How much juice would you give CDT HD61's

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Keep in mind CDT Audio publishes their RMS power ratings with a 120 Hz HPF recommendation. They don't need that much power to get loud and may reach the mechanical limits running rated power with a sub-100 Hz HPF. Give them a chance on your Kenwood amp before you go out and buy more power.

Thank you, I was just going to mention the same thing. I don't know WHY they rate their drivers at 120hz, it's rather frustrating, but they do. My lower tier CDT are rated for 130w I think, and I have to set them around 90-100w if I cross them at 80hz. So I would bridge the kenwood to yours for 150w, and see how they do. I still think it's a good idea to get a 200x2 or 100x4 amp when you get a new one, that way you'll have more headroom on the gains.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Thank you, I was just going to mention the same thing. I don't know WHY they rate their drivers at 120hz, it's rather frustrating, but they do.

It lets them show RMS power ratings in line with what the industry has led people to think is necessary to get loud enough. At least they include a crossover frequency with the power rating. It makes one wonder why companies don't all do that.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

It lets them show RMS power ratings in line with what the industry has led people to think is necessary to get loud enough. At least they include a crossover frequency with the power rating. It makes one wonder why companies don't all do that.

Well I know why most companies don't do that, cus their scumbags. But I've never seen CDT outside of the small online world we have here, so it would seem they're trying to use nooby idiot marketing, to attract informed enthusiasts. To me it's just a turn off cus I don't have a clue what I can put on em at 80hz. But, oh well... I just had to turn my gains down and I'm happy with how they play.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Well I know why most companies don't do that, cus their scumbags. But I've never seen CDT outside of the small online world we have here, so it would seem they're trying to use nooby idiot marketing, to attract informed enthusiasts. To me it's just a turn off cus I don't have a clue what I can put on em at 80hz. But, oh well... I just had to turn my gains down and I'm happy with how they play.

Honestly, the whole game of trying to match amps to speakers is given far too much scrutiny. There is no set number of watts a speaker needs to perform well, and the process of setting a gain knob with test tones and a volt meter is just a step of the tuning process, not the final word.

 

[Vecticus 10+ year member]

Keep in mind CDT Audio publishes their RMS power ratings with a 120 Hz HPF recommendation. They don't need that much power to get loud and may reach the mechanical limits running rated power with a sub-100 Hz HPF. Give them a chance on your Kenwood amp before you go out and buy more power.

I noticed the 120 hz hpf recommendation browsing the web site. Thanks for the additional info though. I'm not sure how clean of a signal that Kenwood amp sends out which is one of my concerns with it. The other is the way it looks. It's not cosmetically pleasing. I know its almost impossible to set an amp over the internet since so many factors are involved but when amping components what is the ideal lower frequency to blend with the sub? Given you already know the specifications of the set and around how many watts they will have access to. Seemed as though 120hz is kinda high just listening using my factory speakers. Same question with the subwoofer. Do you blend the frequency ranges or meet them w/o crossing. Like....sub LPF is set to around 90hz and components HPF is set to 80hz. Or sub LPF set to 80hz and components HPF set to 80hz.

 

[RangerDangerV2 5,000+ posts]

1.21 jiggawatts.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I noticed the 120 hz hpf recommendation browsing the web site. Thanks for the additional info though. I'm not sure how clean of a signal that Kenwood amp sends out which is one of my concerns with it. The other is the way it looks. It's not cosmetically pleasing. I know its almost impossible to set an amp over the internet since so many factors are involved but when amping components what is the ideal lower frequency to blend with the sub? Given you already know the specifications of the set and around how many watts they will have access to. Seemed as though 120hz is kinda high just listening using my factory speakers. Same question with the subwoofer. Do you blend the frequency ranges or meet them w/o crossing. Like....sub LPF is set to around 90hz and components HPF is set to 80hz. Or sub LPF set to 80hz and components HPF set to 80hz.

You don't want the sub LPF and component HPF to be the same frequency. A typical crossover slope is 12 dB/octave, and this makes the sub play well beyond your 80 Hz example crossover. The car's cabin gain is going to get you a boost somewhere between 60-70 Hz in your Impala, so you'll have free bass boost in that range. This is great if you want fat, bloated sounding bass, but we don't want that if the goal is natural sounding music. You might be limited by the crossover options on your head unit and amplifier, but try the sub LPF somewhere around 50 Hz and bring in the components around 80 Hz.

I think your components will be able to handle an 80 Hz HPF, but you'll need to judge that for yourself. You might hear your doors rattling before the speakers sound like they're bottoming out, so that's another thing to consider as you lower the HPF setting.

 

[cyn 10+ year member]

I'll be running about 60-70watts per side on my set.. which should be plenty on them.

 

[Vecticus 10+ year member]

You don't want the sub LPF and component HPF to be the same frequency. A typical crossover slope is 12 dB/octave, and this makes the sub play well beyond your 80 Hz example crossover. The car's cabin gain is going to get you a boost somewhere between 60-70 Hz in your Impala, so you'll have free bass boost in that range. This is great if you want fat, bloated sounding bass, but we don't want that if the goal is natural sounding music. You might be limited by the crossover options on your head unit and amplifier, but try the sub LPF somewhere around 50 Hz and bring in the components around 80 Hz.
I think your components will be able to handle an 80 Hz HPF, but you'll need to judge that for yourself. You might hear your doors rattling before the speakers sound like they're bottoming out, so that's another thing to consider as you lower the HPF setting.

Just when I think I'm starting to understand car audio and frequency/gain/hertz I get a response like this that takes me back to the "I really don't know **** about car audio" mentality. But I appreciate it. I'll try what you recommend.

 

[rebelfromva 10+ year member]

My set is on tge way. Ill let you know how they handle 200 per

 

[datniche 10+ year member]

I'm gonna be running 125w RMS to my hd61A's. I got a Boston gt2125

 

[rebelfromva 10+ year member]

sorry for bringing uo an old topic but right now I have my cdts running on a channel of their own on my t4004. Do you guys think that if i bridged them on ch 1-2 and 3-4 it would be too much for them? I just feel as if they have tons of room to go from the 65rms@1 per channel

 

[rebelfromva 10+ year member]

bump. After hearing jaydubs components, I must say my cdts sound nothing compared to them.... High passed @125 12 db on the 8053 xover on +0, couldn't get the bass out of them... Any ideas guys?

 

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

bump. After hearing jaydubs components, I must say my cdts sound nothing compared to them.... High passed @125 12 db on the 8053 xover on +0, couldn't get the bass out of them... Any ideas guys?

well first you only have 65w on a set rated for 170... so you arent even approaching their limits and the lower freq benefit from more power. with that said, having them crossed so high will definitely limit your midbass response... if you are going to stat with 65w, lower the hpf down considerably... the 170w rating at 120hz is because at that wattage they can reach mechanical limit on notes lower than that, but with just 65w, you shouldnt have that problem

 

[rebelfromva 10+ year member]

well first you only have 65w on a set rated for 170... so you arent even approaching their limits and the lower freq benefit from more power. with that said, having them crossed so high will definitely limit your midbass response... if you are going to stat with 65w, lower the hpf down considerably... the 170w rating at 120hz is because at that wattage they can reach mechanical limit on notes lower than that, but with just 65w, you shouldnt have that problem

That 170 is for the pair