egc's Full Review: Boston Acoustics 6.5 System Car Component System
Boston Acoustics is one of the most respected names in car audio. I have owned numerous pairs of Boston speakers and loved them all.
The Pro Series 6.5 is a 6.5" woofer (really more of a mid-range in my opinion) and a 1" dome tweeter with an external crossover. The 6.5" speaker is quite heavy due to the high quality magnets contained within and also quite deep. This may make installation difficult in some cars, especially shallow front doors, which is the most common location for component speakers. The 1" tweeter is fairly small and comes with three separate mounts for a range of applications. I actually had factory tweeters in my Prelude, so I just replaced them and ended up not using any of the mounts. When you are checking for room for installation, don't forget about the crossovers. They are about 4" long X 2.5" wide X 3/4" thick. I have had anywhere between 35 and 100 watts going into each side and they have always sounded great. I would really recommend an external amp to make the most of these speakers. Either way, I would suggest driving the speakers with a MINIMUM of 25 watts RMS per channel. It can actually damage the speakers to underpower them. On the other hand, I have had over 100 watts going to each channel and they still sounded great. With efficient, well-made speakers, you can pump a lot of power into them as long as you watch the distortion level.
Everything from the speakers themselves to the crossovers is very well constructed. Before I owned these speakers, I owned the previous model (Pro 6.2) which held up for many years (I left them in my old car when I sold it, that's why I bought these!). These speakers are extremely rugged. The included instruction manual is excellent and explains clearly everything you need to do to install the speakers. If you need to cut your doors to install them (most likely for the tweeter) they even include templates for cutting the holes. I would recommend, however, that you let a professional do any major cutting to the interior! If you mess up the inside door panel, it will easily cost you a couple hundred dollars- let the insured/bonded professional take the chance.
When it comes to speakers, there isn't a whole lot to discuss except for specifications, construction, and sound quality. This brings us to the most important aspect: how they sound!
The first thing I noticed when listening to these speakers is the incredible level of audible detail. You will hear things you never realized were in the recording: small nuances and effects, the sound of the pick hitting the guitar strings. It really is amazing. The high frequencies are very crisp and clear, almost sharp. This is why you will hear the extra detail. Midrange is also excellent, and the overall dynamic range is very smooth. In my current system I have rear 6x9 (Eclipse) speakers to complement the Boston Pro Series 6.5's in the front. I also have a single 10" sub in the trunk for the lows. For a while I didn't have rear speakers at all, and the Boston Pro's still sounded great overall, although they did lack a little low-end punch. This leads me to my overall criticism: while they sound very clear and detailed, the high end is almost too harsh and the lower end isn't low enough. I almost think that Boston tuned these a little too much in the higher frequency range. Considering that I have 6x9's providing the mid-range and upper low-level frequencies, and a sub for the real lows, the Boston Pro 6.5's are just what I need. However, if you are looking for a pair of standalone speakers, I would look elsewhere. The 6.5's are just a little too "tinny."
While shopping for speakers, I listened to a similarly priced pair from MB Quart which sounded amazing. I actually think they sounded better all by themselves, but lacked a bit of the detail evident in the Bostons. Since I had the rest of the range covered, I opted for the Bostons. If I were building a system without a sub, or if I were looking for more "full-range" speakers, I would have gone with the MB Quarts. The Boston Pro's just seem to lack some "punch" in the mid-bass.
All of this is really nitpicking, as they are really some of the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. If you are looking for speakers that give you the most detail possible, and you aren't concerned about lacking a little punchy mid-bass (you have other speakers to pick up the slack) then the Boston Pro 6.5's are for you.
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