Rockford Fosgate HPC1206

Price Paid:  $145.00 from ACCESS AUDIO

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2001

Summary:
I had kenwoods in the fron before. They were quite harsh. These rockfords have a nice smooth sound to them. I am powering them with a kenwood 40x4 amplifier. The inputs on the amp are almost all the way up. But they still sound good. Im going to buy a pair for the rear as well.

Strengths:
Silk dome gives music a nice sound, can listen to rock music for hourse without getting any fatigue.

Weaknesses:
Require lots of power, sensitivity should be a bit higher.

Similar Products Used:
Memphis Audio Reference speakers. They are loud but aluminum tweeters will kill your ears.

Price Paid:  $100.00

Summary:
this product is best for coaxial speaker because the bass and treble
work amazing together somehow if you play to loud sound little distor
i love rock music and this speaker going good to be true
for the guys outthere love hardcore music alone with your system in your
car i recomend this awesome speaker.easy to install also.

Strengths:
sound so clear on treble and deep on bass
adjust the volume make better sound

Weaknesses:
if play really loud kindne distor of sound

Similar Products Used:
polk audio and mb quart

Price Paid:  $100.00

Summary:
These speakers are awesome. With great sounding bass and treble, these speakers turned my car stock cd player into an expensive sounding one. With these speakers in the front of my car and 3-way pioneer 6" in the back, my car is loud and full of clear sounding bass!

Strengths:
Goog bass, shakes the car, amazing sound

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer TS-A1665, 3-ways are also good...

Price Paid:  $50.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 HPC1206

Summary:
I listened to numerous speakers before choosing the Rockford Fosgate HPC1206. The specifications listed for the HPC1206 is a little misleading. These speakers are for anybody looking for great sound without installing an elaborate and expensive car stereo. I found that they performed better in the bass, treble and sensitivity than speakers that list better specifications. The listed bass response is 76hz but I have a pair of polk components that are listed at 50hz and the HPC's beat them soundly. The Polk's are listed at 92db sensitivity and the HPC's are listed at 89db yet the HPC's are actually louder. They do distort somewhat at higher volume but most of my listening is at low to mid volume. I am driving my whole system from an MTX thunder204 amp and JVC double din deck. The system is installed in a 97 Camry with infinity kappa 6x9's in the rear deck. The HPC1206's can usually be found in the $70 - $100 making them a little high for coaxials but much cheaper than components.

Strengths:
Good bass and treble, very clear at low to moderate volumes.

Weaknesses:
The highs can get a little to strong at times.

Similar Products Used:
Polk Ex 2560 components. Stock speakers. Pioneer. The Rockford HPC1206's are the best 6 3/4" or smaller speakers I have used.

Price Paid:  $140.00

Summary:
I am driving these speakers with only a high-end Alpine head unit (the ones with the rotating knobs; 45-watts X 4 peak), and wanted near-audiophile quality speakers without spending a lot of money. I have a budget audiophile stereo system at home (NAD Amp, Marantz CD Player, Paradigm speakers), so it IS possible to listen to great music without spending a lot of money. Also, I was willing to spend above $125-150, but I didn't want component speakers -- my car doesn't have factory tweeter-sockets built in, and installation-costs would have exceeded my budget.

JBL's are good for the money, but I wanted to upgrade. A friend of mine has the same unit, driving Infinity reference co-axials, and they get distorted at high volumes. Although I love my Alpine head-unit, their speakers have bad chemistry with their head units; highs are uncomfortably sharp at loud volumes! Polk's did not produce enough bass for my tastes. Eclipse's coaxials sounded pretty good, but not loud enough. JL Audio's coaxials had sound quality in the mids and highs comparable to the Rockfords, but the Rockfords blew them away with bass that is, though equally tight, much louder.

Strengths:
VERY loud, tight bass, warm highs.

Weaknesses:
Upper-highs exhibit a little bit of dissonance: "S" sounds are not life-like, but this is pretty common, and not noticeable to the untrained ear.

Similar Products Used:
Alpine, JBL, Infinity, Polk