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.