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JBL MS-62c First impressions. These surprised the hell out of me!

235K views 837 replies 154 participants last post by  Anamolydetected 
#1 ·
Ok, I do not normally post reviews on DIYMA but I am pretty excited about these components and figured I would share my experience with them. First, some of my previous commercial component sets I have used in my Infiniti qx4 include: Alpine SPX-17pro's , MB Quart PSD 216's, Rainbow Profi Vanadium CS365, Kef Kar series uni-q 6.5's. I have also ran a 3 way active set up using the peerless sls 6.5, Fountek FR88EX, and the seas 27TAFNC/G. I have been into car/home audio for many years and am also an avid drummer. Ok, so I am not coming from Sony Xplode gear or the legendary Roadmaster ;) . Lets get on to my set up. My source is a Pioneer DEH-80prs. The amp I am running is an ARC XXK-4150. two channels running to the fronts and two channels bridged to my single phoenix gold rsd 10, a nice subwoofer for the dollar.


On with it. I have been content with my Kef's for a while but, The ferrofluid in one of my tweeters dried up, a common problem with older Kef tweeters. This left me looking for a new set to keep me happy during rush hour. I did not want to spend very much as I was just looking for something to get me by until I figure out something serious. Anyways, It was between these and some rainbow slc265.ng's. They share the same basket. I thought that was strange. I have had a few rainbow set ups and have only been impressed with the profi line so I kind of just said what the hell and ordered the jbls for $187.00 via Ebay.


So they get here a few days ago and to my surprise they seemed very well built. The woofers build quality seemed much higher than the other commercial sets I've ran, other than the SPX17-pro's which are about the same. The tweeters are titanium inverted domes, similar to focal, but not in sound. Good build quality all around. Of course, the crossovers are not as impressive as the type x's but they are solid.

I managed to get them installed the same night and have been listening to them for the last two days.



So far, I would have to say that these are the highest value purchase I have made in car audio. Being a drummer, cymbal accuracy is very important to me. I had always heard that MB Quart Titanium tweeters were the best at this aspect. Hah. In my install the MB's were good on certain songs but fell apart while trying to reproduce anything complex. Miles Davis, decent. Nirvana, Ouch! I do not know who made the tweeter in this set but without a doubt, these JBL tweeters have more air and leading edge detail than any other compact tweeter I have ever used. I do not know how they sound so good. No Focal/MB Quart harshness what so ever! They remind me of the
cal26 titans but without the grain and fatigue at louder listening levels.


The mids perform very well. They have the midrange accuracy of the SPX-17pro's and the mid bass of the rainbows. One thing that I enjoyed about the MB Quarts was that even though their excursion capabilities were far less than the others, they managed to have a snap and awesome upper midbass-lower midrange. Toms always sounded full with the MB Quarts. The Alpines were the weakest in that area. Rainbow's and JBL's are right in the middle. I think the JBL's can go a little bit lower but I don't plan on high passing below 63hz/12db.



Overall I am astonished so far. It is a nice relief to not have to spend $500-700 on a two way "commercial' set up to reach acceptable fidelity. If anyone else has used these I would love to hear what you think of them.

Well that's it for now. It's late..... Wheel Auto part Automotive wheel system Rim


Audio equipment Electronic instrument Computer speaker Loudspeaker Technology


Loudspeaker Audio equipment Subwoofer Car subwoofer Sound box


Auto part Rim Tire Automotive wheel system Wheel
 
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#291 · (Edited)
Hi guys, I've spent a long time lurking Diyma forums, but my 1st time posting.

I have pulled the trigger on a set too thanks mainly to this thread and the talk audio review, unfortunately jbl have no plan to bring them in to sell here in New Zealand, so I am having some sent from the States. I am quite excited also on seeing the improvement over my tsd 1720c comps, which never quite did it for me.
Do you guys that are running these think they should perform well via the passives, off an Eclipse ea4000 4ch @ around 75rms? Or should I look at getting more to them?

Cheers in advance.
 
#292 ·
I have pulled the trigger on a set too thanks mainly to this thread and the talk audio review, unfortunately jbl have no plan to bring them in to sell here in New Zealand, so I am having some sent from the States. I am quite excited also on seeing the improvement over my tsd 1720c comps, which never quite did it for me.
Do you guys that are running these think they should perform well via the passives, off an Eclipse ea4000 4ch @ around 75rms? Or should I look at getting more to them?

Cheers in advance.
Maybe a bit late for you, but I believe this set is sold under the Selenium brand in other parts of the world. Perhaps you can find it under that name in your country.
 
#296 ·
i have a set of these JBL MS-62C in the doors and APillars of a 2011 sierra. Passive .Powered by a Alpine f250 bridged to 100 watts rms per channel Setup with a -5db test tone @1000 hz . (planning on a better amp in the future). Doors are properly prepared and midbasses are mounted to decoupled MDF baffles.
I run the tweets @ -3db on the passive xover,but will probly revert back to 0db when i clean up the reflections of the dash.
When High Passed @ 63hz , its a bit much in my truck cabin, 24db xover.I prefer a 80hz@12db xover and a 80hz 24db low pass on the single 10" sub.
This combination really allows the JBL midbass to realistically play low and extend a little deeper than 80hz and the sub doesnt play up with the steep xover. midbass is tight and has great impact when volume is turned up.Bass is right up front!
I have no eq cuts/gains, except -2@160hz , this is to deal with a rise from cabin gain , not bad tho cause the cabin in the 4 door sierra is quite large.
These speakers just keep getting nicer and nicer sounding with extended breakin
The 100 watts seems enough for me ,its not over the top for these speakers , again, depends on the crossovers , I could bottom them with a 63hz HP and a 12db xover .they are just a 6.5".
The tweets are nice , a little bright , depends on the source quality . they play really clean and sound clear and correct when listening to a good quality cd passage but can be too bright and tiring with mp3 sources .
My setup impresses with music such as Styx ,Grateful dead, Ted nuggent. Harder rock such as AC/DC etc is very "live" sounding.
These are just personal opinions based on other speaker setups i have heard.
I have friends that are professional musicians and they have listened and are very impressed by these speakers truth and detail to instrument sounds ,playing studio samples of theirs, they are impressed with the speakers ability to play realistic in comparison to some very nice studio monitors.
Overall i would say these speakers are an excellent choice , properly setup , for any front stage in a vehicle.:)
 
#297 ·
Loving the review, Kevin. Quick question:

When you say your MDF baffles are decoupled, what extra steps did you take? I'm asking because I'll be doing the same on my 06 Passat. I have to drill out the facory speaker/baffle and will be using 1/2" for the bottom plate and 3/4" for the ring. End result will be something like this:

 
#298 ·
Loving the review, Kevin. Quick question:

When you say your MDF baffles are decoupled, what extra steps did you take?
He means you put something between the baffle and the door skin, and between the speaker and the baffle. Closed cell foam, clay and butyl rope all work well for this. CCF is the easiest to work with and comes apart easier for future repairs if needed. I use butyl rope between the speaker and the baffle, then CCF between the baffle and inner door skin.
 
#299 ·
Gotcha. I've seen install shots of people just using CLD tiles and scratching my head wondering what the merits of that really were, but CCF makes more sense as a decoupler. Any chance I might be able to find it cheap at a local hardware store? I'm kinda hoping to get this install knocked out this weekend.
 
#300 ·
You just dont want wood directly to metal, anything that does not absorb water will work. Closed cell weatherstip and rope caulk will work, Duct Seal (non hardening clay) works great but is annoying. 8x10 foam sheats (1/8") from the scrapbooking isle at walmart will do the job. Just make sure to test that it does not absorb water.

Put a piece in a glass of water, if it starts to sink after an hour, dont use it.
If you using MDF for your baffle, make sure to seal it with something unless you live in a desert.
 
#304 ·
#306 ·
EXactly as has been replied.
I used cld tile around the sheetmetal opening after removing the stock plastic baffle and speaker.
I also used multiple layered MDF 3/4 and 5/8 ,Glued ,clamped , sanded and then waterproofed with a couple coats of truck bedliner spray.
With the CLD tile overlay on the door sheet metal ,I further applied a 1/4 foam rubber "gasket" around the opening before attaching with heavy sheet metal screws (pre drilled).
I added a little more cld tile , but some prefer model clay (non hardening) around the baffle once mounted .
I like how the Cld tile buytl compresses under the speaker mount surface , acting as a spring washer and ensuring it stays mounted.(dont overdue cranking the speaker down.
Dead as a door nail where the speaker sits.:elf:
 
#312 ·
This set has many good reviews, people run it active and still find the price to be competitive, and adding a midrange/full range to a component set isn't necessarily a new practice. I was simply asking because I'd love to try these but I also really want to try three way so I'm weighing my options.
 
#314 ·
I think a far better question to ask is this:
Why exactly do you deem it necessary to build a 3way setup......What do you feel your missing or need to change/add? I dont see this set being a "great" start for a 3way. Unless you can fit a 6" (or the 5" set) as a midrange....
 
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#315 ·
These are looking very appealing to me in a 3-way (10's in the doors). Shallow mount with no pole vent in the mids look like a good recipe for the kicks. Plus the detail of a metal dome without the harshness... what's not to like?

Btw, what was the overall diameter & depth of the tweeter?
 
#316 ·
Well as it stands I'll be running the ms8 with only a front stage for now while I sort out what to do for a sub. I like to try new and different things and one thing I was curious enough to do research on was the use of a full range speaker to cover the majority or entirety of the vocal range. This is not something I'm dying to try or must do with this set in particular but I was curious enough to ask the question with people who have first hand experience. If I liked this set enough I might never change them out but that has yet to be determined.
 
#317 ·
Using a widebander can work very well, many on here use them - myself included. Generally, the key is to get them as much on-axis as possible. I admit, there are times where I miss that top end sparkle from a tweeter, hence the reason I'm looking at this set.

FYI... Andy has mentioned using the MS-8 with a wideband driver without a tweeter isn't optimal.
 
#355 ·
Using any processor to it's full potential is quite an attractive idea else it almost would negate it's sacrifice in purchasing. Still, this opens up doors to using raw drivers that are not available in the "car audio" market unless you have specific constraints which I will get to in my lower reply.


i'm of the opinion that any good 2-way system can sound better as a 3-way. especially if the system is active where you can control crossover frequencies and slope- and where the midbass driver is mounted off-axis (front lower doors)- and where the midrange and tweeter will be mounted close to each other, high in the sound stage and somewhat on-axis.
when the midrange driver and frequencies have clear unobstructed pathways to your ears there is nothing like the clarity you can achieve with this installation fundamental.
a two way sounds good if not very good but a proper 3-way is in another league.

I'll probably get my head ripped off for this, but I have to agree due to the fact my install is space limited which confines me to certain drivers that can be quite unruly in the response I desire. Keep in mind I'm driving an older vehicle that has a narrow cabin and which also places the door drivers very low compared to seating position. A 1st generation S10 does not come equipped with front door speaker placing so one must pretty much fabricate or utilize the space that is available. Still this places a conundrum in the fact that besides cutting metal & the door panel to house such, size is limited as well as depth. Building out is not ideal either, remember the cabin is fairly narrow!


Now what this leads to is a fair requirement of a shallow midbass/midrange driver that still has the ability to dig a little deep, but also play with some authority. Not many current raw drivers out there that can accomplish this. The last raw drivers in use were RS180-4 then switched out to Jamo clearance. By far the Jamo owned the Daytons in midbass extension, but could not keep up in output & clarity into the midrange. The Daytons exhibited even more of a problem as their magnet structure required an extra baffle to keep from bottoming out against the window track which placed the driver's side even more off axis which it is already somewhat severe at.

Paired up with a set of RS75-4 on the dash was a good match & solution except again, remember.... narrow cabin, so getting the dash drivers back into the corners of the pillars was a no go and quite ugly! I wound up fabricating sealed housings made from miniature Glad cups and placed them on the corners of the dash. Auditioning them like that for several, several months, they were rotated periodically between on/off axis to find the best performance with off-axis winning.

What this has alluded to is going back to the use of normal car door mounting depth drivers for a solution, but still having some placement issues. With a seemingly (by way of reveiws) stout driver in the door that can get fairly deep, but not mount deep I chose the JBL set as a basis. The next step is to get the upper end filled out by going with a shallow mount midrange driver to mod into the pillars, then finally mate it with a tweeter meant to play off axis. Both will be firing across the dash with a very slight axis towards the listening area. Of course attenuation & xover points requires going totally active is a must at this point, but solutions have already been made considering what gear I own.

As you can see, it's not always cut & dry as to you "can't or shouldn't". It's a matter of knowing your constraints & what it will take to overcome such. It's a challenge, but there's very little rules in DIY as long as you have the means to make it so, that's what counts.
 
#320 ·
i'm of the opinion that any good 2-way system can sound better as a 3-way. especially if the system is active where you can control crossover frequencies and slope- and where the midbass driver is mounted off-axis (front lower doors)- and where the midrange and tweeter will be mounted close to each other, high in the sound stage and somewhat on-axis.
when the midrange driver and frequencies have clear unobstructed pathways to your ears there is nothing like the clarity you can achieve with this installation fundamental.
a two way sounds good if not very good but a proper 3-way is in another league.
 
#322 ·
Had enough funds laying around in my paypal account from previous gear sales short of $3 shipped from Savingslot.... :rolleyes:

Needless to say after following this review, I finally pulled the trigger. Now the next decision will be keep the set of Peerless XXL 830876 or go back with the dual HO 10" to mate. Hmmmm.... decisions, decisions.
 
#323 ·
i decided to join the cult of ms-62c after my jbl p660c set decided to rip themselves apart(there has to be an engineering, or manufacturing, shortcoming concerning the surrounds on the woofers). the surround seperated from the cone more than 50% of the way around the cone on both woofers. not only on both of my woofers but also one of my roommates. that's 3 out of 4. and i also remember reading about another member posting this. shame on you jbl.
the tweets on these ms-62c are a wonder, i've only had these installed for 2 days now and i cannot stress enough how much better these sound than the p660c set. looking forward to dialing them in after the break in period.
 
#326 ·
Then having them warrantied shouldnt be a problem ;) Or did you get them NON authorized (hence the issues?). You may even be able to upgrade to the MS on their dime? They are very good about warranty if you bought them legit.
What xover point were they high passed at? What was the power (and from what) did you hear any warnings etc........?
 
#327 ·
Just received mines. Nice looking drivers. Really has me pondering for the 27th for a sub to match aesthetically... ;) As soon as I get my old laptop up and going (it's a dinosaur) I'm going to put it on the WT3. I'm surprised no one has done this and/or posted the results just out of curiosity. Perhaps I missed it.
 
#328 ·
It'd be cool if someone sent theirs to Erin to run on the Klippell (hint-hint:D).

Anyone know of any sites that has them for cheaper than the $179.99 @Sonic?
 
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