How big is the difference between A/D/S 246 and 346

ZeroAccess · Post by **ZeroAccess** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:54 pm

I did a search on this and could not find anything.
I'm debating on picking up some of the A/D/S line 246's for 130 dollars shipped. I have an alpine amp that will supply 120watts or so rms so it'd be a perfect match.

I'm just wondering how big of a difference is there between the two? one is 130 and the other is 200 shipped. Is the 346's worth the 70 dollars more.

Requirements are:
1.) Sound clean
2.) Get loud
3.) Not blow

I will have an 18" RE SX 18" in the back powered by hopefully an Orion HCCA 2100 amp and then the fronts powered by the Alpine 5 channel (bridged).

So needs to be able to keep up with an 18" sub and not distort like crap.

dk_nguyen · Post by **dk_nguyen** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:59 am

I have the 346, sound nice and clean yet very detailed, well they all will blow eventually depending on how much power you put to it.

ZeroAccess · Post by **ZeroAccess** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:40 pm

Alpine amp will be putting 120ish watts to each..

naksteve · Post by **naksteve** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:25 pm

I would recommend this:

Although I haven't had the 346 line (which is now made by DEI, whose speakers may be completely different than what I've had), I have had the old AL6 (6" woofer, 1" tweeter) and many iterations of various a/d/s stifflite/copolymer 5 1/4" woofers.

Car Audio Magazine once did a test of several 6" component sets. The a/d/s AL6 handled the most power by far (150RMS--no problem) and put out the most SPL. SQ was also rated among the best.

In my experience, I found this to be true. It was surprising how much more bass information was reproduced by a 6" driver than their 5 1/4" ones. In fact in one install, the AL6's negated the need for subs. And the sound quality was great, too.

But again, it's dependent on your car, its acoustics and your tastes. For me, when I cross my subs and woofers an octave apart, the 5 1/4" speakers can still produce a convincing front soundstage with the perception of bass coming from up front.

In my next project, however, I WILL be using the AL6's over a 5 1/4"/1" tweeter combo, just because the 6" woofers can go lower, louder w/o breaking up...Again, it depends on your space constraints, etc. But with 120RMS, it would be no problem to go with either the 246 of the 346. In fact, I tend to use the most power I can get away with for my front components because they produce most of the music spectrum. I 've talked to people who have tried vertical bi-amp'ing (using a separate amp with a passive crossover for each speaker), electrically bi-amp'ed components, or a single amp driving the components; and the consensus was that there wasn't an appreciable difference doing the bi-amping. BUT, having a powerful, high-current amp is going to make a huge difference, in damping characteristics, the quality of sound and, most importantly, making your components sound more prominent (instead of having the subs overwhelm them).

I have heard the a/d/s 346 and can tell you this: an a/d/s AL6 (which can be found on ebay cheap) is not that much different than a new 346. If it were my money, I'd buy a used pair of AL6's, forget about 246, 346's, and put the money you've saved into a better HU.

a32nissan · Post by **a32nissan** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:11 pm

i have them both, hands down the 346's are smoother, more sq oriented. the 246's seem to be more efficient, but the sound quality isn't the same. very very very bright speaker. along with the bright tweeters, not a good mix

i'm pushing 125 watts clean to them. beautiful set.

346's all the way

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:32 am

ZeroAccess wrote:I did a search on this and could not find anything.
I'm debating on picking up some of the A/D/S line 246's for 130 dollars shipped. I have an alpine amp that will supply 120watts or so rms so it'd be a perfect match.
I'm just wondering how big of a difference is there between the two? one is 130 and the other is 200 shipped. Is the 346's worth the 70 dollars more.
Requirements are:
1.) Sound clean
2.) Get loud
3.) Not blow
I will have an 18" RE SX 18" in the back powered by hopefully an Orion HCCA 2100 amp and then the fronts powered by the Alpine 5 channel (bridged).
So needs to be able to keep up with an 18" sub and not distort like crap.

Few component sets are actually going to keep up with an 18" sub. You'll have to attentuate your sub for your front stage (most people like their sub much louder than it actually should be to match up).
With that said, you're going to need a lot of power and displacement to keep up.

Edit: And, of all things, I forgot to say look for efficiency. lol

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:53 am

just roll like i will be with 4 sets of 6.5's! just find yourself a nice 4 channel thats 2 ohm stable per channel.

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:51 am

Bwcad1 wrote:just roll like i will be with 4 sets of 6.5's! just find yourself a nice 4 channel thats 2 ohm stable per channel.

There ya go! Then you just gotta phase align everything and account for reflections

Ooo, mount them on the inside AND outside so it's omnidirectional!

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:03 am

who gives a shit about direction/timing when you cant breathe!

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:09 am

I'll have my ear plugs and oxygen mask on thank you.