I have MB Quart PCE 216 components and it was originally installed in the the factory locations (with the tweeter behind the plastic grill in the sail panel). It sounded good, but it was lacking the higher frequencies (10k and above). I'm guessing its because the stock tweeter grill is 90% solid.

The other day, I decided to mount the components coaxially and holy sh*t!!! the tweeter got obnoxiously loud! I tried turning the tweeter levels down but that didnt help. I have a 10 band parametric EQ and an "auto-eq" type of function on my head unit. I spent hours tuning the system to get a flat response, and then some more trying to tone down the harshness of the tweeters. It sounds really good at soft volumes, but when I turn up the volume, the tweeters get really harsh. The the artists sing lyrics with the "sss" type of sounds, the tweeters are too harsh. When the hip-hop songs with the "clap" type of beats are also too harsh. I dont know where to go from here. I dont really want to spend the time to re-install the tweeters in the stock location. Will getting a silk/textile dome tweeter instead fix my problems? What should I do? For those who know what I'm talking about, I am open to any suggestions. Sorry for the long post. I would post pictures, but i dont think it would help.
Thanks in advance.

 

my two bits:

1. you are never going to get a MBQ tweeter to sound as smoothly as the way you seem to want.

2. IMO mixing MBQ mdbasses with other tweets havent provided very good results

my suggestion, ditch the entire thing and ge ta new speaker, it seems frm your listneing preference, the MBQ is on the opposite side of the spectrum.

b

 

Yeah, I'm eventually going to phase the quarts out. I upgraded my head unit for more tuning flexibility. Then I upgraded my amp so i can ditch the passive crossover. Now I just upgraded my sub. So the next thing that will get replaced will be the components. I bought the components about 6 years ago. Back then I used to think that MB Quarts were the cream of the crop or at least they were about 4 years before I purchased it (10 years ago). Boy was I wrong. I am really eying up the zapco components at woofersetc or some set of morel speakers that my friend sells at his shop. I wouldnt mind trying one of those DIY set-ups but dont want to risk it by buying components that i never heard before.

 

MBQ to me was never to my taste, tey are well made, but you either love it or hate it, i hate it...

no amount of tuning can turn a harsh speaker into a natural and warm one...if that the case, then there is no point in getting different speakers hehe, everyone can just buy different speakres can tune them all to sound the same

b

 

It appears Bing has this topic under control, as usual he is spot on with his statements.

1 thing I will add is the only way to tone down MBQ tweets enough is to bi-amp or go full active so you can actually turn down the gain on the amp to the tweets, and even then it's a shot in the dark. But I don't think the passive crossovers have a bi-amp option. The -2dB attenuation (or whatever value it is) on the passive crossover is not enough for such a bright tweet.

Like Bing said, MB Quart's speakers are like sushi......you love it or hate it.

As for these DIY setups you speak of.....what are you referring to?

 

Bing,

What's the best replacement speaker for the factory fronts on a non Bose system?

 

I had MB Q's in my Honda Prelude; I remember them being very "bright" and not able to produce very much mid-bass. Very clear though, I could hear just how bad a 96 kb mp3 sounded vs. a 128 kb mp3!

On a side note, the sound system in my 98 Prelude was amazing. I looked everywhere for a sub and comps when I bought it, but the system was stock. Once I upgraded the speakers and amped, WOW! Marvelous car, I miss it... the one thing the Prelude has over the Z is the sound system haha

 

thats like asking what are the best summer tires.. speakers are to your taste.. depends on what music you listen to.. and how much you want to spend

 

i have had MB's in every one of my cars up until the Z, i went with focal instead. I love MB's, but i listen mostly to metal, rock, and techno.

 

I have my mbq tweeters in the stock location and i shaved the plastic grill down a little bit...i think they sound great...but i am a fan of the extremely bright tweeters.

the crossovers on my mbq premiums allow 0, -1.5, -3, -4.5 db for the tweeter. it definitely sounds like mbq's aren't for you...