9 replies to this topic

[Big_Valven]

Focal have been around for some time now, as have their polyglass range, but we don't hear about them often. Perhaps it's because the enthusiasts go with the higher ranges, and Focal's K2 Power range (above polyglass) comes with less than amazing reviews. Honestly, I've found the K2 range much as most people do - solid upper midbass, relatively smooth mids, but harsh treble, lacking real extension.

The 165VR set sits at the top of the polyglass range at $529 RRP. Considering the only major differences from many members of the K2 range are the cone and tweeter materials, we can work out that they have some good underpinning components.

The makeup is pretty textbook; cast frames, large ferrite magnets and rubber roll surrounds. The build quality is standout - no glue drips, misaligned parts or marks, anywhere. Anyone moving up from mainstream brands will be impressed. And my favourite part... solid machined phase plugs. Don't presume the cones to be anything special though; they seem to be simply paper with a surface finish on the front. They aren't actually that rigid, especially from behind, but their deep cone shape helps with strength considering it's pushed by the voice coil in the centre.

The tweeters are pretty trademark focal, with magnesium inverted domes. One thing that impresses me is the solid terminals, with fairly heavy wiring soldered on (heavy for a tweeter anyway, probably 18 gauge.) I've seen too many wires break off tweeters with terminals too thin to re-attach, I don't think these will suffer the same fate. One weakness I see is that there are only the choice of flush mounts, or angled surface mounts, there are no adjustable options.

I suppose the last thing on the list is the crossover. They're reasonably simple but quite configurable. +2, 0, -2 dB tweeter configuration, and 6 / 12dB selectable slope.

Keep in mind that despite screws, tweeter screws, tweeter brackets, gaskets etc, there is no speaker wire included in the kit!

The pair went into the stock locations in a VE SS ute, powered from a Kenwood 2x 170 watts @ 4 ohm 2 channel amplifier, from the high level inputs, connected to the factory unit's speaker outputs. Doors were fully dynamatted and the speakers were installed on solid spacers. The tweeters were in stock locations aimed straight up, mainly as an experiment, but they ended up sounding good that way.

Now for the sound. I tried these initially from the deck even though the amplifier was installed ready to go, mainly because they push these as efficient speakers, suitable for use from the headunit, and I wanted to test their claims. Having since run them from the amplifier, and more than ample power at that, the headunit option doesn't excite me... the dynamics were pretty bad and detail was sadly lacking. Bass was no better than the factory speakers. I had been told in the past that Focals generally like a bootful of power and this pair is no exception.

After connecting them to the amplifier I got the sound I was expecting. These were being used without any other components or subwoofers, so fullrange performance is important. My immediate action was to switch the tweeter level from -2 to +2 dB, as the tweeters were far nicer to listen to than I expected, and than the older K2 tweeters. Extension is great and even though they're crossed fairly low they handle it nice and cleanly. I think they retract a little at high volumes compared to the mids, but they keep their composure well.

The mids were the reason I wrote this review though. They are very heavily damped mechanically which is always a good design for "IB" (door) use, but their frequency range had me worried a little, being quoted from 80Hz up. I initially had a high-pass filter set up but the Kenwood amplifier only goes down to 50Hz which I didn't feel was low enough at 12dB/octave, so I removed it, and this is when I got my pleasant surprise.
These midbass drivers are admirable at high-volume low frequency without doubling or breakup, which is an unusual thing from any speaker let alone at this price range. These are NOT the bassiest midbasses around, and their low end extension is not the lowest that you can get, even at this price range. But it is very natural, smooth bass, and it remains uncompressed until the volume is much too loud, better than many splits I have recently installed including my own. They have fairly thin roll surrounds, which allows for good cone area, but low xmax, which I saw for myself when testing, which no doubt contributed to the great bass control and minimal breakup.
Their great dynamics, especially at high volumes, gives them an "impressive" sound when used full range, which seems to make the slight lack of extension seem less important.

The phase plugs come into their own, helping with a very inoffensive and full midrange. Despite the fairly low crossover frequency, I still found the mids a little directional. They were pointed straight at each other, fairly high in the VE door. It took me a while to work it out because I had a great treble image, but the lower mids spoilt the overall imaging a bit. They would probably do better lower in the doors but whether this then affects the full mids, who knows.

To conclude on the sound, if you're using them full range, you need to have a good listen and decide if the bass response is for you. But if you're using them with a subwoofer, you may miss the "impressive" bass performance at high volume, but the fact that the mids and treble are so pleasant and balanced makes them ideal for people who appreciate their sound quality.

[Matt VIP]

nice write up Callum

very helpful for those in the market at this pricepoint.

cheers!

[waseem]

whats the difference between the 165VR and 165VB?

EDIT: don't worry, found the 2 on the site

Edited by waseem, 06 November 2009 - 05:41 PM.

[James Subilib]

i run these splits in the front of my 08 liberty

the guys at maroochy car sound recommended them as a great speaker without spending 1000's of dollars an they were right

running off the focal solid 4 amp i am amazed at the clean crisp sound that these speakers are producing sound great coupled with a great set of rears and a good quality sub set up.

i would recommend these to anyone who is in the hunt for a good quality set of splits and not wanting to go up towards or over that $1000 bracket

[Muzik]

Recently had these installed as I had heard good things. I don't know what's wrong but the tweeters sound pretty good but the 6.5s sound poor - this is especially evident when the sub is switched off (via the headunit). They sound really dull and I really need to play with the eq which doesn't seem to do much at all. when the sub is off the kicks/punch can hardly be heard, surely these should sound reasonably good with the sub off?

It was installed by an car audio shop and they are connected to an 4 ch amp and I've got dynamat in the doors. I'm not sure whether I have a faulty speaker/amp or whether they were not installed correctly. What do you guys think could be the issue?

Thanks for your help.

[~Spyne~]

non-ideal installation and/or high-pass filter is set too high

[HEKYEH]

Take it back to the shop that installed it.

Get them to take a look and fix it if there are any issues.

[Muzik]

cheers guys. Should the sound still sound ok once the sub is switched off i.e. should there still be some punch/kick? If I put my head close to the 6.5 (yes I did it to see what's going on) it sounds almost like a badly tuned radio. Also when I pause a track I can hear noise in the background (soft static/white noise)

Currently with the sub off there's not mid range at all. When I switch on the sub it's OK, it's as if the sub and tweeter work to make it sound reasonable along with some play with the eq, On flat eq very poor.. I think they mentioned something about leaving the amp unadjusted as it's better to do it via the head unit and can be much more easily adjusted this way.

Also don't know if this is related but when I open the front the door the bass is a lot louder - don't know if it's the sub though.

I know they should know how to do their job but is there something that stands out in all of this?

Yeah I'll definately be going back.

[Matt VIP]

sounds like something's wrong with the install. I'd go back to the shop and see what their opinion is and what they would suggest. Then come back on here and ask a couple of questions in the beginner section.

[stariplac]

I actually liked the vb's better, particularly the tweeter was much warmer than the vr's. The vr's tweeters only became sharp on the ears when pushed, especially with female vocals. The vb tweeter sounded smooth and a huge improvement over previous models and unlike the vr's, when pushed it sounded very clear and crisp but without the well known focal harshness. Also the vb's tended to have an edge over the vr's in terms of midbass. In saying all that, for me, the difference between the two was pronounced when the addition of a sub was made. The vr's definitely had the edge when coupled with a sub. Anyway thats my opinion when i heard them, everyone will have a different experience. If I had to make a choice id pick the vr's (only just!!) if i was running a sub. If i wasnt running a sub i'd definitely pick the vb's.