Tweeter mounting is again a very straightforward approach. The units use a nice, large flange around the outside diameter of the tweeter that makes flush mounting the tweeters a cinch. The kit comes with wing nut studs that simply thread into the rear casing of the tweeters and hold a "C"-shaped piece of spring steel that clamps the tweeter into place on a panel. When installed, the wing nut protrudes a bit from the backside of the tweeter, adding to its depth and potentially making it difficult to install in some applications. The directions give some tips as to the mounting location and a hole-size template.
The other option provided is a somewhat large angle-mount housing for the tweeter. The PS165/1's don't come with a flat surface mount for some reason. It would be a great addition to this product if it did have one to help installations.
The crossover is thankfully small and well labeled for easy connection. Its sturdy construction and compact size will allow the crossover to be installed inside of door panels as well as inside the vehicle. Heck you'll be able to mount it anywhere you can fit it. If you think you'll need to adjust the tweeter level, you'll want to make sure that it has some accessibility before you do your final wrap-up.
Once the SEAS Lotus Performance Set PS165/1 was installed into my test enclosures, I moved it into my listening room and connected it up to an Alpine PDX2.150 amplifier receiving signal from an Alpine CDX-9885 head unit. I let the speakers play for the next 48 hours to fully break them in before starting my listening tests.
Listening: Folk
Tracy Chapman Heaven's Here On Earth
I was really excited to listen to these speakers. My past experiences with SEAS products had always been satisfying. I started with the title track of Tracy Chapman's Heaven's Here On Earth album. This track has a wonderful openness and mix of instruments. The opening 12 bars are all about setting the mood with an acoustic guitar, wood block, bass drum and tambourine. The latter had a nice shimmer, ring and individuality to it. It wasn't glassy or harsh, but smooth. The wood block had a nice hollow knock to it, but the PS165/1 didn't recreate the woody rich tones of the wood block as well as the much more expensive Alpine F#1's did a few years ago. The image stability of the PS165/1's was excellent, and the stage depth was on par with the best speakers I've tested. The acoustic guitar and the vocals were clear, not chesty or stuffy, while the string detail and fret noises were precise.
The drum kit was punchy on the toms and bass drum. The deep bass notes were well controlled and had great impact. SEAS didn't trade midbass punch for deep-bass performance - they got both. The toms were tight and well defined through the PS165/1's, and the skin tones on all of the drums in the kit had very good detail. The cymbals and triangle played out with nice shimmer, but the ring was a little truncated on its decay. The level and timbre however were perfect.
These SEAS speakers are extremely easy to listen to. You can get lost in their embrace, given how smooth and relaxing they are on the ears and mind.Score: 8/10
Rock
Switchfoot Beautiful Letdown
While listening to Switchfoot's rock album Beautiful Letdown, I was very impressed with the midwoofer low-frequency reproduction and power handling. The opening track, "This is Your Life," drops in a few kabooms in the first 15 seconds. The PS165/1's played back nicely with no complaints from the cone or suspension. The vocal reproduction was full and detailed with good breath sounds clearly audible. The tom drums kicked hard, beefy and taut. The electric guitars stayed pleasant and listenable even at high volumes. This remained true even when the "Wall of Sound" recording style was in-play on "Dare You to Move." I'm really starting to like the sound quality and ease of listening to the PS165/1's.Score: 7/10