Hertz HSK 165 6.5" 2-way Hi-Energy Component Speaker System HSK165

After about 1.5 years having a set of Image Dynamics CXS64 V.2 components in my vehicle, I felt that I needed more. After doing the research and reading reviews and car audio forums, I decided to purchase the Hertz Audio HSK-165's. From the moment I opened the box, I had a feeing these would be good. First, the build of the HV.165 6.5" midranges are very exceptional quality; they feature trick fiber mesh cones, over-sized magnets (larger than on my CXS64’s), a very stout die-cast aluminium basket, and a grille is included. The HT.25 1” tweeters are soft-dome style but have a grill built in, and include 4 different mounting options in the box: flush mount, 30-degree surface mount, and 60-degree surface mount, and what I ended up using: a “factory location” mount, which is a mounting cup with breakaway side tabs. The tabs have multiple holes/slots to match your factory dash speaker mounting hole spacing when you install these tweeters in their place. The included passive crossovers are a fairly large, but contain high quality components and a very detail-oriented construction.After installing them, I tested the sound using varied music with a wide range of instruments and vocals - everything from percussion to jazz to EDM to rock and everything in between. I'm powering these speakers with the same Alpine V9 that I used with the CXS64’s, with each driver receiving 125-watts each. Crossover was set at the same as the passives (3.2KHz @ 12dB). I played a wide variety of music (rock, jazz, EDM, hip hop, dance) and immediately I was impressed. The highs were crisp and vocals were very clear. After some experimenting with the crossover point (since I had an active system) I set it at 4kHz/12dB and that's where the fidelity of the HKS-165's was realized. When listening to my test Cds, the HSK-165's exhibited excellent clarity and lifelike sound. I did not hear any distortion, no harshness, and even at higher volume levels the Hertz speakers were never overbearing.As good as it sounds now, once the drivers get through their break-in period I'm confident the sound will only get better. And finally, yes - at $400/set these are priced higher than the Image Dynamics CXS64 V.2's I used to have (about $330/set), but considering the immediate improvement and added performance that my ears heard from the HSK-165's it was a noticeable upgrade.

Bought 1 pair from different vender and had professionally installed in front dash and sound fantastic,,, bought another pair from this vender and had installed by same shop. Within 2 days the speakers sound terrible. Rattles and distorts on low tones.. not happy with product.

These speakers sound awesome! Too bad one blew after 8 months. My older $80 Kickers are still working, really liked these hertz while they lasted.

Its not to bad. The sound is a little bright. I feel it needs more juice. Ive only had it for a few weeks so im sure it also needs to break in. I also need to change the gain on my amp and adjust it. I havent had time because its summer and i have so many things going on. Ill update this post in a few weeks

I bought these as a worthy successor to my 13 year old mid-range Focal components. After installing these I was underwhelmed, they didn't any better than my Focals... they actually sounded worse. So I decided to install one of these in one side and one of my Focals in the other side. The Focals have more pronounced treble and better midbass. The Hertz sound hollow, with distant vocals. I'll be putting my Focals back in. I'm pretty disappointed, given how much I paid for these. FYI I'm using a Pioneer Appradio 4 head unit and Alpine PDX-V9, so there's no lack of power or clarity.

I ordered these from Extremeaudio out of Germany for $280. The product arrived new in the box with serial numbers, owner's manual, and all hardware. I can't comment on the crossovers because I'm running an active system, but the speakers sound like a speaker should (in my opinion). I am running them from an Alpine PDX-V9 amplifier with the tweeters on the front channel and the woofers on the rear channel. I don't have any rear speakers at all. Each speaker is getting a little over 100 watts. The frequency response is very flat, the timbre is realistic, and all the instruments are discernible even at high volume. No frequencies are louder than others with these so don't expect super crispy highs all the time or a wailing guitar that drowns out everything else. You will hear the music reproduced very closely to what the original mixer wanted (unless you turn up specific frequencies on your equalizer).This speaker strikes a good balance between sound quality, bass response, and output per watt. It's a good choice for building an entry level audiophile system. They require an amp of course, but they don't need a ton of wattage to sound good. They don't need a lot of equalization so your head unit EQ should be fine. They do a good job of covering all the frequencies that your sub-woofer doesn't and they'll even work as the only speakers in your car if you don't have / want a sub-woofer.CAUTION: If you are not planning on getting an amplifier and doing a good installation (sound deadening, resonance reduction, etc.) then you should buy other speakers. These are powerful speakers with aggressive mid-bass frequencies that will rattle your doors and make all sorts of weird sounds come out of them. Pretty much any speaker in this range needs a good installation to sound right, but these especially do.

The crossovers stopped working after 1 month and now I can't return through Amazon because it's past the return date and I only bought these 2 months ago. Purchased the Square Trade extended warranty and that does no good either because it is still covered by the Manufacturer Warranty. Problem is I must return them to a dealer not Amazon where I purchased them from and there are no local dealers.