# Alpine SPX-17REF Review



## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

A guy at my local shop called me up Saturday morning to let me know that he had gotten a set in, and he wanted me to come listen to them. They were installed in his daily driver, running off deck power at the time (amps were out in the middle of a new amp rack), and with no deadening/sealing done on the doors at all. We listened to tracks off of a reference disk, and I was VERY impressed. With no door work at all, they had really great midbass. The tweets were mounted in the doors, aimed towards the dome light, and were very transparent. The stage was very level, and all in all they sounded very good. If I was looking for a set of comps for a daily driver, I'd definitely get these.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I'm bumping this.

Thumper, thanks for the review. I'm looking at this exact same setup (h/u power, tweets in doors) so you've actually swayed me towards the Refs.


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## CodeMan (Oct 31, 2007)

I have this set with 100 watts to them, passive. At first I wasn't very impressed personally. Clarity was good, tweeters were nice and smooth, but midbass was lacking severely. Doors were deadened but not sealed and there were several large holes in the skin. I patched all those up and deadened the hell out of everything and it was a complete 180. I love the set now. I've actually installed this set in 2 cars (mine and a friend's) and have no complaints.


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## dejo (Jan 3, 2006)

and I just got a killer deal on a set. may have to try them out and see what I think


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## an2ny888 (Jun 27, 2008)

any other reviews on this set? seems this has better midbass than the pro's, based on the reviews i've read


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## WolfSong (Aug 16, 2008)

Bump for any other input. Price is nice on these.


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## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

I've been playing with the mids for a while. I haven't used the tweeters but have demoed the set before.

The set is pretty impressive, especially for the sub $200 price you can get them for.

The woofer is very capable, geared well for in-door use, and the tweeter is nice. I think the upper midrange lacks a tiny bit with the stock x-over points, but the mid is very flat through most of its usable frequency range. I'd suggest even pairing the woofer to a more robust tweeter and crossing in the low to mid 2khz range.

My only gripes would be that the upper frequency response can become a little noisy/harsh if driven hard, forcing a lower x-over to stay clean. As well, the sound of the woofer is slightly...I don't really know how to describe it, heavy. It's clean, has a ton of detail, and there's very little compression with the good amount of excursion available. It's just not quite as transparent/effortless as some other options. To say it is bad in this regard would be incorrect. The woofer is very good in most every regard, just not perfect, lol.

The tweeter, I can't comment much on. It's laid back, smooth, kind of what you would expect from Alpine. With the metal woofer, it seems they crossed the two drivers apart to retain that warm feeling. If crossed higher, the woofer will show a lot more detail, and this will work well with a more detailed tweeter.

Great set.


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## jonny987 (Aug 16, 2008)

any suggestions on a well-suited tweeter?

I crushed one of mine closing my car door at night (using blutac to find ideal tweeter location isn't the great idea it's cracked up to be )


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## typericey (May 13, 2006)

hmm... looking for a decent set for the fiance's car as well, that will live on HU power "temp-ermanently" (depending on the cash flow)

i wonder if the PROs are significantly better than these REFs to justify the extra cost?


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)

bump for more reviews of this set! anybody run them active? im thinking about picking everything up seperate from PacParts and running them active? thoughts???


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## bmwproboi05 (May 3, 2009)

would you prefer these over the boston acoustic sl60?Getting these for a friends bday. Being powered by alpine mrp f600


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## patch2361 (Jun 15, 2009)

Installed a set of these last week on an Alpine mrpf300 amp 50 w each side. They sound good but nothing great. Tweets are crisp and clear. Midbass is ok at best. Doors sealed and dynamatted. I crossed the sub at 120 to help them out. But not bad for reference set definitely better than Boston SL60. But no where near Boston Pro. Gonna save up and go back to Rainbow.


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## SPAZ (Jan 7, 2009)

patch2361 said:


> Installed a set of these last week on an Alpine mrpf300 amp 50 w each side. They sound good but nothing great. Tweets are crisp and clear. Midbass is ok at best. Doors sealed and dynamatted. I crossed the sub at 120 to help them out. But not bad for reference set definitely better than Boston SL60. But no where near Boston Pro. Gonna save up and go back to Rainbow.


When I listened to them I felt the speakers were neutral and detailed. I think for the money they are good speakers. But you are right for my listening tastes the Boston Pro's were better. More detailed and in your face sounding without any sibilance.


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## bmwproboi05 (May 3, 2009)

SPAZ said:


> When I listened to them I felt the speakers were neutral and detailed. I think for the money they are good speakers. But you are right for my listening tastes the Boston Pro's were better. More detailed and in your face sounding without any sibilance.


Then again doesnt the pro's cost a bit more


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## SPAZ (Jan 7, 2009)

bmwproboi05 said:


> Then again doesnt the pro's cost a bit more


You can get the pro's brand new for 295. I'm not sure what the 17REF costs but to me the price is negligible. I can only speak to what I thought was a better sounding deck and for my tastes I preferred the Pros. The 17REFS still sounded good.


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## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

The Ref set can be had for around $180, a full $100 cheaper. That's a little more then negligible for most people.


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## SPAZ (Jan 7, 2009)

mvw2 said:


> The Ref set can be had for around $180, a full $100 cheaper. That's a little more then negligible for most people.


And that's why I said TO ME the price is negligible. A lot of people here on this forum have no problems dropping that amount on tweeters and drivers all I did was point out which set was better to me, nothing more.


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)

ordered a set of these today. ill post a review of them once installed etc.


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## bmwproboi05 (May 3, 2009)

BKJT05 said:


> ordered a set of these today. ill post a review of them once installed etc.


What are you going to be compareing them too?


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)

bmwproboi05 said:


> What are you going to be compareing them too?


upgrading from my type r comps ive been running for the last 3 years. i was real happy with the type r comps, but wanted to upgrade and try something new.


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## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

The Type-X is a significant improvement over the Type-R.


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)

i cant wait to get them, sucks cause its gonna take a week to get them. coming from NY and im in TX. well tue is the expected date!


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)

nothing better then having a ****ty day at work then coming home to new goodies that the fedex man dropped off!!!


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)




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## mooch91 (Apr 6, 2008)

Be careful with the aluminum cones, they dent easy. Ask me how I know. 

If you're going passive, consider pulling off the bulb cover on the crossovers and putting a small piece of foam behind the tweeter protection bulb. This is what I did to stop an incessant buzzing that was coming from the crossover when the bass would hit. Turns out the bulbs were vibrating against the case.

Anxious to hear what you think of them!


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## BKJT05 (Apr 10, 2007)

installed with ease!!!

old vs New










my quick connects



























im waiting for my ipod to charge so i can go pick up some late night dinner and listen to them. i turned them on with a cd but only listened for 5 min. so far so good....stay tuned...


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

mvw2 said:


> The Type-X is a significant improvement over the Type-R.


I agree. I too went from the Type R to the Type X at one point. It was a marked improvement in upper end detail and midbass. With a sealed IDQ 10v3 it was a respectable system.

I actually now run a horn/kick set-up, but the Type X still reside in my doors(non-functioning of course). If I ever decide to swap anything out the X's will be my go to temp drivers.


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## Storm_Rider (Oct 3, 2009)

bump, any more input on these? would love to hear how they are doing for you all that have it still.


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## verg64 (Aug 4, 2009)

BKJT05, where's the review?


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## slowimpreza (Nov 3, 2009)

damn those look really nice!


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## Qyota (Oct 29, 2009)

I installed a set of these in my '99 4Runner recently. Good component set, but I haven't been able to get them on some real power yet. They need more time to break in. Unfortunately I dented the mesh grille on the driver side tweeter trying to get the fit right in the A-pillar sail. It isn't terrible, but I planned to do a "real" install of these down the road (instead of the quickie I did), and the dent ain't gon' be pretty! Ah well.


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## verg64 (Aug 4, 2009)

Well, just installed them a couple weeks back and had over 5 hrs to break them in. Gotta love the swivel option, which allowed me to point the focus points of the tweeters to maximize my hearing experience. What I've noticed most are the mid range. Nice crisp sound and handles a wide frequency range. It seems to stand out a lot and noticed it a lot more than the tweets. The tweets are still good in my opinion as its pretty laid back and produce crisp sound. There's not too much mid bass but satisfying enough to hear it. Still working on deadening and blocking the sound from the floors.

Has anyone upgraded to the SPX-17Pro's from the references? Thinking of upgrading the fronts to either SPX-17pro's or the BA Pro60's.


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## dsauce16 (Feb 2, 2011)

i own the refs as well. given 90 watts to each side. They are a good sounding set of comps however does not sound good playing rock..anyone else experience this?!? not a problem for me as i like hiphop and rnb and dont listen to too much rock. anyway i have the 5.25 set and have deadened and sealed my doors but still feel my speakers lack midbass..dont really know what to expect from 5.25 speakers. final question would it be a good upgrade to get the hybrid audio imagine comps or even clarus?


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

dsauce16 said:


> i own the refs as well. given 90 watts to each side. They are a good sounding set of comps however does not sound good playing rock..anyone else experience this?!? not a problem for me as i like hiphop and rnb and dont listen to too much rock. anyway i have the 5.25 set and have deadened and sealed my doors but still feel my speakers lack midbass..dont really know what to expect from 5.25 speakers. final question would it be a good upgrade to get the hybrid audio imagine comps or even clarus?



I think that's a known issue. Alpine Type-X PROs are the Type-X version with more bass, but it's kind of expensive. I suspect better options exist.


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## Gottria (Jul 20, 2011)

Picked up used set of Type-X and they came with no mounting accessories. Anyone have some they are not using? Grills and such also welcome.


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## fight4life28 (Mar 18, 2011)

Do you think theses are better then the Massive Audio RK6?


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## ou812 (Oct 25, 2008)

I ran these comps for about 3 yrs. For the first 2 yrs passive and the last yr active. I really did like them especially active. Everything sounded good from them....Not great. Active I was giving the mids 100 watts and the tweets 50. I have since upgraded to Vifa XT 25's and ID OEM mids. There really isn't a comparison across the board. The Vifa's were in the hot deals section and the ID's I bought from the classifieds. If your running active I truly think you can do better. $52 for the tweets and $90 for the mids. Hard to beat.


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## ou812 (Oct 25, 2008)

fight4life28 said:


> Do you think theses are better then the Massive Audio RK6?


I would get the massive.


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## fight4life28 (Mar 18, 2011)

Yeah i was thinking about going active after i get the massive RK6's. I was just thinking i could do something like you have with the tweets and mids and get ALPINE CDA-9855 for my Active stereo.


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