# Massive audio RK6 component set.



## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

First off pics.

The box isn't as nice as the CK comp sets but it works fine hehe










The layout is familiar










As we could see, the travel was pretty hard on the box heh.

A close up up the cone











So the RK6 mid is the biggest beefiest mid I have ever had the pleasure to handle. It's really crazy and you shall see in the following comparison pics with the CK6.

The tweeter that comes with the set at first sight looks exactly like the tweet from the CK set... and after measuring it I can confirm that it is hehe.

So here is the RK6 next to the CK6 with the rubber boot removed. The RK6 has no rubber boot. It is significantly bigger:










It's ridiculously large! I like!










Here we can see from left to right the peerless 830883, RK6 and CK6.




























Tinsel lead pic. Both terminals are the same size, I can never change speakers without having to change out my connections.










The passive that comes with this set is particularly small, somewhat surprising.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

Here is a weight comparison with the CK6




















That's pounds by the way.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

I put it on the WT3 and here is what I got

* Manufacturer: Massive audio
* Model: RK6
* Piston Diameter = 167.6 mm
* f(s)= 69.31 Hz
* R(e)= 2.89 Ohms
* Z(max)= 18.45 Ohms
* Q(ms)= 3.234
* Q(es)= 0.601
* Q(ts)= 0.507
** V(as)= 22.670 liters (0.801 cubic feet)*
* L(e)= 0.31 mH
** n(0)= 1.20 %*
** SPL= 92.88 1W/1m*
* M(ms)= 15.91 grams
* C(ms)= 0.33 mm/N
* BL= 5.77

The *bolded* parts aren't accurate. They are to high, but the rest is right on. I am not sure why I got such high VAS and SPL. Surprisingly the SPL is , relatively speaking, 2db higher then the CK6 set.

From testing a bunch of the CK tweets and mids, I can say that the mids specs are always very similar but the tweets are not as close. Here is one of the tweets that came with the set:

* f(s)= 1250.00 Hz
* R(e)= 3.63 Ohms
* Z(max)= 8.45 Ohms
* Q(ms)= 2.852
* Q(es)= 2.156
* Q(ts)= 1.228
* L(e)= 0.35 mH

I managed to fit these guys in my doors thanks to some thick speaker rings:











Listening impressions to come shortly.


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## newsqguy (Apr 16, 2008)

very anxious to hear our comparison to the sound of ck set. How many watts are you sending to them?


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## ruthless (Sep 16, 2009)

yea can't wait!


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## BullDawg36 (Dec 14, 2008)

thinking sbout this company for my next project...subscribed!!!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Subscribed for listening review.


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## memphiskane (Mar 9, 2011)

^this


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

newsqguy said:


> very anxious to hear our comparison to the sound of ck set. How many watts are you sending to them?



starting with 100 and then a week later will increase to 250-300.


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## kvndoom (Nov 13, 2009)

If the woofer is 2dB louder than the CK6, that might not be a bad thing, since it would better keep up with the tweeter, perhaps? My only gripe with the CK6 was that the tweeters are too loud, even on the -3 crossover terminal. It's easily remedied, but I still wish it was addressed from the factory.

Oh and I can't help but laugh at a mid that needs as many mounting screws as a sub. :laugh:

I have no doubts that you will love the midbass from those, but I'm curious to see if their midrange is still as articulate as the CK6... it is so smooth and detailed and just does _not _break up at high volumes. I look forward to your impressions!


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

can you measure the depth of the speaker, as well as the diameter of the magnet? I have a feeling the website it incorrect. thanks


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## shrike07 (Feb 6, 2011)

Subscribed. Looking forward to the review


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

NOFATTYS said:


> can you measure the depth of the speaker, as well as the diameter of the magnet? I have a feeling the website it incorrect. thanks


Sorry my friend but these are already in my door.


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## shrike07 (Feb 6, 2011)

What is the shipping weight on the RK6? 25 pounds as per the website seems disproportionate giver your measurement. Some websites have it at 13 pounds. Much appreciated. 
Edit: an educated guess would suffice seeing that their already installed.


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## Lance_S (Feb 11, 2009)

The RK's are 5 lbs each, so that's 10. Then add the box, tweets and crossovers. 15 lbs sounds about right.

L


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## shrike07 (Feb 6, 2011)

Thank you. Seems to be the case. DAT also confirmed them to be approx. 15 pounds.
Will be receiving mine next week, so looking forward to your review.


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## Lance_S (Feb 11, 2009)

I should have mine next week as well so give me a week and I will post a review as well. Looking forward to it.


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## JediMentality (May 7, 2008)

kvndoom said:


> ...
> I have no doubts that you will love the midbass from those, but I'm curious to see if their midrange is still as articulate as the CK6... it is so smooth and detailed and just does _not _break up at high volumes. I look forward to your impressions!


I already have these mids in my doors and, although I can't compare to the ck6's, I can say that the midrange on these are just fine and smooth enough for my ears. They don't break up when I crank them and I've got a PDX 4.150 bridged on them (over 300W rms). I can't comment on midbass as I don't get enough midbass out of any speakers I've tried in my doors (fully deadened). I need to rebuild the baffle first before I decide to give a full review, then it's on to kicks with these.




shrike07 said:


> What is the shipping weight on the RK6? 25 pounds as per the website seems disproportionate giver your measurement. Some websites have it at 13 pounds. Much appreciated.
> Edit: an educated guess would suffice seeing that their already installed.


The UPS tracking info had it 14.40 lbs when DAT sent these to me.


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## shrike07 (Feb 6, 2011)

JediMentality said:


> The UPS tracking info had it 14.40 lbs when DAT sent these to me.


Thank you. UPS tracking has mine on 14.7lbs That just about clears it up then.


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## Lance_S (Feb 11, 2009)

First impressions????


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

I have a set coming so I am curious what people think of them. I just couldn't pass up the price.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

here we go

I have had only one week of listening time but so far this is what I have done and my listening impressions. I use a JBL MS8 to tune but tried it with tune and with processing disabled as well as I am not using the surround sound feature to evaluate these guys(my center channel is off). This is in a moderately deadened door of a 2005 altima where they replaced the CK6 set.

I started out with them off of the nx4 active xovered at 2500hz 24db and highpassed 50hz.
They have a heavier bottom end then most drivers I have tried out in my door without any tune. But this excessive low end does make it sound muddy. One of the first things that I noticed compared to the CK set was that the snap and perhaps a bit exaggerated midbase that I so enjoy wasn’t there. Percussions stand out less and don’t have near the same impact that I really enjoy be it realistic or not. I went through a wide variety of music with ms8 tuning on and off and of course it is much better with tuning on, but in general I found myself not enjoying metal or heavy guitar tracks as much I am having a hard time describing it aside from it being less enjoyable and less realistic. Such groups as blackeyed pees sounded fine but I find music of sorts usually sounds good on anything. 

I then bridged the mids to a planet audio bb175.4 that should see 250 to 300 and I was expecting them to come alive but did not really. Sure they can shake the crap out of my door and it’s quite possible that my door is the limiting factor, but xovered at 60hz they could play loud but the bass is strained and unconvincing and snap only manifests itself at very high levels of volume. So I have them now at 80hz instead and let the subwoofer take the lows and it is overall better as the straining is gone.

Enabling MS8’s processing, the tune clears up a lot, makes cymbals and bass notes more accurate and life like, clears up the muddiness (that usually accompanies sets without any sort of tuning) but still leaves me wanting and hoping for more.

In conclusion, the sets doesn’t seem particularly good atplaying low and doesn’t have the snap that many of us look for (at least in my door) and midrange isn’t it’s strong suite either. Although it does nothing glaringly wrong, it’s not as nice or doesn’t allow me to feel immersed so much. Perhaps this driver would really benefit from a stiffer baffle or complete enclosure. The driver IMO seems best at playing loudly and being able to take power. To me they sound better as I play them louder, to loud for my tastes but I am sure some would prefer it that way. 

I am considering trying them with the stock xover and if I do I will update here as well.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Good review - I can definitely see from the woofer design where they would be better at playing louder.


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## kvndoom (Nov 13, 2009)

Aww, sorry to hear the mixed emotions. Sounds liek the CK6 is more balanced overall. Considering the CK6 caneasily take more than its rated power and still sound clear, I guess it wouldn't be worth the upgrade for a current owner.

Thanks for the review... I look forward to your impressions with the passives.


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## JediMentality (May 7, 2008)

AAAAAAA said:


> The driver IMO seems best at playing loudly and being able to take power. To me they sound better as I play them louder...


I've been listening to just the mids for about two weeks now, and I'm gonna have to agree with this comment. Seems like they are power hungry and are a bit hollow at lower volumes. But note, I haven't had much tuning time.

Oh! And I agree with the below comment as well.


AAAAAAA said:


> Such groups as blackeyed pees sounded fine but I find music of sorts usually sounds good on anything.


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## emrliquidlife (Jan 19, 2008)

Just got mine in. 

Immediate positives, I appreciate that my box was double boxed. The mid does seem massive. 

Immediate huhs? Why does the tweeter have a double grill. The outer steel grill and the inner plastic grill? 

Immediate disappointments - I will leave this unwritten until I get some listening time in. I have thoughts, but will wait to be nitpicky.

Dat did a great job getting these out quickly and immediately. 

Ed


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## Lance_S (Feb 11, 2009)

For those that have them installed, how much power are you running to them. I am planning on running a PG MS2125 (150 x 2 approx.) Is this going to be enough? Kinda worried that it won't be enough power.


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## Mid Life Crisis (May 6, 2010)

Man im concerned with the mixed reviews on these drivers. I just ordered a set from DAT thinking this will cure my midbass issues. I currently use Focal K2P midbass and am not getting enough out of them. Im using a Zapco DC1000.4 Active and now I think I may not have enough power to run them.

Thoughts?


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## ade_beer (Mar 15, 2011)

I now think I will wait until the CK6's come back in stock. I don't think my listening taste is loud enough for these.


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## orakulo (Jan 13, 2011)

Waiting for comparisons to the HAT Imagine...


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

Mid Life Crisis said:


> Man im concerned with the mixed reviews on these drivers. I just ordered a set from DAT thinking this will cure my midbass issues. I currently use Focal K2P midbass and am not getting enough out of them. Im using a Zapco DC1000.4 Active and now I think I may not have enough power to run them.
> 
> Thoughts?


Your amp should be plenty. I doubt you will cure your midbase problem.

These are coming out soon and the CK6's are going back in. I knew I was really happy with the CK's and they did everything so well IMO.


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## orakulo (Jan 13, 2011)

Would you say the RK6 is more an SPL set than a SQ?


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes That's what it would seem to me.


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## newsqguy (Apr 16, 2008)

Damn.....that's dissapointing I was hoping for something else anyone want to trade my rk6 for some ck6????


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## Mid Life Crisis (May 6, 2010)

AAAAAAA said:


> Your amp should be plenty. *I doubt you will cure your midbase problem.*These are coming out soon and the CK6's are going back in. I knew I was really happy with the CK's and they did everything so well IMO.


Man thats a bummer.... I was only going to use the mids active and keep my Focal Tweeters.

Looks like ill give it a shot and see how they compare to the Focal Mids.


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Mine will be here tomorrow. I am gonna stay positive... I can't afford another set so I am gonna make myself love these.


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## Jsracing (Apr 1, 2011)

Wow, good thing I read this review. I was very close to picking up a set and try to squeeze them in my doors with a 3/4" spacer, but it seems the massive size is a bit of a hinderence in this case for SQ. Looking forward to seeing more reviews before I completely discount these.

For those with the CK6, would you mind my asking the approximate cost you paid?


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## Reach (May 12, 2008)

I was surprised by this review as well. I just installed the CK6's in my door and am tuning them now. I was surprised at how much power the CK6's want, and had to up my gains a bit to match them to the Vifa XT25s I'm running for tweets.

With how 'Massive' the RK6's are, I can imagine they are power hungry at a minimum to get happy.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

The CK6's are great, very snappy midbase, and of course are much easier to install.

I had a typo in my initial review (probably more hehe), I wrote down that I had the RK6's on an nx4 but it was an nx5. I have a pair of nx5's but no nx4's.


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## newsqguy (Apr 16, 2008)

so did you just run them active from your nx5? or did you bridge the 4 channels to two and run them passive from 2 channels bridged from the nx5?


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

Never ran them passive.
Bridged was the mids only on a planet audio bb175.4


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## newsqguy (Apr 16, 2008)

well i'm going to attempt to run them bridged on my nx4


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

AAAAAA- What other mids have you listened to that as you compare these?? I just got mine in today and I was hoping they would have a strong, tight, hard hitting midbass. I like the tweeter to be somewhat smooth and neutral, but with detail throughout all ranges. They can't be more harsh than the Pioneer REV components I had in my old truck haha. I'll be ordering SDS CLD tiles and the Mass Loaded Vinyl soon. Can't wait to hear what these guys will do with my Alpine PDX 100.4 bridged to them in a fully deadened door. 

Sorry to hear you didn't like them. Maybe try deadening the door a little more and making sure you don't have any openings in the door. You said it was vibrating the door like crazy..sounds like your loosing to panel resonance to me. Just a thought for ya. Let us know how they are sounding as they break in...any changes, etc?


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

No changes as they have broken in in the past couple of weeks. I can EQ more 80hz goodness and that helps for nicer midbase but then I find it adds to much weight to instruments and voices. And midrange is still a bit thin for metal\rock songs IMO. 

Anything with synthesized bass sounds good with these things , they really get going and can pound a door hehe... and make some jeans in front of the speakers vibrate.

As for deadening the door more... the plastic door panel does indeed vibrate a lot. Luckily the RK6's are not mounted to that, there isn't much more I can do to the my door and adding more deadening won't stiffen it anymore and deadening certainly won't help much for midbase heh. 
As you can see it's pretty well deadened and altima doors are stiff and they are as close to sealed as you can get for doors.









These things are pretty crazy and I think a regular car door might not do them justice. 

I can say the CK6 that were there before had much nicer midbase and sounded over all better IMO.

I have had many speakers through out the years but in this car I have had
some energy mids (crap midbase, delightfull midrange), CK6 mids (the best mid base and convincing\very enjoyable midrange), peerless 830883 (no low end without lots of EQ but they can take a lot and midrange is of course very nice) and now the RK6's.

More thoughts on these is that they might sound better if they were more on axis, these might be best inclosed although it's always hard to make big enough enclosures in a car.

Problem to me is they don't sound good down low, they strain and sound unconvincing, everything low starts to sound the same type of thing. Also In my case they aren't natural midbase snap monsters and that's what I really enjoy and think a lot of people look for as well. Tight snappy crisp perhaps even exaggerated. These don't do this in my install.

A lot of others have bought these so I am looking forward to what others think.


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

So you have them crossed at 80hz? I'll have mine installed soon hopefully. I just need to order my CLD tiles and MLV. I'd like to have a nice, tight midrange but still has authority. I wonder what changed between the CK6 and RK6 that would make the RK6 less punchy. You think more power would move them better? Do you have open holes in your door or Mass Load Vinyl/Overkill over the door? Maybe too much sound is escaping

What MDF rings did you go with to fit over the magnet? I'm currently looking for some in about a 1"


Also, when you say they sound "thin" for metal/rock and add to much weight to vocals...what do you mean? Thanks, still learning


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

I now have them lowpassed at 80 but I tried them at 50 and 60 as well but 80 seems to sound better to me. I have bquiet all over the door as you can see from the pics. As mentioned before no holes at all accept for the door clip holes, altima doors are very nice. More deadening would do nothing as it will not add any stiffness.

There really isn't much to wonder about... nothing happened in between rk6 and ck6 as they are totally different drivers. 

Right now my amp is capable of around 300watts rms... lack of power is most definitely not a problem.

As for the rings, they are rings I made myself, two 5\8" thick ones.

I said I can boost 80hz to help with the lack of midbass, but it thickens and makes the voices unatural and this is totally unrelated to the upper midrange thinness I have been referring to.


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

Well bummer. I'm hoping these sound okay to me when I install them! Kinda scared now because I haven't seen any reviews about these...even though tons of people bought them.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

The few that actually attempted to install them ended up having to put them up for sale because they can't make them fit. These are HUGE! When I close my door and the window is down I can hear the banging of glass on metal hehe.

Someone mentioned trying them enclosed and really really liking them and that they were extremely capable to go low.

So it seems that if you can get them to play more on axis, the midrange would probably sound better.


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## emrliquidlife (Jan 19, 2008)

I attempted a good faith effort of installing these tonight. But If ound that my MDF rings were too small as well. I thought I would be okay since I had 6.75 inch drivers in, but no go. 

I will get some time together next week. 

Ed


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## Mid Life Crisis (May 6, 2010)

Just to add I finally installed my Massive RK6 last night. I have to agree with AAAAAAA. They sound hollow. Thats the best way I can describe them. But at higher volumes they start to blend nicely. I havent had the time to EQ them all that much but I think with some heavy EQ I can get them to sound better. 

I dont recall who said it but I agree that I will make myself love them only because I cant afford a better set! LOL


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

Midlife- what's your install like? What amp is driving them? I wonder why they sound hollow. The mids or tweets sound hollow?


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## Mid Life Crisis (May 6, 2010)

ousooner2 said:


> Midlife- what's your install like? What amp is driving them? I wonder why they sound hollow. The mids or tweets sound hollow?


I have an 08 F150. The doors are sealed up with 16 gauge steel and then 2 layers of Dynamat on the inside skin and the outside skin. I dont have the deflection pad on the outside skin yet but I was thinking about installing them. The mids are mounted with 3/4 MDF. I am using a DC1000.4 to power them. The mids sound hallow. Like I cant get them to sound great. If I set them up to sound good at lower volume levels they sound hallow in the higher volume levels and vice versa. 

Now tonight im going to play with the EQ and see if I can tweek them a bit to sound better.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

By the way the tweets are the same as the CK set, and I personally really like them. They need a little but of taming around 8k but most tweeters have this same issue really.


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

Let us know what you come up with Midlife! That's weird they sound hollow...not good news. 

AAAA...- Do you have your tweeter attenuated at all? I'm wondering what the best settings would be for the tweet if I have no external processing. I'll be using the factory navigation in '04 Acura TL and Alpine PDX 100.4.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

I run active. But when using passives, be it any set for me I always put the tweeter attenuation on the passives to the lowest, so usually -3db, I never even question it because it's always to loud other wise for me.


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## Mid Life Crisis (May 6, 2010)

Well with alot of EQ I can get it close. Although I think the front stage is way overwelming compared to the subs at this point. I went from a lack of mid to a lack of sub if that makes any sense. The mids crave the power. The higher the better they sound, and the easier it is to tune them, for me at least. I notice that I am finding the sweet spot for the front stage but the sub stage is lacking now. Tomarrow I am going to experiment with some Memphis full size subs rather than the SI shallows. 

Another note... I am now running a much higher volume level than previous without turning the gains up on the amps. I think this is due to the increased power rating and capacity of the Massive mids.


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Just got mine installed about an hour ago. My old system was alot more highend than this system, P9 combo, Mac amp, etc. So I have something to compare them to. Current system is more budget friendly, Pioneer 3200BT deck, and older Premier amp @ 90 rms per channel on the RKs, and no sub at the moment. My main music is heavy rock and so far the Massives can play loud! Was kinda expecting more midbass but so far they are clear and I actually am happy with em. For the music I listen to and the volume I want to listen to them they will probably be great. I did add some deadener to outer and inner layer and they are mounted to 3/4" rings. I am not trying to build a system to compete in this truck by any means but i wanted a nice budget friendly system. For the price I will hang on to em. Just my two cents


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Here it is, I got my little review but I will be updating as i go

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...parisons/103649-massive-audio-rk6-review.html


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## Mid Life Crisis (May 6, 2010)

So after some different sub testing and more EQ time with the Massive mids running active I think Im happy with them... 

Now keep in mind I am in no way a pro at this. I just adjust till it sounds good... better... best to my ears. Also I point out that I am installed in doors where my ankles (which are deaf) get the majority of the sound. 

With EQ'ing the mids all over I have it sounding pretty good. I actually turned the amp down a little to bring it in line with the tweets, Rather than turn them up. It sounds much better so far. The sub stage was a challenge and found that it was the primary issue I was having. I couldnt get them to blend properly. I tried to use a set of Memphis full size 12's and my ears were yearning for the BM's back. Tried a single Kicker L7 15" and the same issues... I also tried a single IDMAX 10 and a Orion HCCA... just to get a feel for what ooutput and levels I can expect from different setups. 

All in all I like the Massive mids... I think they will be difficult to tune without a heavy processor but that could also be due to my install in the doors.

So final setup is the same as start, just a ton of EQ'ing and adjustment to the enclosure profile with the BM's.

Hope some of this helps!


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