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.

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.

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

Sound really good the first months and after that one speaker stopped work and I paid a lot of money for them :(

These are the best speakers I have ever heard. I have these amped with a RF p600x4 (you have to have an amp) and these sound amazing so good I took out my rear speakers, I have a sub so I really didn't need them anyway. The tweeters can be a little bright but this is easily fixed by lowering the treble and they look really awesome when mounted. The best feature I like about this set is that it uses male connectors for the speakers and spade connectors for the crossovers (need to buy yourself) that makes it look like a clean install and easy to move without messing with strands of copper. The crossovers are also relatively small compared to the set I had before. I previously had a set of Infinity Kappas components and even though these are more expensive it is well worth the extra money for the sounds quality. Update: Still working great. I actually upgraded to a more powerful amp (RF Power t400x2ad) running 200 watts rms and they sound even better! Now I never want to leave my car!

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.

I love the pair I'm running so much that I want 2 pairs for my Jeep Wrangler now, but it would cost a pretty penny to buy an amp to power 4. I love these. The sound reproduction is excellent. I've run Alpine type-S components, and Infinity(not kappa) coaxils. I've heard Kicker(not sure which model probably mid-entry level), and I've heard Pioneer(not sure which model but probably also mid-entry). I'm sure these aren't the best money can buy as there's always something better, but I bought them because they are said to have a softer tweeter due to the design, and maybe the best you can buy under $400. I can't remember the specifics, but I chose these over the sharper tweeter Focal(which was a close second) for the softer tweeter. There's nothing more annoying than a screaming tweeter that's set way too high and sharp. The bass response is really good too. I don't think I've fully broken these in, but I notice I feel less obligated to buy a sub, as I'm not missing the lower end of the range of music like you would with some other speakers. That's not to say that they are sub replacements, they just perform well with mid-bass. I'm running an Alpine MRV-300 bridged at 4 ohms with a DEH-80PRS Pioneer deck that has 6V pre-outs on just 1 pair of these Hertz speakers in the front doors. I'm very pleased!

Through some research these seemed to be the best pair of car speakers I could find so I decided to give them a try. I am so far extremely impressed. I like a lot of low-mid for snares and certain low frequencies on electric guitars. With a little EQ from Power Amp on the phone, the sound from these are absolutely perfect (and I am extremely picky with car audio). I have these on a Polk Audio 4 channel amp, 125 RMS per channel. And I also have 2 Kicker L7 12's running on a Hifonics 2 channel @ 800 RMS per channel. I had went to an Excision concert soon after getting these installed and was still turning up on the way back home cause it sounds just as good as the concert. They do cost more than most speakers of this type but if you're able to spend the little bit of extra cash they are so worth it.