MB Quart PVL 216

Clean, refreshing sound, great value.

I have these installed in the doors of my 2000 cavalier Z24 winter beater, upgrading from FSB-216 separates.

Previously performed custom work to install 6.5" woofers, and these dropped right into the previous cutouts with no modifications or clearance issues. After a few days of varied listening positions, the tweeters were installed in pods at top of doors angled slightly upwards and partially on-axis. These tweeters are not as directional as I was expecting and provided a spacious stage and decent imaging with practically all of my installation positions. I still added a minor time alignment correction from my headunit to balance the image. Doors are vibration damped with dynamat, and speakers are driven with 120 rms per channel. Head unit is a Kenwood X995. I listen to all types of music, including top 40, folk and rock.

Compared to the FSB 216 set that these replaced there is a significant improvement in the smoothness and response of the high frequencies. I have the tweeters set at the -6db setting, and while not perfect, they are quite smooth and bright without any real harshness, with a sound that is typical of fabric domes. Midbass is quite good for a 6.5" driver, but don't expect these to replace 8" or larger bass drivers. I did try running them full range to get a feeling of their low frequency extension, and I ended up running them with a 12 db/oct HPF at 60 hz. which still lets them provide impact without the stress of any real bass duty.

At first look, the speakers appear expensive with engineered plastic baskets and large crossover boxes. A more detailed inspection reveals the construction tolerances on the woofer voice coils, the inexpensive components inside the crossovers, and the extremely thin 22 gauge wiring used to connect the tweeters. Also, while the woofer baskets look neat, they are not comparable to cast baskets and if your woofer mounting location is anything but flat they will deform to your mounting location - probably with negative effects. These are not $500 components, but they are definitely a step up from the lower, FSB 216 end of the spectrum.

Installation wise, the woofers top-mount 2.5" depth may require spacers for most door installs to clear the window, however this is typical in my experience. The tweeters are quite large in diameter, but shallow if a flush mount is preferred. The tweeters can also be angle mounted or mounted co-axially with the woofer, all with the included hardware.

I have spent quite a few hours listening to these components and have found them to really come alive at SPL's around 100 dB in car. At low volumes, the tweeters are overly efficient and midbass is lacking. At high levels, the tweeters start to exhibit breakup, but they will play cleanly to about 110dB with no listening fatigue or added discolouration to the music. With much of the World listening to compressed media files on mobile devices, these speakers, much like all mid to higher end aftermarket speakers driven with decent equipment, will expose the sonic flaws in your *acquired* MP3 collection.

In summary, I am finding real enjoyment listening to the favorites from my CD collection again on these speakers, and I don't think anyone would be disappointed with these units, especially considering the price.

Clarity at it's best

I recommend these component speakers if your looking for a mid price range setup that has great sound.

I upgraded from the FSB 216 and you can definitely hear the difference between both sets. I installed the rear set first and listened to them to compare the fronts that were FSB216's.

The highs from the tweeters were first set to -3 dB and were sounding somewhat weak; then I set them at 0db and the change made quite a difference and I tried these settings over various styles of music. I could hear the PVl's over the FSB's with the vocal range and highs being more to my liking. The bass was sufficient with clear thuds, but that may have to do with the baffles I installed behind them.

I have these hooked up to the new Crunch 1000.5 and have a Boston 10" sub in the trunk.
I have a AudioControl LCQ1 that has an separate 8 band equalizer for front, rear and sub. With these options I am able to fine tune the system to my liking and am very happy with my purchase of the MB Quarts Component setup.

Great Sound

I was having issues with a set of my Bostons Acoustic Pro series and had to ship them out. Ordered a set of these to use in the meantime. They sound so great I haven't bothered to reinstall my Bostons. Great highs, great mids and warm lows. If you are looking for a component system and are on a budget i would highly recommend. Thanks Sonic Electronics I'm a returning customer!

Great but some build issues

Well I haven't finished the restoration of my car yet but I have installed the speakers and run them through my amp. My doors are not forming a "sealed" box yet but I can definitely say these drivers are punchy and deliver clean mids and crisp highs. Bass is lacking but expected without a sealed door. My dislikes are the build quality... I bought 2 pairs of these drivers. When I pulled the first driver from box 1, one of the small pieces of plastic grill fell out. It happened again with a driver in box 2! Its a PITA because I have to glue them in myself. Also, some of the allen-key terminals on the crossover are difficult to turn with one not even tightening right up and becoming useless.

So happy i decided to buy this

these speakers were a great deal. everything was charged and came right when they said it would. Love u guys. I will buy again. owners manual could have been a little more clear for wiring. but i figured it out

A++

Excellent product!! Good quality. I see why the Ferrari Testarrosa was OEM fitted with MB Quart.

MB Quart PVL 216

This product worked great and I also got it quick.

MB Quart PVL 216

Great sound as one would expect from MB quart. However, not I'm very impressed with the polymer housings if your mounting surface isn't spot on flush the housings will warp.

great value

Got the product quick and in good condition with no problems.

MB Quart PVL216

This is a review of the MB Quart PVL-216 6.5" component set shown here:

MB Quart PVL 216 (PVL216) 6-1/2" 2-Way Premium Component Speakers

First Impressions (speakers outside door):

First thing you notice about these speakers is the quality of the build. Everything is either made out of metal or a very heavy/durable plastic. The cone looks very clean and doesn't have a mass of glue all over it. Also even without the speaker cover these look very sexy. The tweeters are very beefy. Everything on them is either metal or the tweet itself. The cover for the tweet is extremely strong. I suggest adding a small bead of glue to hold the cover on as a good bump can knock it off...

(Speakers in doors without sound deadener):

I do want to mention that you do not want to over tighten the speakers to the baffle. Doing so puts stress on the speakers cone and can cause distortion. Also suggest sealing these speakers off by applying speaker foam tape between the speaker and baffle. I have my tweeters down on my kick panels near the speakers. Right now I have the tweets set to 0db via the crossover but at certain times they can be very harsh. I will be testing them at -3db to see if this helps with this. As far as the sound was concerned:

1) Bought these for SQ, hence the comp choice, and they do everything I want them to do. The highs are very clean and crisp. The highs play fairly flat so a higher EQ adjustment for the higher frequencies may be required.

2) The mid range was good (note this was before I got deadener, which I will discuss later on). Since I have a sub I keep the lower range EQ set near flat. I also have the HPF set to 100 hz as even though these do sound good down to 70 hz or so they do struggle with low frequencies but all speakers do unless they are specifically made to do so

(Speakers in doors with deadener):

This past week my sub blew so I have been able to really hear what these speakers can do full range. Especially the mid to lower range:

1) With adding the deadener to the doors the mid range frequency response improved drastically. Everything with the mid range has gotten smoother.

2) Now since these are woofers not sub-woofers and the fact they are 6.5" the lower bass is good. With having heard the response of a sub-woofer it blows woofers out of the water. But I will have to say that these do handle the lower range well.

(Crossovers):

The crossovers are fairly small in size but do a great job supplying the correct frequency to the speakers. The covers are all plastic so these are very light. The only gripe I have with them is the clear covering. They are very easy to separate from the glue. But its a very simple fix.

Now I was refered these as good SQ speakers and I can really attest to this... With a good amp and HU with a fair amount of EQ options these can sound amazing...


(Overall):

4 out of 5

I am very pleased with this setup and will probably stay with this setup for the life of the vehicle or until they take a dump. If your looking for a great comp set that plays full range. These are for you. They are somewhat pricey but you can't go wrong with these. You pay for what you get...

Even if you don't have a sub-woofer you won't be disappointed with the lower range capabilities of these speakers.