What would you get?

[denis87]

Out of the following what would you get? Any suggestions in other speakers are welcome.
1. Alpine SPR-176a (http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_item_name=SPR-176A&p_category=80&p_subcategory=90&p_main=10)
2. Kenwood Excelon KFC-XR61P (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=22&sortBy=price&productId=2428)
3. Infinity kappa 60.5cs
http://www.infinitysystems.com/caraudio/product.aspx?ProdId='KAPPA60.5CS'&Ser=KAP&Cat=COS
4. Rockford Fanatic Q FNQ3614 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-kDJCsAND3HK/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=575fnq3614)
5. Polk Momo MM6 (http://www.polkaudio.com/car/product.php?name=mm6)
6. Alpine SPX-177a (http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_item_name=SPX-177A&p_category=80&p_subcategory=155&p_main=10)
7. Focal Access line 165A (http://www.focal.tm.fr/gb/car/accessline/165a.htm)
8. MB Quart RCE 216 (http://www.mbquart.com/2003/en_US/products/prod_detail.asp?isArchive=&cat=auto&series=reference%20series&strt=1&model=RCE+216)
9. JL VR650csi (http://www.jlaudio.com/evolution/VR650CS.html)
10. Boston Acoustics RC620 (http://www.bostonacoustics.com/ca_product.asp?ProductID=160&CategoryID=14)
11. Diamond Audio M661 (http://www.diamondaudio.com/MobileAudio/index.cfm?page=Speakers#)

My musical preferences are mostly hard rock, metal, rap, drum and bass.

[exalted512]

out of all those youve listed, ive heard like 3...lol
maybe more and never knew it
if you were REALLY wanting an answer youd provide links to each with specs:)
otherwise...i can tell you that you probably cant go wrong with any of them, aside from inifinity and RF...possibly the Alpine as well
-Cody

[denis87]

finally updated with links

[MacLeod]

I would stay away from all Infinity products. They are way too bright and tinny sounding for anything with a guitar. I know cause I had a pair and hated them! Alpine are a little harsh as well for rock.

Bostons are not that great and arent worth the price.

MB Quart Reference are very good but are a little brighter than I like. Excellent detail though.

JLs TR and VR are good speakers but not great. The XR series is excellent. You couldnt go wrong with them.

The MM6 is great for rock and metal cause they are nice and smooth and warm sounding. They also can handle a lot of power and have a nice price for the performance. These would be my second choice.

Diamond Audios M6 speakers are also awesome. Ive listened to them in a showroom and also in the dealers demo car (Tahoe) and they are great. They are a little glassier sounding than the Momos but have more detail. Performance wise they are a tie but the Momos are $270 on SoundDomain and the M6 is $360 at a dealer cause they dont authorize internet sales. Id take these third.

Focal rules! Not too much more can be said. It sucks they are made by the pussy french but what can you do? Ive heard the Access, Polyglass and the old Poly-K series and have yet to hear anything that can match them. They are perfect for metal too because they are super smooth sounding, so much so they are almost "sweet". The ride cybmbals on a good mixed CD sound almost good enough to eat! I love Polk Audio and usually always recommend them but if youre trying to decide between Focal and Polk I will always have to give the nod to Focal. Find a dealer and go give them a listen. Youll love em.

[exalted512]

top 5
diamond
focal
polk
**edit**Kenwood eXcelons**edit**
boston
jl**edit**is no longer in the top 5**edit**

the top 3 are the ones ive actually heard, the rest is going off some basic specs
focal will probably be a little more detailed, but theyre only 60 watts rms compared to the diamonds 170 and the polks 150...i couldnt live with only 60 watts, but thats just me
-Cody

[AustinKP]

Cody, what's gotten into you man? You just put JL in the top 5 best speaker manufacturers? I thought you "only ever recommend" that one JL amp...now you're moving to speakers too? Macleod isn't going to be able to contain his excitement, you know...:D

[exalted512]

not the best, just out of the stuff he listed...but i forgot about the kenwoods
id take the eXcelons over the JLs, ive heard those before...pretty damn nice, actually, id put them even with the momos, putting the Bostons at number 5
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Yeah the Focals are rated at 60 watts but I guaran-damn-tee ya they will handle 100-125 with ease. Now thats still a lot less than the 5000 you like to feed your speakers but dont sell the Focals too short.

True they arent an SPL speaker so if youre wanting to break glass they arent for you. They are, however, the best sounding speakers you can get. And 100 watts per channel is a lot of power and I am willing to bet that it will be loud enough for most people. Besides, there is a point where more power isnt going to make a speaker sound any better, itll just be louder.

[exalted512]

boston acoustics makes full range speakers that handle like 400 watts RMS
THATS crazy
talk about making your ears bleed...
-Cody

[denis87]

Thanks guys your opinions are greatly appreciated. I've heard focal's and yes i thought they did sound great but no one in edmonton has polk's. All the car stereo stores are so inconsistent as well some speaker boards run off amps other's off the HU. How can you make fair comparisions like that. Are there any other brands you guys would suggest I look into? My budget is $350CDN.

[unrealii]

I've heard the diamond audio's at a store. They sounded pretty good. However, I haven't had a chance to listen to the others you have listed.

[denis87]

I've heard the focal access line isn't very strong or is it bulls**t? I hope it's not true they are the cheapest out of the diamonds, polk, focal (the models i showed).

[bknauss]

If you're looking for bang-for-the-buck, Focals are out of the question. I haven't heard the Access line, but from my past experiences, Focals always can be beat out by other speakers in the same price range.

Just my 2 cents.

[denis87]

yeah it's so hard to judge for myself what i want because the three aren't lined up together for a fair comparision. I did listen to the kenwood excelon's, and boston (models i listed above) beside the focal's and I thought the focal's where better with the boston's a close second. The kenwood's did seem a tad clearer but had less mid bass. Although who knows how the crossovers where set on each speaker.

[exalted512]

and plus the fact that sound rooms sound MUCH different than a car
-Cody

[denis87]

basically what i'm trying to get is the best bang for the buck. SQ is more important to me than SPL. I also want something that will play my musical tastes the best. Although everywhere i've asked for opinions Polk's always got the nod, as well as the diamonds.

[MacLeod]

Ya gotta go with what sound best to you and tell everybody else to kiss your ass. I love JL Audio and get my ass kicked all the time on here for it but I still luv em! :p

If you like the Focals best (as I do) the go with them and tell everybody else that when they start paying for your speakers then youll take shit off of them!

Focals rule
Polk Audio is the best speaker you can get for the money
Diamond Audio is in between the two. More detailed than the Polks but not as smooth and higher price tag.

[exalted512]

JL does not make bad stuff, i just dont like em for several different reasons
but agreed, i would try my best to listen to all the speakers before you buy them...
you might want to look at CDT as well
they sell them at www.sounddomain.com/shop
thats pretty good stuff as well...im planning on getting 3-ways in about a year and their TOTL models are one of the ones im looking at
-Cody

[MacLeod]

I dont think they sell CDT at SoundDomain bro.

Youll have to go to Main Street Audio (http://www.mainstreet-audio.com/) to get those from an authorized dealer.

[exalted512]

nope...they dont...i couldve sworn they did...
anywho...still nice speakers
-Cody

[neomagus00]

theres a porsche on sounddomain that insists there is much better than cdt and focal, in case you were wondering; this guy is filthy rich, though, so maybe it's not an option for any of us regular people, but he uses McIntosh amps and speakers, and an ID sub (or multiple, i dunno). anyone heard of mcintosh?

i havent heard cdt; how do they compare to, say, focals? since you seem set on them...

but anyways, like mac said, just go with what you think sounds best, you'll be happier that way

[denis87]

i hear that image dynamics sounds great with their horns.

[neomagus00]

yeah, horns do generally sound quite good, and they're very high efficiency, but a bitch to mount properly

[denis87]

where do you usually mount them?

[exalted512]

McIntosh amps are some of the best amps in the world, if not THE best
CDTs are awesome speakers...i usually dont recommend them on here simply because i forget
their Eurosport speakers come with a 5 year warranty!
talk about confidence in your products...
horns sound really awesome, but i would never put on in my car
the efficiency is simply too high to match any type of mid with it
positioning is a total bitch with those things
dont get me wrong, theres ways to get around those things...but theyre not for me
-Cody

[neomagus00]

all custom fiberglass, usually under the dash, sometimes in the doors.

but yeah, like cody said, you need some serious midbass and sub reinforcement to match horn tweets... i do believe that horns cover midrange, but midbass simply requires too large of a horn to be practical...

cody - how would you compare mcintosh with trutech?

[exalted512]

mcintosh to trutech is like...usamps to RF
-Cody

[neomagus00]

damn... how bout their speakers vs. focal utopia?

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/default.aspx

[exalted512]

dunno...
i would assume the McIntosh to be superior but i do not know...
ive never even seen one of those amps or their speakers in real life, everything i know about them is strictly from what ive heard...
-Cody

[denis87]

what about the adire koda components? I heard they are suppose to be good. haha you know i'm gonna end up asking you guys every speaker company before i'll actually get a pair.

[exalted512]

ive always heard they were really good, but they are more expensive than all the components you listed i believe...
all the reviews ive heard of them were glowing, but then again most of the reviews ive heard of them are from friends of a guy who sells adire on his website, www.sound-foundations.us , do i dunno
-Cody

[bknauss]

Originally posted by neomagus00
theres a porsche on sounddomain that insists there is much better than cdt and focal, in case you were wondering; this guy is filthy rich, though, so maybe it's not an option for any of us regular people, but he uses McIntosh amps and speakers, and an ID sub (or multiple, i dunno). anyone heard of mcintosh?

i havent heard cdt; how do they compare to, say, focals? since you seem set on them...

but anyways, like mac said, just go with what you think sounds best, you'll be happier that way

Yup, there are better out there... especially the $4k set of Alpines or a $5k set of Rainbows or Genesis.

As for Tru, maybe they make some nice stuff, but a friend has one of their tube amps and talk about POS... thing is noisy as hell, and its his second or third replacement.

[denis87]

Actually www.easy-audio.com has them for $300 shipped and www.visionaryaudio.com has them for $280 shipped. That's in the same price range as the others or the higher end at least.

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by bknauss
As for Tru, maybe they make some nice stuff, but a friend has one of their tube amps and talk about POS... thing is noisy as hell, and its his second or third replacement. You sure it's the amp and not the install? If it's 2nd or 3rd one, I'd start looking elsewhere than the amp...

[denis87]

If i buy polks from sound domain i still get the 3 year warranty right?

[AustinKP]

Yes, they are Authorized Polk Dealers, so the warranty does apply.

[denis87]

not bad price for the polk mm6's $254.95 free shipping as well.