# best sound quality components



## erc (Jan 17, 2009)

hello, 

looking into 6.5 components, thinking of going with the cdt es62i series. any pros, cons?

Running an a/d/s mx460 , alpine cda9855 h.u. 

any recomendations as for a great sounding set of components would be appreciated

thanks for your time


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

whats the best hamburger?


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## MrDave (May 19, 2008)

Depends on how you like your music to sound. 

Dynaudio
Rainbow
Hertz

All good places to start when looking for a 6.5" set.


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## drtool (Nov 26, 2007)

My ears like Focal. Hat are worth checking out too.


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## finfinder (Apr 15, 2006)

budget ? musical taste ? active or passive ?


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## Genxx (Mar 18, 2007)

Me likey the Hertz


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

Install is the most important part of any system....but I lean towards HAT products...lol


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## erc (Jan 17, 2009)

60ndown said:


> whats the best hamburger?


thanks for all the replies,

I have around $400 to spend , I was looking into these cdt's
CDTAudio top quality audio components
I tried google search for reviews and didn't find much info. 
other options are 
CDTAUDIO Premium Car Audio Sound Systems
CDTAUDIO Premium Car Audio Sound Systems

focals
Focal 165-V1 - Focal 165V1 Polyglass 6.5" 2 Way Component Speakers

polk had good reviews
Polk Audio mm6w - Polk Audio 6.5" Momo Competition Component Set

Mostly listen to live recordings, rock , blues , jazz. I am looking for something nuetral, with a good sound quality. Not interested in blasting out my neighbors or the car next to me at the red light.

I am looking for a plug and play component set, I can modify the door panels in the toyota tacoma if necessary, they were 5x7 stock , I believe. I have infinity 6.5 reference components installed now. The a/d/s mx460 amp sounds great, the infinity's midbass is ok, but the highs are not so good. Running a jbl bp600.1 and infinity kappa perfect 10" dual voice coil sub.

I would run the components passive , I do not have enough knowledge to even begin to run the active. The a/d/s amp is a step or two beyond my knowledge, I bypassed the x-over on the amp and messed with the xover settings on the h.u.. I am going to run two channels of the 4 channel amp, would I be better off bridging the amp, or just using two channels for better sound quality,

thanks for your time


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

Clarus-Series Two-Way Component Systems


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## erc (Jan 17, 2009)

David_Edwards said:


> Clarus-Series Two-Way Component Systems


 a bit over the price range


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

Do you have any speakers you could trade in for credit towards the Hybrids? Remember we do have the Trade in/Trade up program.


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

> best sound quality component


Mine are. But then again, everyone is going to say that. Most of the choices recommended in here aren't available for audition locally, so you will be trusting the word of people you don't know who could have picked speakers you'll not like. I only buy what I can hear. I bought mine after a 2-week multi-brand blind evaluation. After reading what people like online, I firmly believe there are no true "best" components. It's about preference. 

During my blind evaluation I never thought I would consider Infinity Reference to be the best. I selected them over everything else on the mass market. I've gotten endless crap from people for picking them as "the best" and nowadays I just don't talk about it anymore. People online are so pigheaded about their beliefs and there is no use in trying to convince them that Infinity Reference speakers sound like world class performers to my ears. Some people 'hate' my speakers, at least online they say they do. In person so far, people like my speakers. Go figure. I don't let other people's opinions move what my own ears tell me. I suggest you do the same. 

Go with what your ears tell you is the best. Afterall, you are the one who has to listen to your system everyday, not those critics. Are you after pleasing your own ears or trying to build a system for other people who will never hear it?


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

There are some companies(like Hybrid Audio and others) that have multiple world championships and great reviews to back the 'internet buzz' about their products they know people can't audition.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Check out the Digital Designs W components, 480 bucks with crossovers, 380 without if your going to run active. Apparently these are excellent for the money!


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

David_Edwards said:


> There are some companies(like Hybrid Audio and others) that have multiple world championships and great reviews to back the 'internet buzz' about their products they know people can't audition.


At those prices, they better be the best, not just 'good'. SQ comps require a flat response from 20Hz-20kHz and multiple processors to achieve those results. You should theoretically be able to take just about any decent speaker, put processing on it and achieve a really flat result. 

I've heard 'flat' EQ'd systems for home audio, none for car, but if they are anything alike (I imagine they are) then there is virtually no low-end and that sounds 'fake' to me. Like what a old style phonograph sounds like. Midrange, tinny and irritating with no smoothness. 

I tried a home audio experiment. I had a friend who could sing come into my home. I played an acoustic recording of a vocal only after setting my home system to flat frequency response using my EQ. I wanted to achieve vocal accuracy in my home. I played the piece of music, then I had my friend sing. I quickly decided that my system 'flat' didn't sound real at all. It was phony. I tried multiple tracks and found that on multiple tracks of varying depth of bass on vocals still lacked any true realism.

Then I started adjusting the EQ and played tracks, having my friend sing every once in a while. After a couple of hours I got my system to sound real close to an actual singer on most tracks. So, a 'flat' 20Hz-20KHz for me doesn't sound 'real' and 'real' is what I strive for.

Another critical element in speaker listening I search for is 'image'. Does it sound like I'm wearing headphones? Do I hear not just right to left, but like there is a depth in front of me that stretches out far beyond the speakers? I found that you can't EQ that into a set of speakers. They either have depth of image or they don't. You can play around with a device like an HRTF processor to try and force a more spatial effect but my speakers don't need it. 

I am very critical on my speaker selection and evaluation. Here are the items I judge on my sheet of paper:

Tonality - Do instruments and sounds seem 'real'. (Different acoustic environments will change some characteristics of the sound, but not some specific ones you can still listen for.)

Image - When playing binaural recordings or playing music that use a lot of echos/ambience, does the sound stretch out? (And don't get fooled by the ambience/echos of the room you're listening in.)

Dynamics - When a drum hits, is there a sharp impact? When an orchestra builds to a climatic crescendo, does it sound like it's increasing in volume? Can you sense it's getting louder? (Some speakers sound dull and lifeless, with what seems like a equal-loud output from soft sounds to loud ones. If you want an extreme example, listen to electro-static speakers from years ago.)

Overtone/resonance - All speakers seem to have this, except the most expensive I've heard. On lower mid-range sounds, listen for a lingering ring on top of the sound that is not part of the actual music and is not part of your acoustic environment, but coming from the speaker itself. Virtually all speakers have this in one degree or another. Some that manage to minimize it, seem to do so at the cost of imaging. The rare speaker that has deep image and no additional resonance is usually VERY expensive. Yet most 'expensive' speakers still have this problem. The best speakers I ever heard were a set of Snell Acoustics THX cinema reference speakers. At the time they were being sold, they cost $30,000 for the whole setup. 

Sibilance vs air - I've noticed that when you try to minimize sibilance in sounds, you lose some of the 'air' in the soundstage. And when you try to open up the soundstage to improve imaging, you increase sibilance on vocals and over accentuate the sound of 'clicks' 'ticks' cymbals and chimes. This can be improved with an EQ and is not something you are doomed with when buying a set of speakers. Some people refer to these kinds of speakers/tweeters as 'bright'. Most tweeters can still be attenuated to improve the realism. There are metal tweeters that have no hope of sounding realistic. I absolutely hate Boston Acoustics tweeters. They sound metallic and phony to me. Some people like Boston Acoustics, and I don't want to start arguments or offend, but they are some of the worst tweeters on decently priced speakers I've ever heard. I can hear them immediately upon entering a car audio shop. They have a signature sound that is hard to miss and I guess you either love it or hate it. 

Those are pretty much the big 5 for me. Opinions on speakers are going to vary. The best thing to do is listen to a set of speakers with your own ears, reject anyone else's opinion, and apply those 5 critical listening examples whenever you evaluate. You will end up with a good set of speakers just for YOU.


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## Jimi77 (Jul 4, 2005)

erc said:


> thanks for all the replies,
> 
> I have around $400 to spend
> 
> ...


Interesting, yet another person dissatisfied with the Infinity Refs - I got rid of mine too. 

Like many I don't think there is a best anything. The Alpine Type X pros are ~$350 on ikesound.com. Obviously, if you can find a set locally to listen to, then that would be the way to go. They're only 2.5" deep, but that is ~.5" deeper than your Refs. After listening to them, I'm highly considering swapping my old Alpine Type-X refs for this set. Here's a review from CAF:

(new) Alpine Type X Pro review - CarAudioForum.com

Car Audio wholesale distributor Alpine Pioneer Kicker Clarion Hifonics Kenwood Boss - Ikesound.com - Alpine SPX-17PRO

I think any of the sets you're looking at will be a big step up from the Infinities. There is a reason that so many have upgraded from the Refs....


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

Thow these in the mix IMO

Zapco RB-16.2 Reference 6.5 Component Speakers NEW REF - eBay (item 120365113858 end time Jan-24-09 13:23:36 PST)

Love the Zapco/ESB components and these are a steal


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## erc (Jan 17, 2009)

60ndown said:


> whats the best hamburger?


thanks for the replies, still not sure on the burger, I like chicken.

So, I am going to go around to the local shops and see if anyone carries anything other than pioneer. In the mean time I will do some research on running active instead of passive. If I run active I can tweak the sound more than passive? My h.u. has a built in crossover and I have a couple high pass xovers for the a/d/s, just not sure how to manipulate them and finding info on them has been troublesome. 
If I run active I can just switch out the tweeters? I do like the midbass from the infinity reference. Maybe I can tweak the tweeters on the infinitys. I have been running infinity ref. for about six years and gone through a bunch of speakers. I had an a/d/s mx860 running infinity ref. I bridged two sets of components, one in the door, one in the kickplate. The sound was amazing, till the amp burned up. Not sure if the speakers blew and shorted the amp. The right side of the amp was fried and two sets of components would not make a sound. I am worried about the same thing happening with the infinity's and the ads mx460. 
My wife has the infinity ref. in her 4 runner, no amp and an alpine h.u. and it sounds pretty good. 
Was hoping it would have been as easy as everyone saying ,"oh yeah! buy those, they are great" . I'll search fo shops in S. Fla that carry components

thanks again for your time


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

erc said:


> Was hoping it would have been as easy as everyone saying ,"oh yeah! buy those, they are great" . I'll search fo shops in S. Fla that carry components
> 
> thanks again for your time


I don't believe in 'easy' speaker selection. Take your time and buy something you like to listen to. Quality sound is an individual thing and components shouldn't be selected on a whim or on a casual suggestion.


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

I am just saying that when a company like us has numerous National and World titles under our belt. I would think we have the credability. 
As for a SQ car being flat...I do not know of any person that wants to tune to a flat response(unless they are getting judged on RTA).
Multiple processors? Yeah you might need them....if you don't know what you are doing...There are plenty of HUs today that have T/A and Eq built in so all you would really need to do is set your gains correctly.
Speakers have imagining or they don't? So you are saying that speaker placement has nothing to do with imagining?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Ever think that the world championships HAT has is from the people using them and installing them CORRECTLY? I'm not a HAT fan but that doesn't make me a bad person. I do like their tweeters. I'd run morels over HAT just out of principal though...like I am now.


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

I understand your point of view. What I am stating is that given the right install every speaker has the ability to sound good. It is all in the install.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

But when you say that xxx products have the credibility that's just a different way in saying your **** doesn't stink when you know good and well it isn't for everyone. Focal is my one and only for mids but I don't like the tweets in most cases. HAT mids make me want to punch babies with their tonal signature that can't seem to be tuned out but I like the tweets.


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

Every speaker, be it Hybrid, Focal, or any brand, has a signature sound. Some people like the sound of "their brand". The OP asked for the best,with the piles of awards and titles Hybrid Audio has recieved in our few years would put them up on alot of peoples list.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

David_Edwards said:


> Every speaker, be it Hybrid, Focal, or any brand, has a signature sound. Some people like the sound of "their brand". The OP asked for the best,with the piles of awards and titles Hybrid Audio has recieved in our few years would put them up on alot of peoples list.


I just feel that your comments will lead a lot of people to disapointment when they place their brand new EXPENSIVE HAT set in their untreated doors and entry level headunit only to find out it sounds like **** because of install and tuning. Once that happens you have people saying far worse stuff than I am about the trophy winning products.


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> I just feel that your comments will lead a lot of people to disapointment when they place their brand new EXPENSIVE HAT set in their untreated doors and entry level headunit only to find out it sounds like **** because of install and tuning. Once that happens you have people saying far worse stuff than I am about the trophy winning products.



that can be said for ANY brand...not just HAT.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Can you tell I'm just in it for the debate?:laugh:

I'm definately sticking with my morel mdt29's for as long as I own this truck since my stock locations were made for them. Even have a pair of replacement coils in a drawer over my right shoulder. Next pair of mids will be the focal K2 mids when I decide my polyglass v1 mids are ready for retirement. Diffrent strokes for diffrent folks for sure and there are people running pyramid and other fleamarket sets that love them and guarantee the sound they put out would make any one of us cry thanks to a bad install and tuning. Heard a tahoe pull up just as I was walking into work last night and they were cranking Phil Collins. LOUD but sounded like the amp was getting pushed into clipping.


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## David_Edwards (Nov 12, 2008)

I realized that about 3 posts ago...lol


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

:larry the cable guy: I can do this all day


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

David_Edwards said:


> I understand your point of view. What I am stating is that given the right install every speaker has the ability to sound good. It is all in the install.


I'm soooo glad you said that.

To the OP, if there is any one comment in this thread that you should take out of it, it is this one. 

Don't worry about speaker selection at this point. It's the least of your problems. There's no speaker out there that fixes the problems a car has acoustically.


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## NOTORIOUS97200 (Dec 11, 2008)

Focal polyglass or V1 or CA1 are not really sounding good when you start to turn up the volume. Unless you buy the K series (KP, KF, K2P(the best), or higher, forget about Focal. I live in a French country, so lots of people use Focal, but the cheapest ones are really not worth the money.
Go to the Davis Acoustics site (google it) and look out : really really great great french speakers !! You will love them.
You can alsso buy a good set of Pioneer comps : it will always work good !


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## 86mr2 (Apr 29, 2005)

Zaph tested a pair of Davis Acoustics 5.5" drivers. Scroll down a ways.

Zaph|Audio


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## Krispy (Jan 23, 2009)

60ndown said:


> whats the best hamburger?


sirloin you grind yourself then cook up


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

My polyglass v1 mids do fine when driven hard. They keep their clarity and don't bottom out. I have 126rms per driver. A driver distorting can easily be improper gain setting like people saying "even my stock headunit makes these speakers distort".


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

MiniVanMan said:


> I'm soooo glad you said that.
> 
> To the OP, if there is any one comment in this thread that you should take out of it, it is this one.
> 
> Don't worry about speaker selection at this point. It's the least of your problems. There's no speaker out there that fixes the problems a car has acoustically.


And there is no installation that will fix the acoustic problem of a driver. 

No offense to you and your well-regarded experience, but I'm sick of hearing this. No installation will make a silk purse out of a Quart titanium dome tweeter either. Installation can fix a lot of problems, but it can't fix a bad driver. Installation can improve midbass. It can tame tweeter harshness. It can do a lot of things, but so can buying a tweeter that isn't harsh in the first place or a midbass driver with better excursion. If you don't like the sound of a driver, there is precious little that installation will do. Installation can only tweak the sound.

Find some speakers that you like and then take the time to install them properly. Both are important, but it's best to start with some speakers you actually like first.


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## audisoner 596 (Dec 15, 2008)

Dynaudio the best of the bunch, over the Focal hands down. Go listen to Dyns first before you make decision. Also, most shops don't know how to set up the Dyns so you don't get the full range. Go for setups that give Dyns at least 100W of power so you can hear the bass.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

audisoner 596 said:


> Dynaudio the best of the bunch, over the Focal hands down. Go listen to Dyns first before you make decision. Also, most shops don't know how to set up the Dyns so you don't get the full range. Go for setups that give Dyns at least 100W of power so you can hear the bass.


That's about as subjective as it gets right there.


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## RedGTiVR6 (Jun 26, 2007)

Best Speakers EVAR, of all time, hands down, u argue, you don't know ****e!


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

this thread is funny, people pushing what they got in their car to try to justify to themselves that they got the best, employes of a company trying to sell a product based on awards of acouple certain users. If all the awards meant you had the best speakers it wouldnt be hat for sure.

I have been there many times before, trying what others suggest, and man alot of people have different tastes than me, its hit or miss and can cost you alot of money if you are trying to pleae your ears

To the OP go audition some different brands, otherwise you are buying based on a popularity contest, if you do that you most likely will be disapointed


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

RedGTiVR6 said:


> Best Speakers EVAR, of all time, hands down, u argue, you don't know ****e!


Damnit Jan I've been threatening to put a fleamarket set in my truck just to see if I can get it to sound good. Just might do it too for ****s n giggles when the weather warms up cuz I'm a certified smartass:laugh:


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## audisoner 596 (Dec 15, 2008)

NOTORIOUS97200 said:


> Focal polyglass or V1 or CA1 are not really sounding good when you start to turn up the volume. Unless you buy the K series (KP, KF, K2P(the best), or higher, forget about Focal. I live in a French country, so lots of people use Focal, but the cheapest ones are really not worth the money.
> Go to the Davis Acoustics site (google it) and look out : really really great great french speakers !! You will love them.
> You can alsso buy a good set of Pioneer comps : it will always work good !


Even the Be could break at high volumes.


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## burakol (Apr 25, 2008)

speaking for myself... sound quaility is very subjective... yes its good to have better drivers in terms of quality and build but still.. in the end... it all boils down to what sounds good to your ears... you are not pleasing anyone but yourself... 

i am no expert but when i hear something good... that's where i'm going... as some have said, audition is the key... a lot have done budget installs and a lot have spent more than they could, but still, its up to your hearing's pleasure...


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## FG79 (Jun 30, 2008)

If I can have my Milberts, Phoenix MSs, Orion HCCAs, all the install flexibility I need, Nakamichi DACs, processors, etc. I would be happy most speaker sets available....and surprisingly enough the ones I might like the least probably cost more than ones I like more. 

Sure I have my preferences like anyone else, but if you think just throwing $1000+ speakers in a car alone is an answer to your audiophile dreams you're in for a very rude awakening. 



There's a big misconception that speakers (and most audio equipment in general) is like everything else i life....the you get what you pay for argument.

Not always true. For the kind of sound I like, I'm more skeptical of higher end lines than lower end.


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## OkcCarAudio (Jan 31, 2012)

Mooble said:


> And there is no installation that will fix the acoustic problem of a driver.
> 
> No offense to you and your well-regarded experience, but I'm sick of hearing this. No installation will make a silk purse out of a Quart titanium dome tweeter either. Installation can fix a lot of problems, but it can't fix a bad driver. Installation can improve midbass. It can tame tweeter harshness. It can do a lot of things, but so can buying a tweeter that isn't harsh in the first place or a midbass driver with better excursion. If you don't like the sound of a driver, there is precious little that installation will do. Installation can only tweak the sound.
> 
> Find some speakers that you like and then take the time to install them properly. Both are important, but it's best to start with some speakers you actually like first.


Man well said, i can understand a sales man saying there product is the best....i mean come on it's how they make a living but you can't tell somone you have the best sounding components because of you're titles....it's better to guide somone than to tell them....just like to me i don't like morel, to me they sound dull even though i know there built very well it's just not my cup of tea....hell in my truck i run a set of silk german DD tweeters on diamond D6 mid bass drivers with D6 cross overs....and soon as though's go out i'm probably gonna go with k2 powers by focal....but we own a shop so i get the privilege to test out these speakers and trust me if i couldn't get the speakers for the deals i get them at there would be no way i could afford them.....but for a 400-500 budget range i'd looking into something like i did.....but it's what your ear like's...to be honest i'd try and find some local car show's and listen to other peoples car and find something your ears fall in love with....i'd take my time with it...BTW when i mean local show's i mean your people with every day job's with real house hold bills because them guy more than likely have any from a 200-1000 range of components =D


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## 1990tsi (Dec 9, 2011)

first post is a 3 year bump

nice


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## Pitmaster (Feb 16, 2010)

I hope the OP found some speakers by now:laugh:


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## Gary S (Dec 11, 2007)

From the brands and models the op mentioned, I like the CDT.


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## Smdaniel-11 (Feb 4, 2019)

NOFATTYS said:


> Check out the Digital Designs W components, 480 bucks with crossovers, 380 without if your going to run active. Apparently these are excellent for the money!


They are like trying to tune CT sounds or AD Desings or any other cheap components.


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## Fish Chris 2 (Dec 18, 2019)

I'm guessing you didn't notice this thread was like 10 years old 😀
Not that it's not a good question now... But inevitably, somebody will be bothered by this. 

I like my Polk Audios. The soft dome tweeters are nice, never edgy or harsh. And they are pretty inexpensive too. $150 for a set.


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