[cman]

I would take the dust cap for a 3 way and the phase plug for a 2 way...

on the spec sheet they look very similar... but the es165k2 has a little bit larger magnet and a little tiny bit more xmax... probably from the larger magnet... but the voice coils are the same diameter... the sensitivity is also a little higher on the 2 ohm version..

I would use the 2 ohm phase plug version if you are not doing a 3 way... it will help a bit with dispersion and give you some extra power and sensitivity

 

[cman]

Should I be concerned with the bump in power going 2-ohm?

Should I even consider the KX2 model @2-ohm. Would it be worth the $300 extra over the K2, considering I'm not going to use the crossover?

Normally I would say yes, but your amp puts out enough power at 4 ohms, especially using the 200w channels for midbass.

I would personally rather have the one with the dust cap because the phase plug takes away from the cone area... but they both have their pros and cons... if you are not needing the bi amp crossovers and have enough power at 4 ohms then get the ES165K - they are both pretty stout midbass.... The ES165K does have more cone area from the dust cap.. but the ES165K2 has better cooling from the phase plug, better sensitivity from the lower mms and larger magnet.. the larger magnet also lowers the QTS though.. so the ES165K is better suited for a Door install with its higher QES in turn causing an overall higher overall QTS...

Like I said personally I would choose the one with the dust cap because i think it would have better midbass from the cone area and higher QTS (better low end roll off in a door) but the phase plug will get louder without distorting due to the higher sensitivity and better cooling..

 

[cman]

We ended up deciding on these woofers to go in the doors.

https://www.focal.com/sites/www.focal.fr/files/shared/catalog/document/ES165KX3_woofer-technical_sheet.pdf

What do you guys think, I plan to cross them at 80 Hz - 3,000 Hz LR 24/dB.

Those are badass even better than the first two! Great choice!

 

[cman]

The vender was able to split the 3-way kit up so we can re-use my es 100 k tweeters. I'll stick the es 100 k 4" woofer in the rear and run them as rear fill.

Smaller drivers work well for rear fill in my experience. Better off axis sound dispersion. Great idea!

 

[cman]

How low can I play these woofers on 200w rms @4-ohms. Will Lo-P around 2360Hz.

Maybe 60hz /24db but I would do 80hz no need to go lower with proper EQ… which will increase midbass

 

[cman]

@cman

Got the drivers installed, check it out.

Before
View attachment 314953

After
View attachment 314954

Wow! That looks great!