4 replies to this topic

[dcstraight]

Hi All,

Last Friday night, I was at the Freeway Car Audio sale in Dandenong - I was talking toe the Focal guy there for a bit on behalf of a mate - anywho, I was a bit out of the scene for a bit and came across a set of 2 way Poly Kevs with a new TN52 tweeter - the rep was telling me that they're not as bright as the TN51's...something that immediately got my attention from being dead set on trying out a pair of Boston Pro 6.5's.

I was also told that in the new Focal lineup - they're looking at a twin 6" woofer, 4" mid, previously mentioned TN52 tweeter and a monster 4 way crossover for around the AUD $1500 mark...I must admit my criticism of my old 165w3's was the TN51 brightness. Anyway, this new set is also not in the Utopia range...apparently they're going to make up the Poly Kevlar lineup.

If Focal had a suggestion box, I would have wanted a revised TN51...which is what they have apparently done with a TN52 (I'm sure they've been around for a bit...I just haven't heard them!)...and hey, another 6" midbass driver all engineered / tuned to run from what I am lead to believe, an awesome crossover sounds like music to my ears! (excuse the pun). It all looks the goods on paper...but I can tell you now, I am thinking of dropping the 6.5 pros for some of these new whizz bang Focals if / when they come out.

Speaking of which - has anyone else heard anything like this ? As I said, I've been a bit out of touch on the scene lately...so I'm unsure if I'm regurgiating old news on the scene ?? Keen to hear other people's thoughts and possible experiences with the TN52 tweet

Thanks & Cheers,
Steve

[BlackRain]

The Focal K2P's..
(K2 Power).

Yes they have a new TN52 tweeter.
Yes there is a 3 way set with 2 6" drivers and the TN52 tweeter on each side.

No they're not all they're cracked up to be...IMO anyway. I think the Utopia's still have a nicer tone to them that I prefer.

[dcstraight]

Hiya Blackrain,

Thanks for that - yeah you've mentioned something that was lingering in the back of my mind since last Friday....if they're so good - why didn't they do that in Utopia spec *shrugs*.

As much as I wanted to go Boston Pro 6.5's...going back to 165W3's is also tempting...I just don't know - I guess I will have to demo a TN52 tweet sometime.

Cheers,
Steve

[honour77]

well i had 2 listening experiences with the TN51.

One was on a demo board with utopia 2 ways playing directly in front of me, on axis.

The second was in mr_bob's competition winning car. It was kickpanel mounted, and very off axis(firing across, so almost 90 degrees)

In the first experience, i hated it. I thought it sounded harsh and brittle. In my mind i was thinking, geez this is an awful tweeter, no wonder people say its bright.

In the second, it was totally different. It sounded very detailed with no sibilance or harshness. Totally changed my impression of the tweet.

My conclusion? Its all install dependent i am the type of guy who loves a more mellow sound from his tweets(i use morel tweets if thats any indication) and even with such tastes, the TN51 set up right matched my tastes very well. Just put the tweeter deep, turn it off axis to take the harshness out of the top end, and you do have a very impressive tweeter with the TN51!

What i really love about it is the fact that it performs so well off axis because of its top end extension(probably because of its metal dome?). My soft domes would never work well turned sidways in the kicks like that. The tweet might not work half as well on axis or up in the dash though...you'd have to ask mr bob about that one hehe

Now i cant wait to hear the TN52. I heard its a lot less harsh than the 51.

[dcstraight]

Funnily enough I had the TN51's running off axis...I didn't want to encounter phase / delay or separation problems as I wanted to keep it as simple as possible to avoid encountering further complications (well 3 ways at the time were complicated enough with the install!).

The Focal rep I spoke to also mentioned the same thing - "play around with the tweeter, use the passive crossover adjustment and try mounting off axis etc" - I didn't think that was the best answer to the TN51, however there's obviously only so much you can do, short of changing tweeters (which I wasn't prepared to do).

Thanks for the feedback though - I hope to jump back on the Focal band-wagon once I've heard some TN52's !

Thanks & Cheers,
Steve