Hertz Mille MLK 2 TW Component Speakers

12th October 2012 Adam Rayner

Product Details
Manufacturer: Hertz (Elettromedia)
Distributor: FOUR
Website: link
Typical Selling price: £689.99
Description
From the very top line of Hertz’ automotive loudspeakers. We have a two way system comprising an ML 1600 165mm woofer, with an ML 280 28mm tweeter and MLCX 2 TW passive crossover system. There is also an ML 700 70mm midrange in the line up and other passive systems such that you can specify these speakers as a smaller two way system, a three way system, or as a mighty two-midwoofers and mid plus HF array. This set up is the MLK 2 TW and offers a passive system of 6.5in and 28mm tweeter that has three attenuation steps for the high frequencies in 2dB steps by internal switching.
The components all look very well made indeed with top end materials and finish. This set oozes ‘˜quality’ to look at and so it should, as at its peak, this was a one thousand pound speaker system. It is only the ailing Euro that keeps the price at the level we see here (Oct 2012).
Specifications
– 2-way Component System
– 165mm V Cone Woofer
– 28mm Tetolon® Dome Tweeter
– Frequency Response 40Hz to 25kHz
– Sensitivity 93dB/1W/1m
– 2-way Passive Crossover LO/HI PASS (2.5kHz @18dB per Oct)
Size ML 1600 Woofer 165mm (6.5 in)
Size ML 280 Tweeter 28 (1 1/8in)
Size MLCX 2 TW Crossover 150 x 283 x 435mm
Pwr Hndlg 150wRMS, 300W Peak
Impedance 4 Ohms
Comp. adjst Tweeter +2dB; 0; -2dB
Outer Ã˜ Woofer 167mm
Outer Ã˜ Tweeter 54mm
Mounting Ã˜ Woofer 144mm
Mounting Ã˜ Tweeter 48mm
Total depth Woofer 85mm
Total depth Tweeter 27mm
Mount. Depth Woofer 75mm
Mount. Depth Tweeter 12.5mm
Weight: Woofer 1.24kg
Weight: Tweeter 0.11kg
Weight: Crossover 0.89kg
Voice Coil Ã˜ Woofer 36mm
Voice Coil Ã˜ Tweeter 28mm
ML 280
1. Tetolon® Fibre dome features a hemispheric-hyperbolic profile, for maximum rigidity and linear frequency response.
2. The magnetic motor assembly is optimised through the use of FEM (Finite Element Method) instruments. The use of a double REN® Neodymium magnet generates extraordinary energy, for extremely high performance.
3. The pure copper shorting ring creates an anti-inductive effect, ensuring linear impedance. The CCAW (Copper Coated Aluminium Wire) voice coil is wound on an aluminium former, making this mobile group especially light, yet rigid.
4. Decompression and venting ducts provide thermal dissipation, prevent compression from forming under the dome, optimise the damping factor and control resonance.
5. The main structure and the rear acoustic chamber are CNC machined from a solid aluminium block, creating an absolutely inert chassis.

ML 700
1. The pressed-pulp cone is enriched with cotton fibres impregnated with water-repellent material. With the absence of the traditional dustcap, the exponential profile generates an outstanding dispersion pattern.
2. The central pole piece is covered with a pure copper sleeve. This combined with its 20mm CCAW double layer voice coil wound on a Kapton® former provides a linear impedance.
3. The motor assembly is centred upon a uniquely sized REN® Neodymium ring.
4. Anti-resonant aluminium alloy basket; the unique low incidence spokes offer minimum resistance to rear wave emissions.
5. Nomex® spider with integrated lead wires.
6. The butyl rubber cover protects the magnet and contributes to the reduction of unwanted resonances and residual vibrations.

MLCX 2 TM
1. The highest quality components are mounted to a FR 2 Printed Circuit Board with very thick traces required for high power handling.
2. The Rubber Touch crossover case features a passive cooling system and hidden mounts for practical and impressive installations.
3. Three position level control, in 2dB steps, for tweeter attenuation. This provides the ability to adjust the emission level to one’s own tastes.

Editor Review : Hertz Mille MLK 2 TW Component Speakers
First, I must purge my soul with apology and confession. These were brought to me for review some time ago, along with other kit and the bloke who brought them thought they might get delayed before they got through the review mill and was right. I should have had these out some time ago, especially as they were supplied to me beautifully boxed in neat enclosures with their passives mounted to the rear. Fact is, there has been some time before I had in my hands an amplifier I felt worthy to the cause to test them upon.
The Alpine amp I had been using to review some other components was really good for stuff up to a couple of hundred quid or so and I had sadly returned the PDX amplifier, also from Alpine. Incidentally, their PDX series is still a hugely under-rated line of ridiculous sound quality by the way and so I would have happily tried these exotic speakers on one of them. But I recently got my mitts on another line reborn after being away a decade. Soundstream and in particular, their ‘˜Reference’ amps that were once advertised as being ‘˜Ear Candy’. Any of you old enough to recall their ads? They showed amps under heaps of USA style candy balls. They have a distinctive through-chassis screw system that only works with engineering screwdrivers as woodworking ones are too fat-shafted! (bit like me, really..) The internal plastic armour of these screw connectors give the amp a distinctive look. Anyway, I had a Soundstream Reference 4.400 four channel amplifier and I hooked it up to play just two of the channels. I could have bridged it but that would have been a bit hooliganistic and I can tell you that as an efficient set, they played with plenty of dynamism, snap and attack on the mere hundred or so watts this amp puts out per corner.
They were played with internal memory files from a trusty high end Kenwood head unit, then good old CD and that was hearably better. I used the ancient and hackneyed audiophile disk and odd, nay bizarre but true, found myself frugging around on the landing, eyes closed, off with the cool jazzers during ‘˜Whaheeda’.
These speakers are just beautiful.
Revealing and detailed with a fabulous rich, deep midband purity and a superb ability to retrieve detail. You can hear just how classy the HFs are.
Of course Hertz too, voice their tweeters a bit strident and then add a series of resistors you can flick a switch to attenuate the output with a bit, for taste and/or installation issues. Trouble is, there can be no +2dB setting. That can ONLY be the ‘˜unattenuated’ setting. And in that case has no resistors in line. And I can ALWAYS hear that damn first resistor, even if the sound is a bit bloody hard and brisk of high frequencies without that attenuator set at least to the putative 0dB setting. Think of a fine Calcite crystal, gleaming and perfect, with a point you could pierce an ovum with. The smallest impact takes this point off and it then looks sad. The finest audio details are slowed a little through the last resistor. All that godly effort at Soundstream to make ear candy reference (and it bloody does!) and all that breath taking R&D for the transducers is somehow taken the piss out of slightly for me in that passive adjustable tweeter thing. I do so wish makers would dare to not wind their automotive tweeter voice coils to have that slightly lower resistance and thus spank a little harder, in the first place.
And those who argue that all my power supplies and indoors test stuff is just ‘˜Bench’ and so doesn’t count, I can only remind you that any user worth his salt will be A-Pillar on-axis mounting these tweeterswhich is why that small ML 700 three inch is also madeaaah! And so will be listening on-axis, just as I was.
That slight issue aside, I was immediately away with the faeries. Not just listening to more detail AGAIN than I had ever had retrieved from this disk (which is bloody mad, when you think how often I have played this.) but immediately comparing internally to top end home HiFi. After all, seven hundred odd quid can get you a full surround system on mid price speakers or maybe a set of lovely top end speakers like the ones we gave Tim Reeves: link
So, I found myself thinking about the voicing of High End UK audio versus that of the Germans, of whom, Teufel make some really good speakers. I heard their most lauded stereo offering at huge cost, yet superb detail. The ‘˜voicing’ was a little brighter than the sweetness the UK ear seems to prefer. Likewise, the USA audiophile likes a bit more aggression and an Italian ear seems to demand a perfection of high frequencies. And these are so good, that you find yourself, if being as analytical as me, thinking about lofty stuff such as national preferences in audiophillia. This is mad for a simple set of car speakers. And while it is also a raving not-that-deep-between-the-lines excellent review for both the headunit and the fabulously clean and potent Soundstream Reference 4.400 amplifier as well, it is also a fine accolade for the speakers.
I won’t go off into one analysing all the engineering apart from to say that those tweeters really are special. But just let you know that if you are thinking of going ALL the way towards getting something truly excellent for the sounds in your car for your own selfish pleasure or for competition’s sakes, then these must be really high on your list of possibles. Up there with Morel, ODR and DLS top end.
And you can quote me!
In a Nutshell
A very highly evolved set of true performance car speakers, easily able to compete with the finest from any other maker for SQ, definition, clarity, speed, impact and melodic detail.
Overall 9.0
Sound Quality 10
Build Quality 10
Power Handling 9
Efficiency 8
Value For Money 8
Easily Talk Audio Recommended on points

And as a new flag we realised we needed for those few top end items that WON’T score Top Trumps VFM numbers, nor even necessarily ‘˜pretty’ points but sound awesome, these are definitely of Reference status, fit for use in competition or to sell to musicians!