hey folks,

i was about to pickup some 6.5s for the front doors of my 3rd gen when the salesman confused me so i thought i'd ask for some independent opinions...

i was gonna pick these up Pioneer for $120:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/POC...emier/TS-D720C

but the salesman said that these Alpines were better:
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...SPS600C&tp=106

can it be? the pioneer retails for easily $100 more than the alpine but they're on sale at this place for the same price...

any thoughts?

 

Personally, I don't like Pioneers, they don't seem to hold up all that well, they just start to distort unless you're pushing them with close to their limit as far as power

 

Get the pioneer. I have a set just about like that and I love them

 

you do? nice... are you driving them with an amp or just a head unit?
I'll be using my Alpine HU, no plans to add an amp just yet...

 

Alpine specs....

Sensitivity 88 dB
Frequency Response 70 - 22k Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) 2-80
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 240
Impedance (Ohms) 4


Pioneer specs.....

Watts MAX. Music Power 260 Watts
Watts Nominal Power Handling 60 watts
Frequency Response 30 Hz to 33 kHz
Sensitivity (1W/1m) 88 dB
Ohm Rating 4


Basically the Pioneers will produce a fuller range than the Alpines but other than that If you are running just the HU the Alpines look better at lower power. It's pretty much a sound preference they are so close. Just remember that when you listen to speakers in a showroom they are almost always amplified and they are directly in front of you. ( no where near what they will be mounted in you vehicle ) so walk around both sides of the speakers while playing and compare the wall of sound and where it cancels out.

Just a couple of things to think about.

 

How a speaker sounds is very much a matter of it's instalation but is also a taste thing some speakers produce the full range but can be "bright" sounding while others sound "muddy". For example JBL are a nice speaker but quite bright, where as some pioneers are muddy sounding. With the mfgs. producing so many different ranges of speaker there can be a world of difference even with the same brand of speakers.
The thing to do if you are able is to bring a favorite CD/tape with you and go to several different stores and audition the speakers with the same or as close to the same HU you have/are going to get and as kramy said move around the display board/store to see what the sound is like. I would try to avoid the best buy type places when auditioning if you can because they are usually too noisy to get an accurate idea and the staff are not generally the best informed. If you go to a smaller "mom and pop" typr store you may be able to get more speaker for your money by asking about purchasing demo models. This is the time of year that they are usually getting around updateing the boards to the latest stuff. Just be sure to get a demo of the speakers before you buy if you go this route, most folks are honest but there are those who will try to take advantage.
Best of luck aviator

 

That's great advice that I forgot, take your favorite CD and use that. You know how that should sound.

Good points Aviator.

 

thanks for the tips folks

It was a strange thing, i could tell there was a difference, but i couldnt actually tell what the difference was!!!

The Alpine's did seem to have more (and tighter) bass which was nice to see in a 6.5. They also seem like they were better put together and easier to install (slightly shallower, built in inductors instead of seperate x-overs) and the dudes in the shop seemed to think that they'd operate better without an amp than the Pioneers!

So it seems that my Alpine deck is gonne be pushing some sweet Alpine speakers soon

now, to figure out if i should buy that used QLogic enclosure to put my Rockford-Fosgate P2 10" sub in

 

dont buy the q logic box, they are half plasti cmost of the time and dont seal very tight. thats just my opinion from having sold them in a retail environment for 7 years