I decided to go ahead and buy a set of MB Quart QSD 216s off of eBay. No problems with the speakers, but the tweeters seem very shrill relative to the rest of the drivers in the car. I think that the level on the crossovers needs to be reduced. I'm not sure what other MB Quart component sets have, but these guys have a provision that lets you reduce the tweeters' output by up to 6 dB in 1.5 dB increments. I'm going to have the installers reduce the output on Monday. They hid the crossovers from me, so I can't do the adjustment myself. Has anyone else had to back off on the output on their MB Quart tweeters?

Stu

You're not the only person who has described the MB quart tweeters as being very bright. Others have commented on this, too.

The -6db tweeter adjustment sounds like the proper solution. Glad that's included in the crossover, most crossovers don't have neat features like that.

Perhaps you could get the install shop to fix your L/R problem on the aux-in while they're at it.

"Q" series -eh ?
How much for those puppies?
and where'd ya get'em ?

I got them from CBR Stereo through an ebay auction brand new with serial numbers and everything for $599. They are nice folks to deal with and I recommend them highly. They provide the warranty for 90 days. That's about the only caveat I can think of.

Stu

My a/d/s/ tweeters are pretty darn bright as well, painful if left unadjusted. I wish the treble adjustment can go down further than -6db. :-)

Calvin

I wish the treble adjustment can go down further than -6db. :-)


Well why didn't you just say something? Tony wants more adjustment on his bass too. 2 votes - I guess that I'm gonna have to take a look at it sometime.

Consider it said.

Thanks!
Calvin

After listening to the speakers for a week now, I've discovered that the real problem seems to be a peak in the response in the 5-6 kHz range. It is audible both through my RioCar and my head unit. I am able to get it to sound pretty even by using the Rio's EQ to cut the 5 kHz repsonse by about 6dB, but that doesn't help me with the CD player or the tuner on the head unit. I scheduled an appointment for this Monday to have the tweeter output cut back and some other things done with the install, but now I don't think that's going to help. Right now the tweeters are painful to listen to without EQ even at low volumes.

Are such peaks normal in tweeters of this caliber, or do I have a defective component somewhere? I really don't know how to fix this except with an external EQ. I don't want to spend any more money, especially since I don't have any. I suppose I could somehow route the head unit's output into the Rio's input and use it's EQ, but that would be a rather cumbersome solution. Any other suggestions?

Stu

Are such peaks normal in tweeters of this caliber, or do I have a defective component somewhere?

As has been pointed out earlier in this post, MB Quarts are notorious for excessively bright tweeters -- that titanium dome, coupled with the inherent efficiecy of the speaker itself, can cause problems. In my previous car I got away with them simply because I had so much mid-bass (6.5" high up in each door, 4" in the top corners of the dash, a 5.25" center channel, plus 6.5" ambient fills back in the roof and a 10" sub running full-range) that I actually needed the brightness to bring my sound stage and imaging up to where they should be. Putting the 6.5" in the doors absolutely killed my sound quality; the MB Quart tweeters brought it back.

My current system (presently under construction in the ShoWagon) will be using silk-dome tweeters because I won't have to compensate for the overwhelming mid-bass in my previous car.

I suppose I could somehow route the head unit's output into the Rio's input and use it's EQ, but that would be a rather cumbersome solution.

It shouldn't be too difficult -- just run your line-outs into the auxilliary inputs of the Rio. Two 6" pieces of coaxial cable and five minutes under the dash is all you need. The advantages would be considerable -- especially having use of the Rio's fully parametric equalizer and outstanding s/n ratio.

Are such peaks normal in tweeters of this caliber

It may not even be the tweeters, but the acoustics of the car itself. Where the tweeters are placed, the amount of reflective surfaces in the car, the total air volume in the car, and dozens of other variables can cause undesired peaks and valleys in your frequency curve. It will be different for every car, which is why a lot of experimentation and tweaking is always necessary to get top quality sound.

tanstaafl.

As stated later in this thread, the tweeters in this set (and all other MB Quart sets) is pretty bright ... when in a "normal" situation, use the -6db setting. In the past few cars I've had, placement was somewhat of a troubled area, reflections, thick vinyl cover, blah blah blah, these special conditions required I go to no reduction or just medium reduction of tweetage with MB Quarts. They certainly cut through the mustard that others wouldn't suffer through, though.

If you've got clear throughput straight to your ears, definitely use the -6db or you'll get a nosebleed ... otherwise, season to taste.

Greg

Thanks,

I got the installers to cut the tweeters back 3 dB for me. Still a little shrill, but if I cut back the tweeters anymore, it cut back too much on the really high range (10kHz+). So for now, I have decided to live with less than stellar sound from the headunit and tune back the 5kHz band about 2 dB on the Empeg's EQ. Later I will add an external EQ that will work with my headunit and all will be well.

Stu