2 way, 3 way ???
 

I'm in the market for a component speaker set, 6.5" to be specific and around $220 range. I am a noob about audio and was wondering what the benefit of a 2 way vs 3 way would make. I really did search and came up with noting..

I do plan to power them with an appropriate amp.

blah, at only 200 range get 2way instead of 3 cheezy speakers mounted together for the bestbuy super sale. :D

So if I were to buy the component set that comes with the tweeter. Is that really considered a 2 way ?

yes. They have 2way and 3 way component sets.
A 2 way is usually a 4.5 to 6.5" and a tweeter and a 3 way is that but with a 4 or 3.5" mid and a different crossover.

That's just what I was looking for. Thanks !!

to confuse the situation if you get a sub your 2way setup will now become a 3way. :D

Thanks, Ken !!

What about the tweeters, do those need to be hooked up to an amplifier ? Or will they run off the HU ?

I don't want to run a sub, just the component set.. But 3 way's are fun..LOL

what component set are you looking at? I am in the same boat. I am thinking CDT or Image Dynamics. The reviews say that CDT is very natural sounding, but the ID's have a lot more midbass (rattling change in the ash tray). I am going to run a ID 12in sub so I don't really need the bass but it would be kinda cool to have matching speaker brands.

I am curious about powering the tweets myself. I think the XOver will direct the power accordingly, and if you run a seperate amp channel to the tweeters it is called biamping. I could be wrong but this is my understanding. Maybe somebody will chime in.

Sorry to threat jack, but I just ran across a deal on some CDT gold 642's. To run a 3 way set do you need to install all mids in the doors or could I mount the 4in in the stock location behind the seats?

Component speakers usually sound most accurate when all three drivers are mounted near one another. This is mainly because the distance the sound has to travel to your ear is consistant among all drivers.

A component set with dedicated x-overs will direct power as needed, whether2-way or 3-way. My suggestion is to stick to a good 2-way for ease of install. A 3-way can be better, but it usally more challenging to install properly. You can search other car audio forums to find nice 2-way components.

Oh, and you are right about the bi-amping thing, but keep in mind that this will only work for systems with crossovers designed for that purpose. If it is bi-amp capable, it is typically advertised as such. IMHO, it's not really necessary and will force you to have to separately level match the tweeters with the mids. The x-overs I have in my daily driver are bi-amp capable, but I left them in the single input setting.

I was thinking some of the Polk MM651UM 6-3/4 Component set.

Those come with a crossover.. So I would just hook the amp up to the crossover and the tweeter and 6-3/4 would be hooked up to the other end of the crossover?

That looks like a marine component set. I would not go for that. The xover network is in the magnet which means one of two things:

1. Really large mounting depth which may pose a problem hitting the window as it rolls down.
or
2. Really tiny magnet to accomodate the xover components, meaning the speakers are really not that good.

It's probably a combo of the two. All the money on that set is likely going into waterproofing rather than audio quality.

You would run the amp out to your crossover then the tweeter out to your tweeter and woofer out to your woofer ...too easy, huh? :D. If you use HU only, then run the woofer speaker out to the cross over and same as above.

Go with a 2 way setup easier to setup and less modification needed.

Ok thanks, I'm beginning to understand..

Any recommendations on a nice component set for around $220 to $250

cdt, image dynamics, moral (their high end stuff is crazy expensive and good, but not sure about their "low end" starting around your budget),DLS, rainbow (top notch and german), diamond audio, hertz, JL audio (I hear good things about them but I have an unwarrented prejustice against this brand), If you can find Focals everybody raves about them. This is start.

You might check out some classifies in car audio forums. I just found a set of 3 way CDT HD 642 golds for $250 shipped. retail1034and sell for 899. they also had CDT HD62's for 170 or obo selling at woofersetc for 380 retail for 599.

X2 on image dyamnics morel is nice but they are more for people going with a active setup. If you can hunt them down get a set of polk sr's and amp them!

Ok guys,, I'm on the hunt now..

i usually run PolkAudio DB's. they're low budget yet sound very clean. it's not super bright or super boomy so you get more of a flatter (it's not flat) response and fine tune your sound with eq to finish it up. :D

im going to be doing the 6.5" this spring. need the temps warmer so i dont shatter anything... ive learned my lesson on another car long time ago. hahaha. :D

As I understand 6.5" will work in the factory speaker hole. What about 6-3/4" ?

Do I need that spacer ring ?

as for the polks they drop right in, per big and several others that confirmed this. :tup:

:tup: Thanks !

Hybrid audio makes really great sounding, quality speakers. Even they're entry level "Clarus" line seems to be well liked.

Hybrids are ok. Actually their lower line sounds better (as far as mids go anyways) than their higher line.

I also agree with the Polk Audio choice. The DB's or MM's are great and can run off a factory amp reasonably well. Amping them with something more powerful is always recommended though.

The Polk Audio SR's are quite nice but are crazy power hungry. The crossovers that come with them are power whores! Avoid unless you have 150 watts+ going to each channel.

Great advice guys.. So far the Polks, for price and quality seem to be the choice..

If the speakers are rated for 125 RMS, what if my amp is pushing more than
that to each channel ? Will the crossover block that ?

3-way coaxial speakers are garabage!

Now 3-way component speaker will send you to whole new level of the audio experience. They allow you to mount your mids and tweets up high in the door and keep the mid bass low in the door. A good 3-way set will play twice as loud as a 2 way component set and the imaging will blow you away! I am talking mind blowing rape your ears experience. I have set of Focal Polyglass 3-ways and they will play so loud you think your ears are going to bleed! you would be stunned how loud and clear 4" midrange drivers will play! The 6.5" mid bass drivers sound like really good 8" drivers in the doors. I mate them with a 12 inch sub and its pure nirvana! I am only running 75watts rms to them and it sounds like I am pushing 750 watts!

I wish I could find a way to cleanly install them in my Z but I just dont want to chop the car up. I made a big compromise and installed a 2-way set of Poly Kevlar Focal K2P's. They rock, but I miss the imaging and sheer extreme output of the 3-ways.

Yeah, I know what you mean about chopping up the car.. I have no idea where the extra speaker would go for the 3 way set..

Crossovers are there to filter certain sounds - not 'block' out sounds! That said, 125 watts is just fine for those speakers. Tuning is the key here.

what about installing the 4in and tweeter in the kick panels on a 3 way set.something like this.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...U-L322lSmGKWT0

Maybe a 3" down there, but I would mount the tweeter in the factory location..

That would work fine. And actually, having the tweeter and the mid on the same axis is definitely a good thing.

I should be getting my CDT HD642 golds in today. I got such a good deal I couldn't turn them down. All the reviews I have read say that CDT's sound pretty good off axis so mounting them in the stock location may work out and save some room for the other speakers. I don't mind butcher the car some since I plan on hanging onto it for long time. This isn't a bought and drive it for 2-3 years and trade it in car for me.