Image Dynamics CTX Series (CTX65CS 6.5" Components)

Needed speakers for my 1989 MKII Golf. These were installed in the back, on the board above the trunk, mounted with some wood and other supplies. Both the tweeters and woofers sound great! I love these speakers, and I'm glad I did my research to find the best pair. The crossovers look and sound great, with Db adjusting for the tweeters. Arrived in great condition, with plenty of good copper wire. Installation was easy, and they sound amazing, without using an amp (I'm connected directly to a Kenwood 252). Sound Quality 5/5 - Great quality, no clipping, or note distortions and especially no buzzing. I haven't past half volume on my headunit simply because these things pump so loud. Highs 5/5 - This is where these speakers really shine. I love good highs, and I'm able to hear the 'strings between strings' on violin pieces, truly a great feeling. Mids 4/5 - Byfar the best mids I have heard in speakers this range, but compared to the highs, they could be a little more dominant. Lows 4/5 - Won't pump bass hard enough to shake your bowels, but it is noticeable. If you're looking for incredibly deep bass I say go for a sub-woofer. (Though they do play 99% of tones, just not extremely loud or with as much clarity as a amped sub-woofer would offer) I would definitely buy again, and I have convinced several friends to purchase them after 10 minute car rides.

Sounded great but I had to return one woofer because one woofer was producing a lot of distortion. Returned Item, replacement worked great.

Edit 1-29-2018 - I am now bi-amping these and they are slightly better. Before I was running about 400 watts, now that is just the woofers and the tweeters have about 100W RMS each. Crossover points are handled by an old AudioControl unit. The sound has improved. The off-axis response of the tweeters is still horrendous, but the set is definitely more consistent. Bass has improved with that stupid tiny pathetic coil in the crossover out of the system. My biggest complaint is the included crossover. Being that this is a pair of components, it stands to reason that it would come with two crossovers, one for L and one for R. In my set though, the two crossovers were completely different. Visible through the transparent covers, the two crossovers had different components with different values and probably from different manufacturers than the other. This is unacceptable quality control. But being that this is a very low budget set, I may have been too hard on it in my earlier review. It is usable and sounds decent for the money now that it is fully active. If they sold the separates without the crossovers or the stupid grilles for a few bucks less that would be even better. I upgraded to three stars. Decent amps are very cheap these days and it is worth running active regardless what set you end up with. Original review: Went back and fourth between 3 and 2 stars on this, choose 2. It is hard to find good components these days as all the good brands from back in the day are now crap, so I tried to "grade on the curve." The woofers are capable of decent bass properly installed, but they are very "peaky." A processor set up by someone who knows what they are doing is almost required. Similarly, the tweeters work OK on-axis, but they have TERRIBLE off-axis response. Worst ever? Maybe. $20 Radio Shack free-standing tweeters from 1998 would eat these up. This set is useless in the factory (door) locations of a 2002 Tahoe due to horrendous off-axis response, unless you are deaf in one ear and have no sense of soundstage. They MIGHT be acceptable in custom kickpanels, but if I was going to that amount of work I would choose better components to start. My biggest complaint is the crossovers which are obviously the cheapest low-bid Chinese garbage I.D. could get their hands on. L and R are totally different, just by looking through the clear crossover covers the resistors seem to have come from different planets. Both sides have response and crossover points all over the place. It is all very sad from Image Dynamics which was once a great brand. The saddest part is I don't know where to even buy decent components anymore. If ID has gone to hell, they all have. Maybe I can find a good used set. Summary - if you are running full active and know WTF you are doing, these might be alright, I haven't tried them that way. If you are 40+ years old and want a set of affordable components like what you remember from your youth, look elsewhere (is there an elsewhere?)

Installed these speakers 3 weeks ago in 2010 mazda6, and just cant get enough of how crisp and clean they sound. Tweeters are very bright, so had to attenuated to -3db, and they are fine now, not harsh at all, since i have had cheap Kicker coaxials before, thought CTX's tweets were to loud at beginning but now i am used to how they sound and they are very balanced with mid-woofer. Mids are clean and full. I am pushing 60W/channel off JBL amp, they do not have problem spitting out loud, clean, undistorted signal at really high volume. Bass has good punch, but of course you need sub and cut-off lows to get the best sound. I am really happy i purchased these speakers after months of research. Get these now if you want high SQL comps on a budget. They are one of those things that once you start using them, just forget about how much you paid for it, because they are worth every penny. Thanks Image Dynamics for that great product. Since my Dayton HO sub is strong and healthy i just feel like it is time to test some of ID's subs too :D 5 stars no doubt for ctx65CS all day.

I've had these speakers for less than a week so I will update later on down the road, but right now these speakers sound great. I'm running these off headunit power - 15watts rms (amp on the way and will update again when that comes in) and they are louder and cleaner than my stock speakers in my explorer. I can hear details that I never knew were there. I did a lot of research when it came to what speakers I should get. For the $160 price range these seemed to be the best ones available. I've been told that unless I spend $200+ on a component set I wont get any better performance or sound quality than these. Of course it's recommended to deaden and seal the door to really get the best midrange and mid bass out of these. That's something ill do way later as I'm a broke college student. Only problem I have (and its not from the actual speakers) is using stock speaker locations in the doors doesnt have the best imaging. you will hear the diver side more than the passenger without special time alignment head units. Tweeter placement is also a little tricky to get best sound. I have mine up on the A pillar near the corner where the windshield meets the roof. sounds somewhat balanced but i will be trying different positions to find the best sound quality. one thing to note: the woofer mounting depth is pretty deep. I bought 5x7 to 6.5" adapter plates that are 1/4" thick for my ford explorer. I placed it on top of the stock spacer for the speakers which is 1/4" thick on one side and about 1/2" thick on the other side (so it aims to the seats). The woofer would hit the rail for the window track and not be flush with the adapter plate. I ended up using card board cutouts and duct tape to make makeshift spacers for it until I get more spacers in. I think with these speakers you need at least 1/2" spacer on top of the stock spacer to fit correctly.

The drivers and tweets are great, but both crossovers will not function correctly. You can actually hear music from the crossovers. Tweeters will not work no matter how I wire them. I also have the coaxial set for rear fill. They are all getting 100 watts rms. But the crossover is cheaply built. At least mine are. Should have gone with hertz, or the CT sounds comps. Even the Polk would have made me happy. Not worth the money even though it's not much.

No no and no. No matter what you read this speakers are not smooth. I tested with two units and with 3 amps. Let them play for 30 hours and finally when I asked from the company for help they told me to change my setup to active network for additional $1100 jus to power $160 speakers. Laughable.

These speakers sound amazing at around 100-120 watts RMS! I favor speakers that do not have sibilance if at all possible as it gives me headaches and ear fatigue over a long period of listening time. Thus the preference for softer tweeter material as opposed to metal tweeters. Great emphasis on mid range with good low end authority are preference for me. These speakers aren't too bright, and give great sound stage. Right out of the box you'll notice how beefy the magnets are, I honestly believe at the price points these go for, they are one of the best values among speakers. I've had many brands and models from your typical brick and motor stores such as some 3 way Pioneers, Infinity reference coaxials and components, Polk Audio DXI series, etc. None of those can hold a candle to how these sound and what sound they can provide. Now granted those speakers are not in the same price bracket so that makes sense but if you can afford to, grab these. They really aren't that much more but the performance they bring relative to their value is so much better than those entry level sets and even more expensive sets. I do however also own a set of Hybrid Audio Clarus series which retail for nearly 3 times more than these and can say that these while maybe not as refined in sound are damn near close in some regards and will please pretty much everyone out there who hasn't been too spoiled by true high end car stereo. More than enough to keep up with my convertible at highway speeds without a wind blocker. You'll definitely enjoy these!