# PHD AF 6.1 MB Pro; My take on things



## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

I have spent a few weeks with these wonderful speakers, and will be working on my full review over the next day or two. While I work on it, here's some pictures for you to enjoy;
































































































I took lots of pictures because I wanted you to be able to see what I think is outstanding build quality.

Btw, if you want more information on these before I post my review, please direct all inquiries to Mike Allen [email protected]


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

First things first; I was turned on to PHD by my friend, Geoff who in turn introduced me to Mike Allen, the US sales rep. I had a long conversation with Mike and we decided the component set you see here is what I would audition. Now, anybody involved in the selling end of the 12 volt industry has two very basic needs; Good product and product support. I won't name names, but I'm familiar with brands that don't always have both. However, in this case, Mike Allen and the wonderful company he represents have it in spades. So, thank you gentlemen, for allowing me this opportunity.
The car is your basic 2005 MINI Cooper S model. I cut out the rear fill a long time ago, as I found it to be unnecessary in such a small car. The speakers are set in stock locations;
















I broke these speakers in with a Phoenix Gold MPS2500 and after they were nice and supple, I introduced them to my Orion HCCA 2100. Both very, very nice amps for your front end. But the amp I have running them now is a Sony XES M3. That one stays.









When the large glossy black box showed up in the mail, I was very excited. Normally, I record all of my openings (for posterity and proof), but this time I didn't care. I felt like a kid at Christmas. When I got the box open, I wasn't ready for what I found. I've run a lot of different speakers in my time but these were very different. They are visually striking, and the build quality is second to none. The mids are truly something to behold. The crossover is also very nice. I couldn't wait to get these in the car!
These almost didn't fit, but because I had modded my doors awhile back, thankfully they did. So let's fast forward through the break in period to right now; Alpine 9835, Sony M3, and the components.
One of the first tracks I listened to after I got everything fairly tuned to my liking was Journey's "Faithfully". I have never heard anything like that in my life, and was brought nearly to tears by the depth and breadth of Steve Perry's vocals. Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I listen to a variety of music and these speakers picked up everything. Every instrument, every sound, piano keys, guitar picks, etc. It's all there. These speakers took what I've been listening to for years and showed me something very different. I'm not very technical and neither is this review. But in the most basic terms, I can sum it up like this; I pulled my CDT ES620 Golds out of the car for these. And my whole listening world went from black and white to color. 
There are those that will tell you "equipment is equipment". And to a point, I can agree. But I know something special when I hear it. I'm an old school guy, but unless I'm doing a period piece, I like to run newer speakers. After this audition I can say with confidence that this is the only new speaker I will buy. 

Previous listening experiences include MB Quart, German Maestro, Diamond Hex, Focal Polyglass-Utopia, Morel, Dynaudio, HAT and more. <<Some I have owned, some were owned by friends. I haven't listened to everything out there, but to be completely re-invigorated at 41 means a lot to me.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Great review and it has convinced me to pull my nib PHD AF 1.C tweeters out of the for sale forum. Now I just need to pick up another car to put these in. Too bad I'm not doing audio in my Ram....


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## WestCo (Aug 19, 2012)

Those af 1c's are pretty nice as well 

Glad to see people using quality drivers!


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

I know people like pics to associate, so here's the Sony;

















And I'd like to say, I'm not a "professional". I'm just an enthusiast who does his own installs. And I can't say that these are the best speakers out there. But these are assuredly the best I've listened to.


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## rockytophigh (Apr 16, 2008)

I had the pleasure of listening to both Geoff's and Mike's cars a couple of weeks ago. They were both very good cars and very, very good people.


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

rockytophigh said:


> I had the pleasure of listening to both Geoff's and Mike's cars a couple of weeks ago. They were both very good cars and very, very good people.


I wish I could hear their cars. Maybe next year. And yes, both are top notch guys!


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## momax_powers (Oct 26, 2013)

Is this set a new design for 2014....because they look a lot different (better in fact) than the ones ive seen before and on their site


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

momax_powers said:


> Is this set a new design for 2014....because they look a lot different (better in fact) than the ones ive seen before and on their site


The mids are brand spanking new, but I believe the tweets are last years model. I could be wrong though. 

Speaking of tweets, these do not hurt my ears when I turn the volume up. I'm always having to crank my tweets down. Not this time.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Those AF mids look very nice. Nice speakers, nice install. Glad you are pleased with them. I'm partial to them myself.


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## SQ Audi (Dec 21, 2010)

Very nice review. Mike Allen is not the US Rep though, he is the US distributor. So he is the end point of all customer service. PM me if you want to know who the US rep is. We are trying to get our speakers in the hands of the novice, the amateur, as well as the pro, Thank you for your review sir!


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

What's the US MSRP $ on this set?


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## PHD - USA (Aug 10, 2010)

bigdwiz said:


> What's the US MSRP $ on this set?


This was a set put together for Jason, at the time he didn't want the af 1.c tweeter so we got him the af1.a which is much cheaper. Currently we are having a sale on all of our inventory, so we can bring in more items.

I can send you a message Derrick if you would like more info.


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## PHD - USA (Aug 10, 2010)

The mid-basses have been updated recently with a newer basket, and new push terminals that will alleviate any kind of problems people may have with terminal tabs on mid-basses.


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

SQ Audi said:


> Very nice review. Mike Allen is not the US Rep though, he is the US distributor. So he is the end point of all customer service. PM me if you want to know who the US rep is. We are trying to get our speakers in the hands of the novice, the amateur, as well as the pro, Thank you for your review sir!


I stand corrected! That's the amateur coming out of me 

Thanks, SQ.


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## 82cj8 (Jan 21, 2011)

Those pro mids look awesome!I would like to know about the entry level products and pricing


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## PHD - USA (Aug 10, 2010)

82cj8 said:


> Those pro mids look awesome!I would like to know about the entry level products and pricing


I can help you out with that my man. 

Go ahead and send me a message and I will do everything I can to answer any questions you have.


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## slowride (Jan 26, 2009)

Ge_off_me said:


> I can help you out with that my man.
> 
> 
> 
> Go ahead and send me a message and I will do everything I can to answer any questions you have.



Interested here as well. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PHD - USA (Aug 10, 2010)

Ge_off_me said:


> I can help you out with that my man.
> 
> Go ahead and send me a message and I will do everything I can to answer any questions you have.










itsmyturn said:


> Interested here as well.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Shoot me a message my man


Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4


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## kkreit01 (Aug 27, 2009)

Coppertone said:


> Great review and it has convinced me to pull my nib PHD AF 1.C tweeters out of the for sale forum. Now I just need to pick up another car to put these in. Too bad I'm not doing audio in my Ram....


You need to do audio in your Ram. It needs it, and it's fun. You didn't want any hair anyway.  ('12 CC owner here)


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Everyone is telling me to do audio in that especially since I average about 37,000 miles per year in it lol. Dealership is begging me to turn it in for a 2014, but I really like this one. Let me see if the wifey can handle the strain of being doing another audio build. She was sick to death about hearing the one in my legacy lol.


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

I am currently running the 6.1 Pro and I really like them. I have the same 1.1 tweeter and it is nice and lively without being too harsh. I have to agree that these speakers are solid performers. To me they just have a well balanced sound and to me they deliver a very "Live" sound to them. I would love to try out the upgraded tweeter as I have heard nothing but great things about them. However, at the current time all my extra funds and time is going into restoring a car. I will certainly purchase more PHD in the future.


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## WestCo (Aug 19, 2012)

AudioBob said:


> I am currently running the 6.1 Pro and I really like them. I have the same 1.1 tweeter and it is nice and lively without being too harsh. I have to agree that these speakers are solid performers. To me they just have a well balanced sound and to me they deliver a very "Live" sound to them. I would love to try out the upgraded tweeter as I have heard nothing but great things about them. However, at the current time all my extra funds and time is going into restoring a car. I will certainly purchase more PHD in the future.


I greatly enjoyed the phd AF drivers over my HAT L1pro and L4se's. The phd's were more realistic, had lots of "life," and didn't have the sharp sound that the L4 SE did.

The af 4.1 and Af1.c tweeter were really great to listen to.


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## AJSCHLEP (Mar 8, 2014)

This a great review of some killer product. Thanks for all your time and effort to help get the word out on products that are not in the main stream.


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

AJSCHLEP said:


> This a great review of some killer product. Thanks for all your time and effort to help get the word out on products that are not in the main stream.


Thank you!


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

So, I just got the tweets that actually go with my mids. And while I may change them, there is no need to. The more I listen to this front end, the better they sound. These are truly amazing speakers. These are the AF 1.1c's.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Those are the ones I run with the FBpro 6.5's and really enjoy the sound.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Wow not to bust in but those are the exact same ones that I had for sale. Too many tweeters, not enough desire to have another install done.


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## killerb87 (Oct 24, 2008)

I just got the AF 6.1's and the OP's review is spot on. I don't have the pros, but the AF 6.1'S are phenomenal drivers! Best I ever heard. I might have to upgrade to the pros in the future, but for now I am very happy.


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

killerb87 said:


> I just got the AF 6.1's and the OP's review is spot on. I don't have the pros, but the AF 6.1'S are phenomenal drivers! Best I ever heard. I might have to upgrade to the pros in the future, but for now I am very happy.


Good to hear! I've been running these for awhile now, and although it doesn't seem possible, they just keep getting better!


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## kmbkk (Jun 11, 2011)

Man, reading this makes me want to get my install done...stupid deployment


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

^^^ may I inquire as to who did your turbo install please ?


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## kmbkk (Jun 11, 2011)

Coppertone said:


> ^^^ may I inquire as to who did your turbo install please ?


Treadstone Performance in Miami.


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## philray (Jun 21, 2014)

Great review. 
Was wondering what amp sounded best with these? Also how was the sound after a long listen session? Did you get any thermal compression? Is there any tweeter attenuation on the passive x-over? Thanks !


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

philray said:


> Great review.
> Was wonder what amp sounded best with these? Also how was the sound after a long listen session? Did you get any thermal compression? Is there any tweeter attenuation on the passive x-over? Thanks !


Tweeter attenuation; basic + or -3db.
Thermal compression; Speakers are rated for 75/150. None of the amps listed are as powerful as the internet says. My HCCA 2100 has been measured at 173 wpc, and the 97.3 is very close to the same. So, I don't believe so.
Long listening sessions; Just about every system I've had required me to turn it down or off after extended periods. However, with these, my extended sessions weren't really notable. I didn't have to turn it down. I think that's because the tweeter wasn't pulling at my ear.
And as far as using different amps, I'd have to say the best sounding combos were the Phoenix Gold and the Sony.

I'm currently in the process of running everything active. I've run active before, but this will be my first time setting it up. I'm also dropping the power a bit. I really like my Sony amps, and these speakers don't need a ton of power.

























All that being said, I still have so much to learn before I can properly answer your questions.


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## philray (Jun 21, 2014)

That answered them all. Please keep us updated on the full active setup.


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## toroos (Nov 2, 2012)

Has anybody tried the FB 6.1 compaired to the AF 6.1? Just curious to know how the mat'l of the mid changes the sound.


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## PHD - USA (Aug 10, 2010)

toroos said:


> Has anybody tried the FB 6.1 compaired to the AF 6.1? Just curious to know how the mat'l of the mid changes the sound.



I have 

I really enjoyed the af 6.1 mids more. They worked their way into being my go to 6.5" .

The fb 6.1 is nice, but for a 2 way set up, I either reach for the studio 6.1 neo or the af 6.1.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Very nice review you have here sir. Great pics and your mix of older gearis fantastic !


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

Thank you.


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## bdmach1 (Mar 8, 2008)

Thought I would pop in and say thank you for giving such a great review of your PHD MB Pro's & af1.a tweets. I keep checking in from time to time to see if you got everything switched over and running them active now. Looking forward to reading your impressions on how it sounds now active and if you ended up leaving those af1 tweets in? or switched them out to try the af1.c's???



Bob


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## StockA4 (Aug 26, 2011)

Thanks, Bob. The end of the year proved to be a trying time for me, but I did manage to get the 1.1c's in and I even did a little active action with my gen 1 Sony XES amps, and Pioneer DEX-P1R. I didn't have a chance to do any real tuning because the car went T/U on me. I will say though, that was shaping up to be the cleanest setup I've ever installed. And I say that knowing full well I am not a pro. I'm just a hobbyist who barely knows what he's doing. But I know what sounds good to me.

The good news is, I bought a new car and these are going in. Won't be anything fancy;
Stock head unit
AF 6.1's, and 1.1c's,
a single JL 8W7,
a pair of old PG MS amps,
and a Helix DSP to control it.

Once I get that stuff in and give it a good listen, I'll come back through and offer a final word on my review. Although I would imagine there are more folks than just me who have gotten their hands on these by now.

















A couple pics. I've been months without any real music. I am ecstatic that I'm finally going to be back in the game.


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## Mcjosh13 (Nov 4, 2015)

Great thread. I've read somewhere that they have 8" AF now but not listed on their website. Any info on these?


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