Mid level 3 way vs higher end 2 way front stage

[rlj676]

I’m in the planning stages w Soundsgood and have been trying to figure out to how afford 3 way fronts in the custom a pillars. The big cost driver of the pillars has me thinking should I just do a higher end 2 way build.

3 way would be Gladen RS most likely, and thinking 2 way Focal K2 as alternate to save some money.

Is the trade off of a seperate midbass worth lower line of speakers and still more cost?

- I love the look of the a pillars, if spending so much would like to see more of it
- I listen to rock, country, some pop and 90s rap, really like strong mids and feeling a kick drum
- old school bass head lol, will be doing underseat box w 1200 to 1500 w.
- this will be my first active setup
- I just sold a 72 camaro with 2k on a single 10 in big ported box and passive focal 2 way fronts with no real tuning etc and liked that a lot… so no golden ear here lol.

Want to hear varying opinions on this, thanks

 

[kansas83]

The mid drivers in the pillars make it easier to get most of the sound up higher on the dash and enable better staging and in theory clarity. You don't have to do as much DSP to achieve these things since the speaker is physically up there already.

I think they'll make more difference in an F150 than a Camaro because of the physical distance between the midbass and tweeter. I had some nice morel 2-ways in my last F150 and really wish I would have had the mid driver and tweeter up above the dash. I then put similar quality Morel 3-way drivers in my Porsche Cayenne and they sounded better than what I had in the truck, even passive with only headunit tuning... If I were going all the way to a SoundsGood setup, I'd get the custom pillars and 3-way!

The other thing to consider is the sound signature of the speakers themselves. In general, Focals will be sharper/more crisp and the Gladens more smooth. However, this is in stock form and not tuned. A lot of this signature can be altered to your liking with DSP as well.

 

[rlj676]

Thanks, I think that all makes sense. Glad to hear your input on the Gladen as well, aligns w what sounds good said I think.

I know I’ve liked focals (in house and in car), gladen RS not so much info on out there. The aerospace I find reviews… but can’t afford them or utopias lol.

 

[rlj676]

Well with the overwhelming input here it was hard to sort through the feedback lol.

Talked to Don at sounds good and we agreed on a “budget” 3 way active fitting my needs best. Budget is relative as my first goal was $3k till I read what is all involved, and then I went full ******* with active and 3 way, but at a fair value haha.

-3 way gladen RS components w custom a pillars
- Mosconi Pico 6/8 dsp amp
-underseat 4 6.5 box
-Kicker cxa 1800 amp
- racks, door blocks, etc and a tune.

I’m real excited and now just have to wait lol!

 

[kansas83]

That is going to sound amazing with proper tuning, which it sounds like they will do! Keep us posted.

 

[kansas83]

I was going to add that even my last morels which are known as more “laid back” had tons of clarity. Your gladdens should be great.

 

[rlj676]

I was going to add that even my last morels which are known as more “laid back” had tons of clarity. Your gladdens should be great.

Thanks. Yeah I was interested in Morel Hybrids amongst some others… but wanted the tuning and whole system so stuck with Soundsgood recommendation. The price is great on the gladen RS so if I need to upgrade down the road it can be done.

Same w the amp, but I suspect that 90 watts is enough for mid bass and 50 on highs and actually looks like the mid is 3 ohm so will gain a touch not that it matters. No chance I detect a difference from ab power with these speakers and a tune I think haha. Only if I want to hear a difference to upgrade

I’ll check back in 8 weeks lol.

 

[cdiddy4224]

I may be a bit late, but thought I'd chime in. I had a custom stereo put in and running 2 way active up front with Focal Flax series. I've never run full active comps up front before, and the difference is night and day in the mid bass. You're going to want full sound deadening in the doors, not just block off plates. It makes a huge difference. Tuning also makes a big difference. It's funny, I've had stereos installed before without doing everything "correctly" like I did this time around. It's really night and day, how clear and precise this system is compared to previous installs I've had...my installer was damn good too!

 

[rlj676]

I may be a bit late, but thought I'd chime in. I had a custom stereo put in and running 2 way active up front with Focal Flax series. I've never run full active comps up front before, and the difference is night and day in the mid bass. You're going to want full sound deadening in the doors, not just block off plates. It makes a huge difference. Tuning also makes a big difference. It's funny, I've had stereos installed before without doing everything "correctly" like I did this time around. It's really night and day, how clear and precise this system is compared to previous installs I've had...my installer was damn good too!

Thanks for the encouragement! I am doing full sound deadening, just using their tiles and damplifier I have laying around (might order some more). I can’t wait to hear a proper setup as I enjoyed just raw passive components before haha. However I did no critical listening expecting a soundstage or imaging.

How do you like the Flax? I keep thinking I should move up from the gladen RS as I hate stamped baskets and the mid which will be visible is a paper cone. It’s mostly shallow asthetics but will bother me. To have this much money in and those two features will bother me I think.

Looks like Gladen has a zero pro like in between RS and aerospace I need to check into.

 

[Gibsonm21]

Sorry for the late reply as well, but put me down in the 2-way camp. A set of reference 2-ways in a deadened door (on a good amp of course) will sound awesome. I'm not sure even going from a good 2-way set to a good 3-way set is even worth it in a non competition car.

For me, going from 2-way to 3-way turned out to be a net negative due to the tuning needed to dial it in (even after it's dialed in).

I'm currently running the Audio frog 2-ways (front doors only) on passive XOs. Rockford 1000.4 bridged between the sets and they keep up w/ my (4) 8's on 4-5 thousand watts. Sounds super clean too!!!