DIYMobileAudio.com Car Stereo Forum banner

HAT Imagine vs. Hertz HSK165?

7K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  Bugflipper 
#1 ·
I'm having trouble deciding between the two. I have read for hours now. I could save about $85 to go with the old style hi energy hertz. Surely someone has heard both.
Thanks
 
#2 ·
Although I can't comment on the Imagines, other than to say, they are a fairly new/recently developed setup.......I can comment on the Hertz, as I have owned more than a couple sets of HSK's in my time.

Things to consider with the Hertz Kit in question:
The HSK-165 kits that are now most commonly known and refered to as the 'pre-2008' models are infact quite a bit older and were more or less a hand-me-down design stemming from an even older setup that included the HV1600 6.5" midbass drivers and HT250 25mm Tweeters, more affectionately known at the time as the Hertz Mille HSK-1600 2-way Component Kit.
With what seems minor changes, the HV1600's became the HV165's and the HT250 Tweeters became the predecessor to the 'pre-2008' HT25 25mm Tweeter, both of which made up the, then, HSK-165 Component Kit.

While a great set of components, they definately show their age when compared to more recent offerings from other manufacturers.....for instance, perhaps the HAT Imagine Series....and pale in comparison to their replacements, the 2009+ HSK-165 Component Kit.

Common complaints about the 'pre-2008' HSK-165's has been slight lack of midbass with the need for a sometimes higher crossover point on the bottom side, as well as the HT25 Tweeters being a bit on the bright (not quite harsh) side using the factory crossovers and the crossover point of 3,500hz @ 12db/oct.....although seem to work better when crossed over at 4,500-5,000hz, as well as 'taming' them with a bit of EQ. They also don't quite handle the power that other Hertz drivers are known to handle, as I have experienced first hand on a few occasions.

At this point, the older HSK-165's (I don't think anyways) make the grade as a Front Stage choice anymore. Great Rear Fill, or perhaps part of a 3-way active setup (under the right conditions).....but just not as a 2-way primary setup.

This, of course, is all my opinion and other's mileage may vary......

Hope this helps, atleast a little bit.
Allan
 
#5 ·
If you're talking about the old HSK165, then the Imagine is in another league. Bought 3 sets of comps to compare:
HAT Imagine 6 from Scott
Hertz HSK165 on eBay used for $120 and
DLS RM6.2 new

Wanted to know which of those would sound better to my friend, his friend and me :D

In tonality out of the box, the Imagine were the best, with the DLS being second and the HSK last.
For midbass, the DLS is a monster, Imagine second and HSK last (a lil' light)
Presentation and definition, Imagine were again the best, with the DLS being second and the HSK last.

The problem with the HSK is that (as said previously) the Xover is too low (12dB slope) for that small tweeter, it's really straining at high volume making listening fatigue more present (and I'm a Focal user) - screechy and edgy would be best to describe it.

I gave the HSK to my friend coz he wouldn't pay me even $1 for it :p - He's now using it as rear fill, with the Imagine upfront.

Kept the DLS coz those might find a place in one of my car... the midbass that is ;)

Kelvin
 
#6 ·
I appreciate it guys. Any one else, feel free to post your thoughts. I have googled the heck out of imagine and there just isn't a whole lot out there yet, so any experience you have will be beneficial to a lot of people who search later. There is of coarse a lot on the hsk, but it is hard to discern if they are talking about the new or old model. And I am looking at the old one, the new ones are beyond my current budget. What I have learned on this thread on hsk is more than I accumulated after days of reading so thank you.

As for the application I am only going to run a front stage. I have a shiva 12" sub and hcca amp with 500 rms available. The hu is a nakamichi. I really don't want to run a tube amp on this because the suspension is extremely rough on the car. I really have not kept up with solid state, it seems most of the old good brand names are mass market rebadged items now that are not the quality they once were. If it is not too much trouble please recommend an amp or at least a brand (or both). Just looking for a budget amp that gives clean power. Let's put the limit at $250 new or used. I know you don't have to pay a dollar a watt anymore to get something decent, just don't know what decent is. Just trying to keep the wife happy. I'm way over budget already on this thing and still have to do an interior and audio.

Many thanks.
 
#9 ·
Thanks guys. I ended up with the imagines. There is no comparison to the old style hsk, The imagines are of coarse under the mille in sq. But I didn't want to put another $150 in the pot for them. Compared to mlk the imagines are a little light down low, the mids are just a hair under in presence and the highs are just a tad bit harsher. Not bad for the price. On their own without a comparo it is pretty well impossible to discern any imperfections. They sound amazing. They are a good budget component and unbelievably sound a hair better with the tweet mounted to the speaker in my particular setup.
After they were broke in pretty well I put them on a milbert just to see how good they were. That one has legatias in it. I honestly can't believe how good they sound. For a budget entry level design they blow most other brands premium lines out of the water. To be not to many steps behind some of the best models, at this price you can't go wrong.
 
#12 ·
Jared, I have had them in for a few days. Before installing I had them going on low power in the garage for a few days so I wouldn't have to wait for the sound to come into it's own. I am not very good at describing sound. I usually run Hertz mille or HAT legatia. They have what is described as a natural sound. A lot of the other brands out there are clear but take a whole lot of eq to get the harshness out of the top. That is usually in a $400 plus model. I just wanted a simple setup. I have a shiva-x off an old orion hcca. The imagines are running off an old denon amp and the hu is an old nakamichi.

The mid bass was a lot more than I expected. I did put baffles behind the speakers because the car is old and I doubt the weather stripping would stop the rain from getting in the door. I didn't want ice on them in the winter. They have a balanced sound. Nothing really stands out, even with something like Evanescence that usually gets overpowering in the vocal range. The tweets are very good sounding as well. I expected them to be very harsh for the price. I don't believe I am going to even put an eq on them. Just a nice balanced sound, not to much not to little. They sound good from low to high volume.
The best advise I could give anyone looking into them is, if they are very near your budget, go ahead and get them. If they are double, maybe get the phoenix gold comps. They are not close to one another, yet both of them will smash those near their price. The next step above the Imagine would be hat clarus or new type hertz hsk, then hat legatia and hertz mlk. All are on an equal playing field with one another comparatively. Most of the others that are in their classes need a whole lot of eq or to swap to a better tweet or whatever. I do understand a lot of folks have a budget to work within. The PG comps used to be the ones that could top about anything double their price, before the imagines. In retrospect the imagines have done the same with their price point.
Good luck.
 
#15 ·
I tried to take a pic, but couldn't figure out how to post it. They are mounted down in the kick panels. Amazon.com: 6 1/2 Component Speakers Custom Car Enclosure Pod Mount: Electronics This enclosure is a little larger than the kick panel area of a 32 ford. So it hangs over the door edge a bit. Since I don't need the tweeter mount I ordered a smaller one that should make it look cleaner. Amazon.com: 3D LOGICS UNIVERSAL FIT SPEAKER PODS Q KICK ENCLOSURES: Everything Else The kick panel area is steel, so I just used a latex caulking based glue to mount them. The first ones I bought will fit in my old bronco that doesn't have a stereo in it, so not a total loss. All the grinding with the dremel has been done to position them to the head. The bronco has flat kick panels just like the 3-window coupe. All should be well with them going in there.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top