Upgrade / Sidegrade from Hertz MLK 165

[Hoptologist 10+ year member]

I've had the Hertz MLK 165 for a couple years now. They are the first and only components I've ever had.

I love them, but if I could change them, I would make them a little more smooth on the highs and more forgiving of the harshness from bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I used to run them passive, but ever since going active on my Audison LRX 5.1k, they just sound a little too- I don't know how to put it- sometimes I feel like I'm about to get a headache- from extended listening, so fatiguing I guess? Whereas I didn't notice it as much when running passive.

I'm getting a new car soon and kind of want to keep the Audison, but get new sub and components. Plus, I love the thrill and feeling of having new and different equipment again

What would be great:

Slightly smoother highs or midrange

Little more midbass

Slightly more forgiving of harsher sounds - like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Jimi Hendrix (I guess I have sensitive ears) - but that will still 'rock'

I've been listening to a lot of newer electronic/electro-pop lately on my Hertz MLK 165 because that is what sounds best on them, to me. I'd like to listen to more classic rock, rock, and alternative, but it just gets fatiguing after a while for me on the Hertz.

I would love to hear some Morel's because I've heard they are 'warmer' but many of the Morel dealers I've called have switched to HAT. I'm looking to stay under $700, so from HAT, that would give me the Clarus C61-2. What do you guys think?

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[shutmdown 10+ year member]

have you tried running the tweeters with the different cups? The large chamber seems to be less harsh.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

Californication is a great CD that's mixed for crap. The entire CD is clipped. By the Way is mixed decently. I'm With You is alright half the time; the other half is pretty clipped. Stadium Arcadium is, all in all, a pretty well mixed CD. Going to the stuff that's a little older, One Hot Minute is pretty good quality wise, Blood Sugar *** Magic is mixed very well but is a lot quieter than the rest of their albums, and the rest are pretty good if you get the remasters (Mother's Milk, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, Freaky Styley, and the self titled album). If you don't have the remasters, they're subpar at best. Being a huge Chili Peppers fan, I've learned to disregard source level clipping when needed. As for Hendrix, I've only got a couple of his albums and I don't really listen to them all too often, at least not enough to break them down like the Chili Peppers.

I'd say keep the MLKs and see if you can play with your EQ to tone down the tweeters rather than swapping the whole set out for something different.

 

[Hoptologist 10+ year member]

have you tried running the tweeters with the different cups? The large chamber seems to be less harsh.

Unfortunately no, I've only been running the small chambers due to available space in my current car where they were installed, inside of my side mirrors, whatever that's called.

 

[Hoptologist 10+ year member]

Californication is a great CD that's mixed for crap. The entire CD is clipped. By the Way is mixed decently. I'm With You is alright half the time; the other half is pretty clipped. Stadium Arcadium is, all in all, a pretty well mixed CD. Going to the stuff that's a little older, One Hot Minute is pretty good quality wise, Blood Sugar *** Magic is mixed very well but is a lot quieter than the rest of their albums, and the rest are pretty good if you get the remasters (Mother's Milk, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, Freaky Styley, and the self titled album). If you don't have the remasters, they're subpar at best. Being a huge Chili Peppers fan, I've learned to disregard source level clipping when needed. As for Hendrix, I've only got a couple of his albums and I don't really listen to them all too often, at least not enough to break them down like the Chili Peppers.
I'd say keep the MLKs and see if you can play with your EQ to tone down the tweeters rather than swapping the whole set out for something different.

Good to know about RHCP, ill have to get the remasters. That said, when I get the new car, everything is going to be swapped out anyways out of my current ride, and I always enjoy getting new 'toys' lol. I guess I could try the large chambers first, do you think it would be tough to find something on par or better than the mlk?

Also Also my Pioneer deh 5100ub deck only has a 7 band eq. I have the highs down a notch. I love the pioneers because of their direct iPod control through USB.

 

[Hoptologist 10+ year member]

I think it's not the highs that kind of give me the onset of a headache, but the midrange. On my EQ, lowering the 2k band and 5k band make the most improvement. The next band is 12.5k and it sounds fine at 'even' or even +1.

I don't know what I want to do. I kind of have the upgrade bug, or just the want for a new/different sound, but definitely wouldn't want to downgrade. Smoother midrange and more midbass would be awesome.

 

[shutmdown 10+ year member]

I think it's not the highs that kind of give me the onset of a headache, but the midrange. On my EQ, lowering the 2k band and 5k band make the most improvement. The next band is 12.5k and it sounds fine at 'even' or even +1.
I don't know what I want to do. I kind of have the upgrade bug, or just the want for a new/different sound, but definitely wouldn't want to downgrade. Smoother midrange and more midbass would be awesome.

quick question what are you crossover points? Not sure if you have the latest model or the previous model, but I believe the crossover points of the passives were 2.5k @ 12db slope. What do you have it crossed at the moment? adjusting the 5k band will most likely be apparent in the tweeters so maybe play with your crossover points

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

You could always just send the speakers to me, I'll test them out in my Jeep. If they're good, I'll send them back. If they suck, I'll just keep em so you don't have to worry about having shitty speakers.

 

[Alrojoca 10+ year member]

I would check out the Focals or the raimbow germanium they are smoother and may sound better with bad recordings.

 

[shutmdown 10+ year member]

havent auditioned the rainbow germaniums, but i think most of the focals had a harsher tweeter than the mlk's

 

[Hoptologist 10+ year member]

quick question what are you crossover points? Not sure if you have the latest model or the previous model, but I believe the crossover points of the passives were 2.5k @ 12db slope. What do you have it crossed at the moment? adjusting the 5k band will most likely be apparent in the tweeters so maybe play with your crossover points

Can't remember off hand, I'll have to check and post later. They are the previous model (not the new ones that came out this year). It might also just be my car that I've growing to dislike lol. It's old and even though it has a ton of deadening, I'm sure a new car one would have better interior acoustics.

You could always just send the speakers to me, I'll test them out in my Jeep. If they're good, I'll send them back. If they suck, I'll just keep em so you don't have to worry about having shitty speakers.

I would check out the Focals or the raimbow germanium they are smoother and may sound better with bad recordings.

I would love to hear some Rainbows, but the closest dealer is like 10 hours away according to their website list. Do the Germaniums fall in their mid-range in their speaker lineup?

havent auditioned the rainbow germaniums, but i think most of the focals had a harsher tweeter than the mlk's

I always thought of Focals as bright too, from reading about them.

 

[shadow 10+ year member]

I have the ML1600 ML700 and ML280

Smooth ....

PS. If ya want laid back check out Morel...

 

[Alrojoca 10+ year member]

There are more a couple of more expensive models in the Rainbow line I think.

Maybe you need an HU that has more EQ bands, or a sound processor with time delay, better hi/low pass crossovers.

It is difficult, tweeter placement is a big factor, you need to try different positions to see what works better, maybe placing them on the dash, maybe just above knee level.

You already have great speakers, maybe you need other components to get the most from them.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

You could get a new HU and possibly a new amp to allow you to go active. That'd allow you to tone down the tweeter entirely rather than just EQing it down. The harshness of the tweeters is the main reason I went active in my Jeep. The passive crossovers, even at their lowest setting, passed too much power onto the tweeters.

 

[Alrojoca 10+ year member]

Active is the way to go if the op is willing to be patient to set it, an HU with a good HP LP crossover or a 3 way may be better. The amp used can make a difference in the sound too. I would start with the HU, then spend $600 plus if that does not help. [