# Review: Phoenix Gold Ti Elite 6.5" woofer(1 year review)



## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

A year or so ago I was in the market for upgrading my stock speakers. I was focusing on shallow sets as my Subaru doors were somewhat limited in usable depth. I was basically set on 2.5" or less and the best I could get. The PG Ti Elites were suggested to me and from the specs and Morel base, they seemed to be the best option.

I am yet unclear on what Morel product these were derived from. People seem to compare them to Morel's Elate speakers, but I don't know, maybe an old gen Elate. Someone else can elaborate on the specifics of this driver's origins.

*Build Quality:*

This driver is one of the more solidly built drivers I've had the chance of holding, probably doesn't mean much given the limited experience in aftermarket hardware. The basket/flange is one, solid, cast piece. It's built like a tank. Short of jamming a screwdriver through the cone, you'd have a hard time damaging it. The surround, cone, and spider all appear solidly secured and cleanly manufactured.

*Sound Flavor:*

Tonality:
The way these drivers come across depends on what frequencies you play them. Between 150Hz and about 2kHz, these drivers are dead flat in frequency response. Any EQing in this range simply messes up the balance. Sound comes across flat and neutral. 

Below 150Hz, the output drops off rather quickly. A good way of describing midbass is _subtle_. It's there but it's quite laid back. For people who don't like overwhelming bass drowing out their mids, this is a wonderful feature. Suprisingly, tonality still comes across as ever so slighly(gently) warm. 

Above 2kHz, this driver gets interesting. High mid output begins to get very strong. Presence becomes lively. I use that word because bright doesn't seem quite appropriate. The driver just starts to sing above 2kHz. If you want it, great. If not, you should really consider crossing at 2kHz or under because this upper midrange is the dominate presence. It turns what can be a very neutral driver to something much more upbeat and lively. It's very engaging, but it just doesn't sound natural. You'll also have a hard time finding a tweeter that can match the high midrange presence without come across as too strong.

Detail:
I like to use two phrases when describing this driver: razor sharp and punctuated. The driver seems to offer an uncanny level of detail but in a way that's also smooth and laid back. Sound comes across as sharp as a razor but is also non-fatiguing. It's a goofy blend of oxymorons that really shouldn't be together. It's like the tonality, lively yet laid back. The upper midrange detail is impressive, just strong and clear, everything comes out. Higher bass notes can be felt in the chest, solid and punctuated as I like to say.

*Usability:*

Like I said, 150Hz to about 2kHz is the sweet spot for this driver. However, you're not limited to this range. 

If you like the lively presence, this driver will happily play up to about 5kHz-6kHz before really dropping off. It's massive range makes it quite usable as a single full range driver. You _could_ almost run this thing without a tweeter, but the upper range isn't really chean enough to do it well.

The low range is also usable beyond 150Hz. Despite being subtle, midbass is still present and it can still audibly pump out bass to around 50Hz. The limiting factors are simply excursion and available power. There's only a certain amount of linear travel to use. Beyond that, sound starts to get muddy and sloppy. This gets particularly noticable below 80Hz at volume. Given enough power, these things will play till they start bottoming out. Sound seems effortless to their usable maximum physical limits given the several hundred watts they ask for. For general use, I find 80Hz to be a good, "usable" low point. Beyond that, you're just asking for too much excursion and power.

*Power:*

Well, Morel likes the juice. There's no doubt about that. These drivers offer a good amount of sensitivity at around 90-91dB. It allows them to work well off little power and pair up to most tweeters easy enough. However, this is only true under small movement. If you want volume out of these things or strong low end response, they NEED power. I'd say 150w rms MINIMUM to really get these drivers to behave near 100%. I ran them passive off 300w rms as it was rated, and that was more than enough to play till it bottomed out, effortlessly. I now run them active off 75w rms, and they are noticably limited. It does depend on how low you're trying to play as well as how loud you're trying to get them. If you want them to really shine, no less than 150w. If you only listen to music lightly, 50w would do perfectly fine.

*Design comments:*

The basket is simply wonderful. How can you not like a solid cast piece. There's no worry about flexing the basket when screwing down the driver or any cracking issues you may have with a plastic basket. Just solid. I'd like to see more speakers in a solid cast format.

Morel seemed to really focus on low mass for this driver. The cone is very thin, and it's noticably flexable, not cheapy speaker flexable, but it could have been stiffer. This probably why DLS runs different cones. This thin poly cone has its benifits. The driver itself comes across as highly detailed, as I like to describe it, razor sharp. However, the poly cone smooths out the edge and actually makes this driver pleasing to listen to. What could come across as piercing simply comes across as punctuated. It allows Morel to come across as highly detailed yet non-fatiguing, despite the obvious hit to accuracy and any resulting distortion. It's a compromise that seems to work quite well.

I don't think the surround does anything, lol. The surround is thin and very flexable. It doesn't really apprear to have any ability to dampen the speaker. I kind of think most of the speakers movement is controlled by the spider more than the surround. It seems like an odd design choice. Whatever works I guess.

The gold plated wire terminals...there's rust on them... Tell me how that works. The whole speaker is pristine after a long time in my door but the wire terminals have spots of rust...gold...plated...terminals, lol. I just find it funny. It doesn't deter usability, but it's definately odd.


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## luvdeftonz (Aug 17, 2005)

Edit:

n/m, I just looked more closely at the diagram...doh!


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## luvdeftonz (Aug 17, 2005)

BTW, nice review


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## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

Short of a plain black and white pick of the woofer, that's the most interesting impage of it I came across on short notice. Exploded views are neat.


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## Jet (Jan 5, 2006)

Nice review! I want a pair.


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## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

Since I got my Seas, I am planning on selling. (not the reason of the review  )

I'm kind of cleaning out the closet so to speak, so I'll be throwing a few things up for auction during the week sometime.


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