[Quickshift]

Hello Yes, it's another mobile audio noob thread

I’m looking for a bit of direction. I want to upgrade my system but can’t decide whether to go for Peerless 830883 + Seas Neo (or something else) or probably Diamond 661s. I listen to many different types of music in the car from classical, some jazz, vocal trance, progressive and some rock / pop. The goals are good overall integration, SQ in terms of detail, transparency and decent imaging if possible rather than visceral impact. I can’t stand bright tweeters BTW. The car is a Mitsubishi GTO and there isn’t a whole lot of scope for different driver placement options. The standard drivers are tweeters in the dash (62mm cutout / space for replacements) firing upwards, 6 1/2" in the doors and 6x9" at the back. I can move the tweeters to the doors (not pillars) and will delete the rear speakers but want to keep the car interior looking standard or as near to as possible which I realise may well compromise the goal of decent imaging.

Currently I use an Alpine CDA 9847 head unit, Alpine 12 disk changer which I don’t really want to swap out at the moment, non specific aftermarket drivers run from the head unit and an MB Quart RWE254 in a small sealed box I made that runs from a Kenwood KAC821.

I have a Philips DAP600, DAP300, Kenwood KAC821 I can use for amps and Pioneer active sub XO if required. I can buy a more suitable amp / amps if required at some point.

So… will the Peerless / Seas combo work better for me than the Diamonds or should I look at another alternative? The Peerless start rolling off a bit earlier than I’d like TBH but unless I put something in place of the 6x9’s to try to fill in 70Hz to 120Hz (and all the issues that go with that type of driver placement) I’m not sure how to deal with that as I simply can’t fit an additional driver in the front. If I go for the Peerless / Seas combo can I get away with building passive crossovers and bridging the Philips DAP600 to give me 2 x 75W RMS (IIRC) into 8 ohms? If I go active would I have to look at replacing the DAP600 or use the DAP300 for the tweeters as I’ll get about 35W into 8 ohms as I’ll be using 4 separate channels of the DAP600 rather than being able to use 2 bridged channels? If I do go active it would be great to have delay control but I guess that means spending big bucks. I use a DCX2496 at home and I know 12V conversion kits are available but I think that’s a bit OTT for me in the car at the moment. I don’t want to run a car PC with KX drivers or similar as an XO as that’s just a step too far in terms of complexity.

Sub wise I’ll be looking to replace the RWE254 with something running in a fairly small sealed box. I have 2 x Peerless 830845 and 2 x Peerless SLS12s spare right now, it would be nice to use an 830845 but that’s an 8 ohm driver so I’ll need a fairly hefty amp (I can run 300W at 8 ohms into the 830845 without getting near the cone excursion limits in a 30l box) and don’t have space to run both drivers wired at 4 ohms. The 830845 sims well in WinISD when cabin gain is added. I’d be happy to hear any better suggestions for a SQ sub that will work well in a small sealed box.

Budget isn't unlimited but I'm happy to do staged upgrades if each stage sounds OK rather than doing everything at once.

Sorry if that post rambles slightly

 

[GlasSman]

Dude you'll never know until you install whichever components you choose.

Set a budget and a choose something.

What works in one car will and can give different results in an indentical vehicle.

 

[shadowfactory]

I've owned the seas neo tweets AND the diamond 661s components....

Seas win against the diamond tweets hands down. They are smoother, easier on the ears, and more realistic. Also the midbass for the 661s is retarded, the poly cone is so thin it can be bent with the slightest touch, they have pretty high distortion and pretty poor bass output.

 

[Quickshift]

Dude you'll never know until you install whichever components you choose.

Set a budget and a choose something.

What works in one car will and can give different results in an indentical vehicle.

I hear what you're saying. I was just looking to get some general advice and people's impressions of the drivers if possible. I guess trying out passive XOs and is easy enough if I run all the speaker cables to the boot of the car. The problem I have is I can only work on the car in the street or at a friends garage and I don't want to draw attention to the install or be a nuisance to my friend so want to head off in the right direction to start with. I love trying out new kit, I'm on the mark 5 and final prototypes for my home speakers but I can work on them really easily so it's no problem to experiment.

I've owned the seas neo tweets AND the diamond 661s components....

Seas win against the diamond tweets hands down. They are smoother, easier on the ears, and more realistic. Also the midbass for the 661s is retarded, the poly cone is so thin it can be bent with the slightest touch, they have pretty high distortion and pretty poor bass output.

OK, thanks shadowfactory, I guess the diamonds are out as it sounds like I'll hate the tweeters the I really don't want to run drivers with high distortion. I'm sure the Peerless drivers will sound good but have read good things about the Diamonds, I use the Peerless 830882 at the moment at home but haven't heard them or the 830883s in a car.

 

[Lanson]

I've owned diamonds, wouldn't recommend them, especially over what you've got as alternatives. IMO SEAS / Peerless is a healthy combo. I'd start there, and adjust to taste. Definitely go active of course.

 

[mhdena]

The diamonds to get are the Hex with silk tweeters

 

[Quickshift]

I've decided on the Peerless / Seas combination. I bought an Alpine DRE A500 which should be OK in this application and have everything I need apart from needing to make mounting rings for the drivers.