# 6.5" peerless SLS and 2" Aura whispers...My new frontstage.



## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

I finally decided on speakers for my new front stage after selling my 720prs component set. I chose the peerless mids because of all the positive information i read about the strong midbass. The reason I chose the whispers is simply because it was the smallest driver I could find that would play low enough to mate with the SLS but high enough to not need a tweeter(although some might still like to use a tweeter for the very high highs). As it turns out the Aura whispers cutout diameter is almost identical to that of the prs tweets which was another big positve because it would require little modification to my door panel where the whispers are mounted.

The mids are mounted to a home made 3/8" cutting board adapter in a fully deadened and sealed door that is now covered in Luxury Liner Pro. The Aura's are mounted off-axis directly to the plastic door panel. These speakers are being run active off a kenwood x4r with 100 watts going to each mid and around 50 to each whisper(they are 8 ohm drivers). I have the whispers set up to play down to 800 Hz with the SLS's playing from 800 on down with no highpass currently.

It would not be right for me to directly compare this setup to my previous setup of the premier 720prs component set because so many things have changed. I have moved to an active front stage. The amplifier has changed. And also the doors have been improved with the new luxury liner and cutting bored spacer. But anyways on with the review.

After getting the speakers installed the first thing I noticed was a different type of sound mainly due to the majority of the vocals now coming from the tweeter/mid. This was interesting for me since it has been the first such system I have heard. Compared to my last setup I believe this one to have more detail and it appears to be able to play slightly louder before hearing audible distortion. 

The thing i was most excited to hear was the midbass from the SLS. One of the first songs I played was "Sexy *****" which has some strong midbass. I think i could convince most people that i have a decent sub setup in the trunk playing that song. But the midbass doesn't seem to be that strong all around more of just a specific area at least in my installation. While it does have decent midbass for me everywhere it has a small range where it is very very good.

The Aura whisper's are outstanding little drivers especially for their price of 20 bucks. They will play down to 630 Hz for me without a problem. They are very clear and seem to handle power much better than I was expecting. They are a little weak on the way top end which is why some might still like using tweeters but for me the roll-off on the top end doesn't bother me.

My infinite baffle subs haven't arrived yet but i expect them to blend into the midbass real well.

My final thoughts on this new setup are very positive considering the price I paid for everything. My entire front stage came up just shy of $400. And for that price I would recommend this to anyone.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Thanks for taking the time to give your thoughts. I have a question about the SLS. When you say it only plays a small range well, what frequency band are you referring to? Just wondering if maybe you're talking about frequencies 400 & above, because just about every review I've read on the SLS has stated FR is no good above 300hz.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

The coherence that comes from no crossover (and no abrupt shift in directivity!) in the midrange is really something more people need to experience. That you find the system gets louder than your previous one is interesting, though, and not what I would expect vis a vis the PRS. Is there significantly more power now?

Did you cut off the bug-screen on the back of the Whisper and stuff it with polyfill? That makes a nice improvement around 2kHz.

I've also been thinking about experimenting with "caps" for the back end. Have you done anything like that or are you running them open?

Also, consider the SLS's might sound better when you add the subs and reduce their bandwidth. If not, the Exodus Anarchy 6.5's (depth permitting) might be an upgrade path.


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

I've been harping 2-way setups like this for years now. Glad you're happy. Especially glad that you're happy due to the fact that you spent less just over $100.00 for your speakers. 

Some things to add to DS-21s list. 

Are the Whispers enclosed? If not, it's something you could try to strengthen the power handling on the bottom end. 

I know you're using a stock door panel for a mounting location and that means off-axis. But play around a bit and try them on-axis. You'll be pleasantly surprised with their clarity on the top end.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

MiniVanMan said:


> Some things to add to DS-21s list.
> 
> Are the Whispers enclosed? If not, it's something you could try to strengthen the power handling on the bottom end.


It didn't occur to me until I read your post how sloppy I was with my word choice above. When an audio-minded person reads that someone suggests a "cap" on the back of a driver, her/his mind logically expands that term to "capacitor." What I meant was what you posted, "enclosures." 

After not finding anything especially suitable in the PVC isle of Home Depot, a week or so back I went through a supermarket trying to find stuff with tops that could be turned into "cabinets" for the Whispers. There's a Bisquick bottle of "just add water" pancake mix that's about a layer of Peel & Seal bigger in internal diameter than the back end of a Whisper. (The pancakes that come out of it are only OK.) The volume of the cap, subtracting out the volume of the motor pot, is a shade under 15mL. Interestingly, with such an enclosure, you get an efficiency bump at the low end of the Whisper's realistic range AND it's basically impossible to drive it past xmax with less than 200W or so. (That is to say, the voicecoil would probably melt before the suspension tears, even though it's a pretty good-sized coil considering the size of the driver.)

At any rate, it's something I plan to try this week, as I'm taking the little Peerlesses out and putting the Whispers back in.



MiniVanMan said:


> I know you're using a stock door panel for a mounting location and that means off-axis. But play around a bit and try them on-axis. You'll be pleasantly surprised with their clarity on the top end.


Agreed. My only caveat from aiming them out of stock doors (and door grilles) is that diffraction issues can outweigh the benefits of superior on-axis performance.


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

DS-21 said:


> It didn't occur to me until I read your post how sloppy I was with my word choice above. When an audio-minded person reads that someone suggests a "cap" on the back of a driver, her/his mind logically expands that term to "capacitor." What I meant was what you posted, "enclosures."


Yeah, in this case though a capacitor _could_ be used to control low end excursion as well. But, I was a bit confused since he is running active. 

Anyway, my next project will be a pair of 8" (Trio or the buyout Next) and a pair per side of the Tang Band W2-852SH utilizing a simple 1st order high pass with about a .8 Qtc enclosure.

I want to use the Next buyout woofers really badly because it would keep cost down remarkably (even though I have 2 pairs of Trios sitting in my workshop) and I could end up with a sub $100.00 2-way setup that would exemplify "SQL".


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## Knobby Digital (Aug 17, 2008)

MiniVanMan said:


> But, I was a bit confused since he is running active.


Is he? If this is the person I think it is, he's got custom passives.


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## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

DS-21 said:


> The coherence that comes from no crossover (and no abrupt shift in directivity!) in the midrange is really something more people need to experience. That you find the system gets louder than your previous one is interesting, though, and not what I would expect vis a vis the PRS. Is there significantly more power now?
> 
> Did you cut off the bug-screen on the back of the Whisper and stuff it with polyfill? That makes a nice improvement around 2kHz.
> 
> ...


Regarding the comparison to the prs set. I am actually using less power now with from the x4r. The ran the prs components first with a kicker sx500.2(125x2) and then later with an infinity 4 channel bridged to make 180x2. But like I mentioned in my original post I do believe my door is now better suited for the speaker with a better adapter piece and more sealing and mass loaded vinyl done now.

I did not cut the bug screen and add polyfil but i have read about it. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime soon. I am just running them open to the back of the plastic door panel.

And I think your right about me liking them more after adding the sub setup. The subs should be here in the next couple days and the amp soon after. I'll try to remember to update this thread after I have the subs installed. 

I would love to try those anarchy's some day but I squeezed every bit of depth i could trying to fit these SLS behind the door panel with the window still being able to roll down.


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## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

MiniVanMan said:


> I've been harping 2-way setups like this for years now. Glad you're happy. Especially glad that you're happy due to the fact that you spent less just over $100.00 for your speakers.
> 
> Some things to add to DS-21s list.
> 
> ...


The whispers aren't enclosed. I don't think i need to strengthen their power handling. They appear to take everything the x4r can give them and at that point they have plenty of output for me. I bet they would sound great on axis but i don't think that would be simple to do while keeping everything aesthetically pleasing.


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## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

Knobby Digital said:


> Is he? If this is the person I think it is, he's got custom passives.


Yep I am running these active through the built in dsp on the kenwood x4r. Which by the way has to be my new favorite amp, but that's a whole other review.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

Hondarider said:


> Regarding the comparison to the prs set. I am actually using less power now with from the x4r. The ran the prs components first with a kicker sx500.2(125x2) and then later with an infinity 4 channel bridged to make 180x2. But like I mentioned in my original post I do believe my door is now better suited for the speaker with a better adapter piece and more sealing and mass loaded vinyl done now.


Very interesting. I wonder if some of the perceived improvement isn't, then, because so much more of the music is coming from a point much closer to you.



Hondarider said:


> I did not cut the bug screen and add polyfil but i have read about it. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime soon. I am just running them open to the back of the plastic door panel.


It's really, really easy to do. I just pry it off with kitchen scissors. No need to cut - the glue lets go pretty quickly. A very, very sonically beneficial 5-minute mod. (Excluding the time it takes to get the doors apart!)



Hondarider said:


> And I think your right about me liking them more after adding the sub setup. The subs should be here in the next couple days and the amp soon after. I'll try to remember to update this thread after I have the subs installed.


Of course, the other thing that might happen is that you might find yourself seeking out a more efficient driver for midbass. That's what happened to me when I added a sub to my augmented wideband system. Whereas prior to adding the sub the SLS8 and Trio8 provided the best compromise for me, since then I've been buying up 8's with a less throw and higher efficiency. So far I've tried the Peerless 850519 (CSX "car") and JBL 116H-1. Next on the docket (probably going in at the tail end of this week) is a set of Seas Lotus L1011's. And should a neo magnet, shorting-ring equipped Hybrid Legatia "L8SE" come out, I'll more than likely be trying those, too...

But the SLS is a fine driver, and perhaps you'll be spared the foolishness of wondering what could top it.


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## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

I see what your saying about finding a more efficient midbass. I think the SLS will take much more power than I am giving them since they don't appear to be stressed at full tilt now and they are playing from 0-800 Hz. When I high-pass them more power would probably provide even more output. But I'm not planning a huge sub setup or anything just two tens in the rear deck ran off 600 watts.


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## Knobby Digital (Aug 17, 2008)

Hondarider said:


> Yep I am running these active through the built in dsp on the kenwood x4r. Which by the way has to be my new favorite amp, but that's a whole other review.


I coulda read that OP again to double check. :blush:

What car is this in?


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

Glad you are enjoying your setup. The SLS are some super midbasses. I am using them in small sealed enclosures as dedicated midbass (still playing around with the LP crossover setting and currently running subless, so the SLS 6.5's are playing from around 250 all the way down to my amp's subsonic filter - and they are laughing at the ~140 watts I am sending to each). The FR of the SLS drops off a cliff after ~650Hz, makes me want to try a very shallow LP xover slope on them (short of running them without a LP filter) as I mate them to a set of Fountek FR88EX. I previously ran the SLS as midbass from ~65 to ~200 and they took 250 watts a side with no problem.
I never tried the SLS in an IB setup though due to low Qts.


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## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

Knobby Digital said:


> I coulda read that OP again to double check. :blush:
> 
> What car is this in?


This is in an '04 Monte Carlo. And I never mentioned what head unit I am using which is a pioneer premier f90bt navigation unit. That is why i needed the kenwood x4r for the crossover and time delay features built in.


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

For the guys running SLS in enclosures, how big are you guys using? Im thinking of a floor mounted midbass in a small sealed enclosure.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

IIRC, jasun_g who posted above, has his in .2 cf.


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

Yup, good memory. 0.2 cubes per driver. Make sure to give 'em a lot of power and make the enclosures very sturdy...like a miniature version of a sub box


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

MiniVanMan said:


> Anyway, my next project will be a pair of 8" (Trio or the buyout Next) and a pair per side of the Tang Band W2-852SH utilizing a simple 1st order high pass with about a .8 Qtc enclosure.


This thread is exactly what I was looking for earlier today, and couldn't find it. 

At any rate, is there a reason you went with the W2-852SH instead of the W2-803SM? 

http://www.parts-express.com/pdf/264-808s.pdf VS http://www.parts-express.com/pdf/264-805s.pdf 

The Poly cone obviously calls more attention to itself (for better or for worse) but I would be interested in the comparison. I am looking at both of those models for my next install, although I was assuming I would be limited to on-axis mounting considering the polar response of the larger drivers.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

jsun_g said:


> Yup, good memory. 0.2 cubes per driver. Make sure to give 'em a lot of power and make the enclosures very sturdy...like a miniature version of a sub box


Do you remember at what volume the SLS started to show a peaky response? I ask because I think I can get about .25-.3 cf sealed in my doors, & would like to use a pair in each door.


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

I haven't tried the SLS 6.5's with anything smaller...they replaced a set of ID OEM version 1 drivers after I already built the enclosures. The ID OEM's had major issues in enclosures that small, big peak around 125-160Hz and a lot of coloration. The SLS have a smaller peak in the same freq range but better low-end extension. The peak could very well be partly due to the dimensions in the front of my car though so YMMV.

If I had enough space available, I'd really like to do the SLS ported in the kicks.




fish said:


> Do you remember at what volume the SLS started to show a peaky response? I ask because I think I can get about .25-.3 cf sealed in my doors, & would like to use a pair in each door.


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

94VG30DE said:


> At any rate, is there a reason you went with the W2-852SH instead of the W2-803SM?


Because I found them for $8.00 a piece on ebay and bought a crapload of them. That's about it.

My wife has the Peerless 2" full range in her car. I'm not overly picky with these. They're all pretty inexpensive, with the same drawbacks. You'll have higher harmonic distortion just due to the fact you're trying to run such a small cone so low. You have really low sensitivity, etc. 

I wouldn't sweat it too much.


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

Just curious, Where did you pick up the aura whispers from?


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

katodevin said:


> Just curious, Where did you pick up the aura whispers from?


Probably here...
Aurasound NSW2-326-8A-120 2" Full Range with Solder Pads from Madisound


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## Hondarider (Mar 2, 2007)

fish said:


> Probably here...
> Aurasound NSW2-326-8A-120 2" Full Range with Solder Pads from Madisound


He guessed it.


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## an2ny888 (Jun 27, 2008)

would using the sls in a smll sealed underseat box affect the soundstage negatively? i would think they would image better in the doors, but im having a problem fitting the there due to the depth


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## jonnyanalog (Nov 14, 2007)

I just installed the whispers in my car and mostly agree with the OP. After just a short listening period (on my way to work) I really like the stage height and the coherence offered by a point source mid. There are some subtle details that came out better with the tweeters but overall I'm very pleased, esp. when you consider I paid $50 shipped as opposed to well over $200 for the tweeters (Dyn MD102s). The Dyns are still my favorite tweeter thus far but these little Auras are really something special. The next step is to add in some Exodus Audio Anarchy midbasses or just go right for the SLS 8s.

BTW- I do plan on implementing the above mentioned suggestions from DS-21 and MVM.


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## douggiestyle (Apr 29, 2008)

DS, did you ever get to experiment with capping the back of the whispers?


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

Sorry for the OT, I always want to give the whispers a try.
As long as DS21 use them at his install and Linkwitz at his Plutos.


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