# Another H-Audio Ebony Review



## 6262ms3 (Feb 27, 2008)

I've had these in for about a month, all I can say is I [email protected]#king love these mids! They're in the doors of an '07 Mazdaspeed 3 getting 100w each from a JL Audio HD900/5, HU is an Alpine CDA9835, paired with Polk Audio SR ring radiator tweets, sub is an SI BM12mkIII.

Mid-bass is solid and clean. I started off at 80hz/12db since they weren't playing very low, but once they broke-in they gained a bunch in the low end. I've now settled on 63hz/24db and they have no problem with it, they just keep taking more volume and never lose their composure. My car does have some bizarre off-axis peaking in the 200hz range, at first I thought the mids were brutally muddy but it would go away when I moved my head down on-axis. I cut -5db at 200hz and it cleaned up the worst of it. This is the first system I've had with actual mid-bass, it's great on songs like ***** Galore by the Roots and Thin Line by Jurassic 5 where the kick has little sub-bass. The ebony's give it great snap, plus kick drums in general have nice detail. On Rainy Day by Guster the beginning has thumpy hand drums that alternate left/right like a clock ticking, the eb's give them depth and a very wide stereo image without any farting or other bad behavior. Stand-up acoustic bass is something that many speakers have trouble with, but every bit of tone and warmth comes through on these, so well that I've been seeking out songs I have with stand-up bass in them just to enjoy it. Hell, all bass guitars sound great on these, as a bassist it's just awesome to hear the subtleties that are usually lost. Out of curiosity I turned off the sub and dropped the x-over to 40hz, they played way lower than I expected and at moderate volumes put out a good amount of bass.

Midrange on these has changed the way I think about midranges, in my stoopid head I always thought tweeters provided most of the detail, man was I wrong. Previous mids include JL XR and Focal KP, the Eb's stomp them both in detail without ever getting harsh. My favorite x-over was 2khz/12db but for tweeter reasons I had to bump up to 2.5k/12db. Tried 3.2k at various slopes but didn't like how they sounded (I think more due to mounting location than the mids themselves). They do have a darker sound but with way more detail than I was expecting, plus tons of bite. Electric guitars really cut through, I did cut -1db at 2.5k as it was a bit too aggressive. Baritone sax and synths also come alive on these, I just keep hearing tiny subtleties that were previously never there, on songs I've been listening to for years. Strings, vocals and horns all sound great, reverb on vocals had tons of depth and warmth. They just never lose their composure no matter how much volume you want out of them. 

Sorry if this review is too wordy, but these are certainly my favorite part of my new system. There's basically nothing I don't like about them, I guess they're a bit pricey by diy standards but they still outperform many name-brand car mids costing alot more.


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## ItalynStylion (May 3, 2008)

Glad you're enjoying them. I have mine on a 900/5 as well and they just eat it up! I'm still breaking mine in and they just keep getting better. 

It always makes me happy to see you guys enjoying our products!


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## kvndoom (Nov 13, 2009)

> My car does have some bizarre off-axis peaking in the 200hz range


Man, that's maddening isn't it?

I know it's not your kind of music, but I think the one song that exemplifies this perfectly in my car is Polaski's "Last Goodbyes." I cannot play that song at all in my car, with any speaker... the resonance is unbearable. I even used MP3Gain to edit the track gain below clipping level and it doesn't help.

Around that frequency it's like the entire doors become ****ing midranges or something. Ugh!

Anyway, glad you love the Ebonys. I have a pair I haven't installed yet, but I'm gonna rock these PPI's for a few months first.


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## 6262ms3 (Feb 27, 2008)

kvndoom said:


> Man, that's maddening isn't it?
> 
> I know it's not your kind of music, but I think the one song that exemplifies this perfectly in my car is Polaski's "Last Goodbyes." I cannot play that song at all in my car, with any speaker... the resonance is unbearable. I even used MP3Gain to edit the track gain below clipping level and it doesn't help.
> 
> ...


Actually I enjoyed that Polaski track! What first clued me in to the resonance issue is Quattro by Calexico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCEVG32sI7g , it has a chugging acoustic guitar that was turning everything into mud and I was like no, no, this can't be right! It's bearable, now. That track is also great for sub tuning, John Convertino doesn't mute the kick pedal and it just booms and kills everything if you've got it wrong.


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## Melodic Acoustic (Oct 10, 2005)

ItalynStylion said:


> Glad you're enjoying them. I have mine on a 900/5 as well and they just eat it up! I'm still breaking mine in and they just keep getting better.
> 
> It always makes me happy to see you guys enjoying our products!


x2


6262ms3'

I'm truly happy your enjoying the Ebony's, not sure how much time you have on them, But if you have not reach the 30-40 hour mark yet, your in for more of a treat. They get better.

Thank you for giving H-Audio a chance to fulfill your sonic desires. O and I like wordy.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

160-300 is typically a trouble spot in every car.

glad you like 'em.


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