-Smooth, detailed response -Good build quality -Nice crossovers -Rotating tweeters -Overall great sound

-could use a little less brightness, and somewhat better response in the midbass region, but oh well -start to sound crunchy if high-pass filter is set below 80Hz

I purchased these coaxials to replace the Focal Polyflex components I used to run. The Focals were simply too sharp-sounding for most of the heavy music I listen to, and they were murder on the ears. I find the XRs to be much smoother-sounding, more of a "warm" sound, for lack of a better description, whereas the the Focals were cold and clinical. The XRs present a nice blend of tight, snappy midrange and clear treble, and while they're not quite as deatiled as the Focals they do reproduce the subtle textures of sound in music. I must admit that they can be a little bright at times, but they do not pierce your eardrums the way Focal's inverted titanium domes did. Midrange is excellent, giving snare drums tons of tangible snap, and handling the distorted guitars of heavy music very well. The mids extend into the lower regions reasonably well for full-range reproduction, but I find they can't handle too much power when driven below 80Hz, or distortion becomes a factor. Of course, many of these things are install-dependant, and the overall response of the speaker will depend on how/how well it was installed. The external crossover networks are quite nice, featuring premium components and offering 3 levels of adjustment for the tweeter and mid. However, being installed in my doors, this feature is of little use to me. Another useful feature is the rotating tweeter. The tweeter is mounted on a slight angle and can be rotated 45 degrees to achieve better imaging than would otherwise be possible with a fixed tweeter. Overall, I'm very happy with these speakers. Response is flat enough to require minimal equalization, and in spite of the modest power rating (60 watts continuous), JL recommends up to 125 watts RMS of amplifier power, which is exactly what I'm giving them.

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Focal Polyflex 130H

Very revealing: really brings out the most in high-quality recordings (from labels like ECM, Sheffield Labs, Mapleshade, etc.). Incredibly detailed highs: Passed with flying colors my favorite tweeter torture test: the Roy Haynes drum feature "Hittin' It" from Chick Corea's "Trio Music Live in Europe" (ECM 827769): tons of rich detail in the cymbal's overtones. Not exactly what I'd call transparent or airy highs, but not harsh or tizzy either. Definitely loud...I typically keep the treble eq'd down a notch or three (depending on the recording). Tight, fast midrange: good responsiveness with this smaller (5.25") speaker...things like drums & fingerpicking guitar come to life with depth & impact. Respectable bass: Not to say these don't benefit immensely from the addition of a subwoofer (in fact these are particularly well matched to JL's 12W3v2), but these things give a lot more low-end that I expected. Sometimes I take the sub out of my car (so I can haul stuff) and run these full-range, not bad in most cases with a little bass boost from the eq.

Very revealing: almost to the point of being fussy. Problems in older or inferior recording become glaring audio warts with these. I'd never noticed how much tape hiss there in on Led Zepplin 2, and some of those old Jamaican reggae albums (like from Trojan records) can be really tough to listen to. Don't even bother encoding your mp3s below 320kbps. It's occasionally a real struggle to take the edge off the high end. Van Halen 2 was almost unlistenable at good, Van Halen-esque volume levels. Occasional muddiness in the lower midrange. The speed and detail is great, but they seem to be overwhelmed by large ensembles playing busy passages, if only for a few seconds at a time. For example, symphony orchestras can be a little muddy, and some of the more exciting collective improvisation on David Murray Octet's Home (Black Saint 120055) recordings get a tad lost. Consider, tho, that these are 5.25" speakers, and it simply may not be possible to accurately replicate the sound of a full orchestra and chorus with 4 5-inch pieces of polypropelyne. When running these full-range (without a sub), the bass will distort on recordings with a pronounced low-end, like Marcus Miller's "Tales" (Pra Records 60501).

Its ridiculous how good these speakers sound. The musical detail they offer is more along the lines of near-field monitors, it almost seems like a waste to put them in a car. About 50% of the time I listen to jazz, with the other 50% divided up between rock, classical, hip-hop & electronica. Had a great buying experience at Pacific Stereo in the SF Bay Area. Talk to Eddie, he's the man...works in the Fremont store (I think), but spends Tuesdays at the Redwood City store. He lets you try out your new gear in your car for 2 weeks, swapping out equipment per your request until you're absolutely thrilled with your new system. I paid around $1300 for my entire system, including installation, cables, sub enclosure, etc.: Alpine CDA-9807 head unit JL Audio e6450 amp JL Audio XR525-CX (x4) speakers JL Audio 12W3v2 sub ...which, if you price out the indiviudal components, is an amazing deal, and reflected in my 5 star value rating. The e6450 has a built in crossover: typically I'll send everything above 57 Hz or so to these (they're rated down to 53), and everything below about 80 Hz to the sub. There are two adjustments on the speaker's crossover, a three-position "midrange presence" control (low, normal, high), and a three-position tweeter level control (normal, -1.5, -3). I keep the midrange at normal, and the tweeter at -3. Seems to be about the equivalent of turning the treble down 2 notches.

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Only stock systems