I had a pair of Cerwin-Vega stealth components and changed them for MB Quart signature components. With the proper tuning and EQ they sound about the same. can you make any good quality speaker sound good? Is it worth paying more for top of the line speakers?

With decent speakers, most of the difference comes down to install.

Buying high quality speakers does matter, assuming you do an equal quality install and your source material is of high quality.

I went from Alpine Type R to Type X and immediately noticed the difference.
Then I heard my friends Seas ca18rnx/neo combo.
He has what he considers to be a "crappy install" and it still sounded better than my alpine Xs.

First off my friend you need to be more specific, on your install, maybe you could post some photos, tell us how you system is set up, IE, crossover points, are you running passively, or actively, ect... Top line speakers are always great but nothing will ever sound good without proper install and tuning... proper speaker location is your best bet and that will yeild as little eqing as possibly, so lets make sure your drivers are in a good location...

Sorry, I guess I have a hard time explaining my question...My cerwin vega components sounded great. My new speakers also sound great. just wondering if with some good tunning, can you make any speaker (not the real cheap stuff) sound good?
Can you take a good set of kicker speakers and make them sound as good as alpine, diamond audio...etc with a good EQ and a good ear? I understand that without an EQ they will sound completely different.

"good", "great", "amazing",...all subjective terms. Good quality equipment has the potential of good fidelity. Does it sound good? That's up to you. Many world champion sound off competitors have done very well with brands that are not always regarded as the "best". Personally, I believe after a certain point, you reach a point of diminishing returns. As with most ultra high end products, it's very hard to sense a difference in the product itself. Many times, the differences are masked by the tuning, installation, and support equipment that is used with them. It's hard to tell if it's just the component that sounds better or the whole system. I've heard 100.00 components that sounded great and 1000.00 ones that sounded just as great. The chances of some competitor or enthusiast spending the same effort to install and tune a 100.00 set of components is probably really low, so it's hard to compare the 100.00 set to the 1000.00 set equally.

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2004 300M SPECIAL
Alpine CDA 9833
Alpine Pxa-h701
Alpine Rux-c701
Rockford fosgate p400-4
Rockford fosgate p4004
Hifonics BX 1205D
JBL c608 GTi
JBL p693
Infinity 2.5" center channel
Alpine type R 12"(2)
all active SQL set up with 1900 watts rms

In exactly what way are they "good quality" if you CAN'T make them sound good?

it's the whole "weakest link" thing

sounds good and measures good? :P

i like numbers, but I don't go by them like it's a Bible or something.

very interresting "veeman". that kinda answers my question. I've upgraded just about everything in my car with better equipment expecting a upgraded sound but I get approx the same great sound. When do I know I have the greatest sound I can possibly get?

^^Never...that's why all of us are always scewing around with our systems. One tweek here or there can make a difference...is it better???? maybe..maybe not, all of us have gone too far and had to reset and start again. Once you're comfortable with your choice of components, then start tweeking until you're completely satisfied with what you hear...never!!

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2004 300M SPECIAL
Alpine CDA 9833
Alpine Pxa-h701
Alpine Rux-c701
Rockford fosgate p400-4
Rockford fosgate p4004
Hifonics BX 1205D
JBL c608 GTi
JBL p693
Infinity 2.5" center channel
Alpine type R 12"(2)
all active SQL set up with 1900 watts rms

Your Quarts had some thought put into them, the Vega's were just mass produced to make some noise.

The quarts SHOULD sound better and if you know what to listen for they probably do...they're likely about 100 times more dynamic than the Vega's, even if you do need sunglasses to listen to them.

Usually comparing speakers of the same price comes down to install. There are some excptions to that of course but as a rule that's how it is.

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http://www.sounddomain.com/ride/818309

My old van and install.

http://www.sounddomain.com/ride/634352

The rest of the install pics.