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Mike Strode HD-63DT
TEST REPORT
October 10, 2000
The CDT HD63DT is a two-way system that incorporates a metal bracket along the frame of the mid, and looks similar to a coaxial speaker, thus the term
'braxial'. The metal brackets provide for a positioning of the Tweeter in front of the woofer, and at a 20-degree angle, to be angled any direction
of preference along the woofer's frame. By positioning the mid and tweet in
this manner, the sound is able to maintain its' centrality of integration,
and the transition of mid to tweet is seamless.
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Braxial
Series HD-63
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On top of that, the Tweeter's angle provides for a soundstage that is to be discussed right now. Before receiving the braxials, I was using the HD62DT's in a panel
based two-way setup, with the Tweeter located properly next to the mid, and at
an angle. My impressions of this setup were very high. I was astounded by
the staging, resolution, and overall comfort of listening to a speaker
that displays the best of both worlds (both relaxed and forward leaning). I compared my two-way separate system and the braxial concurrently.
The first thing I noticed was the imaging was nearly headphone-like. The
staging was well represented by instruments properly heard from their respected places. The soundstage was high and very spacious. Overall, I have never heard a two-way speaker system image like these braxials did. With the use of a Tube Driver- the ultimate soundstage amplifier in my opinion- the stage would be breathtaking. I tested these speakers with various listening material, ranging from punk and metal, to classical and electronic. There was nothing these speakers could not render, doing so with astoundingly accurate resolution. On the low end, there is plenty of midbass to be had. I have actually heard complaints that these speakers lack midbass. This is entirely subjective, but when speaking strictly in terms of a hard-hitting midbass driver, these things pound. They do not get down as low as some may like in a front stage driver but for a 6.5" driver these speakers will compete with the others in their grouping and outperform most in the area of midbass. I played these speakers at ear breaking levels with a high-pass point of 63 Hz. But for my preference of listening I put the CDT's on an 80 Hz electronic high-pass filter and had them cranking at skull bending levels with no distortion and with 150 clean a/d/s/ watts going to them. So if power handling is a concern, these speakers pass this test as well. On the upper end, these speakers are simply phenomenal, displaying tonality that is neither too bright nor too mellow. The midrange is very smooth, and similarly smooth to the Focal 165K2's I auditioned. The highs are sharp, precise, crisp, and pleasant to listen to. Most importantly, the highs do not drown out the midrange. The braxial integration makes for a quick, detailed, warm, and accurate depiction of any kind of music. Overall, these speakers are not fatiguing, which make them great for any listener. I am a fan of distorted guitar and music that incorporates forms of distortion. Music of this sort can damage speakers that cannot stand tall to it. I have had this problem with just about all of my speakers in past time while listening to Pantera's "Vulgar Display of Power." Though some could output the high end, they could not output both midbass, midrange, and treble in a demanding way. When I put this CD in the CDT's seemed to ask me to keep cranking the volume.
The CDT's stood tall and were able to take Diamond Darrell's heavy riffs
like no other speaker I had had in my car prior.
I have struggled time and time again to attain solid imaging and clarity in my Camry. The CDT's are the nicest speaker system I have experienced to
date. The CDT's have a fantastic price to performance ratio. Although CDT
is sometimes referred to as a mid-fi speaker, I would place them in the
hi-fi class of personal choice speakers including Illusion Audio, Focal,
a/d/s/, Eton, and quite possibly Dynaudio. It all comes down to personal
taste, but these speakers are certainly amongst the best and worth a try.
Mike Strode
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