# Image Dynamics cd-ultra horns, xs65 mids



## coke (May 6, 2008)

install isn't finished. will clean up doors and wires on horns later.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Have fun tuning!! Can you still reach the pedals without hitting the horns? I was thinking about doing that in my BMW, but was worried about hitting them. I have size 10.5 shoes.


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

slvrtsunami said:


> Have fun tuning!! Can you still reach the pedals without hitting the horns? I was thinking about doing that in my BMW, but was worried about hitting them. I have size 10.5 shoes.


 97 honda accord coupe which is smaller than the new civics. Size 11 shoe and no problem with pedals.

From initial impressions they won't need a ton of tuning. FAR better than my alpine type x components they replaced. Also the soundstage is already centered with nothing but phase adjustments. The music sounds like it's coming from the vents in the center of my dash if not a little higher.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

cool, thanks. Please keep us updated with tuning. I am thinking about HLCD as a possible option for my ride...


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

slvrtsunami said:


> cool, thanks. Please keep us updated with tuning. I am thinking about HLCD as a possible option for my ride...


Just remember that you need 3 - 5 times the power for your mids as you do the horns. They are incredibly effecient.


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## spudracer326 (Jun 8, 2006)

looks good!! where did you get the horns from??


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

Looks good... going to put some in my friends car real soon. How much power you giving them? And are those mids keeping up? We are doing a 3-way setup with a HF midrange and a dedicated woofer in the door.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

i got a pair of CD2s in some mini lens's matched with seas CA22 8" midbass. i wouldnt mind seeing some more pics of how you mounted your horns. i have to re mount mine. i gotta create some kind of crazy bracket to hold them in place however


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

spudracer326 said:


> looks good!! where did you get the horns from??


Image Dynamics



the727kid said:


> Looks good... going to put some in my friends car real soon. How much power you giving them? And are those mids keeping up? We are doing a 3-way setup with a HF midrange and a dedicated woofer in the door.


Each horn is getting approx. 40 watts rms @ 8 ohms and they get LOUD. It gets painful before there is any distortion. The mids are keeping up, with 123 watts rms, but an 8" mid with more power wouldn't hurt. The gains on my horn amp are basically at the minimum setting.

This is sort of a trial system for me to see what works in a temporary car. I'd like to try the 8" xs mid when it comes out. I haven't started tuning yet though, the 6.5" mid may be just fine.



req said:


> i got a pair of CD2s in some mini lens's matched with seas CA22 8" midbass. i wouldnt mind seeing some more pics of how you mounted your horns. i have to re mount mine. i gotta create some kind of crazy bracket to hold them in place however


I used plumbers tape (metal strips with holes in it) to mount the horns. Cut the horns to length, drilled holes in the metal parts of my dash to attach the horns, then just used bolts, washers, and locking nuts. For rear support, i had some very large zip ties i used.


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## ItalynStylion (May 3, 2008)

I've always wanted to know where people put these things...I've been on the ID website and have always thought about where I'd put something like that.


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

ItalynStylion said:


> I've always wanted to know where people put these things...I've been on the ID website and have always thought about where I'd put something like that.


There is a short install vid on the ID forum. Not too helpful but might be worth a look.

I'm just amazed how high soundstage is. first time to use horns and i wasn't expecting this.


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

Yes they do get loud lol... I run CD1pros and they are unbearable with 55watts. I hooked up the Ultras, didn't seem too much louder even with a much high senstivity but were much more tamed, and smoother sounding.


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

the727kid said:


> Yes they do get loud lol... I run CD1pros and they are unbearable with 55watts. I hooked up the Ultras, didn't seem too much louder even with a much high senstivity but were much more tamed, and smoother sounding.


Did you eq the ultras? They don't seem to need much from my first impressions. I'm concentrating on levels, phase, and time alignment first.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

You need to get rid of those door pods b/c they stick out way too much.



req said:


> i got a pair of CD2s in some mini lens's matched with seas CA22 8" midbass. i wouldnt mind seeing some more pics of how you mounted your horns. i have to re mount mine. i gotta create some kind of crazy bracket to hold them in place however


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

coke said:


> Did you eq the ultras? They don't seem to need much from my first impressions. I'm concentrating on levels, phase, and time alignment first.


Nope, they aren't in his car yet. He has a 360.2 to put the whole system in sync tho, once it's done. We are glassing kicks and deadning the doors this week


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

the727kid said:


> Nope, they aren't in his car yet. He has a 360.2 to put the whole system in sync tho, once it's done. We are glassing kicks and deadning the doors this week


I wish i had experience with fiberglass. I'm just going to try to clean my doors up with grill cloth. lol, my dad sold me his old car for $500 so i don't really care what it looks like.


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

coke said:


> I wish i had experience with fiberglass. I'm just going to try to clean my doors up with grill cloth. lol, my dad sold me his old car for $500 so i don't really care what it looks like.


Should give it a try, it really isn't that hard. The hard part is just sanding and bondoing to get it smooth.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> You need to get rid of those door pods b/c they stick out way too much.


nein, he said he has no troubles being passenger or driver 



hey op, anyway you can get down under and take pics please of underneith how it looks! Thank you!


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

Looks good to the OP

Before I installed my horns, I thought they would have needed a lot of tuning, but I thought they didn't sound too bad at all right out of the box. I just saw it as they have much more potential, which I found out they did after tuning. I am not running cd2 neos and am very happy with them. With stage width _and_ height. Tonality as well.


mounting them takes a little bit of creativity.
Here's what I did to keep the motor in place:









and here's what I see when I drive:


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

James, can you tell at all there is sound coming below the dash?


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## WaTTsLOk187 (May 1, 2007)

Megalomaniac said:


> James, can you tell at all there is sound coming below the dash?


Nope. About dash level if not a bit higher when I heard it. Only thing that gives it away is at higher volumes the idq8's move enough air to let you know they are in the doors.


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

WaTTsLOk187 said:


> Nope. About dash level if not a bit higher when I heard it. Only thing that gives it away is at higher volumes the idq8's move enough air to let you know they are in the doors.


I toned down the left idq8 for that reason. It's better now that I tuned it some more. My stage height is about midway up the windshield (to me at least). No rainbow effect either with all the speakers below the dash. Sometimes it drops to about dash level on certain songs or notes. 

I noticed you're about to give Horns another try. I would say go for it... again. 

The reason I'm running them is so I can have a simple, yet powerful 2-way front stage, though, adding midranges have crossed my mind from time to time.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

Megalomaniac said:


> James, can you tell at all there is sound coming below the dash?


As long as there are no weird protrusions the dash becomes an extension of the horn lens. 

Should be at around vent level.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

GlasSman said:


> As long as there are no weird protrusions the dash becomes an extension of the horn lens.
> 
> Should be at around vent level.


Yes, the dash does help with the extension, but all the vehicles I have heard, the stage height was well above the vents. I bought a set for me car, bvery curious as to A) how to install them adn B) how much will I spending in the car trying to tune them. THAT is going to be FUN


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

GlasSman said:


> As long as there are no weird protrusions the dash becomes an extension of the horn lens.
> 
> Should be at around vent level.


ok. I just dont like hearing any sounds coming from below, even with kicks psychoacoustics gets the worst of me :/


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Megalomaniac said:


> ok. I just dont like hearing any sounds coming from below, even with kicks psychoacoustics gets the worst of me :/


I agree, but in my experience, that is simply mostly tuning and adjusting. I have heard cars with kick panels that have had a very low stage height, very annoying. But at the same time I have heard trucks with an amazing stage height and width, and his drivers were mounted on the doors! (late 80's toyota extra cab).


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

see my tweeters are in the pillars and my mids are in the doors. my stage is very good, i cannot tell i have speakers in the doors at all. everything is at dash above level. Only thing I have complaints is some times there is lack of detail and focus.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Megalomaniac said:


> see my tweeters are in the pillars and my mids are in the doors. my stage is very good, i cannot tell i have speakers in the doors at all. everything is at dash above level. Only thing I have complaints is some times there is lack of detail and focus.


Welcome to the wonderfula nd frustrating world of 'fine tuning'. Sometimes you get it, other times you dont. Frustrated the HELL out of me!


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Coke, any progress with the tuning? and the doors?


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## Inferno333 (Mar 29, 2006)

This thread makes me want to keep my set of horns and try them out in my tC.

...And I just picked up a set of Nobelium 6.2s.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Inferno333 said:


> This thread makes me want to keep my set of horns and try them out in my tC.
> 
> ...And I just picked up a set of Nobelium 6.2s.


Well, try both!! mount the horns with out modification to the car and try them out, and if it does not work....then go witht the Nobelium 6.2! that is what I plan on doing, install the horns, if they dont work out for me then I will get some nice tweeters and go from there. I am going all active so the switch should not be that difficult.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

Mount the horns on top of the dash and get the image at ther rear view mirror level


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

For those with horns, here's a good technique to use for stage height from E. Stevens. Your phase should be done before this technique.



before using the TA to bring up height reverse polarity/phase of both horns together to see if it raises the stage.

So in this order
- put one side out of phase Horn and midbass driver
- listen and try reversing both horns polarity phase to lift sound stage
- balance left
- t/a left mid only until it lifts up as high as possible then mirror that setting to other side
- then balance center
- t/a left horn and mid together until it shifts center no more than .5 millisecond
- EQ left and right separately as the lower midrange / upper mid bass area 160 to 400 hz range can really lower our stage height. If you dont have an RTA try these settings 125 - 3dB 160 -9dB 200 -6dB 250 -6dB 320 -3dB and see if it is better tonally and stage height wise.


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## Horsemanwill (Jun 1, 2008)

James Bang said:


> For those with horns, here's a good technique to use for stage height from E. Stevens. Your phase should be done before this technique.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



wow that's exactly how my cd7100 is set lol


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

Horsemanwill said:


> wow that's exactly how my cd7100 is set lol


i have a cd7k, no independent eq :/


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

Megalomaniac said:


> i have a cd7k, no independent eq :/


I've been wanting to use AC DQS for my brothers car for a long time. (6-channel digital eq)


... one day.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

Its here!


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

MMM....CD-1 Pro's... Nice, very nice. I was wondering is the flange extending from the horn was mostly for mounting or it affected the dispersion. I have the CD2 comp. minihorns. Going to go a few shops to see about labor and install. As I mentioned earlier, I am screwed as far as doing the install myself.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Hey Coke, any progress?? keep us filled in!!


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

slvrtsunami said:


> Hey Coke, any progress?? keep us filled in!!


Just been working on adjusting the levels between mids and horns, and also time alignment. The soundstage is centered without any adjustements, so i just used time alignment to bring the subs forward.

I talked to cartoys in tulsa, and i think i may go up there so i can use their RTA.

Overall it's the best sound i've ever heard, and i haven't even touched my EQ yet.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Great, I am glad it is working out for you. It should be even nicer once you get it EQ'd. Two questions for you:
1. Was it harder to install than you thought.
2. Once installed, were they mounted firmly enough to be able to take abuse? (other people's feet, etc.)


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

slvrtsunami said:


> MMM....CD-1 Pro's... Nice, very nice. *I was wondering is the flange extending from the horn was mostly for mounting or it affected the dispersion.* I have the CD2 comp. minihorns. Going to go a few shops to see about labor and install. As I mentioned earlier, I am screwed as far as doing the install myself.


nope. you can cut them as much as you want as long as it doesnt cut into the throat.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

BigRed said:


> Mount the horns on top of the dash and get the image at ther rear view mirror level


oh you mean like this: i did this for testing purposes today


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

slvrtsunami said:


> Great, I am glad it is working out for you. It should be even nicer once you get it EQ'd. Two questions for you:
> 1. Was it harder to install than you thought.
> 2. Once installed, were they mounted firmly enough to be able to take abuse? (other people's feet, etc.)


1. Very easy to install. Just drilled holes in the metal part of my dash then used plumbers tape to mount to the front of the horns. Used very large zip ties to hold up the rear of the horns. Not very easy to adjust the position once mounted, but they ended up about right. It was actually more difficult to make trim rings and mount the mids than it was to hang the horns.


2. yes they can be kicked. You can see i used pretty large bolts with washers and lock nuts in the front of the horns, and the plastic they are made of is thick enough to take abuse.


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

Megalomaniac said:


> oh you mean like this: i did this for testing purposes today



My horns sound horrible on axis like that. I hooked them up to my home theater amp and tried them in my house before i installed them in my car. 

It's amazing how high the sound is with the horns mounted down by your feet.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

coke said:


> My horns sound horrible on axis like that. I hooked them up to my home theater amp and tried them in my house before i installed them in my car.
> 
> It's amazing how high the sound is with the horns mounted down by your feet.


are you ever going to be in the Dallas area? Id like to hear yours...


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## coke (May 6, 2008)

Megalomaniac said:


> are you ever going to be in the Dallas area? Id like to hear yours...


Not likely. I have family down in temple texas but i only go there about once a year. 

lol, if i turned my system up you could probably hear it down there  There should be a "do not use if you're under 21" warning label on these things. They get amazingly loud.


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## W8 a minute (Aug 16, 2007)

coke said:


> Not likely. I have family down in temple texas but i only go there about once a year.
> 
> lol, if i turned my system up you could probably hear it down there  There should be a "do not use if you're under 21" warning label on these things. They get amazingly loud.


I put 100wpc on mine and quickly found out it was too much. Screaming guitar solos were heard in a totally new light.


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## megabutler (Oct 2, 2009)

what do you have then crossed off at?


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

megabutler said:


> what do you have then crossed off at?


if you notice, the thread is three years old. check the OPs personal page and pm them a question if they're still active


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## shogen (Sep 22, 2010)

MTopper said:


> if you notice, the thread is three years old. check the OPs personal page and pm them a question if they're still active


lol...


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