[strakele]

I never posted info about the mids and tweets since they are as of yet unreleased, but now that they'll be on the market soon, here's some info and pics.

I'm now using the Melodic Acoustic Euphoria Duet midrange and tweeter combo. (Look for more details from Mark in the coming weeks about the rest of the new lineup.) It's a more efficient, paper cone dedicated midrange with the same frame as the Nz3s, and a gigantic motor. It's meant to be a midrange, not necessarily a wideband driver, but I played it all the way up in testing and it was flat on the RTA to 10KHz+. The tweeter is a pretty basic looking 3/4" alloy dome.

So here it is:

Euphoria 2.0 compared to Dayton ND16 I was running:

Euphoria 8.9 compared to ScanSpeak 10F I had planned on using:

Speakers got the usual quick disconnect pigtails soldered:

Tweeter in the sail panel on axis, midrange in my trusty old a-pillars:

With grills:

Since adding tweeters I no longer have the One amps bridged on the mids, so I dropped from ~350W on a wideband to 120W per mid and tweet. Luckily, the added efficiency of the new midranges helps make up for the power loss, along with the higher output voltage of the 3sixty.3. Overall I'm quite happy with the new speakers. The Euphoria 8.9 has more weight in the lower end than the Nz3's did, and a nice smooth midrange. The tweeter is surprisingly laid back considering a it's a metal dome. I've never used a metal dome tweeter before, but I've read all about people thinking they're too harsh, tinny, bright, etc. These have no such issue. I currently have them as close to on axis as possible, and they're not unpleasant in any way. I've had these for a couple months and have been tweaking here and there, but I generally have the crossover point between the midrange and tweeter at around 6300Hz. At some point I'm planning on playing with aiming of the speakers some more, but for now, I'm liking it. I scored almost 78 at the last MECA comp with a tune I did the night before the show after dropping these speakers in.

 

[quality_sound]

My last two tweeters were metal (Titanium Quart QSD and Beryllium illusion) and they're both fantastic. People give them a bad rap for no reason.

I can't wait to hear the new drivers.

 

[claydo]

Alright, looking good........I noticed you got all quiet about your front stage. Knowing your ties with mark, I thought you might be running some type of new product. Maybe one day ill get to hear your car again.......ill be looking forward to it!

 

[strakele]

Paul, I believe this new tweeter is actually a close relative of the Illusion tweeter.

Clay, I hope to get to hear yours again too! I'll be in East Mississippi next year so if Erin or someone in Alabama has a meet, you should come.

 

[claydo]

I will try, for sure.........you guys and Jason have me totally hooked on the gtg scene. I'm trying to make Erin's this year........but I think you had to back out, iirc.

 

[strakele]

Yeah, I was supposed to be going to MS at the end of September... now it got moved to January.

 

[claydo]

Boooo, like I said, maybe one day.....the NC meet looks like a good one this year, hate you are so far away.......is ally still gonna try and make it?

 

[pyropoptrt]

Paul, I believe this new tweeter is actually a close relative of the Illusion tweeter.

Clay, I hope to get to hear yours again too! I'll be in East Mississippi next year so if Erin or someone in Alabama has a meet, you should come.

Where in East Mississippi will you be Grayson?

 

[james2266]

Interesting looking drivers. I count myself in the not liking metal domes crowd but those midranges look interesting. I don't really care for that big rear end again as it would likely make installing a bit of a pain in tight quarters like most of us would install them (apillars for me). I am nonetheless interested in reading some specs and what the tag will be for them.

Edit: Oh, you said these take the place of a set of 10f. Comparisons against the 10f which I am very familiar with?

 

[quality_sound]

Paul, I believe this new tweeter is actually a close relative of the Illusion tweeter.

Clay, I hope to get to hear yours again too! I'll be in East Mississippi next year so if Erin or someone in Alabama has a meet, you should come.

It could be. It looks fairly similar but overall, I think I prefer metal tweeters as long as they're well-made.

 

[oilman]

Your car always sounded good so this should be a treat.

 

[Melodic Acoustic]

Nice pics Greyson.

First I would like to say. The Euphoria 2.0 is an amazing little tweeter. Call it a metal dome if you must, but it is an Alloy more then just metal it has a mixture. So believe me when I say, it has no hit harshness, none at all. Very smooth, with a nice amount of detail and resolution. Quit silk dome sounding. It does like power.

The Euphoria 8.9 is a little beast. Smooth as Greyson said and the add efficient is great. the motor is large but not so much that is an issue with mounting. The lower midrange in this little is......well big.

Great job Greyson.

 

[james2266]

Nice pics Greyson.

First I would like to say. The Euphoria 2.0 is an amazing little tweeter. Call it a metal dome if you must, but it is an Alloy more then just metal it has a mixture. So believe me when I say, it has no hit harshness, none at all. Very smooth, with a nice amount of detail and resolution. Quit silk dome sounding. It does like power.

The Euphoria 8.9 is a little beast. Smooth as Greyson said and the add efficient is great. the motor is large but not so much that is an issue with mounting. The lower midrange in this little is......well big.

Great job Greyson.

Nice description Mark. I just sent ya a PM too

 

[narvarr]

Paul, I believe this new tweeter is actually a close relative of the Illusion tweeter.

Clay, I hope to get to hear yours again too! I'll be in East Mississippi next year so if Erin or someone in Alabama has a meet, you should come.

Lol I'm from MS. Where you gonna be stationed?

Sent from my SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE using Tapatalk 2

 

[JayinMI]

I'm confused. I was under the impression that Melodic Acoustic was this months name for Hustler/H-Audio/etc. and that Mark was no longer affiliated with them. But this is just from some comments I had seen in various posts, I haven't like researched it or anything.

Grayson, Why the change?

Jay

 

[strakele]

I'm gonna be stationed at Columbus AFB.

H-Audio still exists, Audible Physics still exists, and Melodic Acoustic is Mark's new company separate from the others. He can explain all the details.

The change was to correct the issues I had with the previous install. Couldn't get the 10Fs to fit how I wanted and I already had these pillars that these speakers could drop right into (just barely) so it seemed like the logical choice.

I never got past the "wrapped in towels sitting on the dash" stage with the 10Fs so it's hard to make a real comparison. The 10Fs were lively and dynamic but didn't seem to have as much in the low end.

 

[james2266]

I'm gonna be stationed at Columbus AFB.

H-Audio still exists, Audible Physics still exists, and Melodic Acoustic is Mark's new company separate from the others. He can explain all the details.

The change was to correct the issues I had with the previous install. Couldn't get the 10Fs to fit how I wanted and I already had these pillars that these speakers could drop right into (just barely) so it seemed like the logical choice.

I never got past the "wrapped in towels sitting on the dash" stage with the 10Fs so it's hard to make a real comparison. The 10Fs were lively and dynamic but didn't seem to have as much in the low end.

And how did you want to mount the 10f that you couldn't if you don't mind me asking? Did you get to hear the 10f and how does it compare to the new midrange if you can compare. Thanks, it is an interesting looking driver for sure and I am talking to Mark about it passively. I kind of already have a dome midrange solution on its way but might still need a cone driver and this one looks very promising by the numbers and dimensions. Just wish I could hear one - care to make a trip just a little north and west?:laugh:

 

[JayinMI]

H-Audio still exists, Audible Physics still exists, and Melodic Acoustic is Mark's new company separate from the others. He can explain all the details.

The change was to correct the issues I had with the previous install. Couldn't get the 10Fs to fit how I wanted and I already had these pillars that these speakers could drop right into (just barely) so it seemed like the logical choice.

Ahh, OK. Thanks for clearing that up. I remember now that you were trying to mount the 10f's more in the corners of the dash, and that you said you couldn't really mount them how you wanted.

Jay

 

[strakele]

Yeah, I wanted to mount the 10Fs in the dash corner how I did with the Nz3 except a bit higher up, then just add a tweeter. Unfortunately the geometry just wouldn't work while allowing me to mount it on axis and be stealthy. I only heard them in my car in towels, as pictured a page or two back. I have heard them correctly installed in two vehicles and liked them. It's pretty hard to compare the sound of speakers in two very different cars, running different amounts of power and different amounts of processing. Sorry I can't be of more help here. The magnet on the Euphoria 8.9 is rather wide in diameter, but it isn't super deep, so it should still fit in most places.

Recently I am less concerned with getting everything on axis than I was a few months ago. I've heard/seen too many good cars breaking all the 'rules' and preconceived notions to really care at this point.

 

[highly]

That looks great, Grayson! Those little mids have a lot of motor hanging out 'round back. I've no doubt they'd command more authority lower in their passband.

Silk dome tweeters are nice. They can be made to do a lot of things well, and tend to be forgiving to a less accurate tune and still sound good. They can sparkle and they can provide very nice ambiance. I was a silk dome-or-ring man for a very long time. Once you start becoming attentive to transient response and accurately reproducing the sounds made by cymbals and horns the merits of a silk dome begin to fall away. It's at that point that you realize only a metal dome has the leading edge impact that these instruments possess. The trouble is that there are a LOT of crappy metal domes around and they are much less forgiving than silk. Finding a metal dome that can lay down for daily use with Primus and Dream Theater without causing blood loss but be tightened up for competition is no small feat. It sounds like you are onto something you like here, so I can't wait to hear them! Will we be expecting you up to Bixby for Patriot Autofest or are you going to make me wait for Finals?

Rules? Where we're going, we don't need rules...

-T