I'm pretty much a audio noob and not a audiophile. What i want is a pretty decent sounding system w/ some bass to it.
AFter looking around, is there a advantage in getting a component system compared to just getting 2 fronts speakers? I'm looking at the Infinity Kappa 60.5cs component set and the Alpine Type-R.
Should I look at any others?
adv's of front components compared to just front speakers?
It depends on how much money you want to spend. Separates (components that is) sound better than coaxial (woofer with a tweeter on the pole piece in the middle) speakers. The Kappas are a great sounding set of speakers and the Alpines sound good as well. It all comes down to your taste. If you have time in an evening, go to a couple different shops and check out the speakers. Go with what sounds good to you, what fits your budget, and have them installed at a good shop. You can usually tell how good the shop is by how knowledgable the sales guy is and if they have photo albums with good work that they can show you. Good luck and welcome to NICO!
Components are less susceptible to harmonic distortion, becuase you are separating the high frequency driver from the low/mid frequency driver. (Highs sound cleaner and more defined because they are not drowned out by the lower frequency driver as much). Also high frequencies are directional and lows are not (thats why you can still hear bass if your sub is in the trunk). So the closer your ear is to the axis of the high frequency driver the more defined the highs are. Components allow you to place the high frequency driver in the most ideal location, and some even let you aim it at the driver so you get the best possible sound with the least ammount of distortion. Of course there are downsides to component speakers. Since the frequencies are split by a seperate crossover, containing higher quality electronics and more of them, than your standard multi axis full range driver it usually takes more power to drive them.
I would recommend a set of CDT CL61's for a component set. They are on sale right now for $150.00 shipped from http://www.thezeb.com. They are awesome sounding speakers and normally cost $300.00.
You might want to measure the maximum clearance (Depth) for your door speakers cuz this set is quite big and deep. Great sounding set tho and well worth the money.
Mike
You might want to measure the maximum clearance (Depth) for your door speakers cuz this set is quite big and deep. Great sounding set tho and well worth the money.
Mike
SloMoe, harmonic distortion does not have to do with speaker performance. Harmonic Distortion is a means for measuring Nonlinear Distortion . Nonlinear Distortion is a form of signal processing error that creates signals at frequencies that are not necessarily present in the input. It contrasts with Linear Distortion, which is a form of error that creates no new frequencies beyond those that are present in the input signal. Linear Distortion changes the relationship of the size and timing of the frequencies that compose the input signal. Linear and Nonlinear distortion are directly based on frequencies present in the input signal. Noise is a form of error that is not as directly related to the input signal.
THD (TOTAL harmonic distortion) is determined by measuring the size of each of the new frequencies that are created by the source of the distortion. The new frequencies are called "harmonics" because they exist at frequencies that are integer multiples of the input signal. For example, the harmonics of 1 kHz are at 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4kHz, and so on.
Even numbered harmonics are called "Even Order Distortion" and are caused by errors that are not symmetrical. The odd numbered harmonics are called "Odd Order Distortion" and are caused by symmetrical errors. Push-pull or balanced circiuts are symmetrical and therefore reduce Even Order Distortion.
You are refering to audible distortion. Audible distortion is caused by the drivers inability to reproduce specific sound at a given level. example... a 6.5 inch speaker can play low bass, just not at high sound pressure levels.
THD (TOTAL harmonic distortion) is determined by measuring the size of each of the new frequencies that are created by the source of the distortion. The new frequencies are called "harmonics" because they exist at frequencies that are integer multiples of the input signal. For example, the harmonics of 1 kHz are at 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4kHz, and so on.
Even numbered harmonics are called "Even Order Distortion" and are caused by errors that are not symmetrical. The odd numbered harmonics are called "Odd Order Distortion" and are caused by symmetrical errors. Push-pull or balanced circiuts are symmetrical and therefore reduce Even Order Distortion.
You are refering to audible distortion. Audible distortion is caused by the drivers inability to reproduce specific sound at a given level. example... a 6.5 inch speaker can play low bass, just not at high sound pressure levels.
QX4MIkey wrote:I would recommend a set of CDT CL61's for a component set. They are on sale right now for $150.00 shipped from http://www.thezeb.com. They are awesome sounding speakers and normally cost $300.00.
You might want to measure the maximum clearance (Depth) for your door speakers cuz this set is quite big and deep. Great sounding set tho and well worth the money.
Mike
I have that set, got em from the zeb free shipping 2 days after I ordered it. They fit in the 240 just fine with a custom mount I made outta plywood (theres a post about it here somewhere), and they sound GREAT!!
whoa, don't mess with simmsled, he knows his shiiit 
and i agree with him too, go to a shop and demo some speakers that are within your budget... pic the ones that sound best to you
ideally go with components cause they generally sound better, but the downside is they're usually more expensive and harder to install.
oh and IMHO, the CDT's are much better than the Alpine Type R's, but i haven't heard any infinity's so i can't be biased against them and make a fair comparison...
and i agree with him too, go to a shop and demo some speakers that are within your budget... pic the ones that sound best to you
ideally go with components cause they generally sound better, but the downside is they're usually more expensive and harder to install.
oh and IMHO, the CDT's are much better than the Alpine Type R's, but i haven't heard any infinity's so i can't be biased against them and make a fair comparison...
go to http://www.cdtaudio.com and read up on them...they have nice pics and also install pics..their prices are pretty good considering these speakers (CDT HDs or CDT Classics) are compared to Focals and A/D/S..so they are definitely a high end company.
Mike
Mike
although i have CDT's and i am a serious fan of their speakers, i am speaking the honest truth here...
my friend has a set of Focal 165k3's with the tn51 tweeters, and he's powering them with a sony xm2100g (oldschool good sony amps) which puts out 100w x 2 which is runnin of an alpine 7995... so what i'm tryin to say is that he has a nice setup
so we both custom installed 3-way components in our doors, and he told me this "the only thing i have on you is loudness..." he's really impressed with the cdt's and so am i... we were just hoping they would sound good cause no one sells them around us, and we both approve of them... he said if he could get his hands on some eurosport cdt 3-ways, he'd trade in his focals in a second.
i have the 3-way CDT classics which is the lowest line that cdt makes, and i bought them for 270 cdn off ebay (about 170US before shipping)... my friend got his Focals for $900 CDN, so i definately got the better bang for the buck...
the focals are SUPER detailed, but because of that, i find that i get listening fatigue way faster in his car, than in mine... the cdt's are smoother and more natural sounding, but not quite as detailed in the upper ranges, this is cause it has a silk donme tweeter as opposed to the titanium inverted dome tweeter the Focal's use...
so in other words: I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THE HIGH DEFINITION 3-WAY CDT'S MUST SOUND LIKE...
that's just my rant
my friend has a set of Focal 165k3's with the tn51 tweeters, and he's powering them with a sony xm2100g (oldschool good sony amps) which puts out 100w x 2 which is runnin of an alpine 7995... so what i'm tryin to say is that he has a nice setup
so we both custom installed 3-way components in our doors, and he told me this "the only thing i have on you is loudness..." he's really impressed with the cdt's and so am i... we were just hoping they would sound good cause no one sells them around us, and we both approve of them... he said if he could get his hands on some eurosport cdt 3-ways, he'd trade in his focals in a second.
i have the 3-way CDT classics which is the lowest line that cdt makes, and i bought them for 270 cdn off ebay (about 170US before shipping)... my friend got his Focals for $900 CDN, so i definately got the better bang for the buck...
the focals are SUPER detailed, but because of that, i find that i get listening fatigue way faster in his car, than in mine... the cdt's are smoother and more natural sounding, but not quite as detailed in the upper ranges, this is cause it has a silk donme tweeter as opposed to the titanium inverted dome tweeter the Focal's use...
so in other words: I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THE HIGH DEFINITION 3-WAY CDT'S MUST SOUND LIKE...
that's just my rant