Alpine R-S65C.2

Amazing!

This component system sound quality is absolutely amazing. The mid-bass produces solid mid-low frequency and the tweeters tops it off with crisp highs. Installation was easy with the included brackets. The crossovers were small enough to mount in tight spaces.

By SqEarl on January 27, 2020 Verified purchase

Disappointing Alpine Product

I never thought I would have to write such a negative review on an Alpine product…

I purchased these to replace a set of SPX-17REF’s that I messed up by getting metal shavings in the voice coil (don’t ask). I was VERY disappointed when I couldn’t even find a used or partial set of those to replace my one destroyed woofer. So, I purchased a set of these from Columbus Car Audio in Columbus, Ohio. I was expecting similar technology to the old Type-X’s I was reluctantly replacing. I was HIGHLY disappointed in these speakers. I am running them with a RF DSR-1 DSP in a true 3-way component system plus a Type-R 10” sub. With a full active crossover system, I bypassed the Alpine internal crossovers on these. The woofers are being run on an old MRP-F240 Bridged into 100W RMS each and the tweeters are on channels 1 and 2 of an MRP-F300 with the gains set to 20W RMS each. Crossovers were set on bandpass for the woofers from 80Hz to 500Hz and the tweeters at 2,400Hz and up on a high-pass crossover. Channels 3 and 4 of the MRP-F300 are powering the 30MC 3” Midrange Components at 50W RMS from 500Hz to 2,400Hz. All slopes set at -24dB/Octave. That’s an even more speaker-saving crossover setup than Alpine recommends. They say 250Hz-2,400Hz at -12dB/Octave for the mids and I’m sure the woofer-to-tweeter points are factory set around 1,500Hz with a -12dB/Octave slope if using the supplied passive networks.

So, all that being said, I TRIED to supplement the mid-bass from my sub by setting the high-pass of the bandpass on the woofers to 65Hz and they gave me NOTHING. They are very lacking below 100Hz, even at 100W RMS. There isn’t any distortion except on a few songs with stronger mid-bass and I just knock the volume down a couple clicks to avoid that on those songs, so it’s a response issue, NOT a distortion issue. Don't even get me started on these HORRIBLE tweeters. They are HARSH as can be with the hard-dome CFRP driver so I actually had to CUT my EQ down to save my ears. It did NOT get better with break-in. And even at only 20W RMS to the tweeters at a higher crossover point than Alpine uses, I STILL blew a tweeter in LESS than ONE WEEK! Even the mounting system of the tweeters sucks. The swivel mount is VERY large and requires a gigantic hole to be cut in order to use it. Some vehicles may not even be able to mount the tweeters in an optimal position. The 1” tweeter requires a 2” hole to be cut to use the swivel mounts. These are absolutely TERRIBLE speakers. I re-installed my Type-X tweeters in place of the R’s from this set and, would you look at that, a 13 year old silk dome tweeter responds to the SAME high frequency of these nasty things, WITHOUT the harshness. The old X’s give MUCH more natural and realistic sound. So, I ended up getting the woofers tuned to an “ok” sound but still they either lack the mid-bass or they are so strong that they start to distort. I have them on the lacking side to keep from popping them. Well, I ordered a set of new-old-stock SPX-17PRO speakers today because I KNOW those are amazing speakers and I can actually use them to compliment and supplement my sub.

For anyone with any questions about the old Type-X’s, you MUST drive them with a LOT of power to get them to sound right. They are advertised at 100W RMS each for the Pro’s and 75W RMS for the Ref’s, but they CAN handle about 50% more than that and they LIKE it. If you can find a set or two of those, BUY THEM. Just MAKE SURE you are running AT LEAST 100W RMS to each side. When I first got my old SPX-17REF’s, I had them at 45W RMS per side and they were lacking in the fullness. So, I bridged them and WOW. The power makes them SHINE. If anyone is familiar with “Put On” by Young Jeezy (not a rap guy but I use that for bass tests) and that 4th super low note, those HIT that LOUD AND CLEAR. They actually hit that note BETTER than my 10” R-Series R-W10D4 on an S-A60M with a measured output of 851W RMS at 2 ohms! They DO NOT even need a sub in the system.

So, you can imagine what a shock these R’s were to me when they couldn’t even belt out 80Hz when they claim they respond at -3dB to 65Hz. I’d like to see the -1dB response. I’m guessing 100-125Hz on the bottom end.

I think the S-Series speakers are actually BETTER than these. The tweeters are softer, they do great in the mid-bass area, and they can still handle decent power. I have a set of the S-S57’s in the rear of my Ranger just as a full. They are being run on a bridged (yes, I re-wired it) KTP-445A off the back of my head unit. They are NOT EQ’ed! They give MORE mid-bass than the 6.5” woofers of the R’s! They actually rattle my interior when I have the rest of the system shut off through the DSP. I had to run them like that because the DSR-1 only has 8 output channels and I’m already using all 8 for the fronts and sub. I am going to get a new head unit with the dual HD EQ and also FLAC 96kHz and I’ll just EQ them that way or I’ll eventually get a second DSR-1 and maybe that R-A90S to run another 3-way set in the back. I’ll need the DSR-1 for the time alignment alone plus the crossovers and EQ’s are better than the built-in ones in the amp and head unit. Currently I’m totaling 1,381W RMS in a single cab 2000 Ranger. It’s hitting 105-107dBA but I want to get to 120, lmao! That’s why I just don’t understand why these speakers are performing so terribly. The old Type-X’s were great until I killed one by not being careful while I was cutting the hole in the door for the 3” mid. They were creating a beautiful blend between deep and mid bass because I had them overlapping the sub crossed between 25Hz and 500Hz. 31.5Hz was too high and actually reduced the amount of bass from those. That’s how I KNOW they were going that low! I dropped the crossover frequency and got BETTER sound. Maybe the R’s are meant more for rap/hip-hop/r&b but if you try to play anything with a true melody and harmony in them, they SUCK! I will be taking the removed set back to CCA for a replacement under warranty and then I will sell the new set as new since the return period has lapsed. Hard to believe I got a better old set new for LESS than these pieces of crap. They are not worth $400 by ANY means. Maybe they’d do better with a lower powered amp and using the built-in passive network, but I doubt that.

Sorry, Alpine, I love you guys but you dropped the ball on these new R-Series with the CFRP tweeters. Maybe the previous R-S65C’s were better with the silk tweeter, but I don’t think they changed the woofer. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. Hopefully someone from Alpine reads this and sees a loyal 20-year Alpine customer disappointed and does something about it.

By the way, I’m also an independent installer, mechanic, and audiophile. I’ve installed everything from basic upgrades to full-on competition-level systems and I’ve ALWAYS recommended Alpine or JL Audio for the systems I’ve built/installed. There may be other higher-end brands like Focal or Morel, but the quality for the money has ALWAYS weighed in Alpine’s favor. JL is more expensive than Alpine and the difference in SQ is negligible, at least IMHO. Even the greatest companies out there have had there share of products flop, so this isn’t going to be a game-changer for me. I mean where else can you get a flagship speaker that wins awards from CEA and consumer reports for less than $1,000??? Some of those Morel sets are upward of $2,800 and I’ll bet the X-Series will hang right with them with careful tuning. Alpine IS made in China but it really seems that Alpine has carefully selected the factories with whom they contract and they hold those factories to very high standards. That may be why they are able to NORMALLY produce such amazing products for such reasonable prices.

Ok, enough with my rambling. Hopefully this helps with everyone’s decisions. I would highly suggest you save the extra $250 and get the X-S65C’s over these or find an old overstock set of the SPX-17REF’s/Pro’s. You’ll be MUCH happier with your purchase in the end.

Great speakers!

These are some of the best speakers that you can possibly get.

By Thomas on April 28, 2020 Verified purchase

great sound qulaty

the sound is very clean and the bass deep and loud thanks alpine for this speaker and thanks to sonic because you sell good products

By Basil on March 10, 2021 Verified purchase