Best components for mid Bass.
 

Question for those with experience with different component sets, I have been using the Polk db6501 and I find they don't do well in the 100-250hz range. I was going to go with the Polk MM series but thought against it seeing how many peeps love their DB's but for me I am not so impressed.

Any suggestions on something that can cover these lower frequencies with more reliability? Right now I am looking at either the Polk MM or Boston PRO series, but I don't want to make the same mistake twice.

Any suggestions?

Listen to the following component speakers that sound best with an amp:

Focal K2R or 165VR series - Brilliant tweeters (some say, harsh)
Hertz
Rainbow (lowest price of the bunch)
Brax (expensive)- needs more than 75 watts for nominal power (120watts?) - My personel favorite

I have not listen to:

Polk SR series

I am driving my components with a Rockford Fosgate Punch 300-2, the birth sheet specs out 119watts RMS per channel @ 4ohms and that's not even making it work yet.

Mid to high end focals sound like a mini sub in the doors. No joke, Focal has tons of mid bass and also tons of highs that can be tuned out if you know what your doing.

I'm running RF P1652-S components. So, far I am not impressed. They are great deal better then stock, but I really don't see how they handle 60W a piece considering my head unit can push them beyond their max quality without really trying.

Anyway, the mid to high is awesome, but the mid to low gets a little sloppy and distorted. Granted for the money ($100) I suppose they are worth it and do a great job. I just need better quality and will have to upgrade.

There are a lot more things to consider before putting any components into your ride. If the install is not exceptional, you may be dissapointed regardless of brand choice.

- Sound deadening. If you are using your speakers in an infinite baffle environment (like a door) then please consider using some good quality, poly-butyl based sound deadener like Dynamat Extreme, Hushmat or similar. Don't use cheaper tar-based deadeners as you will hate it in the summer time when it 'unsticks' and smells life a hot roof.

If you can, deaden the outside of the door panel AND the inside.Here is a shot of my 350Z's door with husmat on it:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...se/350Z012.jpg

- Amplification. Powering your new components off of the stock amplifier is somewhat pointless if you are looking for a lot better performance. Running an amp with a minimum of 50 watts per channel with be powerful enough for most entry level speakers. I run 200 watts RMS to my Digital Designs DD-A mids with NO passive crossovers (I'm an active kind of guy) actively crossed at 63 hertz and it hits you right in the chest. I must point out though that I am also using custom fibreglass door panel pods as well in my 350 which helps a ton. I run the same speakers in my TSX in stock locations and I can still cross down to 63 hertz no problem.

- Speaker choice. This is where you have to decide what sounds best to YOU! Telling you to buy a certain brand is kind of like going on a blind date with your buddies' hot 'friend' only to find out she's a 300 lb heffer with a hairlip. Listening to a bunch of speakers (hopefully in a car) is imperative. Please don't take our word for it!

So if you want subwoofer bass out of some mids then thats simply not going to happen. A good set of components do not have to cost you $1000. You can get a decent set for well under $500. The Polk MM's are actually a really nice set in my opinion as long as they see a reasonable amount of power and have some good sound deadening behind them. I think the tweeter is more important quite frankly because of the huge difference in materials and the wide range of sounds that they produce. I prefer a soft dome as opposed to metal. But thats just me. Good luck!

+1 on the active x-over.

This is the first time I've ran passive and it really doesn't give me the sound nor the control I'm looking for. First time with a cheaper set of components too. I really just wanted to replace the stock speakers, because I am not sure when I will be able to complete the entire system. They will work for now.

If you want insane midbass the 3-way focals are incredible! The midbass driver is huge and they hit like 10's in the door but they wont play low as that is the job of your sub. When running mid basses I set my subs extra low like 50 to 60 hz and the mid bass from 300hz to 60Hz. The results will blow you away becasue you get the best of both worlds, ultra deep smooth bass and the upper bass hit you feel in your chest. When done right you cannot localize the sub and it will appear as its coming from your door speakers. Its a very cool effect!!

If you have room, Peerless SLS 8" subs make the best mid bass drivers on the planet! They are cheap too!

I'm installing sound damping in my Z this weekend. I was not planning removing the door access panel. As an alternative, could you install RAAMAT's ensolite (recommended by this manufacture) or equivant behind the 6 1/2" speakers located in the door to reduce unwanted sound and improve this speaker performance? Is speaker baffles a good alternative?

What the difference between active and passive crossovers? I was planning on including a AudioControl line driver and EQ. Can this be used instead of the crossovers that typically are bundled with component speakers?

Passive Xovers are the prebuild ones that come with the compent sets. Acticve Xover is when you don't install the passive ones and dial in the points yourself with a electronic crossover/EQ.

You have to be careful when choosing to go active because alot of electronic Xovers only go to 250h where the tweeters are going to need in the neighbor hood of 3Kh.

How much did you add in weight to the car? My Dynamat approach was a little more conservative then yours is, during my audio installation process adding weight to the car always been a concern of mine. I love the performance of the Z and a ton of that comes from the Power to Weight ratio, I want to go down not up in weight for myself.

I have the touring model which has Bose with the weird 6x9 bracket, this bracket creates an interesting encloser design. Has anyone altered this? I noticed most peeps have the stock round driver with the oval plastic bracket which they attach the MDF mounting ring too. I wonder how tall is that bracket off the door? The touring 6x9 bracket is around 2.5" away from the door creating this pocket type situation.

I would not recommend spending all that time and money to go active with a set of polk db's active is more for higher end speakers.

I would recommend focal polyglass or image dynamics which would be way better than the db's/

I have about 108 square feet of hushmat in my car. Thats about 65 lbs. My main goal is to compete in car audio so weight was not as big of an issue for me.

Installing any sound deadener behind the speaker will help. I do not recommend speaker baffles as this will reduce your midbass substantially.

What model of image dynamics?

For the money check out the MTX TXC6.1's, but if you want to spend more, and get more the Focals, K2, series are nice, And what i would run if i had a different job.