# My brief review of some Exile gear



## mr tibbs (Dec 18, 2005)

So, I think I finally have the install in the FJ Cruiser nailed down enough to do a review on the Exile gear I have installed in there. First of all I am no pro or anything so don't expect much here, I'll give my honest feedback on the gear and that is all I can give. 

So, without further ado, here she blows! The gear I have installed is a set of Exile XP65's slimline comps and a Exile XT12 slimline sub. All of this is run off of a Phoenix Gold Xenon 200.4 (with the Onyx cover)with the gains set correctly with a DMM. I stuck with the OEM Toyota HU because it's a 6 disc MP3 changer in the dash, I might change this out in the near future though. Also there is a Phoenix Gold PLD44 Line Driver in there as well used as both a line driver and a LOC. Here is a pic of the gear before install:










Well start off with the comps. My first impression out of the box is "Holy crap, these are soooooo light!" Seriously, I picked up a mid and it feels light as air! I couldn't believe it, it was sooooo weird to have mids this light. The tweets felt heavier than the mids, and they looked great. The protective grill reminds me of a DSL tweet I once saw, I love the look of it! The x-overs looked pretty standard, pretty much like any other x-over I have installed. But again, I'm no expert so I have no idea what components go into these so I'm not one to judge. I should mention that these comps are bi-ampable via the x-over though. That's a damn nice feature not normally found at this price point. Here are some pics:




























These comps were installed in the front of the FJ Cruiser. The mids are in the doors which are deadened to high hell and the tweets are installed in the factory location on the dash. I might have to change the tweet location because of the funky dash location though. Now on to listening impressions, in a few words damn nice sound! In the past I have had some Infinity comps and some RE comps to compare these to and these Exile comps blow both of them away. The midrange is there, but not overpowering. They seem to blend well with the sub, but I seem to find myself wishing there was a little bit more midbass. But in their defense I was never expecting to get as much as I do from these based on looks and feel alone. From what I understand if I had stepped up to the next level of comps I would have been very satisfied, but I just didn't think I could fit them in without massive fab work so I chose the slim lines. I am very satisfied with my decision though despite the lack of strong midbass. The tweets are really what seem to make this set shine. No matter how much I turn the volume knob up these will not break up! I love it!! They never seem to get that distorted sound and stay light and airy. I have the attenuation switch turned down some on the x-over so these never seem to overpower the mids. I do however want to try these in a different position to try and get a better sound stage. I can definitely locate the drivers and they don't seem to blend to well because of the location of the tweets. With that being said I blame that on the install and not the comps, I really do love the sound of these especially when I turn them up. They are getting 200 watts per side via the Xenon 200.4 and they seem to love the power. In closing this is a damn nice set that I would recommend to anyone looking for a shallow mount solution for their install.

Now on to the sub stage. The sub is installed in a sealed box that I built that is about .70 cuft. The box is installed in the back of the FJ Cruiser above the wheel well. As far as power I have bridged the back 2 channels of the Xenon 200.4 so it should be seeing about 400 watts+. I am really liking the sound of this sub. The more I listen to it the more I like it. It does not overpower the front stage and actually blends very well. At times I can locate the sub in the back, but for the most part it just blends in with the sound of the fronts, it's kinda eerie at times. I'm really liking the fact that this sounds more like a SQ sub that a one note wonder. It sounds tight and not boomy at all. Notes are precise and not muddy at all. Output is just right for me and this install, it never seems to be too much bass coming from the back, just the right amount. Again, I would recommend this sub to someone in a heartbeat to fill a shallow mount solution. I know I will use these more in the future for single cab installs and other tight spots. Here are the pics:




























Overall I am very pleased with the results of this install and would recommend Exile products to anyone without hesitation. The build quality is top notch and the sound is excellent! I can't wait to try more from them, and I definatley will in the future. Thanks to Morgan of Exile for all of the help. He is very knowledgeable and a great guy to boot! I'll try to update this if/when I do change anything in the install. Let's face it, it's only a matter of time!


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## Nass027 (Oct 25, 2006)

Thanks for the review.I was looking at trying one of the subs for my standard cab pickup.400 watts was what you would need for power or could you get by with a little less power?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

nice review. with exile being basically pg in a way i'm willing to bet those tweets have a "morel sound" to them. that's why you like them so much if that's the case  one recomendation would be to mount your tweets close to your mids and aim them to where the stage is somewhat proper. right now your pathlength issues have gotta be bad. pointsourcing a passive set without time alignment for each individual driver in biamp mode is about the only way i can think of to clean up the mud the different pathlength is most likely causing.


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## mr tibbs (Dec 18, 2005)

Nass027 said:


> Thanks for the review.I was looking at trying one of the subs for my standard cab pickup.400 watts was what you would need for power or could you get by with a little less power?


They are rated at 300 rms and 600 max so I'm sure they would do fine with a little less power.


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## mr tibbs (Dec 18, 2005)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> nice review. with exile being basically pg in a way i'm willing to bet those tweets have a "morel sound" to them. that's why you like them so much if that's the case  one recomendation would be to mount your tweets close to your mids and aim them to where the stage is somewhat proper. right now your pathlength issues have gotta be bad. pointsourcing a passive set without time alignment for each individual driver in biamp mode is about the only way i can think of to clean up the mud the different pathlength is most likely causing.


I have tried that before and was very unhappy with the results. The sound stage seemed to be at my feet and if there was a passenger in the car the whole side was blocked out. I think anything short of making kicks I'm just going to have to do the best I can with what I have. I'm going to move the tweets around a little and play with some phase a little bit and see what I can do. Thanks for the advice though!


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

have you reversed the polarity on the tweets? that should help some.


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## mr tibbs (Dec 18, 2005)

Not yet, but I plan to play with a bunch of stuff next weekend when I have the time. It should be a good time!!


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## dyno (Jan 15, 2008)

Nice review! Looking forward to your updates.

Where's a good place to pickup Exile gear? They are one of the smaller companies around. I like the looks of the shallow mount 10" for a small spare tire enclosure.


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## mr tibbs (Dec 18, 2005)

dyno said:


> Nice review! Looking forward to your updates.
> 
> Where's a good place to pickup Exile gear? They are one of the smaller companies around. I like the looks of the shallow mount 10" for a small spare tire enclosure.


Exilecaraudio.com has a dealer search right on the front page. That's where I would start, if you still have problems just give them a call. They are really good to work with.

Also, here is a thread with most of my install pics if you guys are wondering.


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## JonDailey (Feb 25, 2008)

I have had the same comp set in my daily driver for about 3 years now. Planned for it to be in there for a 2 week trial. They are damn good for the money. This model got replaced this year...new model XPe65. They retail for $250. This set, along with their top line, XT65 (retail $350) both use the same tweet. I cannot say for sure that it's a Morel tweet, but I know that Brian and the gang at Exile really seemed to like the Morel gear, so it wouldn't surprise me. They will even tell you that the tweet is by far the best driver they have.

If anyone needs a new line to pickup, this would be good to look into. Dealer pricing is pretty good as well.


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## crux131 (Feb 27, 2007)

I will say that the tweeter looks identical to the one included in my PG Xenon component set. I wish I could tell you how they sound, but they are in my stockpile for future use. LOL


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