[kmarei]

Originally Posted by mob17

2) Will the XD fit under the boot floor, on the left hand side of the bluetooth module?

That's my XD600/1 which is about 2" shorter
I'm using the sat radio mount as I have it left over from my 08 M3
If you just place it on the floor, you'll gain that space used by the oem fan for the sat radio, pictured below the amp

[ctuna]

OEM position looks more ventilated.
I don't know if it's even a problem but there is more space in the OEM
location and even a vent there.
I would think you would want to put your lower wattage devices(ms-8)
next to the TCU since it appears to be a more closed in less ventilated space.

[mob17]

Hmm will have to have a think about mounting the xd. thanks for the pics

Just got the morels dotechs! so a few days of drooling on them and racking my brain about what amp to use. i know u guys have recommended the xd but the soundstream is cheaper (£300ish from amazon usa) than the xd. but i know its not just about price. if i get the xd i know ill always have in the back of my mind "how would have the morels sounded with the soundstream". i dont want to seem like im ignoring u guys, i take what u say quite seriously, its just a big decision for me.

i spoke to greg from autoaudio london today who sold me the morels and are the uk distributors of morels. they do very high end stuff, saw lambos and aston martins. i know this doesnt mean he knows absolutely everything about car audio, but he was definately not like cowboys ive dealt with in the past. He said the morels are power hungry and he wouldnt recommend anything other than going up a level to the soundstream. and its not as though he was trying to sell it to me, he actually said it will be cheaper to get it from america. i did push him on the idea of the xd and said i could always bridge, to which he said, rather unenthusiatically, yeah you could go down that route. i also mentioned what kmarei said about the quality of the soundstream going down since moving manufacturing to china to which he replied that he wouldn't recommend anything from soundstream other than the reference amp, which even though manufacturing has been moved, the core reference product quality is still there.

[mob17]

any views or opinions on the above?

[ctuna]

Everything has its tradeoff's
Although the Morels probably would be happier with more power what
are the other considerations.
My system is about 10 times better than stock running the xd 600/6 with Morels and Jehnerts . I think it probably sounds better or as good as my home system with Klipsches.
It may not be the top of the line JL but its good enough and
it fits in the OEM spot and is pretty efficient as far as not loading
up the electrical system in the car .
If I had an unlimited budjet and sound was the only consideration
would I put more exotic stuff in sure I would.

[bmw325i]

If you want to add more power that you'd never use feel free. I definitely wouldn't go with soundstream though for quality reasons.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Everything has its tradeoff's
Although the Morels probably would be happier with more power what
are the other considerations.
My system is about 10 times better than stock running the xd 600/6 with Morels and Jehnerts . I think it probably sounds better or as good as my home system with Klipsches.
It may not be the top of the line JL but its good enough and
it fits in the OEM spot and is pretty efficient as far as not loading
up the electrical system in the car .
If I had an unlimited budjet and sound was the only consideration
would I put more exotic stuff in sure I would.

I dont have an unlimited budget unfortunately! its just that ive seen the soundstream cheaper then the xd! I think ur right i need to have a serious think about the pros and cons of my options. Also i dont really want to base my decision based on the sole opinion of one guy from a audio shop (even though he did seem very knowledgable)

From what you've said, u havent bridged the woofers or the morels. How do they handle maximum volume? How loud is it and do you get any clipping?

[mob17]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

If you want to add more power that you'd never use feel free. I definitely wouldn't go with soundstream though for quality reasons.

im just thinking that as the morels are rated 100Wrms+, that i should be getting an amp with a similar rating or above. ive read stuff about underpowered speakers clipping and also that headroom is good in an audio system?

the soundstream looks well built. but thats coming from me. what quality issues does the soundstream have? also, do u have any recommendations of any other high quality amps i should be considering? (apart from the hd which is unaffordable) i dont really mind going for oldish class A/B's

[ctuna]

It goes louder than I would ever run it.
But I don't know what your ears or wants are calibrated to.
I listen to classical rock and jazz though my ears may be attenuated
from years of long exposure to rock concerts and industrialial noise.
I would never run it at maximum volume I guess is what
I am saying. Even without any amplifier bridging the bass hits the sweet spot before the doors do and its more
bass then I have ever had in a system before. I was in a
car with the same setup and SWS-8' and you could feel the vibration of the bass through the seats. I get a little of that now but not as much as I recall from SWS-8' however the Bass is much more accurate. I am sure whatever you do it will be a lot better than what you have now.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by mob17

im just thinking that as the morels are rated 100Wrms+, that i should be getting an amp with a similar rating or above. ive read stuff about underpowered speakers clipping and also that headroom is good in an audio system?

the soundstream looks well built. but thats coming from me. what quality issues does the soundstream have? also, do u have any recommendations of any other high quality amps i should be considering? (apart from the hd which is unaffordable) i dont really mind going for oldish class A/B's

Putting less power than what your speakers are rated for will not damage them. If it did you'd need new speakers every time you turned down the volume. Your seriously never going to be able to listen to music at full volume even off the xd. As long as your amps not clipping it will have the same sound quality whether your using all of it's power or half of it. The xd seems like a great amp for the money.

[mob17]

ok i have had a think about this and i dont really feel like taking the risk on the soundstream now. if i did buy it, it would be going with the advice from one man. i always need second opinions on major purchases.

Guess i'm back to my first two choices:

Would the xd600/6 definately not clip?

So, apologies for repeating this, you guys would definately buy the XD600/6 rather than the PDX-F6 which has way better specs and is a similar price? This is basically 60W RMS Vs 130-150W RMS.

I may sound dumb here but IF i wanted to bridge the xd for the morels, what would the resuling power be from this
Rated Power 12.5 V Bridged: 120W RMS x 3 @ 8 ohms / 180W RMS x 3 @ 4 ohms
I assume its 180W RMS as the morels are 4ohms, but that seems like quite a jump from 60W RMS at 4 ohms.

[kaigoss69]

The Alpine is a great amp so if the price is similar it should be a no-brainer.

More is better!

[mob17]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

The Alpine is a great amp so if the price is similar it should be a no-brainer.

More is better!

So if you were in my shoes, and had the morels, you'd definately get the PDX F6 instead of the XD if the prices were similar?

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by mob17

ok i have had a think about this and i dont really feel like taking the risk on the soundstream now. if i did buy it, it would be going with the advice from one man. i always need second opinions on major purchases.

Guess i'm back to my first two choices:

Would the xd600/6 definately not clip?

So, apologies for repeating this, you guys would definately buy the XD600/6 rather than the PDX-F6 which has way better specs and is a similar price? This is basically 60W RMS Vs 130-150W RMS.

I may sound dumb here but IF i wanted to bridge the xd for the morels, what would the resuling power be from this
Rated Power 12.5 V Bridged: 120W RMS x 3 @ 8 ohms / 180W RMS x 3 @ 4 ohms
I assume its 180W RMS as the morels are 4ohms, but that seems like quite a jump from 60W RMS at 4 ohms.

Your car should put out 13.7-14+ volts. It will be enough power

[dmatre]

I guess the real question you have to answer is: Do you want to build a system by specs or by sound quality?

There are a large number of people on this board who have Morels with Jehnert underseats running off of the JL 600/6.

I haven't seen a single thread where the reviewer wasn't completely satisfied.

Numbers don't always tell the story, it's the sound that counts. In this department you'll find a lot of reviews here.

When I replaced my home system I replaced a Sony 150W/channel receiver with a Denon 75W/channel amp. The Denon is far clearer, yes (to be expected) - but it also plays MUCH louder than the Sony did (with only 1/2 the rated power).

It's your system, and if you think that the JL won't have enough juice, then get the Soundstream. But as several folks have said (in this thread and others), the JL SOUNDS great - regardless of specs.

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

[bmw325i]

The xd600/6 does 75 watts at 4 ohms. The pdx seems good too but the main reason I would go for the xd is because of the extra channels, and it's more then enough power anyways.

[mob17]

i guess dmatre is right, its a battle between science and art.

dont know if this affects my decision, but i listen to mostly rap/hip hop and other tracks with a lot of sub bass.

just about everyone is saying the xd will have enough power. will it be enough to blow my brains out everytime i step into the car, whilst also maintaining sound quality? or, as kaigoss says, its a no brainer as more is better (pdx-f6)? its just that the morels are rated at 88db@2.83V/1M which im assuming is not the highest?

taibanl: if i dont use logic 7, would amping the centre channel still be important?

[dmatre]

If "blow your head off" bass is what you want, then the amp you select is irrelevant. For that kind of bass you'll need a sub and an additional (high power) amp.

The 8" underseats can only do so much, regardless of how much power you push them with.

But that's a completely different issue than which amp to drive the doors, underseats & rear deck with.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by dmatre

If "blow your head off" bass is what you want, then the amp you select is irrelevant. For that kind of bass you'll need a sub and an additional (high power) amp.

The 8" underseats can only do so much, regardless of how much power you push them with.

But that's a completely different issue than which amp to drive the doors, underseats & rear deck with.

well i kinda want "blow your head off" non-bass (is that even a word?!) and bass.

The bass area ive got covered, as im planning on fitting a 12" sub powered by my powerful DLS A6 Ultimate mono amp Its the non-bass area i want to know if the xd will blow my head off with, or would i get better performace for this with the pdx-f6? i.e, have very loud clear highs from the morels, and some mid bass response from oem woofers. I say some mid bass response as they are only 6.5" and will probably need upgrading, but after the sub.

[mob17]

anyone?

[mob17]

i think i have FINALLY decided what to buy

Im going to go for the JL XD after reading great reviews from owners and also speaking to quite a few people. I have come to understand that its not all about specs. If anyone objects to this purchase, speak now or forever hold your peace!

I've just got a question about Logic 7. If i turn it off, will the rear mids become more important to overall sound quality, or will they still be used solely for rear fill?

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by mob17

i think i have FINALLY decided what to buy

Im going to go for the JL XD after reading great reviews from owners and also speaking to quite a few people. I have come to understand that its not all about specs. If anyone objects to this purchase, speak now or forever hold your peace!

I've just got a question about Logic 7. If i turn it off, will the rear mids become more important to overall sound quality, or will they still be used solely for rear fill?

If l7 off they will be rear fill. You will still have time alignment but it will draw the sounstage further aft than desired.