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NEW PPI PC3.65C Review!

49K views 88 replies 37 participants last post by  JetBlackE36 
#1 ·
Ok, there here! I unwrapped them and will give you a summation of my first impressions based on looks and feel alone.....

First thing I noticed is that the midbass feels like it has 0 excursion and the cone is flimsy to the touch. It really doesnt move up and down with the hand at all (not like its blown or anything) I am not going to lie....This scares the crap out of me that this set will not produce anywhere near the volume that I am going to want/need! They are however super sexy looking!

Next thing noticed was the midrange was TINY! I swear its probably only slightly larger then something like the dyn 102 tweet or something.....(maybe a little bigger) This to me could be the make or break of the system, the tweeter looks like any other that I have put through the mill, but again kinda sexy! I just love copper!

The xovers appear to be extremely well built and are about the average size one would expect with a three way set perhaps even on the smaller size! (I realize this is also the exact same xover that goes with the two way) Its also got a little weight to it too!

I will probably start off the process bridged off my human reign hru.4 which is obviously a ton of power for this set but its the way its setup at this exact moment. I will keep it really tame for now. I will then try it out off of two channels from the hru.4 and bridge the other two channels to my sub. For the begining of the test there will be no sub. I do plan on trying it out two way first then three way so it will be somewhat of a double review.

I dont know how long it will take me to get this thing up and running but will hope to add some comments on the sound tonight! Stay tuned!!!!
 

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#3 ·
I've got mine installed...did it this weekend. I'll see if I can get pics up sometime soon. They sound nice however I didn't have my sub setup yet, so I'm not going to judge them. I also need to figure out how low I want to go with these before I crossover to my 12" Sub.

My only complaint so far is with the crossover. The screw based terminals look nice, but the ends must not be tapered because there were many times when I had the screw completely tightened and my 16ga speaker wire slipped right out. (yes, I ensured that the end was into the terminal far enough.) Simply repositioning the wire usually worked. That was my 'only' frustration.

The small 2.5" mid was also a plesant suprise. I wasn't sure what kind or how much sound would come out of this little guy but it is very impressive.

My testing will be a bit sketchy at first as this is a complete new install (DQXS w/ JL Audio Amps) so right now I'm running everything completely flat and the default crossover is sending everything @ 100Hz and above to the components and everything at that or below to the sub.

-J
 
#4 ·
Well my first results......I have the midrange mounted on my dash in the stock locations and the tweeters in the a-pillars (off axis) the midbas..........well I will get into that. The one I installed was in the stock door location in a 3/4" birch (resin covered) baffle and is very well sealed/dampend. I am completely shocked with how incredibly nice the midrange is. The sound that pumps out of those little babies is insane! The tweets are also very appealing. Extremely detailed and accurate with its sound reproduction. I would be willing to pay the same price I did on the set for just the midrange/tweet/xover. I tested the **** out of these puppies! I started out bridged with the passives. I had one ppi midbass on the drivers side and one jbl gti608 on the other. I did this because when I got the first side installed (drivers) I decided to crank it up and see if it was even going to be worth continuing the process (my time is very important to me) I opted to drop the ppi midbass. It sounded extremely nice but just could not play anywhere near low enough in my current setup. Could you work around it with a different setup....ABSOLUTELY! The mid is VERY nice sounding (think mb quart q) It had a ton of snap and was extremely articulate. It just could not dig down to where I am used to and to how the rest of my system is setup with similar volume. Had I kept the art sq8s in my truck I think it would have been a flawless match. Before anyone jumps ship on this set because of what I have said keep in mind a few things.......#1 I listen to things at a completely unhealthy and unrealistic level. #2 I am not in the situation to redo the rest of my system around this (not that it would take a whole hell of a lot, I did just build a custom ported center console for my 12 and this set aint gonna fit it as is) #3 In a really nice and quite vehicle with smaller doors or something that can contain a small enclosure these midbass's would surely fit the bill and impress the whole way! The set as a whole didnt really lack anything in the volume arena and did handle the power quite well.
I then decided to just go with the jbl midbass all around. I then hooked up the set to just one channel per side (140 a set). Suprisingly enough there was very little if anything lost? I still was not getting what I wanted from the midbass so I decided to run the tweet/midrange off the passives and the midbass off its own set of channels from the amp. Thats 140 to each set of midrange/tweets and 140 to each midbass..... WOW!!! WHAT A FRIGGING SOUND! I still think the passives are extremely nice! Just not going to work with the jbl mid and the ppi mid isnt going to fit in very well. Right now I am still tweaking the amps xover/gain, etc...... to continue to dial it in. I am loving the combo to this point. I will continue to update! I will not bother to comment on the 2 way setup since I will not be using the midbass at all.
 
#5 ·
Ok.....I have to add a few more rants!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THE DEAL WITH THE MANUAL.....or should I say lack there of. It talks about all the great features and technology of the set BUT it says nothing of the mounting of the tweeters!!!! The ball was dropped when it came to the mounting hardware and the odd frigging size of the cups! I hate when any of my hole saws dont work (I own tons of them!) I suppose its just laziness? I am not going to fight with the holes...I am just going to use my jbl tweeters since the hole is already cut for it. I might just screw it and go back to my jbl two ways but since its wired for it I might just go active off the amp? I do love the sound of the set, I am just not sure if I can justify keeping it without the use of the midbass and probably the tweeter? Despite my complaints and it not exactly fitting into my plans (didnt buy them assuming that they would) I still think that the set would be impossible to beat for the $. I think this will easily become the next forum boner! The minute people get the ignorant thought of epsilon just rebadging lower end brands of course. I also must admit I did 0 processing. No time alignment, no eq, etc..... I think with a little bit of tweaking it could be an insane bargain!
 
#7 ·
Thats not really the case....I found the tweeter mounts to be a tad annoying, there was no instructions on the installation (not that it was really needed, just found it odd that there was none?) The midbass just didnt fit my setup. All in all its a pretty damn nice set. Again for the $ you cant do better in the 3way arena for a ready made kit, although I would put it up against most any diy set in the same $ bracket, since power/volume was always an issue with raw drivers (in that price!).
 
#8 ·
Also I cant say this enough....The midrange alone is worth the price. When you take into account how small this thing is and how easy it is to instal. You can put it almost anywhere you can put a tweeter and it covers a wide band of frequencys. If they sold this thing by itself it would flood this forum overnight!
 
#11 ·
I wonder how that 2.5" would measure up to the pioneer stage 4 2.5"? and then how would they measure up to my peerless 3.5" fullrange. How much was the set? and i didnt see anything in your review about the sq of the tweeter. was it airy like the alpine spx pro tweeter? I was just looking at that set and wished it came with a 8" version of that midbass, then I saw that ppi has a 8" driver that might fit the bill. do you have any seat time with the art 8" driver? if so do you think it could pull midbass duty say x-over @ 300hz and 60hz?
 
#14 ·
I have not heard the pioneer set, in my experience it would hold up all day to the peerless without ?. I dont get into things like "airy", etc... in my descriptions because they are just opinions and I try not to dive into things like that to much. I dont think people care if I say it sounds airy. I would say it was lively if I had to give a description (not to be confused with bright....it was not bright!) Does it sound like a scan rev. (I had the alpine f1 versions) NO of course not. But since one tweeter cost more then the whole set...... It would also be VERY hard to tell how it sounded with the midrange less then 2"s away on my dash. As a set they sounded fantastic, as good as any other three way set combo I have used (aside from the f-1 and helix/brax). I saw your post on my review of the sq 8s......if you read the review you will see that I definitely had some seat time with them :D Extremely nice subs....they are extremely musical so I would not be at all suprised if they could work as midbass. They dont need a ton of power, I am pretty sure they can play IB, honestly from 300 down in big doors (hmm I have big doors?) you might have a serious front stage! I would check with grizz though. Shoot him a pm. He is one of the easiest and most honest guys in the buisness to get hold of. I dont know how often if at all he checks in to my cheesy reviews. I might try that set with those subs as mids!
 
#13 ·
Well I'm still tweaking my setup, but I have to say that this 3-way setup sounds outstandingly well.

I can't wait to hear it sing once I get everything tuned in properly.

My setup:

Factory Dec (300C Nav System)
Audio Control DQXS
JL Audio XD400/4
PPI PC3.65C's in front (2.5 in dash, tweet in door near A-Pillar, 6.5" in factory door location)
PPI PC2.65C in rear (tweet and 6.5" side by side in factory location)
JBL GTO1214D in a BassForms sub box designed for my car
JL Audio 250/1 for sub @ 2Ohms.

My only 'fun' issue is resolving some alternator whine. I thin it is coming from the PAC-Audio integration kit to give me RCA outs from my factory deck.
 
#16 ·
I think on a budget the new ppi line/soundstream could put you in contention in the sq arena. For example.....this 3way set with the art sq8s and say something like the soundstream ref 4.920 running the whole thing would be an absolutely perfect setup that would run insanely well together. It really seams like the 8s (12" model I assume is the same) and the 3ways were definitely meant to run together. I think building a system out of those two together would yield a seamless transition between mids/subs and sound absolutely perfect. Take that into account with the fact that you dont need a ton of power and you have what people have been asking for for a very long time. Little power and flawless sq! I mention the ref amps because having owned them I would put them in my top 5 amps of all time! I absolutely love them. I think the 4.920 is like no other in the price range. SO MUCH clean power with options up the azz! I think that the power of that amp would run the components perfect and pound the piss out of the subs.....in fact I would probably run the 8s at 8ohm each per channel bridged at 4ohms might be a little much for them at 450watts. Add that up and its a pretty cheap amazing sounding setup with a super easy install! All things said I think ppi has really done a great job putting this line together (although the 8s are art and 3ways are powerclass, despite what grizz wanted :)
 
#17 ·
the one thing about this set that brings up red flags for me is the open cell foam on the back of the midbass. It seems like this driver will end up in the door for the vast majority of the time. I see these being damaged by moisture relatively easily seeing as how an open cell foam would act like a sponge.
Thanks for the review; I think the star of this set has to be the 2.5" midrange.
 
#19 ·
After seeing/touching that foam....I really dont think it will act as a sponge although that would be the first thought about it. It does not seem like it would hold moisture (material feels more like plastic but soft like foam I think it would bead up and fall right off but I dont know that for a fact. I just did some more listening to my jbl set with the midrange popped in (active mid, ppi passives on the midrange and tweet) It is a most worthwhile addition to my truck I can say that for sure.......Again, and I cant stress this enough....If I did a little work I could have done a lot more with this set. I was just fiddling with it by litterally dropping it in. The midbass does dig low, just not as much output there as I am used to. I just got done doing a custom center console ported for a 12 and I cant really high pass it at 100 or so at this point.
 
#38 ·
I had a Swiss Audio 3-way component set with passive crossover that sounded amazing (to me).

5.25" Midbass
4" Midrange
.5" Tweeter

I put the midbass in the doors, the midrange in the kick panels and tweeters in the pillars. Ran the set from an Art Series A300.

I bought the set of eBay NIB for $80 shipped.

This PPI set-up is crazy since the mid is so small and can mount virtually anywhere, but I cannot get over the bullet appearance of the midbass...never been a fan of that style speaker...I like a traditional cone on my speakers.

To each his (or her) own!
 
#24 ·
alpine f-1 (scans), loved em! just to bulky for the truck. oz audio matrix elite 380cs..damn fine set, very lively and you couldnt push them to there limits regardless of how hard i tried! dyn 362?(8") forget the model# it was a LONG time ago, ran them active and they were phenominal just didnt want a million big amps to run them as they required. i think the last 3ways I had in were the Helix......absolutely stunning midrange and highs..... ran them active from a pair of new ss ref amps. there were a few hodge podge 3ways in there as well....(morel, ads,etc....) i wanted to go really simple and slim down on the power so here i am today! I was really happy with just the gti's running off the passives. I am going to tinker with just the jbl as a 2 way active vs. this current setup. I may end up getting rid of the whole ppi 3way set. we'll see!
 
#26 ·
I honestly have not had the time to take them out (or bypass them to see how it is just as a two way) I love my setup as is right now but if I can down size and take them out then that would be even better (keepin' it simple). To answer your question......WHY 4??????? one or maybe if needed two but there would be no real need/benefit for 4 that I can think of as a center.
They are amazing midrange drivers though, thats for damn sure!
 
#27 · (Edited)
4 because I have room for them :) But I don't have room for something larger than 3" :)

It would be in a row. I might just do two with a tweet in the middle.... Or I might do a different location with a larger mid and tweet on the armrest.

I have to agree, a pretty nice 2.5"

edit: after listening for a while..it needs a larger mids to compliment it. Since I'm using the ms8, a 3way center or better is required. This would work great on other applications.
 
#29 ·
OK, The midrange are out! I have the truck re tuned and active off my HRU.4 They will be up for sale! I hate to sell them because they are some of the easiest to install and best sounding midrange I have ever used. I know they might be a ***** to get again if I choose too :( But I dont have a use for them anymore. I am good with the two way active. I am going to add a center and rears so I think I can fiddle enough to make up for anything. The xovers are available as well. I am going to offer everything up to the person who bought the midbass and tweets, if he declines I will put up a price for them.
 
#33 ·
Hmmm, it was a great sq setup that would sound great until you mentioned the 4 12s with gobs of power. I dont mean that it will sound bad, just two different things going on at the same time. SPL and SQ. The ss ref amps are awesome and will run the **** out of anything and do so with extreme clarity. The ppi 8s are fantastic sounding subs, but make no mistake, these are subs not midbass drivers. They can play super low (maybe lower then any 8 I have used) so I am not sure where they fit into the equation with the 3way set (6.5 midbass) and then 12" subs. Unless your running the 4 12s from like 50-60 down and are adding the 8s up front for more impact? To answer your question directly.....NO those comps will NEVER keep up with 4 12's or any spl type setup. They are not crazy loud performers, they do however sound GREAT at moderate levels. If you are keeping the 4 12's on a switch or something and the 3ways, rears and 8s as everyday or normal listening then I would say it would be a perfect combo and you should have some pretty incredible listening results!
 
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