pikkashoe

Well after having a couple days of listening to my new speakers, I have come away with some interesting findings.

- Mid Bass is excellent, very dramatic difference from the Utopia's I had, they play cleanly down to 60hz like nothing. Very impressed by these mid drivers. Tons of mid bass, it almost feels like you can get away without a sub. Keyword almost!

- Now here is the catch, the overall experience is not as fullfiling as the Utopia's, I cant seem to figure it out, but they just dont have that same POP the Utopia's had. Hmm its hard to explain, but there is a certain crispness and detail that is lacking, which leads me to believe that it might be the tweeters. I dont recall, but i am almost sure the TN51 Tweeter I had with the Utopia's was a titanium tweeter. I went with an aluminum tweeter this time around on this set up just to see if I could tell the difference. I dont know how to describe it, but the CDT's dont blow me away like the Utopia's did. Now the mid drivers are great, and im going to say better than the Utopias. I might just switch up to the Titanium tweets from CDT, or say maybe a set of LOTUS Tweets, but I think they use Silk.

Well here is the question, can this difference I am experiencing, be explained by my choice of tweeters?

Comments or suggestions???

pikkashoe

MR ASDF, your pm is down for some reason.

I tried sending you a PM. I need to ask you a question about possibly getting a Set of Lotus Reference tweeters.

jonnybravo

It's really a taste thing. The signature sound of Focals have always been a bit moree forward sounding. Some people swear by them. Other's like myself enjoy a more neutral response which is what the 620's are. To me the Focal house sound is just way to harsh and forward to me. That said, my CDT's are going in tonight. I'm glad the mid-bass is great as it's an important factor for me. Go to ECA forums if you're more into SQ since SoundDomain is pretyt much garbage as far as that aspect of car audio is concerned (though some people there are knowledtgeable it's become a teenage bling fest). I'm sure the boys at ECA there will get you tweets that fit your listening style especially since you're obviously open to DIY pieces.


BTW, my boy is working in the garage as I type this so your little review has got me excited. One more thing, you'll love the Seas. Had I not made my purchase to quickly I would've gotten a set of the reference myself.

pikkashoe

Johny,

The mid bass is going to blow you away, you are very correct in your observation about the sound being very neutral. Its accurate but not like the Focals, like you described they where very up front. Do you think a tweeter change will help in this, or does the combination of driver and tweeter have to be totally changed to get the desired sound? I really really like the midbass drivers on this set, i just need a little bit more of forwardness as you described.

Thanks for the ECA tip, I will check it out. Im leaning towards a set of LOTUS tweets, I just wonder if using the CDT cross over with them will cause any problems?

Let me know once you got your CDT's fully in!!!!

jonnybravo

I've never gone with mix and match pieces myself so I can't tell you exactly which ones complement one another.

Here's the link btw:

elitecaraudio.com

1 hour to go before installation is done. So excited...


*edit* - LMAO. My boy doing my install is Mr.ASDF. Nice...I figured it had to be one of the ECA guys that recommended a Lotus setup. His system is SOO sick. F1 Alpine gear to boot...

GSteg

The CDT Audio tweeters, speaking from experience, are more laidback to the point where they will sound sterile and not as dynamic. Very forgiving when it comes to bad recording, but when you want to hear the recording, you'll want drivers they are more neutral. This way, bad recording will sound bad and good recording will sound good.

Whats the impedence on the CDT Audio tweeters? A problem that might persist in your exchange of tweeters is that the Seas tweeters are 6 ohm. This will shift your crossover point.

The Silk tweeters are smoother than the Focal TN-4x and TN-5x series. The details are more neutral, in the sense that they aren't colored like the focals. One of the best compact dome tweeters available. The only downside to the silk reference tweeters is the top end response. It seems to lack after 16khz. Not a problem for most people, but if you want the top end shimmer, look at the aluminum version of tweeters. If you want to try out a used set, let me know. I was just talking to a buddy of mine yesterday and he's getting rid of his Seas lotus reference (aluminum) tweeters. Only reason why he can't keep them because he already has LCY ribbon tweeters in his IS300 .

GSteg

ah! so you're the guy in orange county! He told me he was going to come down here to do the install for an s2k. Wat do u have as far as your system?


His system sounds like utter poop Believe me, it's not even close to what it sounds like awhile ago (think perfect imaging and depth).

I'm going to do an s2000 install tomorrow too!

pikkashoe

Gsteg,

Now when you mention the CDT tweeters being laid back, are you referring to their entire line (titanium, aluminum, and silk), or just the aluminum tweeters that I have. That was the word i have been looking for "DYNAMIC", its just not there with this set up, the highs dont blow me away. I tried looking for the OHM rating on my CDT's, but its nowhere, I did notice while browsing around on MR. ASDF's site that the LOtus tweets are 6 ohm.

Gsteg, let me know about that set of Lotus Tweets, I might be interested if they will fit into my system barring any problems with the ohm's.


I guess I am looking right now for that TN51 sound on the highs, I listen to alot of different type's of music, but I love techno and these tweets are just not giving me those crisp, dynamic highs i got from the TN51's.

pikkashoe

johny how did the install come out!

eca, i have been on there before, i decided to go with the Lotus sub after numerous threads on that site. let me check it out here again for some tweeter discussions.

jonnybravo

[QUOTE=GSteg,Nov 28 2005, 08:40 PM] ah! so you're the guy in orange county! He told me he was going to come down here to do the install for an s2k. Wat do u have as far as your system?


His system sounds like utter poop