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CDT
New Breed Drivers... TEST REVIEW
Model:
ES-06+ 6.5” mid/sub driver
and ES-02 2” wide range
mid Tweeter
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I've
been always honored to test new
gear out for cdt and it always
seems they are constantly coming
up with new ideas and equipment
for the car audio market. Its
been some time since I've heard
of them doing anything and it
was for a good reason. The engineers
of CDT have been at work the entire
time making sure 2 new products
are perfect before release. The
first addition to the new line
up for CDT in 2007 is the ES-06+.
It is a 6.5" driver designed
to be very versatile in both install
and usability. The second addition
is the new ES-02. The 02 is a
2" cone type midrange Tweeters
with an extremely wide usable
range. Both products have arrived
so lets see how they stack up.
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The
ES-06+ arrived in a
white style gift box
and well packaged. Im
sure they will have
a nicer packaging when
they officially release
these drivers. First
look these drivers are
absolutely beasts for
a 6.5"! They use
solid cast vented frames,
1.37" copper voice
coil on an aluminum
former, Woven leads
to the spiders, long
throw rubber surrounds,
push terminal connections,
fully polished top and
bottom plates, and a
nearly 4 pound motor
structure! |
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drivers are built by hand and
the quality shows it. Mounting
depth on these drivers is just
under 3.5" and the magnet
diameter measures 4.5" across
with the protective boot on. Overall
a nice solid built driver but
how does it sound? |
First test I actually tried
something a little different.
I used these in a conventional
home audio setup with the ES-02
in a custom tower enclosure
at .35 cubic feet sealed. For
power 230x2rms @ 4ohm was used.
For the xover it is custom made
using top notch parts that are
readily available and designed
for a 1khz network with the
6.5" limited to go down
to 30hz. First thing noticed
that stands out from any setup
using a 6.5" is the low
end output. These things think
they are 12's. They can extend
down into the 30 hz range with
ease and have solid output for
there size. They are also extremely
clean and never exceeded mechanical
limits. No matter how hard I
pushed them they took it with
no problems. In the semi midrange
frequencies they added natural
depth to the sound and blended
perfectly with the ES-02. The
06+ gives great bass output
and extension with the perfect
balance of midrange performance
with a sound you can feel. I
hope after CES these drivers
will become available cause
CDT has a big winner! Even for
the home audio guys these would
make a solid setup. |
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Now
we move it all into
the car. The install
took some time as
kick panels needed
to be made for the
ES-02 (not a must
but more on that later)
and I needed to make
a baffle, do some
minor mods to the
doors panel, and put
2 layers of deadener.
The entire setup was
run active with the
ES-06+ on 150x2rms
@4ohm from 60-1khz
with a 12db slope,
The ES-02 at 75wrms
@ 4ohm and was run
from 1khz up on an
18db slope. After
some tuning the results
are almost identical
to the in home setup.
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The bass response from the 06+
is amazing down low to the upper
end with insane output in car.
I have never ever heard a 6.5"
with this much output and it
is very clean to boot. Great
depth to the midrange and the
02 is one amazing speaker. From
the midrange to the upper end
they are smooth, natural, well
balanced, and actually capable
of concert volumes from such
a small driver. I also moved
the ES-02 into the door panel
and actually had to use a small
enclosure. |
CDT told me some type of an
enclosure is needed but I figured
id try it anyway. While the
imaging suffered cause of not
using kicks panels a little
tuning and got it dead center
(one of the great things of
using an active setup). With
the ES-02 I noticed that the
enclosure size is really not
important as long as it is sealed.
You make a simple .1 or .3 cubic
foot fiberglass pod and achieve
amazing results and if you want
even more depth out of the midrange
and a smoother top end just
add some poly fill. From the
performance of these drivers
I cant imagine them being anywhere
near cheap but cdt is known
for running great deals on new
products and if they do, you
can be sure they will be selling
out of these drivers very very
fast. To sum it up the es-06+
is a great driver for car or
even home use and it is very
versatile able to be used as
a dedicated midbass driver,
midrange/midbass driver, or
even a subwoofer if space is
an issue. |
The ES-02 is great for midrange
and Tweeter duty or can be used
as either one alone. CDT is
definitely not getting these
2 back from me hahaha. For a
heads up to anyone considering
using these speakers, make sure
you sound deaden the doors properly
when using the 06+ or use them
in a sealed enclosure of .25-.35
cubic feet. Do not use these
in a ported enclosure as they
are not made for it and you
may damage the drivers. Remember
the ES-02 will need some type
of sealed enclosure. As long
as its big enough to fit behind
it great results will be had.
Optimal volume I found is .1
cubic feet and for added depth
add some poly fill. If your
installing these into kick panels
and the volume works out to
be .3 cubic feet or on the larger
side don't worry cause they
will still perform perfectly.
Don |
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