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I wanted to add my reviews for my current CDT set here to hopefully offer some insight. I wound up being disappointed in my first set and did upgrades, so you will notice the review is in 2 parts. My initial intent was just to fix the sub-par set I had bought initially by upgrading the crossover and tweeter. I was so impressed with the upgrade that I went ahead and upgraded the mid.
So I recieved my CDT EX550i Crossover as well as the CDT Modular DRT26A Tweeter set (image can be seen here). The crossover point on the 550i is at 2.5kHz, with a 24db/octave slope. The benefit of the low crossover point is the reduction of audible comb filtering, and generally a smoother transition from mid to tweeter. The tweeter uses an aluminum dome which is a nice go between when a hard dome is too bright, and a soft dome is just not critical enough for the listener.
Now, on to the install in question. The amplifier is a Cadence SQA-4 bridged, running 200 WRMS/ch. It is set to run at full range. The source is a Pioneer Premier FH-P800BT. Everything is set flat unless otherwise indicated in the review, all bass boost and enrichment modes off. I use the HU to highpass at 63Hz. Doors are fairly deadened, although admittedly I didn't do a lot to them. All factory hush pads are still in the doors. The mids are CDT EF61FG mids.
Just getting these units in my hand was impressive. Everything about the upgrades just feels vastly superior to the EX-450 and the TW25S Pros
The DRT-26 is SO much nicer then the TW25 (which are well built in their own right). The units weigh I would guess 50% more then the TW25s. They are really built nice, and the black matte housings are very sexy. The color offset of the aluminum domes looks sweet. There is no way in hell you could be unhappy with the mounting options. Flush flat, flush angled, surface flat, surface angled, and "pods". I chose the flush angled mounts so I could play with my angling a bit better. The quick release is pretty damn slick, and very secure. Just 1/8 turn with the release key and the driver pops out and the spring releases it from the seat. Popping it in is very easy, and very smooth, without difficulty from the release spring. A solid click let's you know it is engaged. The price on these tweeters is twice that of the TW25Pro, and just the feel of the unit seems to justify the cost. But how does it sound!?!?!
The 550i crossovers are very nice too. They are a little bigger then the EX450s, but not as significantly as I expected. The covers are very hard to get off of them to adjust for midwoofer and tweeter options, and I was worried about breaking the cases. That is my only real complaint about any of what I received today. The terminations are beautiful, and extremely solid. There is a plethora of adjustability with this crossover set. My only other gripe is that I do wish they were marked better so I knew where I was going with the tweeter adjustment. It is just 4 clicks on the switch. The mid is well marked, which seems odd as the tweeter adjustment would be more critical IMO.
The upgrades definately met and/or exceeded my desired goals. The crossover adjustment made a tremendous initial impact. The mid breakup and canny sound is all gone. Comb filtering appears non-existent, when playing some lower frequency information, in particular the saxophone in "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", and Dave Matthews "#34". I also ran it through the paces listening to Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, Sarah McLachlan's "Adia" and "Angel", TOOL's Lateralus, and Steely Dan's A Decade of Steely Dan. Female vocals are very rich and inviting. Sarah's voice was so sweet, and so beautiful through the tweeters. Norah's breathless voice really rings true to her nickname "The Queen of Serene" through this set. I noticed no sibilance, like one would expect from metal domes. I like to use Dave and Floyd, and Sarah, and Norah because their voices as well as all the orchestral instruments, and pianos really put a set of tweeters to work, and crossover points get tested throughout the entire song. The aluminum domes are so detailed, and critical but they still maintain the delicate sound of silk. I cannot discern any real ringing at all. In short, they are accurate but not fatiguing. If you like silk, you will love these. But if you are a titanium dome fan, they will likely be too soft. Their off axis response is pretty good, but the wide range of mounting options should make off axis listening far from a requirement.
So to conclude this review, I have to say I am very pleased. Mike, an authorized CDT dealer from Exige/Vertex Audio deserves props for amazing customer service, and for providing me my goods so quickly I almost thought he lived right around the corner from me!!! I ordered them Wednesday, and got them Friday! I will likely be performing further upgrades to the set. Mike and I are discussing some ES-06 mids... so there may be more CDT reviews to come.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of CDT's higher end sets to a discerning listener.
I wanted to include a few images for those of you interested in seeing the units.
Crossovers topless (I circled the 2 adjustment switches, the mid is up higher, and the tweet is lower)
Crossovers (EX450 on the left, 550i on the right)
Passenger side, drivers perspective (sexy black and aluminum)
(Compare with TW25Pro Silks)
Drivers side. When I look down at the tweeter, just tilting my head, this is exactly what I see.
Drivers side, just outside the steering wheel
Here is the box, with several of the mounting options. The angled flush mounts are in the vehicle already, so you can see just how many options there really are.
So I recieved my CDT EX550i Crossover as well as the CDT Modular DRT26A Tweeter set (image can be seen here). The crossover point on the 550i is at 2.5kHz, with a 24db/octave slope. The benefit of the low crossover point is the reduction of audible comb filtering, and generally a smoother transition from mid to tweeter. The tweeter uses an aluminum dome which is a nice go between when a hard dome is too bright, and a soft dome is just not critical enough for the listener.
Now, on to the install in question. The amplifier is a Cadence SQA-4 bridged, running 200 WRMS/ch. It is set to run at full range. The source is a Pioneer Premier FH-P800BT. Everything is set flat unless otherwise indicated in the review, all bass boost and enrichment modes off. I use the HU to highpass at 63Hz. Doors are fairly deadened, although admittedly I didn't do a lot to them. All factory hush pads are still in the doors. The mids are CDT EF61FG mids.
Just getting these units in my hand was impressive. Everything about the upgrades just feels vastly superior to the EX-450 and the TW25S Pros
The DRT-26 is SO much nicer then the TW25 (which are well built in their own right). The units weigh I would guess 50% more then the TW25s. They are really built nice, and the black matte housings are very sexy. The color offset of the aluminum domes looks sweet. There is no way in hell you could be unhappy with the mounting options. Flush flat, flush angled, surface flat, surface angled, and "pods". I chose the flush angled mounts so I could play with my angling a bit better. The quick release is pretty damn slick, and very secure. Just 1/8 turn with the release key and the driver pops out and the spring releases it from the seat. Popping it in is very easy, and very smooth, without difficulty from the release spring. A solid click let's you know it is engaged. The price on these tweeters is twice that of the TW25Pro, and just the feel of the unit seems to justify the cost. But how does it sound!?!?!
The 550i crossovers are very nice too. They are a little bigger then the EX450s, but not as significantly as I expected. The covers are very hard to get off of them to adjust for midwoofer and tweeter options, and I was worried about breaking the cases. That is my only real complaint about any of what I received today. The terminations are beautiful, and extremely solid. There is a plethora of adjustability with this crossover set. My only other gripe is that I do wish they were marked better so I knew where I was going with the tweeter adjustment. It is just 4 clicks on the switch. The mid is well marked, which seems odd as the tweeter adjustment would be more critical IMO.
The upgrades definately met and/or exceeded my desired goals. The crossover adjustment made a tremendous initial impact. The mid breakup and canny sound is all gone. Comb filtering appears non-existent, when playing some lower frequency information, in particular the saxophone in "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", and Dave Matthews "#34". I also ran it through the paces listening to Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, Sarah McLachlan's "Adia" and "Angel", TOOL's Lateralus, and Steely Dan's A Decade of Steely Dan. Female vocals are very rich and inviting. Sarah's voice was so sweet, and so beautiful through the tweeters. Norah's breathless voice really rings true to her nickname "The Queen of Serene" through this set. I noticed no sibilance, like one would expect from metal domes. I like to use Dave and Floyd, and Sarah, and Norah because their voices as well as all the orchestral instruments, and pianos really put a set of tweeters to work, and crossover points get tested throughout the entire song. The aluminum domes are so detailed, and critical but they still maintain the delicate sound of silk. I cannot discern any real ringing at all. In short, they are accurate but not fatiguing. If you like silk, you will love these. But if you are a titanium dome fan, they will likely be too soft. Their off axis response is pretty good, but the wide range of mounting options should make off axis listening far from a requirement.
So to conclude this review, I have to say I am very pleased. Mike, an authorized CDT dealer from Exige/Vertex Audio deserves props for amazing customer service, and for providing me my goods so quickly I almost thought he lived right around the corner from me!!! I ordered them Wednesday, and got them Friday! I will likely be performing further upgrades to the set. Mike and I are discussing some ES-06 mids... so there may be more CDT reviews to come.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of CDT's higher end sets to a discerning listener.
I wanted to include a few images for those of you interested in seeing the units.
Crossovers topless (I circled the 2 adjustment switches, the mid is up higher, and the tweet is lower)

Crossovers (EX450 on the left, 550i on the right)

Passenger side, drivers perspective (sexy black and aluminum)

(Compare with TW25Pro Silks)

Drivers side. When I look down at the tweeter, just tilting my head, this is exactly what I see.

Drivers side, just outside the steering wheel

Here is the box, with several of the mounting options. The angled flush mounts are in the vehicle already, so you can see just how many options there really are.
