Hey all

I have recently completed the setup in my car (Lancer 08). I have the system running off the factory deck through the Audiocontrol LC6. I have a Clarion 60W x 4ch amp powering the speakers in the car. Im looking at getting rid of the splits as the tweeters are way too bright compared to the rest of the system. Looking to replace the existing entry level MB Quart splits with something a little better. The splits are MB Quart ESP615 or ESK 165??? Was considering the Boston Pros but that means I need to upgrade the amp and Im looking at keeping the system entry level. Ive deadened the whole car (Roof, doors, boot, floor), so Im looking for something that will take advantage of that, sound good inthe highs and mids, but dont want the speakers to be under powered and over $400

Looking for suggestions

I should add the system spec so you guys know the system Im talking about:

Factory deck
AudioControl LC6
Clarion 300W mono block running single RF 10" sealed Punch P2 sub
Clarion 4x 60W running entry level MB Quart 6.5" splits in the front and entry level MB Quart 6.5 coax in the back


Thanks

Pat

the model numbers you've given for your 'MB Quart' speakers sound like Hertz model numbers... ?

Anyway, consider the next level up in the MQ Quart range such as the DSG series (roughly $400 mark) or the next level up in the hertz range (HSK 165 - RRP $379).

Most speakers in that range tend to want a bit more power though which I think is your limiting factor...

If the tweeters are too bright consider placing them somewhere else or is there a function on your crossover to 'dull' the treble a bit?

The Hertz HSK165 is a nice option, DLS Reference, Morel Dotech and Polk Momo splits would also be on my "To listen to" list.

The Focal Polyglass V2's are well worth a listen around $450

you almost have infinate choice as you could use sooo many speakers to replace yours but if your happy with volume then power isnt an issue.


BTW you CAN'T underpower speakers, otherwise we would always have to run our systems at full noise for fear of under powering.
haveing less than max rated power just means we can't crank as loud as speakers can go unless you actually have full rated power.

ALL systems can run at .2 of max volume. underpowering is a myth. Sure its better to have tooo much so you can keep systems below max and avoid blowing stuff because of too much power. reality is you can use whatever you have as long as you know its limits. Don't exceed limits and power you have will be enough
peace
punky

Thanks guys

I actually just found a pair of MB Quart PCE-216 speakers. They are apparently the MB Quart Premium line speakers which have a power rating of 60WRMS. Only thing that it says on the MB Quart website that concerns me is that they are Maxxsonics speakers????? No idea what that means unless its like Pioneer/Premier

I'd hope they weren't found on ebay, as there are known fakes of MB/Focal/Dyn etc on there, so I personally wouldn't chance it.

If they were in a shop, how did they sound?

Yea they were on ebay. It did concern m a bit about the whole fakes thing. Haven't heard the MBs in the premium line but I went out to JB HiFi last night, which brings me to my next question. JL Audio VR series. I liked the sound of them on the sound board which I think would sound better in a deadened door, but being such an open space, Im still concerned with the tweeters. Anyone got them? Thoughts

Yes, ebay is full of fake MB Quart speakers and also a lot of close out old models dumped on the US market.
Currently the entry level 6.5" split is the ESA216 Expert series(Chinese made) RRP is $249, from there everything is German made. Next level is DSG216 Discus series $349-$439 (many stores buy bulk and can discount), then RVF216 Reference series $599, then PVF216 Premium series $849 and then the top of the range QSF216 Q series $1599. I hope this helps.

I have had the JL VR's for a few years now and they are a good performing set of splits. I find that in my car that they lack a bit of midbass but that is due more to the install as back then i did not know of the importance of sound deadning and also i only have about 60-70wrms going to them. The tweeters are a bit weird as they are very detailed but on some songs they sound as if they are distorted, not in a really bad way it is just that they seem a bit harsh and thus this is probably why they sound like they are distorted. Again this could be due to my install but overall they are a good set of splits and most of the time the tweeters sound very good.

do you still like the boston pro's? i got a set through amazon and they were legit

I would love to have Boston Pros in the car but they're way more than what I want to spend and I honestly dont think they would sound the best running off the amp thats powering my speakers at the moment.

Good to see the VRs are a good set. Might go out and grab them this weekend. I used to have Rainbow Profi Vanadium's in my old car. Im kickin myself for selling them.

listen to what punky said tho.... if you like the pro's best of all, go with them... then you've always got the headroom to give them better power.

I hate to say it, but boston is perhaps the best brand available on fleabay at such criminal prices

I have once popped a set of splits from using a crappy old amp. Now although the equipment that I have now is far from that, I dont know if I would want to do that with a set of $1000 speakers (or $500 on ebay).

how crappy is that clarion amp? should have some longevity in it...


they are going for $350 delivered on fleabay :-O

Well, I couldnt help myself. Bought a set of the Boston Pros and I'll be putting them in this weekend. Thanks for the help guys. I'll be pulling my rear speakers off the amp and running them off the deck again. So I'll be running the Clarion 4 channel as a 2 channel. Just hope the magnet on the Boston's clear the door frame.

Jusr wondering if you bought these of ebay?

Does anyone know if there are any Boston Pro fakes out there?

Cheers!

i bought pro's off amazon in may last year that were the real deal, and spz60's off ebay in feb that are also the real thing, but the spz's were missing serial numbers.... oh well.

I bought mine off ebay a couple of weeks ago. Picking them up from fedex as they have finally arrived from US. Mine were ordered by a guy in Australia directly from the US delivering to me. Other people who ordered from this guy said they're the real thing. Ive heard a lot of stories about them having the serial numbers taken off, but the way I see it, Boston wont honour the manufacturers warranty unless the speakers are purchased from an authorised dealer so even if the serial number is still on it, warranty would not be valid cause they were purchased from ebay. For a brand like Boston Acoustics and a price of less than $450 delivered, Im not complaining. Im just hoping they fit in my doors without me having to cut into my door trim. The new Lancers have a really dodgy opening in the door for the speaker magnet.

The serial number generally is taken off so that the manufacturer cannot identify which retailers/dealers are selling online, as if they get caught selling online (ie ebay) I believe they'll get their contracts/deals with the manufacturers destroyed, and possibly the rest of the manufacturers will stop supplying to them as well.

Though, it can also mean they are fakes . It is the risk that is taken when buying online from unknown sources.

So how do you tell if they are the real deal or fakes if the serials have been removed?

You don't really, that's the risk right there isn't it. Even some fakes do look pretty convincing, though comparing it side by side to the real deal (from a legit dealer) you can usually easily tell if one is a fake or not.

So you could take it down to a dealer store, and see if they'll let you compare the ones you bought online/imported yourself against what they have bought from the manufacturer/their importer and see if they match up. I wouldn't think a lot of dealers would help out, but I may be surprised that they will do this. This comes into play in the price, how much is peace of mind worth to you? How much (if any) will you pay to garuantee that what you buy is legit and authentic, rather then buying online and risking fakes.

i havent really heard of any counterfeit bostons, and a quick google search shows up nothing. those that have been copied (focal, dynaudio for example) are quite obvious when placed next to the real thing.... so if you're worried, take a few close up pics and post them... the quality is quite apparent inside the crossovers.

my spz's had the serial numbers removed, and the seals on the box broken (so they could go into the box and take off the serial numbers, i guess) which sounds a lot more like covering their tracks more than the item being fake.... besides, the sound is noticebly better than Z6's so im convinced

the magnets on the bostons are really small, due to them being made from neodymium, and the depth is only 68mm ... plus they come with adaptors to fit smaller sizes

Well I picked up my set last night and I can say that these are definitely the real thing. The silver tape on the box had not been broken and the speakers still have the serial number on them. They look exactly the same way as if you purchased them from a shop. At least I think they do. I gave them a quick test last night in the boot of my car and they work so Im happy. Just need to possibly look into buying a new amp to power them now. The Alpine stackable amps are tempting. What amps does everyone else use to power these? I have the Clarion APX4240 which Im going to run as a 2 channel to feed 100W to each of these.

im using a boston GT40 amp for my spz's, and i used it on the pro's too. awesome amp, build quality matches the speakers nicely.

used to run them bi-amped with the tweeters turned down a bit but realised in the end they worked best evenly split so now its bridged. puts out a bit over 200w a side with the 3ohm load of a set of bostons, can do 240x2 with 2 ohm loads... very cheap on fleabay