Kenwood KFC-XR60P 6-1/2" Dualmag Midrange & 1" Tweeter Speaker

Price Paid:  $220.00 from onlinecarstereo.com

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 KFC-XR71p

Strengths:
Clean, accurate sound at high levels.

Weaknesses:
Mids distort easily when you turn up your bass gain.

Summary:
I got these for Christmas last month, and with the help of my friends we installed these speakers a few weeks ago. The speakers are the KFC-XR71p component set, basically the same exact model as the 6 1/2inch version, only the midrage is 7 inches. These components are installed in the door panels of my 2003, single cab GMC Sierra. They look impressive, and the midrange weighs next to nothing (I'm not sure how that affects it's performance, but it I thought I should mention it). The crossover is mounted just below the midrange (the midrange was installed in the factory location), and the 1" tweeter is mounted just above the midrange. They're being run by a Eclipse CD8443 deck, so they get a good, clean, digitally processed signal. The tweeters sound real nice, but I must admit my JL Aluminum tweeters in the back outperform them. The crossover is nice looking, and easy to control. The midrange is where I think these speakers could be improved the most. If you plan on buying these speakers, make sure you have a good equalizer in your deck - you'll need it. The midranges can produce pretty good bass - but that's only if you want no mid-level output. It's either the way the crossover separates the signals to the tweeters and the mids, or the way the midrange is made, but the midranges distort VERY easily. If you can fine tune your system you can eliminate this, but be prepared to spend a few hours in your vehicle testing out what levels to set it at. It may seem like I'm bad mouthing these components, but acutally they're probably the best sounding speakers in my whole school, or in my city for that matter. Me and my friend installed these in his garage which is about 50 yards away from the house. With all the doors in the garage closed, we cranked up my deck and let the Kenwoods rock - and they did. They did so hard his parents called his cell phone from the house and told us to turn down the volume - and his house is brick. Now THATS loud my friend. If your looking for speakers that reproduce a ton of mid-bass, look elsewhere. I suggest a JL XR Component set (or even better their new ZR Component sets), or a Kicker Component set. But if your looking for something that will produce clean, accurate sound, and you have a good sub system to make up for the lack of bass from the mids, then I definatley reccomend these speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer TS-A1767 3-Way speakers, JL Audio Tweeters, Audiobahn Mids.

Price Paid:  $179.00

Strengths:
Small size, very light weight. Midranges appear to be somewhat water resistant. VERY clean sound. Tweeter isn't too harsh, even at full brightness.
Definately a good choice for a Chev truck.

Weaknesses:
???

Summary:
I mounted them in the doors of my 95 Silverado ext cab.
The tweeters were simply pop'ed into place using the factory location on the front end of the armrests. Didn't need any of the tweeter mounting hardware, but the hardware was complete and offers a choice of a rigid flush mount or a swiveling mount (kinda like an eyeball).
The midranges were a little too small for the factory speaker holes. I was only able to catch 2 holes when mounting but will probably be ok.
The midrange speakers were very light and thin. To be honest, I was leary of them, but once I heard them, WOW!.
Compared to the factory speakers, there's no comparison.
Running them straight off a Nikamichi head unit (43W/ch peak) at the moment, and they still sound awesome, but not real loud.
Can't wait to get my Premier (50W RMS/ch) out of the shop!!
The crossover was mounted just beneath the armrest bracket on the inner door structure. The door panel will clear if mounted at this location, but adjusting the tweeter brightness control will mean pulling the door panel off. I set mine to full brightness and just backed-off the treble on the head unit.
I connected the mids to to the (impressive looking) crossover using the optional "bass-cut" connection.
I did not try running them without "bass-cut", so I can't say what kind of bass response they have.

Similar Products Used:
Replaced the factory speakers. No comparison to the original single 6 1/2 in. speakers.

Price Paid:  $240.00

Strengths:
Beautifull sound. Other speakers did not fit (too big) in my factory slots, these babies did.

Weaknesses:
They are rated 45wrms im feeding them 50wrms and on some CDs they distort.

Summary:
If u got the dosh spend it on these speakers. I am buying a second pair for the rear of my car. I can not wait for the audio heaven that i'll receive.

Similar Products Used:
So far I have not heard a car with the same quality speakers. These are wonderfull. The only product that was getting close was a pair of $400 Sony monitor headphones.

Price Paid:  $210.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 0000

Strengths:
none

Weaknesses:
not as good as infinity's sound

Summary:
hmmmm lets see oh yea infinity get louder they sound better and they i think look cooler.

Similar Products Used:
infinitys are better just watch out for the tweeter.

Price Paid:  $299.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 '77 Buick Electra

Strengths:
Some of the clearest sounding speakers in car audio I've ever heard. Having listened to the highest-end speakers available on the market, including Boston's Pro series, Clarion, and others, these are my pick. Simply must be heard to be believed. The dual neodymium magnets give it an exremely high level of control with a mounting depth that would fit in a Toyota Tercel if it had to.

Weaknesses:
The mounting kit for the tweets includes a surface and a flush kit, but not an angled surface kit. This would make installing on truck beams MUCH easier, but does not detriment the quality of the speaker itself.

Summary:
At 150W/chan, these speakers handle a LOT of power, thanks largely to the fact that they're the only dual neodymium magnet speakers on the market today. The included crossover is decent, but I'd recommend using a DSP or other higher-end crossover with a speaker set of this quality to reap the full rewards of such a good system.

Similar Products Used:
Boston Pro/comp series, Clarion, and previous Kenwood Excelon series. This speaker set blows them all away.