© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2010
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large” enclosure, such as one might find in a door panel, improves spectral response and
power response variation between high and low frequencies.
In a basic system, like the Imagine midbass, the Imagine tweeters were designed to be
installed coaxially with the midbass, or as a component system in the original factory tweeter
locations, such as those typically found in many newer-generation vehicles, most often at the
top of the door, or in the “a-pillar.” The obvious “path of least resistance” is to leave the
Imagine speakers in their coaxial mode. If you do decide to use the Imagine set as a
component system, and if your vehicle is older, or did not come with factory tweeter locations,
you may need to install the tweeters in a bit of a custom fashion. Not to fear though – we
have included several different options for easily mounting the tweeters, so you can decide
which will work the best for your application. Since the tweeters are a sealed-back design,
they can be placed anywhere without having to provide airspace or any type of enclosure.
Hybrid Audio Technologies highly recommends that the tweeter placement be the subject of
your own experimentation. This can be accomplished by leaving some excess wire length for
the tweeter, and experimenting with different potential mounting locations by temporarily
attaching the tweeter using double stick tape, Velcro
®
, etc.
An important learning note! Hybrid Audio Technologies designed the Imagine-series to be
used predominantly as a coaxial, as we can effectively mitigate anticipated environmental
conditions and reduce the number of variables in this type of installation. When used as a
coaxial, the relative amplitudes (volumes) of the midbass and tweeter are equalized to each
other and the speaker will perform as intended. There is much less amplitude control of the
tweeter amplitude with respect to the midbass amplitude when the set is converted into
component set mode. This is due to simple physics. If the midbass drivers are placed low in
the door, for example, and the tweeter is placed high in the dashboard, sail panels, or a-
pillars, there WILL be a notable amplitude difference between the two speakers. This is
because the midbass are installed further from you, and are likely aimed into your leg,
carpeting, and other soft furnishings in the vehicle, while the tweeter is located likely closer to
you, likely aimed more “ox-axis”, and is near hard, reflective surfaces, such as window glass,
hard plastic interior panels, and etc. In many cases, converting to component set will cause
the tweeter to be notably louder than the midbass. This is not a speaker malfunction; it is a
simple acoustical phenomenon playing out in your vehicle. Hybrid Audio Technologies usually
recommends that the Imagine sets be left as a coaxial, but encourage the end-user to test the
Imagine systems in both formats to evaluate what suits the end-user’s listening habits best.
Finally, just because there is a factory tweeter pod location in the dashboard, a-pillars, or sail
panels in your vehicle doesn’t mean you have to use it! Because our ears are on the left and
right sides of the human head, human hearing is much less susceptible to hearing height cues
as it is hearing width and depth cues (please reference Lesson 3 and Lesson 4 later in this
manual). Please don’t be fooled into thinking that the tweeters MUST be placed high in order
to establish a good stage height! Alas, as the end-user, it is up to you to take the time and
test the set to see what orientation is to your liking, and certainly, as students of acoustics, we
at Hybrid Audio Technologies encourage that learning exercise.
