MB Quart offers up a solid 5x7 replacement speaker with a kick.

The DKD 157s are two-way coaxial speaker system comprised of 0.5-inch tweeters and 5x7-inch midrange drivers. The mids feature injection-molded polypropylene cones with rubber surrounds and are housed in a stamped basket. Each tweeter is mounted on a stalk that protrudes from the center of the 5x7, and their dome-shaped diaphragms are constructed from titanium.

Subjective
I’ll have to admit, I am not the typical 5x7 buyer. I would passively listen for years to a nearly blown stock speaker rather than go to the trouble of putting a replacement in the same horrible location. If an audio system doesn’t image and stage properly, I have a hard time moving on to what it sounds like spectrally. This is primarily due to the fact that fixing the imaging and staging problems will likely affect spectral balance - it’s one of those putting the cart in front of the horse situations.

Many people don’t operate this way though; they want even spectral balance and could care less about imaging and staging. The problem here is that a great sounding speaker in a bad location makes for wacky spectral response and, in my opinion, an overall bad sounding system. Many speaker manufacturers have attempted to overcome this scenario by tailoring the response of their speakers so that they “work” spectrally in stock speaker locations. I have a feeling that the DKD 157 falls into this category.

This would probably explain why I wasn’t particularly fond of the sound of these systems during their initial audition in our listening room. They exhibited an upper midrange emphasis and a rather limited amount of midbass output - these factors combined to create a system whose overall character was a bit harsh for my taste.

We’ve often argued that given the wide variation in stock speaker locations and interior size/shape, the tailored approach is a lot like trying to force that famous glass slipper onto every crusty foot in the kingdom. However, the fact that lots of people are looking for decent spectral balance on a budget means that this approach is bound to be taken.

Given the above situation, I decided to try the DKD 157s in a configuration that more closely resembles their intended use. Sure enough, mounting the systems close to a large boundary improves their bottom end, and listening anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees off axis really smoothes up that midrange.

So, what’s the overall consensus? If you want the DKD 157s to image and stage properly, then you’ll need something like a kick pod installation, but they will probably require a bit EQ to straighten out the midrange. Otherwise, if your looking for a set of 5x7 replacement speakers for your ride, put these puppies at the top your list.

Objective
Impedance measurements for the DKD 157 show a maximum of 16 ohms at 93 Hz and a minimum of 3.8 ohms at 20 kHz. Average impedance between 100 Hz and 20 kHz measured 5.7 ohms. One watt at one-meter sensitivity averaged 90.7 dB with 200 Hz to 5 kHz band-limited pink noise. Both RTA and semi-anechoic measurements show a response window of about 14 dB over the majority of the systems usable range. The increased resolution of the semi-anechoic measurement shows the systems response in greater detail and is characterized by a rise of about 7 dB at approximately 6 kHz, followed by a sharp dip of about 7 dB centered at 10 kHz.

Price & Contact: $149; 508-668-8973, www.mbquart.com.