I thought the Focal K2P's sounded incredible in the store. Key Words: "in the store"... However, I have been told (by a few people now) that they can wear on your ears once installed inside the cabin of a Vette... they are very bright, b/c of the tweeters??? any experience with these vs. CDT Audio's?
(specifically these: http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=1110)

or, let me rephrase: If the brightness of the Focal K2P's CAN be a problem once inside a Vette, what would be just as clear, clean and strong, without the same problem of listener's fatigue?

 

Forget CDT, they are just inexpensive drivers arranged in an expensive box. Think of them like the Bose of car audio.

Image Dynamics drivers are pretty expensive too, and I don't see anything to back it up... talking component speakers here.

Similar to Focal in detail but with less fatigue is the Dynaudio sets.

Install is key - any tweeter can sound harsh if installed improperly.

Some are just MUCH easier than others to install "wrong." - Like the Focals.

 

Make sure the people you're talking to know which tweeters they heard. The old TN45 and 46 were somewhat harsh, but the newest TN52 is a far better tweeter. It's not as simple an issue as you frame it. You may be better off trying the Polyglass components.

One thing is simple, though. CDT is not good. I'm sure Kale will elaborate. (Edit: he beat me to it.)

Bottom line, buy what you think sounds good. If that's the Focals, so be it.

 

Morel Elate 6 components........................best speakers I have ever heard..........there in my doors. I've had the Focal Utopias, JL ZR's you name it. Morel will be my last set.

Shane

 

How would you describe the Morel's? One shop that I went to swore by them, but would not demo them b/c he said they sound so different in the car, that I had to trust him... However, one thing that I've realized with the Focal's vs. the competition (all so far) is that the vocal's sound directly in the middle (as they should) where as the JL Audio ZR's, Polk's, Alpines, etc. all sounded like two speakers far apart from each other...

 

I completely forgot to include my amp situation: I was all set on Alpine PDX amps, and I was told the PDX4.150 gives to much distortion to the Focal's (basically the rep at woofersetc.com told me that the K2P's are too much speaker for those Amps)... still going witht he JL Audio Stealthbox... nobody has recommended anything different yet! (for: 08 Z06)

 

I was never impressed by Morels... Local shop carried them for a while, but quit selling them. I thought they sounded really thin, lacking in body and midbass. But I've only heard them on a wall, and it was years ago.

but if you want a real bargain on them, Phoenix Gold Ti6 CompElite is rebadged Morel speakers, but at a deep discount. I think Elate series.

WoofersETC used to have them for 299... recent price hike to 499.




The Alpine PDX is not a high distortion amplifier by any means, it's very good. Whoever told you that is smoking wacky tobacco. I will say this, having gone from an ARC 2100 CXL (A/B) to PDX and to ARC KAR KS300.4 (G/H) that there is something 'different' about the PDX.

They are very clean in my experience, and get loud and stay that way. I got rid of them mostly because they interacted with my equalizer. They make a ton of power.

There's less... I'm not sure how to say this... contrast with the PDX compared to an A/B (or even G/H.) Instruments sounded closer together, maybe a little less spread out on the sound stage. This is not necessarily a terrible thing, just a different thing. A noticeable difference.


My current favorite amps are the Arc Kar KS series... the new "g/h" amps. Small footprint, good power. Much better features than the PDX, if you need them.

 

Alpine's PDX series sacrificed some sound quality for efficiency and small size. This is one reason all the best amps seem to have a large footprint. Kale's right, the guy you talked to has no clue...

Morel is not highly thought of in the speaker-building community. Their midranges are prone to nasty harmonic distortion from having a small spider. Morel wanted the speakers to handles lots of power and to do this, they use large-diameter voice coils. This makes the suspension very narrow. To compensate for that, the spider has to be very stiff. This causes a ton of high-order harmonic distortion. All the rest is marketing to people who don't know the difference. Like the Trinitron line, once you know it's there, it bugs the hell out of you. If all you care about is loud, then they'll do the job.

 

So, do you like the Focal's as well over the CDT Audio's?? (ES620Z)

 

 

OK, gotchya. What do you think about this overall set-up:

Front: Focal K2P 6.5 components
Rear: Focal Ployglass Coaxial
Sub: JL Audio Stealthbox
Amps: Alpine PDX's (1.600 / 4.150)
HU: Pioneer D3

Notes: A few people told me either LOSE the rear's or just run the Access Focal 5.25" off the Deck???

 

CDT uses Vifa drivers. That by itself is not a problem, as Vifa makes some VERY good stuff, and some of my personal favorites. The problem is CDT chooses drivers for maximum profit margin and therefore uses the cheapest drivers that they can get away with. Their crossover topology and design are questionable too. I don't understand how they ever garnered their reputation.

In short, the answer is yes.

 

I'm running a setup very close to this. The only differences being the HU (Alpine IVA-W205) and a sub box with 2 down firing 10" JL's.

The PDX's fit nicely into the rear cubby holes. I have no complaints about the sound.

 

Could you explain to me why the Morel's are the best to you?

 

Very tight, authoritative midbass. Excellent highs. I'm running them biamp'd with a pair of Audison amps in a Jeep. I had to fab a mount for the mids to get them aimed correctly before they came alive.

 

The Morel speaker is all about installation. My doors have enough Dynamat extreme in and on them that most people have in there whole car. They have the "best" midbass for any 6 1/2" driver I have ever owned. Your going to get so many different answers from people on here as to what they think is "best". I would recommend listening to whatever speaker you think you want to buy "in the car" though. Listening to a speaker on a demo board in the shop just doesn't cut it. I can tell you that Morel wasn't my first choice either but I let a buddy of mine put them in my doors to see if I liked them. I DID, a lot and still do.

Shane

 

Do the PDX Amp's fit into the right side cubby hole in a Z06? (2008)

 

I couldn't resist. The reviews (everywhere) were absolutely amazing. Besides, their built and serviced right in CA. I heard mixed things about the Focal's, but nothing bad about the CDT's (except from Kale and Spkrboy) lol - sorry guys, I appreciate the input, but this is what I decided to go with:

• ES-620Z - CDT Audio EuroSport 6.5" 2-Way Component Speakers

• ES-500 - CDT Audio EuroSport 5.25" Midranges

• DXT-26US - CDT Audio 200US 2 Way Xover with Buit in UpStage design and DRT-26 Modular Tweeter

• JL Audio Sub Stealthbox

• Pioneer Avic-Z2

Looking at the PDX amps, or this to power everything: http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=6237

 

I'd go with someone as knowledgeable as Spkrboy's opinion over any ten random "Ya they sound good!" people. There are a lot of people that like CDT and don't know any better because its the best they have heard. I slept overnight in that camp once.


But if you must spend a lot of extra money on rebranded entry level speakers, contact Don @ Islandsound audio. He can get you the best deal. Much closer to the non-rebranded price of the speakers. Maybe only 175% what the set is worth.


The reason you hear things about the focals, usually, is because of improperly installed tweeters. And if you won't properly install them, I would advise avoiding the set.

 

This is hardly a "ya they sound good opinion"... and I did speak to Spkrboy extensively about CDT Audio, etc and even though they may have used to use a cheap driver, they are 100% manufactured in CA currently...

1st REVIEW:

Well, let me start by saying that over the past 10 years listening to audio, avidly, I've used ABOUT everything out there at least once...from the good, to the BAD! I've been given components to try, bought them, traded for them...you get the idea...

But last year, 2001, I happened onto CDT Audio. Quite by accident...but, is there really such a thing as accidents? or should it be called fate?

I was given a set of their now famous High Definition 3 way component sets and 60 Db xover network. I installed them into a 91 civic and was utterly amazed at the sound! No right/left bias, no midbass hole, deep bass from the 6.5's, perfect staging....etc...I was hooked. And the best part? I have had NO desire to change them in over a year now...and THAT is a rarity!

Which brings me back to CDT. We put together a tricked out 2000 Honda Odyssey, you know, the minivan. I decided to add Audio at the last minute before the big NOPI show in Atlanta, and thought to look no further than CDT for another set of speakers.

They just happened to come out with a new line, The EUROSPORT series. If you thought the HD stuff was high end...the ES line raises the bar, in more than one way.

Price is hefty, but, you get what you pay for. Quality if first rate, as per usual from CDT. Sound? We'll get to that in a minute....

I was worried about the Odyssey as the 6.5's are low in the doors, and it's a big vehicle! CDT hadn't released the 3 way set, not that it mattered as I had to use only the stock speaker locations aside from tweeter mounts...which meant a 4.5 would have no were to go anyway. So, I ordered a set of ES620 2 way components, and their Image Enhancement Kit. I suppose I should write on these separately? But they need to be purchased as a kit or a kit should just be included in any ES set! They are a must for perfect sound reproduction....

I got the set, it came in 3 boxes: 1 for the mids, one for the tweeters and one for the Image Enhancement Kit: basically 2 tweeters and a "L" pad control for volume...with lots of wires attached!

I was so excited. after hearing and using the HD set from CDT for so long, I couldn't imagine anything sounding better! I opened the boxes...

OH DEAR LORD! The mids were astounding! Basically the same look as the HD set, but the magnesium basket is powder coated yellow! and the cone is a fiberglass composite in yellow as well....mmmmmmm!

The same perfect rubber surround, 'sticky' feeling cone resin...and that new image sticker on the bottom of the magnet is nice, to bad you can't see it!

I then pulled the tweeters out. Huh? A chrome ring? ok, that's a little strange looking, IMHO. Yes, the tweeters had a CHROME flush mount ring on them...after further digging, I found the BLACK rings and mount kits that I used. No offense guys, but the chrome has got to go!

The tweeters looked like the HD I had used, but the magnet was a bit different...not sure on any other changes, none are really needed.

The Crossovers with the ES kit are amazing as well. They are HUGE! about twice the size of a comparable HD xover...but man, they look cool in a custom install! They look great as well...so show them! I was actually hard pressed to find 'under dash' room for them, so mounted them in the rear with the amps...thank goodness I did, I love the look!

The Image Enhancement Kit had 2 more tweeters and a LARGE round "L" pad with a nice little **** with the "CDT" logo on it. I mounted it and looks good, but the mounting is tough as the "L" pad is quite large and A LOT of room in the right place is needed for proper install. The assembly is all wired and marked, all you need to do is follow the directions and assemble! Basically the IEK, see above, is designed to be put up high on the dash. You then dial in the amount of "fill" to raise the sound stage with the "L" pad.

So far this new ES line gets an A++ for looks and feel.

INSTALLATION:

Easy enough. I had to shim out the speakers as the magnets are large, for a good reason. 150 watts worth! The xovers were a bit easier than the HD sets..larger terminals allow better use of a screwdriver. However, the size of the xover might be an issue in some cases, They are BIG, but worth every square inch.

One qualm so far is the tweeters. A 'lock' ring should be included as the '3M' sticky tape around the flush mount bezel is WAY too small. I actually had trouble getting my tweets to stick in a vertical install. I fudged the tweeter install, which should be as close to the mid as possible! and all went well with the IEK tweeters on the upper dash corners.

I had a bit of trouble, second qualm, finding a location for the IEK "L" pad, but finally found a nice spot and love the little dial that is now visible on the dash. The control and wires are a bit bulky for tight install locations. Care is needed to be sure it'll fit behind your dash, etc.

Overall pretty straight forward, if somewhat time consuming for the novice. But I think if your buying CDT Audio, you either have money to let someone install them, or are a HUGE fan of high fidelity sound and will do anything for pure audiophile reproduction!

LISTENING TEST:

System components: Rockford Fosgate RFX8140 source unit (9 volts), Audiocontrol EQL seriesII 13 band EQ (not working for listening test!), Audiocontrol EPICENTER (only hooked to sub), DEI200 35x4 running the front stage, DEI1100D pushing the sub, 1 farad DEI cap, 4 guage power and ground.

I had only the 3 way High Definition CDT Audio components to use as a reference. I was a bit leery as I only had the 2 way set, 6.5 and tweeters, with, of course, the image enhancement kit.

The first issue with the Odyssey is speaker location. You sit much higher up than in my civic for instance, so the initial thought is that the sound will be a bit 'lower' sounding. Well, it was. Until I turned on the IEK that is!

The IEK made a HUGE difference! The fact that I don't have a high mounted 4.5" mid hardly is noticeable. And it's much simpler to install another set of tweeters than a larger mid!

Before I get to the nitty-gritty, I'll say that the ES 620 set is JUST as good, if not a bit better, than the 3 way HD set I have! And that's saying a lot! I wish I had the gumption to hack the ODY and install the 4" mids...why? well, if just 2 speakers and additional tweeter kit sounds as good as the 3 way HD set...I can't even begin to imagine what the ES 3 way set would sound like!

I noticed right off the bat that these are powerful speakers! The more I turn it up, the louder they get! The 6.5's are crossed over at about 55hz, and play easily down to that! I actually have bass up front...and boy, those thing really move some air. They will begin to break up at anything below 50hz, but they are only mids remember!

The highs are crisp and clean. I hear things in recordings that I just never heard with anything but CDT Audio....fingers gently stroking across the guitar strings, every quiet breath the singer takes between notes..everything!

Midbass is extremely smooth and clean. My favorite recordings include a lot of mids...and these ES play them very well. Hearing the smooth vocals of the Crash Test Dummies is a pleasure! And that Jazzy sound, with some added depth of a Bass just sounds sooo incredible! I dropped in a new "Talking Heads" LIVE CD...'Burning down the house' is so crystal clear it just amazing! Any true digital music sounds like it's being played live, just for you...and the older, sloppier stuff sounds better than I can ever remember.

I am still amazed at the depth that these 6.5's play to! I can turn off the CDT single 12 and not notice it gone...not that the 6.5's play bass, just that the music sounds so nice that a missing sub is hardly noticed.

The IEK tweeters need to be dialed in to listening preference. I don't like my music shrill and high, so only dial in enough to raise that sound stage...bringing the vocals right up on top of my dash! This only requires the slightest turn of the dial to accomplish. Then the further you turn, the louder the uppper tweeters get, but never overbearing.

The sound is pretty well centered without the IEK, but, like I said before....one big van and one low mounted set of speakers needs a bit of help no matter who's they are!

Well.....I find myself making excuses to run out to the garage from time to time, just to drop in a favorite disc and listen. I still need to get a hold of those ES 4's and really make my wife want to leave me...heck, she'd never see me again with sound so sweet!

Vince Cuffaro Audiophile

2nd OPINION:

Well, its about time i did this, people have been asking me for months to do one like my old HD review from last year.. I dont like to do " initial reviews" of speakers, ive always found them to be bullsh-it regardless of who does them. Usually people mistake "new" sound with " good" sound in an initial review..so i decided to give them about 6 months of listening before even attempting some sort of accurate review. But, I'll put some initial impressions in the review regardless...So, here goes..


First Impressions

"Holy crap, it comes in 2 boxes"
"Holy crap, those things are really really really yellow"
"Holy crap, those crossovers are really fuking big"
"Holy crap, it looks even deeper than the HD's"

That about sums up my reaction upon opening up the boxes... the speakers come in 2 boxes, the midranges are in one, and the crossovers and tweeters are in a second one.. yes, the crossovers are so big they require their own boxes.. they are 3-4 times bigger than the 2003 Satnet 456 xovers.

First thing i noticed about the crossover was definitely a good thing... a great thing even..the build quality is absolutely superb, looks like they use true top notch components to make those things. The next thing i noticed however, was a bad thing.. there is no tweeter attenuation control on the xover.. i dont understand why, but all the other CDT sets have attenuation controls, why would they leave that feature out on their most high end set? Regardless, it was no big deal, i just used LPAD's on all the tweeter outputs, and that took care of that little problem. The CDT Lpads that come with the IEK are very nice too, somewhat big, but they feel solid, and i believe they can attenuate to somewhere between -9 and -12db, which is plenty for any situation.

The tweeters felt solid, had good weight to them ( IMO, heavy stuff usually means its built well...haha, that seems to be a running conclusion with all electronics ive tested ). Tweeters come with flush and surface mount cups. The cutout for the flush mounts is huge however, and the surface mount cups are among the largest ive seen... i would describe them as bulbous, but not offensive in any way, definitely bigger than they need to be though.

The Mid's... well, incase it didnt sink in before, those things are REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY yellow..like... quite possibly the yellowest yellow ive ever seen...you know that yellow that every other redneck has his Mustang 5.SLOW painted in? its yellower than that. These drivers are DEEP, i dont recall the actual depth offhand, but it must be over 3 inches, maybe even closer to 4 inches. The basket, like almost all CDT speakers are oversized, and closer to a 7 inch than a 6.5 inch, something to keep in mind before purchasing. The cone of the drivers is also intensely yellow, but quite cool looking in person. They look like a Kevlar/Fiberglass/Pulp composite. It is opaque, but borders on translucent if you hold it up to a light, and is nearly sticky to the touch. Very cool. The suspension of the driver is very loose, which i definitely like. In my experience, drivers with a really tight suspension ( boston/quart ) excel a little in detail, but give up tons in midbass, this yet again proves to be true, as you will read later.


Installation

Before i get into the actual driver installation, let me tell you a little about my install. My doors are sound deadened to hell, at least 30sq ft in each front door, then on top of that i have wool type material covering all large surfaces behind the door panel to absorb any contact rattles, i plan to add deflex pads later on, whenever i have the time. Now that being said....

THESE THINGS ARE A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO INSTALL! ( They are just like the HD's in this matter, or at least what is now known as the HD Professional ) Make no mistake, these suckers are wide and deep, not an install to be attempted by a first timer, or non adventurous installer. You WILL have to make custom baffles, there is no escaping this unless your car has space for 8's up front from the factory. You WILL run into all kinds of clearance issues which will require a lot of creativity to get past. Dont bother with these if you own a honda, or if you own a honda, plan to do kick panels from the get go, dont even bother with your doors. I mounted the Mids in the stock door locations.

The Tweeters are a little large, but nothing to really complain about. Note though, that if you flush mount the tweeters, the cutouts are very large, so you wont be able to fit most other tweeters in that space later on if you decide to change speakers. The main tweeters were mounted in the door panels, just above where the mids are ( mids are NOT mounted to the door panel ). The IEK tweeters are mounted in the A Pillars, about 1/3 of the way up, aimed at the halfway point on the headliner, where the headliner meets the windshield.

The Crossovers, well these forced me to re-engineer my whole install. Yes, they're that big. The only crossovers ive seen that are bigger are the MBquart QSD crossover, and the Boston Z6 crossover ( which looks like a cinderblock, and is about as big as a cinderblock ). I had to redo my whole trunk to get them to fit in a way that looked good, but the end result was worth it, my trunk looks tight now see page 4 of my install at http://members.sounddomain.com/kepone for pics. The Crossovers are mounted on a custom amp rack, between my two tru amps which are mounted in an angled "floating" style.

Initial Impressions

I dont like the tweeter, its too bright. It has to go ( and it did, replaced with 2 sets of the HD 1" Deluxe Silk tweeters ). Imaging is vague, soundstage is ehhhhhhhh.. nothing special. I was not impressed, and thought i wasted my money, just like i did on rainbow pros before the eurosports. BTW, rainbow pros are hands down some of the worst speakers ive ever heard, totally overhyped. The only true hype about those is the midbass.. the midbass is CRUSHING, its to bad the speakers still sound like A-S-S.

anyway, so initially, i didnt like the euros..I did some research, and found out that the mids need a ton of break in time. The tweeters however, were way to bright for me, but then again, if you ask anyone, i like my music to be very very warm sounding. Most tweeters are offensive to me, so just because I didnt like the eurosport tweeters doesnt mean that you wont. Most tweeters that people on this forum called " detailed", i just call harsh...so take my tweeter opinions with a grain of salt.

Long Term Impressions

Once again, CDT does not disappoint. Just like my old HD review, the eurosports prove that with CDT speakers, installation and tuning is everything. After swapping the tweeters out with the HD Deluxe Tweeters, it was time to let these babies break in. I did not do any equalization adjustments at all in the break in period, which i set for 1 solid month, several hours a day playtime. These speakers sounded better and better and better every day.

I had to do some tweaking still, before i could really get the best out of them, and here is what i did..my imaging was still a bit indistinct, so upon consulting leon (dingaling ), he gave me the idea to play with the phase of the speakers. I got the best results by running both midranges out of phase, everything else in phase. This did wonders for my imaging and soundstage, really bringing these speakers to their full potential. I think i lost a little midbass in the process, but nothing bad enough to mention any further than this.

Crossover point- These speakers play cleanly down to 50hz, but i found best results were to cross the speakers at 63hz/18db, and cross the subwoofer at 50hz/18db. You might think that a 13hz gap in your crossovers would cause some issues, but i assure you, that is not the case. The eurosport Mids have such great bass output, that crossing the sub lower with a shallower slope just helps it blend better.. believe me, it brings the bass up front greatly and blends wonderfully.

Equalization- it didnt take much equalization to get these things sounding great once they were broken in. My EQ points are as follows. 80HZ 2db q1, 500hz 2db q4, 5hkz -2db q4, 16khz 3db q1. Thats all.

Once they were broken in and set up properly, it was time for some real listening tests. General Reviews First:

Midbass- Very Very Very strong midbass..I believe that Carmaster ( from this forum ) heard my car when i just had the euros up front and no sub yet ( was waiting for my w7 to come ). He can attest to the output of these things, they seem to be snappy, yet smooth. Strong, yet transparent. I can go on listing analogies all day, but it boils down to this. Best midbass ive ever heard, this is what midbass should sound like. Literally, you can feel the impact in your chest, but its never overpowering. Only downside ive found for the midbass end, is that acoustic bass guitars and/or stand up bass's dont have the kind of impact that they do IRL, they still sound great, but they come through a little subdued. Every little nuance of them comes through though, i suppose i would just like a little more presence.. i can probably add this with a little more eq'ing, perhaps a bump at 250hz will solve this. I'll give this set a 9.5/10 for midbass.

Midrange- Very Detailed and warm. Once set up right, its very easy to tell the placements of different instruments and etc..acoustic guitars sound fantastic, pianos have that emotional appeal that they have in real life. Overall, i have only one complaint about the midrange, its not really suited to "Heavy Metal" music. It depends on the bands too, and i believe it has to do with the high crossover point. The Xover point is either 4.8 or 5khz. That "crunch" you get in a lot of metal music, or actually any guitar based music that uses distortion or overdrive pedals, is mostly in the 5khz range. Having the Midrange roll off there definitely has some impact on that, making metal sound a little less "crunchy" than most would like. This is not a problem however, with bands that tune their instruments lower. Like Tool, Slipknot, Korn, etc... those bands' music comes through wonderfully unscathed, with every bit of that crunch intact. Other than that little shortcoming, i couldnt ask for a better midrange. This midrange is also very very very detailed 9/10 for midrange.

Highs- Well, being that the highs are the highs of a HD tweeter, i dont think i should comment much on them here. See my HD review for that, lets just say that i really like these tweeters, most people feel that they lack detail, i dont feel that way. I just think they are too laid back for most, but perfect for me.


Imaging/Soundstage- I think these things image fuc-king great. I dont know what competition winning imaging is supposed to sound like, but in my car, vocals come from the center of the windshield, a little below eye level. On well recorded music, like Sheffield Drive, you can really place the different instruments with ease.. drums sound like they are further back from the vocalist and etc.. the soundstage is very open and wide, giving the impression that the listening area is much more spacious than it really is. Yet, at the same time, these speakers are also very personal sounding, and emotional.

Test Material- As usual, Alice in Chains- Unplugged is my benchmark. But now, i have another benchmark, Sheffield Drive. No words can describe how amazingly well this cd is recorded ( except maybe that last sentence ).[begin rant] And ill say this now, and undoubtably catch a lot of crap for it, I AM OVER HOTEL CALIFORNIA! Frankly, Hotel California is not recorded that well, the bassline is way over exagerrated, and not to mention, the song is goddamned played out, it will not even be played in my car for at least another year, and only when ive remastered it and toned down that stupidly loud opening bass note. Hotel California= the riced out car of audiophile recordings. All of you should replace Hotel California with Fleetwood Mac- Big Love-Live Acoustic[/end rant][begin flame war]

I always use track 10 on Unplugged as one of my test songs, that track is " Would". In this track, the bass guitar is the most important instrument. If it comes through sounding "dry", something is up with your system. On the Eurosports, it comes through as it should, warm and full, nearly full to the point that it seems enveloping, but still, you can tell that the focal point is dead center in the windshield.. absolute perfection. When the vocals come in, you can literally tell that the singer and bass player must be very close to each other, the soundstage presents them as if they are less than five feet apart while on stage. It is a very pleasant effect, i will have to buy the Unplugged DVD to see if this is accurate to the original recording.

Moving on to Sheffield Drive..tracks 5,10,13 are used...

Track 5 is a bluegrassy sounding track called " After Midnight". Since this is a live studio recording, you should be able to place the different instruments easily, if not, your system sucks . In Listening, the female vocalist has a very dry voice, which is typical in bluegrass singers. Her voice seemed to be slightly to the right of the central imaging point however, maybe some time correction will fix that. You can easily place the harmonica when it comes in halfway through the track.. this track would put a lesser speaker system to shame, but not the eurosports.

Track 10 is " Puttin on the Ritz". A very personal sounding track, simple in composition. Female vocalist, piano player, and i believe a drummer and stand up bass player. When the singer starts singing, i almost want to cry. It sounds like she is in the car with me, i briefly have a flashback of my mother holding me and singing me to sleep as a child..snap back to reality and realize i must have had an acid flashback, but still..i cant say it enough, these speakers, like all CDT's, excel greatly at vocals. When the piano comes in during the climax of the song, it sounds like the keys of the piano are stretched across my dashboard. I am not sure if this is how the music was intended to sound, but its a very cool and pleasing effect, and adds even more to the personal sound of the speakers.

Track 13, the Sheffield Drum Track...i saved this one for last because its the most impressive thing ive heard on these speakers left. The impression i get when i listen to it is that the main microphone for this recording is somewhere around the drummers lap. You can hear the different drums all over the place in front of you, with the big bass drum perfectly represented by the combination of the eurosports and my 10w7. This impresses me more than anything else, these speakers are flat out fantastic, the best ive ever owned, and the best ive ever heard in a car. There are parts of this track where you can literally tell the different elevations of the different drums.. every cymbal crasgh, every hit of the toms, every snap of the bass drum is so clearly reproduced you would swear you were in the listening room.. the first time i played this track, i literally thought i had found mobile audio nirvana.. the perfect combination of tuning and audio equipment...i dont believe that anymore, because if that were true there would be no need for cars like Audionutz civic to exist.


Final Thoughts

1. These speakers reproduce every little nuance of sound in the original recordings. They WILL show flaws in your recordings and make you not want to listen to your favorite cd's anymore. Every little stroke of fingers across the guitar strings is recorded, sometimes you can even hear the bands talking in the background, or even the noise from the piano reverb pedals being pressed and released.

2.These things are not for the faint of heart to install, so if you're a ***** dont bother trying. Also, if you arent going to install them right, dont bother trying.. as a matter of fact, if you plan to do that, ill be happy to sell you some cyanide.. put yourself out of my misery.

3. Vocals, these things excel in vocals... the vocal presence is very strong, maybe to strong for some people, but IMO it is never overpowering.

4. If you have the room to run 2 eurosport midbasses per side, you might actually not need to run a subwoofer.

5. These speakers weakness is definitely metal, they are still very good but they lack that crunch thats necessary for metal music to have its intended impact. At the same time however, they're great for all the metal that matters.. ( tool )

6. The only other weakness is a slight lack of authority in stand up basses, but that can be fixed with some more eq'ing im sure.

Well guys, thats it I hope you enjoyed this, and that you dont think its too wordy or anything...