[Kerpal]

I notice many people seem to dislike the newer MB Quart speakers, apparently they aren't made in Germany anymore? I have a set of quart separates from about '96 or '98 I believe and they still sound great. I can't remember the model number but I think they are _SC-216 or something like that (PSC, QSC, RSC?). I think they are a mid-line or entry level series from their appearance.

What's the most recent MB Quart speakers that are still recommended? I'm thinking about picking up another set... I know there are 'better' speakers out there these days but I love how mine sound and they are nice and compact. I figure I should pick up a backup set now while I can still find the 'good' quarts.

I noticed the brand new ones have a pretty low power rating as well. Not sure what the older quarts were rated for but I'll be giving mine about 145 watts per channel, but they're seen 200 and have held up fine.

 

[Mooble]

People hate Quart tweeters no matter what the age. They are harsh and very hard to tame. I had some in my first car because I didn't know better. I didn't understand that they were the reason I couldn't listen to music long before my ears got fatigued. When I went for a test drive in my next car, I cranked up the treble +5 on the stock system and thought, "man this system sucks." Later I finally realized that clarity doesn't necessitate harsh tweeters.

 

[Mr Dave]

I'm curious as well.

I am in need of some slim 6.5" components for my S2000 (shallow doors) and I listened to the MBQuart PVI-216s against Focals, Boston Acoustics, Alpine, etc...and the MBQs sounded best for the money (half as much as Focals, etc).
At least to my ear, anyway.

But if people have a different suggestion for a similar price, I'd be interested to hear about them and why Chinese-made MBQs are subpar.

Thanks!

 

[Mooble]

That is because you are testing low to mid level car audio drivers. Compare those Quarts to some Peerless Exclusives and Vifa XT25S and I'm pretty sure you'll hear the difference. You'll definitely appreciate the money saved.

 

[Mr Dave]

Thanks for the advice.

So the Peerless are the mid- (~7") and the Vifa are the tweeters...
do people sell these as sets with cross-overs?

 

[Mooble]

They aren't shallow mount mids so they might not work for you, but the SQ would probably spank those Quarts.

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=143&products_id=1603
http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=45_229_427&products_id=1679

 

[Kerpal]

People hate Quart tweeters no matter what the age. They are harsh and very hard to tame. I had some in my first car because I didn't know better. I didn't understand that they were the reason I couldn't listen to music long before my ears got fatigued. When I went for a test drive in my next car, I cranked up the treble +5 on the stock system and thought, "man this system sucks." Later I finally realized that clarity doesn't necessitate harsh tweeters.

Well I have to respectfully disagree with you. I am well aware of the opinion some have that quart tweeters are too bright, however I like mine and there are thousands of people out there that like theirs too. Sound is subjective and the question was not whether or not quarts are bright, but which vintage is considered to be their best.

A thread I read here recently said it best, quarts don't always sound great on a sound board in a shop but properly installed in a vehicle they can sound great. I will be the first to admit I like very bright speakers as well, I like more treble than some but I don't think any of the systems I've built and love
would be considered harsh by any means.

That being said I would love to put together a Peerless/Vifa set, I've used their drivers in my home speakers on a few occasions and I have to imagine the right ones could sound amazing in a car too...

 

[HIS4]

People hate Quart tweeters no matter what the age. They are harsh and very hard to tame. I had some in my first car because I didn't know better. I didn't understand that they were the reason I couldn't listen to music long before my ears got fatigued. When I went for a test drive in my next car, I cranked up the treble +5 on the stock system and thought, "man this system sucks." Later I finally realized that clarity doesn't necessitate harsh tweeters.

I would say they definitely aren't good out of the box but with proper tuning they can sound good. The last year of the German made Quarts I believe was the first year the QSD models were released. Maybe '99 or '00? I had the original Q series set (prior to the QSD) in my last car and I had to do a ton of tuning to get rid of the harshness but once they were dialed in they sounded good. One thing I could never really get out of them was midbass but I had a 5-1/4" set so its kind of hard to get decent midbass from that size mid.

 

[OSN]

I would say they definitely aren't good out of the box but with proper tuning they can sound good. The last year of the German made Quarts I believe was the first year the QSD models were released. Maybe '99 or '00? I had the original Q series set (prior to the QSD) in my last car and I had to do a ton of tuning to get rid of the harshness but once they were dialed in they sounded good. One thing I could never really get out of them was midbass but I had a 5-1/4" set so its kind of hard to get decent midbass from that size mid.

Buyout occurred in 2004, I bought German-made set in 2003.

 

[simplyclean]

I notice many people seem to dislike the newer MB Quart speakers, apparently they aren't made in Germany anymore? I have a set of quart separates from about '96 or '98 I believe and they still sound great. I can't remember the model number but I think they are _SC-216 or something like that (PSC, QSC, RSC?). I think they are a mid-line or entry level series from their appearance.

Around 1999-2000 was when they changed the model numbers to the three letters and numbers. The P(remium) and R(eference) line both used the 3rd generation plastic basket/poly cone woofer that originally came out in the .03cx set and was a variation of this speaker. You had the PSC216 that had the 25mm neo magnet tweeter (with the 5 spokes on it) and the Musicomp crossover. If you had the RSC216, I think, you got the regular crossover and the older 19mm neodynium magnet tweeter, basically the 218.03cx set from 1996ish. The last letter in the model number indicated the generation of the speaker and the K or S stood for component or coaxial, but the coaxials got the 19mm tweeter regardless. The model numbers got pretty confusing as they were essentially the same drivers but repackaged in different combinations over the years, but with really minor changes.

I would say they definitely aren't good out of the box but with proper tuning they can sound good. The last year of the German made Quarts I believe was the first year the QSD models were released. Maybe '99 or '00? I had the original Q series set (prior to the QSD) in my last car and I had to do a ton of tuning to get rid of the harshness but once they were dialed in they sounded good. One thing I could never really get out of them was midbass but I had a 5-1/4" set so its kind of hard to get decent midbass from that size mid.

Quart had their fans back in the day. Some people called their stuff bright and harsh. Some people felt they were revealing and to blamed the shortcomings on placement and the recording itself.

The original Qs were the 215.61Q/218.61Qs. They came out in 1998-1999 and had the tweeter with the composite surround that trickled down to the next generation Reference Premium series when the QSD216 (Titanium coating on the woofer, Al tweeter housing and XO network) and PSD216 came out in maybe 2001. If I recall correctly, the Fs of that 130Q 5.25" woofer was 100-something. It was never known for midbass. Neither was the 6.5" version.

But yeah, MB Quart isn't the company they used to be. When it came to real MBQ stuff, all the Reference/Premium woofers with the TX3 plastic basket they used for years were made in Germany and were designed by there by MBQ prior to the buyouts and the company whoring/selling out. Back then, they had entry level stuff which was made for them in China, like some of the Autobahn and Discus entry level product. I have no idea about the current stuff.

 

[hibuhibu]

People hate Quart tweeters no matter what the age. They are harsh and very hard to tame. I had some in my first car because I didn't know better. I didn't understand that they were the reason I couldn't listen to music long before my ears got fatigued. When I went for a test drive in my next car, I cranked up the treble +5 on the stock system and thought, "man this system sucks." Later I finally realized that clarity doesn't necessitate harsh tweeters.

I have to agree with this one. Quart Q series tweeters were never harsh.

 

[whoever]

I have to agree with this one. Quart Q series tweeters were never harsh.

Must have had earwax buildup. (sorry couldn't resist, nothing personal.)

 

[matdotcom2000]

People hate Quart tweeters no matter what the age. They are harsh and very hard to tame. I had some in my first car because I didn't know better. I didn't understand that they were the reason I couldn't listen to music long before my ears got fatigued. When I went for a test drive in my next car, I cranked up the treble +5 on the stock system and thought, "man this system sucks." Later I finally realized that clarity doesn't necessitate harsh tweeters.

I have my Quartz tweeter tamed and will never let them go they are PURE HEAVEN (thanks kev from the old ECA days).

 

[Oliver]

I have my Quartz tweeter tamed and will never let them go they are PURE HEAVEN (thanks kev from the old ECA days).

They were not meant for amateurs

 

[VP Electricity]

I have my Quartz tweeter tamed and will never let them go they are PURE HEAVEN (thanks kev from the old ECA days).

Gotta love that clear matte spray

 

[simplicityinsound]

i for one, also never liked MBQs.

contrary to what someone said above, i think they acutally sound much better on the sound board than in the car. the usual effect is, a tweeter that is nice and accurate with some sizzle in the room, will tend to sound harsh in the car, and a tweeter that sounds a bit too dull in the room, will come alive in the car.

i used to deal MBQ as well, and prolly have installed gosh..close to 100 sets of various models, and i honestly, never liked any of htem.

on quite a few of the higher sq installs, either with referenze, or Q, we did manage to get the tweeter undercontrol, either through off axis mounting or heavy tuning. but i dont see the point of doing this, when you can get tweeters, that right out of the box, can sound nice, smooth and natural.

the other big thing i have against it is the general lack of midbass compared to some of today's drivers. the midbass is pretty natural, but the level of snap and impact just to me, subpar, this is with all the sets, including a few times running well over 200-250 watts at each Q driver.

so...thats that for me, and when i dealed mbq, i tried my best to figur eout a way to like them, but after getting into other speaker brands like dls and morel, and trying other drivers from scan and seas, the mbq quickly faded from my brain

but agian, as said, sound is subjective...but i do encourage those who love mbq, to listen to a well set up sq car wtih "softer" sound, and see what you think, and let us know, if you still like your mbq better, the reasons for this. i would be interested to know for sure

b

 

[matdotcom2000]

i for one, also never liked MBQs.

contrary to what someone said above, i think they acutally sound much better on the sound board than in the car. the usual effect is, a tweeter that is nice and accurate with some sizzle in the room, will tend to sound harsh in the car, and a tweeter that sounds a bit too dull in the room, will come alive in the car.

i used to deal MBQ as well, and prolly have installed gosh..close to 100 sets of various models, and i honestly, never liked any of htem.

on quite a few of the higher sq installs, either with referenze, or Q, we did manage to get the tweeter undercontrol, either through off axis mounting or heavy tuning. but i dont see the point of doing this, when you can get tweeters, that right out of the box, can sound nice, smooth and natural.

the other big thing i have against it is the general lack of midbass compared to some of today's drivers. the midbass is pretty natural, but the level of snap and impact just to me, subpar, this is with all the sets, including a few times running well over 200-250 watts at each Q driver.

so...thats that for me, and when i dealed mbq, i tried my best to figur eout a way to like them, but after getting into other speaker brands like dls and morel, and trying other drivers from scan and seas, the mbq quickly faded from my brain

but agian, as said, sound is subjective...but i do encourage those who love mbq, to listen to a well set up sq car wtih "softer" sound, and see what you think, and let us know, if you still like your mbq better, the reasons for this. i would be interested to know for sure

b

This is just my personal perference but a softer sound to ME = less detail. My MBQ tweets are off axis in the pillars turned -7db with just one adjustment on the EQ for the right side and I have not touched or adjusted my system in over a 2 years. It took me a long time to find a tweeter mid that I would like. I am currently running qsd213 set with the CDT M6's because like you said I dont think there was enough midbass for me in the MBQ midbasss. I have not heard their new stuff but I am assuming anything from MaxxGarbage is not worth it.

 

[VP Electricity]

contrary to what someone said above, i think they acutally sound much better on the sound board than in the car.

You mean in the car, where the mids disappeared?

Sold the Musicomps as an add-on as often as possible to tame them a bit... think I had an 80% close rate on those things. Also used the 130mm much more than the 165mm even if the 165mm could fit, so that the mids would sound better.

 

[Kerpal]

Around 1999-2000 was when they changed the model numbers to the three letters and numbers. The P(remium) and R(eference) line both used the 3rd generation plastic basket/poly cone woofer that originally came out in the .03cx set and was a variation of this speaker. You had the PSC216 that had the 25mm neo magnet tweeter (with the 5 spokes on it) and the Musicomp crossover. If you had the RSC216, I think, you got the regular crossover and the older 19mm neodynium magnet tweeter, basically the 218.03cx set from 1996ish. The last letter in the model number indicated the generation of the speaker and the K or S stood for component or coaxial, but the coaxials got the 19mm tweeter regardless. The model numbers got pretty confusing as they were essentially the same drivers but repackaged in different combinations over the years, but with really minor changes.
...

Thanks for the help, that's really informative. Looks like I've got the RSC216's.

 

[VP Electricity]

The 19mm tweeter can't play that low, it is responsible for a lot of the tweeter comments. The larger tweeter sounds better... and is bigger