Just a note to thank ALL the folks who posted their knowledge on HU/Spkr/amp choices and setups, especially the dedicated who posted the FAQ's. i just finished installing a set of Diamond S600S speakers and Orion amp off an Eclipse CD3200 and i and extremly pleased. sound quality is better than i thot it might be. Thank u guys! w/o your advice it would have been a shot in the dark - and the wiring would have been a nightmare.

Neutered Sputniks - i really appreciate your advice on trying an Eclipse HU. the more "natural" sound is, for my taste, what i had been missing w/ the previous brand i had been loyal to. i wouldn't have even thot of switching had you not described the tonal differences between a few brands. now i don't have to fite w/ the tone controls, i just listen and enjoy. tks!

 

I'm thinking about running these Diamond Hex's. What Orion amp r u using specifically?

 

Otter, you're very welcome. I'm glad my rambling on these forums came to good use


Award: Check out Sundown Audio amps. 50x4 is priced around $300 or so and the SQ is on par with the Audison amp I have in my S.

 

what does more 'natural' mean? what kind of music do you listen to?

 

It's sort of hard to describe...

Alpine HU's and most name brand speakers tend to be very bright. By bright, the higher frequencies are augmented (often to the point of overall harsh sound).

Pioneer HU's and a number of speaker manufacturers have a warmer sound. Warmer meaning more of a mellow sound, with the lower frequencies augmented (can lead to a muddy sound).

Eclipse HU's and most of the ultra high end manufacturers have a natural sound. Neither bright nor warm tones are augmented, just the music as it was recorded.

 

what is panasonic considered?

 

Yea between Philbert and Neutral, and now this post by Otter I think I am going with the Diamond S600S speakers as well.

This is a great area of S2ki, esp considering it doesn't have a lot of traffic through it (comparatively)

 

How much are Diamonds going for these days?

 

$250 or so on Ebay for the silk tweets.

 

I'd be cautious about the Ebay ones. Rumor was (not sure if it's still true) that Diamonds on Ebay were fakes.

Regardless, for $250 you can easily find better quality separates that will outperform those Diamonds (I used to love my Diamond Hexes - silk - till I installed SEAS separates in my truck. Now the Diamond tweets in my S have been replaced with the same SEAS tweets I run in my truck - at less than half the price of the Diamond tweets from a dealer)