Speaker Review - Lightning Audio Storm X1.65C
May 14, 2004
By Paul Sonoda
Created in 1992, Lightning Audio hit the car audio by storm with their revolutionary storage capacitors. Designed to enhance the power of amplifiers, Lightning Caps were the must have caps to have for maximum amplifier performance. Today, Lightning is a complete car audio line that along with capacitors includes amplifiers, subwoofers, wire and cable and now high-end component speakers. So, does the Lightning Audio Storm X1.65C component speaker system offer the same ground breaking performance as their capacitors? Read on.
First Look
The X1.65C is an industrial looking two-way component system with a 1 inch tweeter and 6.5 inch midrange. The system comes with two outboard crossovers using a 5.4 kHz crossover at 12 dB per octave. The 1 inch titanium dome tweeter uses a rubber surround and included a removable phase plug. The X1.65C includes smoked chrome hardware for flush mounting and surface mounting the tweeter. According to Lightning Audio, the 6.5 inch midrange uses a pure titanium cone and a cast aluminum basket.
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topCloser Look
First thing I noticed about was the unique cool styling of the midrange grilles. The grille consists of a three smoked chrome plastic supports that encapsulated a polished ring. While the grille will not protect from curious fingers, it should provide adequate protection from most potentially damaging situations. In the center of the midrange is a high-tech brushed aluminum phase plug with is supposed to maximize the smoothness of the midrange response. A synthetic rubber surround connects cone to the basket. According to Lightning Audio, the X1.65C midrange uses a pure titanium cone with rubber backing to control resonance. An oversized 1.5 inch voice coil ensures the high-power handling capabilities of the Lightning Audio X1.65C.
The slickest thing about the X1.65C is the crossovers. Their chassis are made from an aluminum extrusion and are topped with smoked Plexiglas. Pictures do not do this crossover justice. These babies ooze quality. Inside the crossovers is a 12dB per octave high-pass and low-pass crossovers for the tweeter and midrange respectively. The tweeter has a three position level control that allows you to attenuate the tweeter level up to 4dB. Also included is an optical protection system for the tweeter. The crossover also has the ability to be configured for single channel or bi-amp (separate amplifiers channels for the tweeter and midrange) operation.
Installation
The Lightning Audio X1.6 C installation went without a hitch. The midranges were mounted in the factory door location and the tweeters were mounted in the pillars of a 2002 Ford F150 Pickup Truck. Since the tweeter sounded much louder than the midrange, it was nice to be able to control them separately by bi-amping the system. The midranges were connected to about 150 watts, while the tweeters were connected to 45 watts of amplifier power of my multi-channel amplifier. For optimal performance, installation by an authorized Lightning Audio dealer is recommended.
Manuals/Web Support
The owner’s manual provided the basic information needed to install and configure the X1.65C. The manual had instructions for English, Spanish, Italian, German and French languages. The only problem I had with the owner’s manual was the bi-amp configuration. In the owner’s manual there was only one jumper indicated to switch. However, in the crossover, there were two jumpers. While it was an oversight, this could lead to potential amplifier damage if not done correctly. The website http://www.lightningaudio.com, was easy to navigate and looked great. I was able to quickly locate the X1.65C component speakers. There was also a robust technical section on the website where you could post questions and get answers as well as download an owner’s manual.
Sound Q & Performance
After tweaking the speaker polarity and crossover settings, the Lightning Audio X1.65C sounded powerful and controlled. When I first turned on the system, the bass response and high frequencies sounded excellent. However, the upper midrange sounded a little bit hollow. Letting the Lightning Audio X1.65C break in for a couple of hours seemed to smooth out the midrange response. Overall, the in-car frequency response was a respectable ±6dB window from 25Hz to 16 kHz. From 100Hz to 16 kHz, the X1.65C tightened its response to a +3dB, -6dB window. Sensitivity was a respectable 92dB at 1 watt from the driver’s seat. What was truly impressive was the strong midbass performance. Even at high power levels, the midbass sounded solid and effortless.
Summary
The Lightning Audio X1.65C component speaker system is a complete package of looks and performance. Pictures do not do the industrial cosmetics justice. To appreciate these component speakers, you need to see them up close and touch them. The combination of great looks, above average sensitivity and solid midbass makes the Lightning Audio X1.65C component speakers a good choice for the person who wants the speakers to sound as good as they look.
3
out of 5
4
out of 5
