DFW High Noon v2.0 Results (w/pics)

[~Magick_Man~]

Here is a list of all the different speakers we had to mess with.

Tweeters:
-ScanSpeak Illuminator (small)
-Morel MDT12 (didn't have time to play with these)
-Hybrid Audio L1Pro
-Hybrid Audio L1v2
-Tweeter X (what racer X has in his car when driving against Speed Racer)
-Critical Mass T1-A (there was an issue with one of these so we didn't use them)
-XBL Ceramic tweeter from Dan Wiggens
-Hiquphon OWII

Midranges:
-Hybrid Audio L4
-CHR-70
-CHReN (modified by Dave at Planet 10-Hi-Fi)
-CSS FR125sr

And the Mid that was paired with all of these were a pair of Focal mids but I don't know the model.
I will leave opinions out from this post and people can add in their opinions next.


And now onto the pics:

-ScanSpeak Illuminator (small)



-Hybrid Audio L1Pro



-Hybrid Audio L1v2


-Tweeter X (what racer X has in his car when driving against Speed Racer)


-XBL Ceramic tweeter from Dan Wiggens


-Hiquphon
Didn't get any good pics of this one. (Bottom center)


-Morel MDT12 didn't test


-Critical Mass T1-A didn't work

[~Magick_Man~]

-Hybrid Audio L4




-CHR-70



-CHReN (modified by Dave at Planet 10-Hi-Fi)



-CSS FR125sr

[~Magick_Man~]

And finally some random pictures.

[ItalynStylion]

Joseph, thanks for posting those awesome pictures. That camera is really something special. I'm glad you posted up the thread. I was worn out yesterday after everything. Getting everything together just about killed me.

I'm going to wait to post my findings to give the other guys a chance to post theirs first.

[fish]

Looking forward to this one

[drtool]

X2 I have some lcy ribbons and some Morel Supremo tweets for the next gtg.

[mvw2]

Looking forward to the reviews once folks start adding them.

Oh and woot for the pics.

[Deton Nation]

NIce! Looking forward to peoples thoughts!

[quality_sound]

dammit, i was hoping there would be listening results.

[el_chupo_]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

dammit, i was hoping there would be listening results.

We didnt have time to listen, there was a photoshoot!

[captainobvious]

^lol


Someone has to go first...Lets go ! Post some reviews fellas.

[Deton Nation]

Yeah, Ive been looking forward to this since Sunday. Hurry!

[Megalomaniac]

Originally Posted by el_chupo_

We didnt have time to listen, there was a photoshoot!

Originally Posted by captainobvious

^lol


Someone has to go first...Lets go ! Post some reviews fellas.

On that note here are more photos:

[BeatsDownLow]

Whats up with the driver with all the dots on it? What are the dots consisted of?

[Megalomaniac]

Fair warning, I am going to be truthful and go by exactly how I perceived it, yes its subjective.

Tweeters:

ScanSpeak Illuminator (small)
- The Illuminators were very impressive for a 3/4" tweeter. They played down low to 2.2khz with no noticeable distortion. We did not play these lower because I was afraid to damage them. But for $400+ Tweeters I was not overly impressed. I wish the top end would extend a bit further. These werent excessively laid back but they were a little lacking. These would be perfect for anyone who enjoys that warm fulfilling sound. These placed 3rd for me.

Morel MDT12 (didn't have time to play with these)

No dice!

Hybrid Audio L1Pro
- These placed 2nd on my list. They played low down to 1.5khz. The top end was really good. We listened to the Mumbai Theme and the strings sounded great along with that triangle on the left side of stage, sounded very real. But lost points in clarity that triangle wasnt as focused as the ADI tweeters made them.

Hybrid Audio L1v2
These did all around poor in the home audio realm. As Scott said these are strictly for a 4-way setup(sub,midb,midr,tw). You really cannot use these below 3.5khz. It had no fullness, lack of clarity, and really had to feed them power to hear them. Now when listening to these in the car, they perform well! It sounds like a completely different speaker. Its strange how that works. I guess with all the reflections in the car they dont need as much power and the sparkle better. but that 3.5khz comes to play in the car as long as you had a decent mid to pair with. On a side note, these performed soo poorly in the Home Audio but great in the car leads me to wonder if the L1 Pro performs terribly in the car, id imagine they would tear a head off! But I wont know until I try them in the car.

Tweeter X

There was nothing impressive about this tweeter at all. These tweeters had very little top end to me, and off axis even worst! Instruments sounded artificial, and vocals were hollow. They seriously demand tuning. These tweeters would be the kind that come in a mediocre component set. I cannot talk too much about this tweeter, I was asked not to for the moment.


Critical Mass T1-A (there was an issue with one of these so we didn't use them)

Thats pretty funny, for an overpriced tweeter made to market. They cant even make them right just kidding, we dont know why this one wasnt working, something could have happened in shipping.


ADI XBL Ceramic tweeter from Dan Wiggins
Honestly these were my favorite! I really loved everything about these. These sounded better crossed at 1.5khz than 2.5khz. They love to play low, and they play plenty full too. these really disperse wide and can fill up a room. Off axis is really good, i suspect its because of that plastic lens on it. These had a unique dryness to the sound that made pianos, flutes, clarinats, bells sound solid, solid as in it didnt have any washed awayness, it had plenty of decay for those metal instruments. Now I dont know who(OEM) will pick these up but I hope they dont charge too much for them! But as great as these sound its going to be hard for them not to! side note: they sound extremely similar to the Tang Band version. The only difference I could really tell was the low end was significantly improved. These ADI's are happier playing lower.

I will talk about the fullranges a bit later.

[Vigarisa]

waiting for the review

[~Magick_Man~]

Originally Posted by BeatsDownLow

Whats up with the driver with all the dots on it? What are the dots consisted of?

planet_10 hifi

The info on the mark audio drivers isn't up yet but it is the same idea as the fostex that are on the site.

[Megalomaniac]

Originally Posted by BeatsDownLow

Whats up with the driver with all the dots on it? What are the dots consisted of?

Its the modified version of the CHR70. the cone has been treated with something, and then painted dots in a weird pattern, the paint is slightly raised too. Its suppose to help with high frequency breakup, and believe me they work! I will talk more about it when I finish typing up the reviews on them.

[Deton Nation]

nice review. How much are the ADI XBL Ceramic tweeters?

--not for sale yet

[Megalomaniac]

Originally Posted by Deton Nation

nice review. How much are the ADI XBL Ceramic tweeters?

They are not for sale. an OEM has to agree to make them. Right now no one has picked them up.

[Deton Nation]

I would think that little plastic diffractor, deflector would be good for off axis listening (ADI XBL tweet). I have the Illuminator and a Radioshack SPL meter and noticed that 12K and up do roll of fairly quick. Of course the equalizer helps. Also that each frequency must be bouncing off a slightly different part of my car because the meter has to be angled differently to catch the Dbs. This is only at higher frequencys, so they must beam or be very focused in their path.
--
Radioshack SPL meter and noticed that 12K and up do roll of fairly quick. I just wanted to revise and say it doesnt roll off by any unusual amount. Id say average. Im in the midddle of radioshacking and trying to get a better method and the curve on the highs was less that previously thought.

[Megalomaniac]

Originally Posted by Deton Nation

I would think that little plastic diffractor, deflector would be good for off axis listening (ADI XBL tweet). I have the Illuminator and a Radioshack SPL meter and noticed that 12K and up do roll of fairly quick. Of course the equalizer helps. Also that each frequency must be bouncing off a slightly different part of my car because the meter has to be angled differently to catch the Dbs. This is only at higher frequencys, so they must beam or be very focused in their path.

it does help, on the tang band version i own. I got to listen it to them with and without the lens. With the lens they disperse real wide and you listen to them plenty offaxis. But since i was wanting to use them in the car i cut the lens off to get a more narrower sound which helped, before i was getting early reflections and causing the stage to smear bad.

[el_chupo_]

My brief take on a few. I dont have any notes with me, as I am at work...

Also note, for many drivers I was on axis only...

Tweeters:

ScanSpeak Illuminator (small)
- The Illuminators were very impressive.We played them fairly low for typical car use, as Mir said, about 2.2k. They were laid back, but with good detail. I really enjoy the laid back sound, and I think with a warm mid they would be excellent. They definitely were lacking a bit up top, but an EQ may solve it enough for most.



Morel MDT12 (didn't have time to play with these)
No time, no time.

Hybrid Audio L1Pro
I was pleasantly surprised at these tweeters. They played LOW, and sounded good doing it. Great definition, with good upper frequency "sparkle". I think overall, these were my favorite tweeters, as they were not so bright they were fatiguing.

I agree with Mir about the focus on the triangle, but I did not find it detrimental in my listening experience.

Hybrid Audio L1v2

Not impressed. I have not heard them in a car.

Sounded bad below 3.5k, and even there they werent nice. Kind of cheap sounding, actually. Not great sparkle, no fullness. I have heard the old L1v1, in a car, but with a mid as well, so I cannot really compare. But I liked em better...


Tweeter X

What Mir said. Cheap sounding, although the easiest to put in a car, other than the CM tweeters, based on size. NO off axis response, kind of harsh, never sounded "right"




Critical Mass T1-A (there was an issue with one of these so we didn't use them)

One didnt work. Did not listen. Spent the few minutes it takes to switch them out making fun of them.

ADI XBL Ceramic tweeter from Dan Wiggins

These were very nice. They played low, and I liked em better lower than higher. They sounded good on several songs, with non real problems. I do wish they were available to play with, but like some others, too deep for my car... Instruments sounded good, and vocals were amazing. Easily 2nd, very close the the HAT l1pro

FULL RANGE:

I started off the day listening for a few minutes to Stevens CHR-70 Lotus towers. I am impressed.

We tried the L4, the CHR-70, the modified version, and a CSS driver

These were kind of rushed, as I had to head out.

I would rank them as follows, with some notes:

1. L4 - This really could be paired with a good midbass and be all you needed. First time I had heard an L4, and I was impressed. EXCELLENT response from 450hz up (low point on the crossover) with good mid and upper response, even to the point of being a bit loud up top. A bit of EQ and you would be golden. It was obvious there was no tweeter, but not to the point of thinking " I have to have it"

I made a point of listening to these off axis, and it was still decent. Lost some of the upper range, but not as bad as Tweeter X...

2. CHR70/Modified version.

For 70 bucks a pair, these competed with the L4. The L4 was better, but costs 4 times as much. The modified ones were impressive, but still a bit shy. A bit less upper end, and the midrange was not as full, but realize none of these were in an enclosure of any kind.

I liked the CHR's enough to start looking into some for a HT setup.

3. The CSS:

Not impressed in this test. Needed a tweeter for the upper range, and not as full in the mid range as the others, but they may have needed more power.

Could easily work with a good midbass and tweet, but hard to guess with out trying other stuff...

[captainobvious]

Great stuff so far guys. Looking forward to the other review and Mega's mid review. Thanks again for posting this. Great stuff !

[Scott Buwalda]

Sounds great guys. Looking forward to more L4 and L1 Pro reviews.

And yes, the L1V2 is a high-resonance tweeter that was meant to be paired with a wide-bandwidth midrange in every case (whether it be two-way or three-way, L3, L4, or L6...) It just wasn't meant to play midrange frequencies. In a car playing treble, they shine.

Scott