component and sub recommendations please

[dunk]

i am looking for recommendations for good 6.5" components to upgrade my 8p front door speakers - was thinking of spending about 120-200£ unless there is something streets ahead for slightly more -

i was considering rainbow IQ265.25 direct replacements (250£though)or
slx265-deluxe, or SLC265 is the SLC265 better than the IQ265 though?

maybe focal, hertz or infinity kappa - any particular model suggestions?

also looking for an 8" sub for a stealth box of around 15-25L, have used JL before and was considering JL 8w3v3, or hertz hx250d or anything else that sounds great and would work in a small box.

 

[dualmono21]

bottom of the range rainbows are about best of the bunch still
unless you prefer something with a little more bass weight in which case go for the focals
dont forget also to make sure the doors are deadened properly
and dont use the crap plastic baffles
make some from either 18mm mdf or birch ply

because nobody knows what volume a stealth box actually is internally it would be difficult to reccomend a sub other than the run of the mill jl which will fit the bill
i know lots of alternatives some of which will outshine the jl but it will depend on the size of the box and the power being fed to them

 

[dunk]

thanks - can you give me some more info please

which rainbows - SLX265 deluxe £140 or SLC265 £180

sub - the internal volume of the sub will be either 15L or 25L internal finished - so its easy to tune to match the sub - with the jl that gives me a sc4 or sbbs3 alignment option

Jl 8w3v3-4 would seem to be ok, but the 'outshine alternatives' would be better if you can make a recommendation - i will use a 5 channel amp such as:
hertz ep5 sub=160w at 4ohm
alpine mrvf450 = 200w
jbl gto 5355e? = 225 at 4, 360 at 2ohm
kicker 06zx7005 210w at 4, 420 at 2
alpine pdx-5 class d is extremely small and 300w into 4 or 2 ohm but its £400!

 

[dualmono21]

for a nice smooth balanced sound id reccomend the rainbows the slx,s
however if you listen to r,n,b or other music which is bass heavy then id favour the focals

15 or 25 litres is the problem im afraid
for a sub to work properly in a sealed enclosure you have to know the internal volume of the box and the speakers "thiele small parameters"
with a sealed enclosure you have an optimal size which is the best compromise for volume and frequency
changing the size of the box around ten per cent either way bigger or smaller wont effect its performance it will slightly alter the frequency response
any more than this however and you will run into problems
too small a box and the woofer could overheat causing the coil to fail which in turn could do damage to your amplifier
too big a box and the enclosure doesnt have enough back pressure to control the xmax of the sub which again can knacker the speaker and again possibly damage the amp

if you can tell me which enclosure youll be using i can reccomend you a speaker but without knowing the size of the enclosure it would be very unwise of me to reccomend anything

anyone who just throws a sub in a box and hopes for the best is simply playing at it im afraid and liable to shorten the life of there equipment considerably

 

[dunk]

sub box will be custom made and i am using a vented enclosure - i have run the thiele parameters for the JL 8w3v3-4 and 15L is needed for a SBB4, 25L gives a SC4 alignment

the Hertz HX250D needs only 13.5L for an SC4 and 12.5L for an SBB4 box but i dont know anything about this unit.

ive spent years designing and building speaker boxes, amps and even closed loop feedback bass units, its finding out which speakers give the best sound for reasonable money thats the problem

which focals were you referring to for the components?

duncan

 

[AndyMac]

As it's a stealth box and you'll be limited on the shape & volume, I'd make the enclosure first before deciding on a suitable driver. You can then measure the volume accurately and find the best driver for the volume you end up with.

 

[dualmono21]

the two sets of focals id reccomend are
the entry level access and the slightly more expensive polyglass line
betwen the rainbows and the focals there isnt much differnace until you reach around 3-400 pounds then the world is your oyster
youve talked about making a ported enclosure but i also note from the amps youve listed youve listed the alpine which is class d
be carefull when designing the speaker system that the nominal impedance doesnt drop too low or this could upset this particular amp
as the protection systems inbuilt are very sensitive

since you know what you are doing as regards thiele small parameters
here are the woofers id reccomend which depending on enclosure size and alignmnet will outperform the standard jl

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_21&products_id=106

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_21&products_id=29


http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/8765.html

the hertz woofer previously mentioned is also a good alternative as are several of the seas range
there are also several other alternatives but these are no longer available
to buy brand new and would have to be tracked down on such as ebay

 

[dunk]

andymac - thanks for the advice - ive made a couple of stealth boxes for my b5 rs4 for the wheel well and can usually get the volume fairly close to where i intend - i can then adjust the port tuning slightly once ive measured the internal volume to it wont be a problem -

dualmono21 - thanks for the suggestions - i'm amazed how cheap these are compared to the JL!

 

[dualmono21]

as for an amp may i suggest this as it will outperform the others on the list it is secondhand but if that isnt a worry then you are making quite a saving against new

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=160269970732&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=006

 

[AndyMac]

I can't believe anyone buys any amps new these days with the bargains on ebay!
Speakers obviously, but amps, what's the point?

 

[dunk]

thanks for the heads-up on the genesis - looks promising

 

[SteveTDCi]

I've started building my system, so far i've picked up a cheep 5 channel DLS ( CA51 ) and at the moment car audio direct have some good deals on DLS speakers so i'm likely to go for a se of those, sub wise i've been reccomended a basic JL 10" in a box hidden in the factory location.

 

[dunk]

ok, narrowed some choices down

im going to try the elemental designs 9kv.2 as a sub - it will work IB in 10-15L and reflex in 15-20l so should work great in a small stealth box, and there are lots of reviews saying its got good sound quality and is musical - and its cheap!

now im struggling with amps - there are so many, similar priced, mostly i never heard of -

it must be 5 channel for simplicity and stealth, and a small size would be great
-cheaper stuff includes jbl gto 5355e at £130 - how good/bad is this thing?
-next alpine mrv-f450 at £220 to 240 along with kicker 06zx7005 for similar
or i blow the budget on the amp and look at the alpine pdx-5 (1/2 the size of others) or Reference RA5 can both be had for about £340 - question is will i be able to tell the difference with £100-£200 front components and the eD sub?

components - focals may be a bit bright but Focal access 165a £96, focal polyglass 165vr £210, rainbow SLx265 £120-140, rainbow slc265 £180, DLS R6a £120-170
-

any further opinion or comments gratefully received as my head is now gently spinning....

 

[cocain]

If your gonna spend that on the Alpine amp then get the genesis profile 5 dual was on about. For £200 that's a steal! i have 3 genesis amps no flashy stuffjust rock solid english built wicked sound quality and always push out more power than they advertise. also they are very nice people who you can talk to and they service or repair at very reasonable prices. I bought one second hand and thought i'd just send it to them for a service and they only charged me something like £30 and it came back like new.