Possible new M8n/M8a and XT25 application?

[Ten 99]

Okay, I already have a huge love for what this tweeter is capable of doing at it's price point, and I'm certain that the M8a is also a great performer.

Another thread about the discussion of the drivers and the cross-overs (versus cost) got me to thinking (again) about something I'd been wondering. Would these drivers make decent auto drivers? I know that the 8" driver is a bit large for most car doors (which generally do well to fit a 5.25" to 6.5" mid).

I have an '01 Corvette that I currently have Focal 6.5" Polykevlar components in. Very nice components. I might be trying to buy a used truck for more of a daily driver in the not to distant future. I've thought about moving the Focals (JMLabs) into the truck, and maybe doing an M8a and XT25 setup in the vette. The original BLOZE speakers had a weird mounting conglomeration that I used to make templates (1/2" MDF) to mount my components in. The openings can actually handle an 8" driver, and a decent sized tweeter.

Would these drivers do good in this environment, and what type of a cross-over setup would be in store here?

Having recently pulled out my subwoofer, I changed the tuning on my EQ, and I was pretty amazed at the bass extension I could get out of the 6.5" Focals in the doors by themselves. I'm wondering what the Hi-Vi M8a drivers could do?

The head unit is a Sony C90 ES (was their flagship about 5 years ago) that has dual 20 bit Burr Browns in it, and also runs a seperate DEQ-210 EQ that the headunit controls. I'm actually thinking about replacing this too with a new Alpine 9835 headunit, because the volume knob is real flakey on the Sony now, and I'm forced to use the remote control for it. Otherwise, the headunit is superb. I'm thinking about selling the headunit and EQ together for about $200 if anyone is interested. I think you can get a new face plate (with working knob) for about $230 if I remember right. This deck used to sell for $1200, and the EQ for another $350 or so.

Sorry, got off track there. Jon, Thomas, other valuable driver / cross-over guys -- what are your thoughts?

Chris

[Dennis H]

First step, will it fit? Here's the mechanical drawing of the M8a.

[ThomasW]

Don't really know, I gave up installing custom car speakers after having back surgery .....

The cone, frame, surround, etc, seem fine. But I don't have any info about the adhesives, or whether or not the driver is built to take the vibrations.

Somehow I doubt that the sonic advantage offered by the M8a/M8n would be audible in a car environment.

Finally the passive XO is quite large, and there certainly no generic active filters that can properly do the job.

[Hank]

Chris, on another forum, I asked for advice on drivers for my 33oi and an auto sound installer (and competition winner, for what it's worth) said he had good results with MB Quart drivers.

[AndrewM]

I'm out of touch with car audio, but there are great results to be had by using home drivers as opposed to "car" audio drivers, but a system such as what Jon developed is not simply a drop in setup for a car door. You've already got one of the higher rated systems out there (Focal kevlar setup), I think your largest gains would come from re-installing everything at a much higher level than just throwing more equipment at the system.

For instance, deaden the doors with some dynamat (or similiar product), do the rest of the car with it. Run the specs for the Focal woofers and build some baffles in the doors (this will have a fairly big impact on sound quality). This step will lower your noise floor by quite a lot (it will seem like you are driving a different car) and improve the mid/bass qualities of your front soundstage by leaps and bounds.

Andrew