26 replies to this topic

[mistrs]

Ok we all know that focals make some pretty crazy SQ speakers and i've been sucked in and am wanting to get a pair of their splits.

the range starts from polyglass 165Vs to polykevlars 165K or K2 and up to the utopias. duhh to those that already know..

Basically what i;m asking is which speakers are the best value for money?

i understand that the polyglass is priced around 450...estimating...the polykevlar 165K2 jumps to 850 and the utopias has a slight jump to around 1000?

yea basically asking u guys' opinion as to which has the best value for money as in...quality and power wise.

For e.g is the double in price from the polyglass (450) to the polykevlars 165K2 (850) justified?

Or the difference of 150 bucks from polykevlars to utopias worth it?

basically i can see the polykevlars to be in the middle of both ends and wanted to know if going in the middle is value for money rather than going either bottom or top end in this case..

hope havent confused anyone...thanks all for u opinions..

cheers!

[Tha Hombre]

Confusing

I'm sure you can get polyglass for a lot cheaper than $450 these days. Same goes for the Kevlars and Utopias.

Have a look at your own budget and then decide how much you're willing to spend. There's no point suggesting Utopia's when you're not even remotely able to purchase them.

In terms of value for money, i would personally either go for polyglass or Utopia's. Personally i don't think there's a 'massive' difference between the glass range and the kevlar and k2 range. They all use the same tn45 tweeter. My best mate runs the k2's and they sound mad, but he got them at a good price. The woofer used in the k2 range is very similar imo to the woofer in the Utopia series. If you're a bit more on a budget, perhaps consider getting the polyglass (at a good price) and then invest in some tn51 tweeters.

Hope it helps (or at least confuses you).

Dom

[subwayboy]

hey i would just have a listen there should be a difference between the speakers see if you can hear the difference and see if it is worth the price gap personaly i would think there wouldnt be much different between the two lower models and the middle model was only itroduced so that ppl who wanted the high end model but couldnt afford them would go with the midle model. But i dont know just my opinion and i understand that people wont agree with me but i think i would go with the bottom line and if u had the fund go the top of the range no reason for only going half way

[Shieldsy]

i have just recently done alot of listening to the focal range and purchased the polykevlar splits.. IMO there is a huge diff between the glass's and the polykevlars in sound.. the kevlars to me seem to be alot better in clarity where as the polyglass's seemed to be a little more lifeless.... u should have a listen to them b4 u can really form an opinion... when i first heard the 2 i prefered the glass's but after some more listening i decided the kevlars where a much better speaker.. they do share the same tweeter but have a diff crossover and midrange.. and they do sound alot diff to me.. if u have enough money for the utopias maybe look into getting some dyns... the polykevlars and glass's can be had for a pretty good price right now bcos there are going thru the process of new models so the older gear which can still be bought is going for a decent price

[John L]

I've got the Polykevlar 165K's with the Utopia TN51 tweeter - I know I'll be a bit biased - but that's what I believed to be the best value for money at the time I bought them.

Cost me low $600's - and couldn't be happier.

[ix]

whats so good about the TN51 tweeter?
what is it made of? metal inverted dome like the TN45?

and how much can they be had for?

also the effects of using the TN51 on the polyglass/polykevlar crossovers when they were designed for the TN51?
and vice versa where the TN51 was designed for the utopia crossovers..

[shiny_car]

Quote

Originally posted by mistrs:
Basically what i;m asking is which speakers are the best value for money?

your choice may be dependent on what other equipment you have. for example, the utopia's may become poor value if matched only with budget equipment, whereas i would not be matching the polykevlar's with high-end stuff (albeit nothing wrong with the 165K's, they're very, very good).

likewise, a quality installation would get the best from utopia's, and anything lesser may not justify their investment.

having heard kevlar's and utopia's, i like both. their SQ may be slightly different, but both highly listenable and engaging.

[[stealth]]

Hmm.. looks like the 165V's or the 165Ks

Whats the price roughly on them each?

[Shieldsy]

u say u got the tn 51 tweet with the kevlars hey? how does that change the sound... a big diff..? much better??... i wouldn't mind looking into something like that

[ May 01, 2003, 00:43: Message edited by: shieldsy ]

[shiny_car]

Quote

Originally posted by df3ktd:
Hmm.. looks like the 165V's or the 165Ks    

Whats the price roughly on them each?

the polykevlar 165K's have more recently be advertised for $499, so streetprice may be even slightly better.

the polyglass 165V's from memory should cost under $400.

[Jetstream]

But zoom out from the purchase now and think of a few months ahead. Will you be cursing you didnt wait that extra few weeks to get the Utopias?
If so, wait because chopping and changing speakers is the worst value. As they say "buy the stuff right the first time."

Also with car audio the benefits in a $/gain way are not linear. By this I mean the difference between a $200 speaker to a $400 speaker are noticable. However the difference between a $1000 and $2000 speaker would not be as noticable.

[[stealth]]

Gonna have to get me a set of these Focals then =)

[ May 02, 2003, 20:22: Message edited by: df3ktd ]

[i_am_maximo]

Looks like I will be joining you in that purchase there dfktd..

[[stealth]]

Good to hear

[mick007]

Value for money would see the polyglass come across the line first place. BUT if your driving down the road after 2-3 months and relise that the bass responce and or tweets arn't as clear as you would like then really you gave wasted the 400 bucks and should have gone the utopia's. When coosing goods go for what you want the product to do and you can't go wrong. If you can't hear the difference b/w the utop's and the glass then buy the glass and save your bucks.
Good luck
Mick