wrapped around an aluminum former.
Using such a large coil format means that
the ferrite magnets actually reside on the
interior to save space. Morel also uses their
unique C.A.R filter (Controlled Acoustic
Resistance), which is an acoustic material
located to the inside of the magnetic rings
(and behind the dust cap) and is said to
improve acoustical accuracy and provide
greater cone control in infinite baffle envi-
ronments (i.e., the doors of your car).
The woofer cone is made of a compos-
ite cellulose fiber that is paper based. It
has a nice metallic look to it and a match-
ing dome dust cap of a different material.
Morel uses an NBR rubber for the sur-
round with additional compliance handled
by a poly/cotton spider.
High frequencies for this set are han-
dled by Morel’s MT-12 Acuflex-coated soft
dome tweeter. This compact driver uses a
neodymium magnet and a large 28mm
(1.1”) voice coil that is said to allow for a
wide frequency response and lower reso-
nance point. The driver is situated in a
plastic housing that incorporates a perma-
nent phase alignment plug sitting above
the dome, the latter also acts handily as a
grille. The tweeter’s plastic housing press-
fits into different mounting options, two of
which are surface mount and one, flush
mount. If additional protection is desired, a
mesh grille is also provided that simply
press-fits into a small gap around the driv-
er in any of the three mounting options.
Overall, it’s an impressive design with
thoughtful engineering behind it.
MANUAL
The manual is a 4-page affair that uses a
single sheet of paper folded in half. Words
are few, but the pictures are detailed and
plentiful. Just about every application sce-
nario is covered for mounting the woofers
and tweeters, connecting the system with or
without an amplifier, and tweeter attenuation
instructions for the crossover, complete with
graph. The back page includes an entire list
of parameters for each individual Dotech
Ovation speaker model and even crossover
specifications. Unfortunately no warranty
information included, but a call to Morel’s
U.S. headquarters informed me that it is
three years, dealer installed, and one year,
consumer installed.
SETUP
As I mentioned earlier, the Dotech
Ovation 6 is a typical 2-way set. In order to
properly fit the components, I made new
baffles for my well-damped, 2.25ft
3
test
enclosures. The manual thoughtfully pro-
vides cutout dimensions for both the
woofer and the tweeter (flush mount), so
the new baffles were a snap. I mounted
each pair of drivers within an inch of each
other, with the tweeter above the woofer.
Supplying the amplified signal to this
component system, I wired up an Alpine
CDA-9857 head unit directly to a TRU
Technology C-7 amplifier (conservatively
rated at 125 watts x 4). Channel A was
used for the left components and channel
C for the right, providing ample headroom
while limiting crosstalk. The channels were
level-matched within 0.05 volts. No addi-
tion crossovers or processing were used.
I finished up my setup with some basic
listening to determine the best position for
the test cabinets, verify phase and to
adjust the passive crossovers accordingly.
Yielding the best results, I ended up with
the enclosures nearly on-axis in a close
proximity of my seating position and the
tweeter attenuation circuit of the
crossovers set to –3dB. You read that cor-
rectly, –3dB. One would naturally think that
the 0dB setting would be the proper
match, but the midranges were a little
tame by comparison to the tweeters at
that level. The lower setting proved to be
an excellent compromise to get that
desired linear response.
REVIEW
COMPONENTS
