$1500 Ion Challenge, Pods done!

[coffee_junkee]

Wow, I'm glad the pods are finally finished! They were a real pain in the ass, but what a huge difference in sound quality and staging. I haven't done a thorough tuning session yet, but the Xtant's sound fantastic. They blend well with the CDT CL-6's. I have them crossed over like this:

Image Dynamics OEM 10" 20hz to 80hz
CDT CL6 80hz to 200hz
Xtant XIS2.4i 210hz on up.

I listened to several reference cd's and they are a touch bright, but likely the fault of half-assed gain adjustments on my part. Should be able to get them dialed in tonight.

Post some pics in a few.

[coffee_junkee]

I used riv-nuts to mount the drivers. Since I have to remove them to test and finally install, I decided that they would be better than just screwing them to the wafer board with self tappers.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0330.jpg

I lined them with several layers of RAAMmat scraps I kept from various installations. Worked great and otherwise would have been dumpster food.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0333.jpg

Pic of one side after the cloth was laid over the outside. Turned out REAL nice and clean. Initially, they were painted with matching gray, but the glare was awful. The grille cloth covering is a 95% match and relatively no glare. had I gone this route intentionally, it would have saved me hours of perfection sanding for paint prep. Who knew?

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0334.jpg

The twins, one done and the other is almost ready.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0335.jpg

All the parts:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0336.jpg

Shots of them installed and aimed on the dash:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0338.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0340.jpg

I will post some better pics of the finished product tonight when I get the mess cleaned up in the garage.

[jisturm]

Wow man. Looks great.

That is one badass little set-up you have there!

[mitchyz250f]

Way, Way Way cool.

[coffee_junkee]

Wow man. Looks great.

That is one badass little set-up you have there!

Thanks!

I did some relatively (again) quick adjustments to the gains and toned down the pods some more. They are super efficient. At 50 watts per side, Alanis was about rip my face off during the more vocal parts of the song! After the adjustment, they sound much better. Not too bad for 8, or so, hours of work and $125!

My girlfriend thinks it is real humorous that I love high end stereo and I'm such a cheap ass! :D

[mbcouple]

BTW, incase you were wondering, those xtants were manufactured by macrom/morel, they are a very nice point source driver.
Hans

[coffee_junkee]

BTW, incase you were wondering, those xtants were manufactured by macrom/morel, they are a very nice point source driver.
Hans

Yes, that is a little known fact. Great speakers for $50 brand new. I'm thinking about picking up a set for spares, or for garage monitors to replace my tired Tannoys.

[mbcouple]

I could use a set if your source has more. Let me know,
Thanks
Hans

[internecine]

thats a coax speaker right? 1" tweet and a, what 4-5" mid?

[coffee_junkee]

It is a 4" with a 1" silk tweeter. The tweeter is concentrically mounted. Doesn't, or from what I've read, shouldn't have any of the time/phase issues that a coax would have. The ring around the tweeter is removable and one with a narrower dispersion horn can be installed. Versatile!

[coffee_junkee]

I could use a set if your source has more. Let me know,
Thanks
Hans

One set left! I just bought another set, just in case! :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250005673232

Enjoy Hans. Oh, I just noticed you are close by, I'm in Fort Wayne.

[internecine]

what are you doing for midbass?

[coffee_junkee]

Well, I was running some CDT CL6 6.5" in the heavily damped front doors, until my 302a flamed out!

Check it:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0341.jpg

Arrrrgh!!!!!!!! The damn thing was only had one hour of on time, tops.

Oh well, I have a couple of spare amps, so I tossed in a PPI A600.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0344.jpg

The CDT's are rocking now..

[ArcL100]

Oh well, I have a couple of spare amps...

OMG I hate you! Nice collection!

I've seen a fair amount of Xtant failures on the forums over the years for whatever reason, outside of the venerable 404M :D That sucks man.

-aaron

[coffee_junkee]

I could use a set if your source has more. Let me know,
Thanks
Hans

I see that you picked up the last set just after I scored mine!

Last night, I dialed the gains in with my temporary A600 running the CDT's. The little Xtant pods really impress me with their musicality and efficiency. The output gain on them is barely off of zero with the input gain jumper at 0db. The sub channel of the 403a is at probably 50% to keep up with the rest of the system. I need more sub headroom as I look at the gains after they have all have been set.