Speakers are, by a long way, the most important part of any audio system. The team at Rockford Fosgate offers speakers in three different performance and price levels – Prime, Punch and Power Series. The Punch series has been redesigned to offer consumers three levels of application solutions. The P1 drivers are coaxial designs. The P2 speaker sets are component speakers that can be converted to coaxial by mounting the tweeter in place of the phase plug. The P3 speakers, like the P3V2-65 set we have in the lab, are three-way component solutions with woofers, midrange drivers and tweeters. The big question is, do the latest “V2” generation of speakers live up to the rich legacy of the PUNCH name that made them famous? Let’s check them out!
Rockford Fosgate Punch P3 Speakers
The P3V2-65 set we’ll be inspecting includes a pair of 6.5-inch woofers, 2.5-inch midrange drivers and a pair of 0.75-inch tweeters. The kit also includes passive crossover networks, wire pigtails, zip ties and mounting screws. If you need them, optional grilles for the woofers and midrange drivers are available.
Before we dive into the specific features of the P3V2-65 set, we should mention that the P3 series also includes three 6×9-based sets. The P3V2-69 replaces the 6.5-inch woofers with 6×9 woofers and includes the same 2.5-inch midrange speakers and 19mm tweeters. The P3V2-69C2 set includes a pair of 2.5-inch coaxial speakers for your vehicle’s dash or doors. Finally, the P3V2-69C3 set includes a pair of 3-inch coaxial speakers. If you want to upgrade a P2V2 system up to a P3V2, then simply add the 2.5-inch midrange drivers, as they are available on their own as the P3V2-25 set. These are also great for a center channel application.
Speaker System Specifications and Woofer Features
By way of specifications, the P3V2-65 set is rated to handle 75 watts of power continuously with a peak power handling of 150 watts. The system has a nominal impedance of four ohms. Sensitivity is 87 dB SPL at 1W/1M. The manufacturer’s warranty against defects is two years.
The woofers in the P3V2-65 set are similar to what you’d see in the P2V2-65 components, but have a full dust cap instead of a removable pole piece for the tweeter. The dust cap effectively increases cone area, allowing you to get the most output possible. Speaking of output, a highlight of the 6.5-inch woofers is the implementation of the VAST 2.0 surround geometry. Rather than have the rubber surround attach to the top edge of the mounting flange, the Vertical Attach Surround Technique (VAST) 2.0 design has the outer edge of the surround attached vertically to the inside of the basket’s upper edge.
Why does this matter? The benefit of VAST is an increase in effective cone area. We measure the effective surface area of the P3V2-65 woofer as being about 139 square centimeters. That’s a significant increase over competing products that fit into the same mounting location, around 25% more cone area compared to an equivalent speaker size. The result is more output per watt and better bass reproduction.
The woofer is based on an injection-molded PA66 glass-fiber reinforced basket. Significant effort went into designing the basket to make it compatible with a wide variety of mounting options. The mounting depth is 2.5 inches, but it can be reduced to 2.26 inches by removing the magnet cover.
Rather than straight spokes, the base of the basket is attached to the upper edge with a hexagonal pattern that helps to dampen the chassis and ensure rigidity. The woofer cone is made of mica-reinforced, injection-molded polypropylene. The mica mineral improves thermal stability and damping. The cone has a hybrid “curvilinear” shape to further increase strength, while reducing distortion at the same time.
The afore-mentioned surround is made from Santoprene rubber to ensure decades of reliable performance without succumbing to stiffening at lower temperatures. The surround is injection molded onto the cone to ensure the two will never separate. At the base of the cone is a Nomex spider. The tinsel leads from the terminals integrated into the basket are sewn to the spider to prevent them from bumping into the cone at high excursion levels. The voice coil has a diameter of 1.25 inches, which helps dissipate heat efficiently. Speaking of heat dissipation, there are six small vents in the bottom plate that allow hot air to escape from the motor assembly’s core.
Midrange Speaker Features
The midrange drivers included in the kit are nominally 2.5 inches in size, making them compatible with many vehicles. The mids are based on a glass-fiber-reinforced, injection-molded polypropylene basket. The surface area of the tiny driver is optimized by VAST 2.0 surround geometry. Once again, the surround is made from Santoprene rubber for maximum reliability.
Rockford Fosgate includes a steel mounting adapter ring that the midrange speaker locks into. The adapter ring, called the Factory Location Woofer Ring (F.L.W.R.), includes 8 tabs. Your installer can easily remove the tabs that aren’t required for your installation, then use the remaining tabs to install the speaker quickly and efficiently. Be certain to test-fit your installation prior to breaking the unused tabs.
Tweeter Features
The tweeters included in the P3V2-65 set are based on an inverted Tetolon textile dome with a nominal diameter of 0.75 inches (19mm). The tweeter uses a small neodymium magnet to deliver good efficiency from a compact design.
Rockford Fosgate is generous with mounting options. A set of flush-mount cups with mesh grilles is included for classy installations. Compact terminal cups are also included for OEM tweeter replacement applications. The system uses the same bayonet mount as the P2V2 drivers, and a tool is included to remove the driver from the cups.
Passive Crossover Networks
Rockford Fosgate calls the modular design of the crossovers the Multi Configuration Crossover Chassis (M.C.3.). This design allows your installer to group all the dedicated networks for the woofer, midrange and tweeter together if all three were installed in a door, or separate them when the mid is in the dash, and the tweeter is in the A-Pillar. Ultimately, it’s a great feature for installation flexibility and will save a lot of time compared to running wires from a single-chassis filter network.
The woofer crossover has a low-pass filter at 1.2 kHz with a 6 dB/octave slope. The midrange network provides bandpass filtering at 600 Hz and 6 kHz with a 6 dB/octave slope. Finally, the tweeter is filtered at 9 kHz with a 12 dB/octave alignment. The tweeter crossover has 0 or -3dB settings to let your installer fine-tune the top end to suit your listening style.
If you want to power the kit actively, we’d suggest filtering between the woofer and midrange at 450 Hz with a fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley alignment. Filtering between the midrange and the tweeter should be at 6 kHz, with the same 24 dB/octave LR alignment. This will provide maximum protection for the drivers and let you really crank them!
Speaker System Measurements
As usual, we began the system analysis by measuring each driver’s Thiele-Small parameters with the Smith & Larson Woofer Tester 2. The specs look right on par with a well-designed speaker system. The woofer’s resonant frequency was measured at 61 Hz, just a few hertz below the 65 Hz specification in the owner’s manual. The Qts value isn’t too high, coming in at 0.79. This should ensure the bass is well controlled while adding a little bump to make the system more fun.
The midrange resonant frequency measured at 310 Hz, which is higher than the specified 180 Hz from the manual. With that said, sensitivity was also higher at 83.5 dB SPL 1W/1M compared to the specified 82 dB. None of this is earth-shattering considering after normal usage, the parameters will “break-in” accordingly.
Auditioning the Rockford Fosgate P3V2-65
Setting up a three-way speaker system in the lab is definitely a lot more work than a coaxial or two-way kit. We mounted the woofer in our 2.6-cubic-foot test enclosures, and the 2.5 midrange is installed on a custom-cut plate attached to the face of a small 6×9 speaker enclosure. The tweeter was placed between the two, flush with the front of both.
Wanting to get right to the meat and potatoes of how the system sounded, I started with Rebecca Pigeon’s Spanish Harlem. No, this track isn’t ‘fun’ per se. No, you guys aren’t likely to be listening to it while out for a cruise. However, it’s one of the best tracks to pick out resonances or dips in the midrange. I dropped the tweeter input to the -3 dB after a few seconds, then restarted.
I was immediately impressed. The midrange was smooth and natural. There is a little bit of forwardness to the upper end of her range, but it’s more of a tuning style to the kit than a complaint. If you have subwoofers that you are trying to keep up with, this balance will be perfect.
Next up was Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm. Here I was listening to the percussion, which was rendered with good control and clarity. Again, the vocal was forward in the mix, but not bright or harsh. I heard a similar balance on Brian Wilson by the Barenaked Ladies. Steve Page’s voice was the focus of the presentation, but the bass and percussion will blend nicely. In a car with some natural bass boost, this would be silky smooth.
The last track was another go-to, Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde. The humming, another tough challenge for a speaker system, was rendered clearly with no unwanted emphasis on any note. Great! Just great!
My personal preference for system balance is a bit darker, with a less pronounced midrange. However, that requires more effort from the midbass driver to bring the presentation together and can limit all but the most magnificent of woofer designs. Do I like the way the Rockford Fosgate P3V2-65 set sounds? Absolutely. Given the target audience, who want bang-for-the-buck output and clarity, they have hit the nail on the head!
Conclusions on the Rockford Fosgate P3V2-65 Three-Way Speaker System
Rockford Fosgate hadn’t changed the Punch speaker offerings for MANY years. In fact, they occasionally take some heat online for having designs that stand the test of time. As such, coming up with something new is a tough challenge from an installation and performance standpoint. In fact, it’s a scary proposition for all but the most experienced transducer engineers.
As I said, these are a home run in every regard. The P3V2-65 covers all the top installation challenges with products designed to fit easily into vehicles. Behind-the-scenes engineering directly translates into great, audible performance benefits. Finally, the quality and attention to detail are there. From subtle touches like a pre-installed foam gasket on the woofer mounting surface to the classy little Rockford Fosgate Diamond-R logo on the tweeter grille – you know this isn’t something the company bought overseas and slapped their name on.
If you are looking for a great-sounding three-way speaker system for your car or truck, drop into a local authorized Rockford Fosgate retailer and ask about the P3V2-65 kit and its 6×9-inch brethren. We know you’ll be impressed. Back to our original question… do the new “V2” speakers honor the PUNCH legacy? Yes, I would say they absolutely deliver the performance, durability, and attitude that defined PUNCH from the start, just designed to fit today’s modern vehicles.
To find an authorized dealer near you, use the locator tool on the Rockford Fosgate website. As always, follow our friends from Tempe on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay up to date on all the events they attend, the vehicles their dealers build, and the amazing product releases they have planned. We know there is more cool stuff coming down the pipe!
