Alpine SPX-17PRO

Good sounding, but a bit pricey (Followup review)

The reviews I read about this speaker had me believing I would be transported to a Sonic utopia where I sit on a velvet listening chair and have beer served to me from a diamond encrusted, platinum tray by a bikini clad Katy Perry, in open-toe stiletto heels. Needless to say, that did not happen. I was initially disappointed in the speakers sound, and after trying everything, decided to remove the factory grills that covered them. Presto. PRES-TO. Night and day difference. Those inferior factory grills were blocking much of the sound.

These have a detailed, realistic sound, albeit a bit on the bright side (I believe the vast majority of automotive tweeters are made this way purposefully ). The woofer however, seems to lag behind the tweeter in refinement. There isn’t much bass or midbass in it, and while 6.5 inch components aren’t meant to produce bass, it could stand to use a little more oomph in this department.

These crossovers are a thing of beauty,( unfortunately the Bozos I hired to install this stuff took the easiest route possible for themselves and placed them in a hidden locations)The crossovers have actual heat sinks in them much like a small amplifier, and high quality parts throughout. I haven’t adjusted them yet, due to the difficulty in accessing them.


Pros: Really neat looking crossovers that look like small amplifiers. There is enough metal and capacitors in them to give an electronics nerd multiple orgasms. The tweeters sound terrific.

Cons: A bit pricey, woofer doesn’t sound as refined as tweets.

You can do better for less money.

My first impression of this speaker was ghastly, the sound was hair-thin, shrill and bodyless.( Even despite the 100 Watts I am feeding each speaker from a Kenwood X600F amp) I immediately went to work on the tone controls of my brand new head unit (the Kenwood X794). After going through every ridiculous parameter on the head unit, and turning the amp gain all the way up, I managed to get an acceptable sound from these speakers. These speakers can play pretty loud.

Overall impression, I am disappointed that this is what passes as a great sounding speaker in car audio circles.(Judging from the stellar reviews on this and many other sites and car audio forums). While these speakers certainly “crank”, I guess I expect more in the areas of realistic sound and detail retrieval for Alpines flagship component speaker.

While I have not tweaked the crossovers yet (the clowns that I paid to install them made sure to place them in areas that are not easily accessible) I doubt it will make a huge difference. I am also convinced that the head unit (another piece of equipment that was rated highly by every site I visited) may be partially responsible for the lukewarm review.

Something I could do to considerably improve the sound is bridge the channels on my amp to feed the speakers exponentially more wattage. Generally speaking, feeding speakers greater wattage tends to make the sound more life-like and helps with detail retrieval. However, the problem is I wanted to use the remaining channels to power rear speakers, and I didn't want to spend more money on another amp. Suffice to say, I will try bridging the power anyway.

My friend’s $200 Boston coaxials being powered by less wattage actually have the goods on these components in overall sound quality (GAG). Despite this, these speakers trump the Boston’s in the area of bass and loudness (a small consolation).

If I had to do it all over again, I would but the Boston PRO60 SE components instead.

Crisp, clean and clear

I replaced a pair of focal KP165 components with these, very nice, clean, not quite as much bass but a much easier speaker to listen to, the tweeters are not nearly as harsh, much softer. Much more comfortable to listen to at elevated volumes.

Would definitely recommend

Great Speakers

Great speakers purchase 2 sets of them for front and rear doors. Nice crossover with plenty of different configuration for maximun hearing quality. You can Adjust them with 6 different types of settings on the crossover. SONIC had it in a good price comparing to other site that were selling it for almost 700 dollars a set, can't go wrong purchasing from this website. Everything came in a factory packaging brand new, I have read that this product is discontinue who knows if they will be able to get some of them again. Overall great product for a nice sounding system.

excellent - recommended !

Very smooth tweeters compared to other speakers I have owned ( Boston PRO60's , Focals , etc)
Crossovers are very adjustable using different plug in modules to allow for speaker placement and primary listening position (if required) I am running them from a PDX 4.150 and they sound very clear and detailed up to very loud levels.
A well constructed quality speaker that doesn't break the bank.

GREAT QUALITY SOUND

Great product. Bought few months ago. After a few weeks they just kept on playing better and better. The tweeters are the best out of these components. Clear sound at all volumes. I have a sinfoni amplitude 90.2 and it just sounds amazing!

Good product for the money

This is an okay overall component system. The woofers bump nice and get great sound out of them but I was expecting more from the tweeters. The tweeters are clean and get loud but they don't let you hear the distinct sounds that a higher end tweeter does.

Genuine Product - Amazing Delivery

I just received my TypeX Pro's yesterday ... my amplifier is still in the mail. This is 100% genuine product. The crossovers included with these are incredible. For anyone wary of purchasing from Sonic Electronix, put the feelings aside. If the product description says "in-stock, ships same- or next-day," they aren't kidding. These amplifier shipped same day, speakers shipped next. I will return to SE for MANY more car audio purchases.

Had these for over a year

These speakers are unbelievable! I think your problem is that they just aren't getting enough power, I have an alpine pdx 4.150 and these speakers scream! After 5 min I have to turn it down no matter what. Annnd your speakers are the best part of your system. Upgrade your amp and you will see the true power of alpine

SIMPLY THE BEST!!!!!

Okay, I haven't heard the $5000 Focal Utopias Be-s yet...but if you are an audiophile, you'll definitely love these speakers. I've owned and heard a lot of different speakers. I have Focals 165 in the rear, and I have to say, these speakers are just better in terms of clarity and tone. But make sure you have a decent sub to go along with these speakers.