with them. The only reason for the second midbass is to make-up the cone area you lose stepping down from an 8. Not sure how you plan to fit a pair of 6.5's though and can't fit the 8's. For your front stage, whenever possible using a single driver for each frequency range is the best solution.

[JonnieBlaze 0]

Running a pair of them could do the trick, but you do NOT need 2 4's and 2 tweets to go with them.

I didnt mean I'd have two 6.5's, two 4's and two tweeters on each side, I just meant in the car total. There is a flat spot on my door panel that I could cut out and cut some of the door behind it to house another 6.5. That would give me two in each door. I dont think there is enough room at that flat spot for the 8, but I'm going to check again next time I go out to the car. I really hope I can find room to put it there. There is hardly any space for a 4 inch and tweeter at the kick panel, so I know there is no hope of putting the 8 in a kickpanel.

If I find room in the flat spot of my door panel to put the 8, it will be right around my hip, not anywhere near the kicks. Would that be a bad move?