Over the weekend I tackled the Flex's front doors, and installed these JBL coaxials. While in the doors, I also installed GT Mat (a deadening brand) Onyx and Quadro, both very good products which I'll cover in a separate review. I'll also include pictures later, when I pull the pics off my camera and upload them.
I have a 2013 Flex SEL w/ Non-Sony surround sound, standard 5x7 ovals in each door front and rear, A-pillar tweeters, 3.5" center full-range, and Exile Audio subs in a fiberglass tub box in the spare tire well. JBL MS-8 processor and Vibe Slick Stereo 4, and Bass 1 amps. Wonderful small amps BTW. The A-pillar tweets have already been upgraded to Bravox silk dome tweeters, and the center will be upgraded to a matching JBL coaxial as soon as the darn thing gets shipped to me. The battery has been upgraded to an Optima Yellow Top, that in itself an adventure. The 4ch amp powers the front channels (left, center, right), and MS-8 powers the rear speakers and A-pillar tweeters.
These installed themselves, just about. I had the doors open to do all the Quadro and Onyx deadening, so it was no trouble to remove the stock front oval speakers and pop these babies in. These do have a unique terminal in that there's a cord connected to a connection box, from what would typically be the speaker terminals. In my case this worked out perfectly, and I was able to zip-tie this connection box (about 1/2 the length of a Snicker's bar, and about the same size around) to the factory wiring loom in the door, and everything is out of harm's way. The connection box "probably" holds a better-than-average-for-a-coaxial crossover, but I didn't pry it open to find out. The tweeters have a 0dB/-3dB cut push-button on them, and I left them at 0dB when I installed them. The tweeter is angled "up" a few degrees but because the 5x7 opening is "sideways" in my door, I installed them with that slight angle toward the cabin.
To be fair, I can't judge the high end of these speakers directly. My MS-8 settings are 3k @24dB/oct slope, with the Bravox pillar tweeters taking over. So mostly I installed these for the woofer. I can tell you that the Bravox silk tweeter and the JBL coaxial are very happy to play together, and even without recalibrating the MS-8 after installing these, the sound quality is spot-on. After I get the center channel swapped out and all the speakers broken in, I will recalibrate. I did have to put a few more clicks in the amp gain on the Slick Stereo 4 for the mids to keep up with the rest of the system, but once that was done, the front speakers had authority that was definitely unmatched by the stock speakers.
I was able to click up the midbass in the MS-8 EQ a few dB throughout the 63-100hz range, and that really made the front end sing. I'm happy I deadened the doors, I'm sure I5 would be shaking them up pretty bad if I just popped the speakers in without it. They get very, very loud without breakup (a JBL trademark IMO), and their midbass is clean and snappy, without any bad stuff. As most of us know, it is less about the speaker and more about the install, so I'll leave you to decide what's best for you. I will say that in my previous Flex, I had the 5x7 Bravox units and honestly, I like the JBL's more. Yes, I love the Bravox silk tweets from the CF component set, but the mids were lacking something the JBL fills. Instruments sound more real, and the stage is more convincing.
To sum up until I get the rest of the system done - if you need 5x7 / 6x8 speakers and you aren't interested in rebuilding your doors for something "better", consider these. They have a soft dome tweeter, a very nice magnet, solid construction all around, and they just plain work. Oh, and they are about $70-80 a pair out there. Hard to beat.
