CU2 Audio upgrade desperately needed for Accord Euro CU2 Luxury

[WarrenM]

Damn!!!! Bad luck Warren. Will you be returning them or keeping them? Is the seller unaware or do you think they're passing them off as real even though they know its fake? I'm shopping for speakers at the moment. I'll let you know if I come accross any awesome deals!

Right now I'm trying to convince them to replace the speakers with the current model, which is apparently uneconomical to fake. They have not got back to me yet.

I suspect that they knew or at least suspected they were fake but did their best to ignore their suspicions. They have offered a full refund, but that is not really sufficient in my opinion, especially since I had arranged for the work to be started next week (not to mention the half hour I spent on the phone to Italy last night).

I've decided one way or another to go with real HSK 165s - there are current model units going for $175 per pair from Singapore or Malaysia - the real speakers.

[JustRight]

I have just spoken with Elletromedia (Hertz manufacturers) in Italy. These HSK 165 speakers are fake. Bugger!

They are very good to excellent fakes, and sound pretty good according to the firm, but of course there is no quality control. I shall be letting Elletromedia know where they came from. I shall not be putting that information on the forum. Sorry.

Cheers,
Warren

That's a great shame Warren. Good old e-Bay. I hope you have some success in getting a decent refund and/or replacements.

Good Luck.

[arverson]

another case of 'too good to be true'. stop wasting time & visit the guys at fhrx. theyve got plenty of good gear & theyre all AUTHENTIC! probably one of, if not, the best customer service in australia in regards to audio too.

www.fhrxstudios.com.au

as per your MEA thread, they can help you find a sub that plays down LOW & fit in a small enclosure too.. of course expect a compromise somewhere if the budget isnt much.

ill repeat, www.fhrxstudios.com.au

[WarrenM]

another case of 'too good to be true'. stop wasting time & visit the guys at fhrx. theyve got plenty of good gear & theyre all AUTHENTIC! probably one of, if not, the best customer service in australia in regards to audio too.

www.fhrxstudios.com.au

as per your MEA thread, they can help you find a sub that plays down LOW & fit in a small enclosure too.. of course expect a compromise somewhere if the budget isnt much.

ill repeat, www.fhrxstudios.com.au

I know they are good - they are just far from me - that's all.

[arverson]

if you're from bronte, then caringbah really isnt that far...

they can send you equipment if thats more convenient for you - usually free of charge too. id know, im from melb & ive dealt with em many times.

no reason not to at least have a chat with em, but hey thats up to you.

[WarrenM]

Howdy Warren,

It's alarming how the costs build up isn't it. I found exactly the same thing, when after spending what I thought was my budget on the Focal 165VR's and amplifier, to then realise I needed a DSP and a decent sub-woofer.

Anyway, it all worked out well. So, on to your questions:

Here's another one Trevor:

Do you know the size of the centre speaker - is it 4" or 3.5" (or something else)?

Regards,
Warren

[Fredoops]

You know if you listen mostly to Jazz and classic.... a DOOF DOOF sub wont help you... it'll make it worse if anything.

[WarrenM]

if you're from bronte, then caringbah really isnt that far...

they can send you equipment if thats more convenient for you - usually free of charge too. id know, im from melb & ive dealt with em many times.

no reason not to at least have a chat with em, but hey thats up to you.

I've chatted with them a couple of times, and they have been very helpful. Their website is also a wealth of valuable information.

But for me, Juerg (Auto Acoustics) is much easier to get to, and I know the quality of his work is up there with the best. He's looked at my car, and we've discussed various options.

He is equally dubious about stuff you get off eBay, but we agree to disagree on that point. My experience (not seriously affected by this incident I have to say) is that careful buying on eBay is exceptionally good value. My home hi-fi system is about 75% purchased on eBay, which has allowed me to build a sound system I could never possibly have afforded at prices anywhere near retail. It's replacement value would be at least 4 times what I have paid for it.

With car hi-fi, the players are a little less scrupulous, but the benefits of buying well are the same.

I'm confident that I will get my money back for the fake speakers (I've learnt that you can trust some dealers to do right by you, even if you cannot be sure of their ethics), and I have already ordered current model HSK 165s from an equally dubious source overseas ("crazy!" I hear you say). In fact I'm confident that I'm getting real HSK 165s, since I've had a chat with the product distribution manager of Elettromedia, and he is absolutely confident that the current model has not been faked, as the tooling required is simply too complex to make it worthwhile. He confirmed that again with me just a few minutes ago. He says changes in distributors in several countries means there is quite a lot of "dead" stock in the hands of previous distributors, which is the main source of cheap non-fake Hertz speakers.

After discussions with Juerg, I've decided to use Infinity coax 6.5" speakers in the back doors rather than cut holes for the Hertz tweeters. That means I'll end up with a spare set of current model HSK 165s which I expect to sell.

I still have two pairs of Infinity 6.5" coax speakers to buy, an Infinity 4" coax speaker (I think) for the centre, and my sub (I've decided on a 12" sub, but I still have not decided which - most of the subs out there are not designed to play music).

Once that is done, I'm ready to hand the job over to Juerg.

[WarrenM]

You know if you listen mostly to Jazz and classic.... a DOOF DOOF sub wont help you... it'll make it worse if anything.

Do you have any personal recommendations? I'm looking for a sub which sounds like a piano when it reproduces a piano playing C1 (C below low-C) and sounds like a double bass when it reproduces a double bass playing the same note (my little Rel T3 at home does it pretty well).

[JustRight]

Here's another one Trevor:

Do you know the size of the centre speaker - is it 4" or 3.5" (or something else)?

Regards,
Warren

Hmmm, not sure. I think it is a 4" single cone. I did not replace mine because the performance and staging of the Focal 165VR's was so good. I would recommend that you also wait until you have heard your system. When using a DSP that supports time differences like the Rockford 360.2 or the JBL MS8 I think that the role of a centre speaker is somewhat diminished.

Also, in my case I did not have enough amplification channels to be able to drive a centre speaker, and so I simply left it connected to the factory amplifier. It plays but is effectively inaudible due to the much greater SPL of the Focal system.

As for musical subwoofers (I admit being biased here) you should at least consider either the Focal 27V2 (11") or the 33V2 (13"). Here is a quote from the Focal web site

27V2 - "This is the thinking man's subwoofer. Not for bassheads, this is for people who appreciate music reproduced accurately."

33V2 - "This is the thinking man's subwoofer. Not for bassheads, this is for people who appreciate music reproduced accurately. The 33V2 13-inch subwoofer plays lower and louder than the 11-inch 27V2. This is a good match for larger front speakers, 6.5" and above. Set your crossover at 80 to 90 Hz for a seamless transition from sub to mid."

Check them out here:
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/subwoofers.html
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/pdf...glass_27V2.pdf
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/pdf...glass_33V2.pdf

Cheers,
Trevor

[WarrenM]

Hmmm, not sure. I think it is a 4" single cone. I did not replace mine because the performance and staging of the Focal 165VR's was so good. I would recommend that you also wait until you have heard your system. When using a DSP that supports time differences like the Rockford 360.2 or the JBL MS8 I think that the role of a centre speaker is somewhat diminished.

Also, in my case I did not have enough amplification channels to be able to drive a centre speaker, and so I simply left it connected to the factory amplifier. It plays but is effectively inaudible due to the much greater SPL of the Focal system.

Surprisingly, users of the MS-8 have said that adding in the centre channel provided remarkable and unexpected additional depth in the sound stage. That's why I'm looking to replacing the existing one with a real one.

As for musical subwoofers (I admit being biased here) you should at least consider either the Focal 27V2 (11") or the 33V2 (13"). Here is a quote from the Focal web site

27V2 - "This is the thinking man's subwoofer. Not for bassheads, this is for people who appreciate music reproduced accurately."

33V2 - "This is the thinking man's subwoofer. Not for bassheads, this is for people who appreciate music reproduced accurately. The 33V2 13-inch subwoofer plays lower and louder than the 11-inch 27V2. This is a good match for larger front speakers, 6.5" and above. Set your crossover at 80 to 90 Hz for a seamless transition from sub to mid."

Check them out here:
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/subwoofers.html
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/pdf...glass_27V2.pdf
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/pdf...glass_33V2.pdf

Cheers,
Trevor

Thanks Trevor. Looking into them.

[WarrenM]

Right now I'm trying to convince them to replace the speakers with the current model, which is apparently uneconomical to fake. They have not got back to me yet.

The firm reassured me that I would get a full refund but that I needed to return the speakers, so that they could be sent to Elettromedia. I sent them back and informed Elettromedia of all the details. The speakers should have got to the dealer today.

I've decided one way or another to go with real HSK 165s - there are current model units going for $175 per pair from Singapore or Malaysia - the real speakers.

I bought two pairs of the current model Hertz HSK 165 from a company in Malaysia, after further reassurance from Elettromedia that they are not going to be fake. The speakers arrived today and certainly look the goods. None of the tell-tale issues of the previous pairs are evident: These ones have clearly displayed individual serial numbers, no errors in the English documentation, etc.

On Juerg's recommendation, I'm only using splits in the front, so I have a spare pair of current model Hertz HSK 165s for sale.

On the weekend I bought a brand new 10-year-old sub on eBay. It is a Phase Linear HD-12 12" sub. These were designed in the US and built in the McIntosh speaker factory in Italy between 1998 and 2002. Phase Linear at the time was the audiophile quality premium-priced car-audio brand of its then parent company which also had the Jensen and Audiovox brands (not to mention McIntosh and AR in the prestige home audio market).

On the weekend I bought discontinued Infinity 652i coax speakers for the rear doors and rear shelf and 452" coax speaker for the front shelf centre.

And I picked up a 3.5 Farad stiffening capacitor for very cheap (actually cheaper than I expected to pay for a 1 Farad cap).

So here is my barrage of hardware in preparation for installation:

• 6.5" Hertz HSK 651 current model 2-way splits for front doors
• 6.5" Infinity 652i discontinued 2-way coax for the rear doors
• 6.5" Infinity 652i discontinued 2-way coax for the rear shelf
• 4" Infinity 452i discontinued 2-way coax for the centre (bought as a pair of course)
• 12" Phase Linear long-discontinued HD-12 subwoofer
• Alpine MRV-F405 discontinued 4-channel amp - 40W RMS/Channel
• Schneider 6000x discontinued monoblock amp - 350W RMS/Channel
• JBL MS-8 electronic 8-channel DSP with inbuilt 8-channel amp
• SSL CAP350 3.5 Farad Stiffening Cap