I am looking at purchasing either Focal 165w3 and a Audison LRx 2.250 amp or Dynaudio 360 and an Audison LRx 2.500 amp.

i havent heard the Dyn's, but the obvious benefit from them is the 8" woofer which would help bring the bass up front.

The total cost of each set up is similar.

What do you think about these set-ups?

Both split is great...the important things is that how u mount them.

U can make a good split sound great if u install them correctly, but u can never make a good split sound good if u mount them wrong.

Both split have thier own imaging and diff sound...

it depend on what kind of sound u after...

For soft and warmth i would consider dynaudio
for more agressive and alive kinda sound i would say focal.

definitely look at the dynaudio if you are prepared to do such an installation, you will have a more powerful amp as well

ive had both, and i would not be complaining if i had either of them !!! they are both pretty damn good !!!

install is the key, both can be tricky, dynaudio uses the 8" which is not the easiest thing in the world to fit to some cars, but the focal does not have a sealed midrange, so getting a correct enclosure for the mid can be equily as hard

I've also had both, and i can tell you they are very very different speakers!

What type of music are you into? If you're into techno or anything similar, then i really would NOT consider Dyn's. Dyn's are a very mellow natural sounding speakers, some would call dull. The tweeter isn't too revealing, yet in its subtlety, produces smooth transient vocals.

The Focals on the other hand, are quite vibrant speakers. They can make some music come alive, but this may be at the cost of being too bright/harsh. Rather than a silk dome, the tweeter is a metal dome so it can come of sounding quite tinny.

I found it a lot harder to get good imaging and staging from Focals, then i did using Dyn's. Perhaps better off-axis response!? The magnet structure on the Focals is a lot bigger than on the Dyn's, so you'll really have to play around with getting them in. As mentioned above, the Dyns have a self enclosed mid which imo is a godsend when installing 3-ways.

Having said all that, i'd personally go for the 360 Dyns with a nice sq Audison 2.500 amp. But that's just what suits my taste. Either way, you're looking at high-end top quality splits that you won't be dissappointed with.

Try then buy!

Dom

Thanks fellas

Do you know where in Brissie i can try the Dyn's?

Dynaudio's can be auditioned at three locations in Brisbane, Complete Car Sound at Enoggera, Ares Sound at Coopers Plains, and Gold Coast Car Sound at either Slacks Creek or Browns Plains. If you would like more info please feel free to email me at hutch@in.com.au

"Slacks Creek or Browns Plains"

Im glad we dont have places named like that Here in Vic

i think their some pretty dodgy names in VIC as well...

then again all you easter states

The whole of Australia is infected with names like that.

personaly to me...I like the Dyna tweeter much better then the focals. I have listened many times..and each time I sway to the Dyna side. I listen to metal, tech, jazz...big band..and the Dynas keep up just great with all. Even the Metalica! I had Diamond Audio..wich are close to the Focals..and cant complain...Its really gonna come down to personal taste

I gotta aggree with LongWay, the Dyn's have MUCH better tweeters that the Focals. This is due to the soft dome tweet's in the Dyn's and the metal (aliminium?) domes in the focals.

If you like REALLY bright tweeters, then go the Focals, but the dyn's tweeters (as with most good quality splits with soft domes) blend really well with the mid &/or woofer.

soft dome or silk tweeters are much nicer sounding then metal tweeters and dont hurt your ears as much

I can vouch for the DynAudio 360 being the better choice in this equation. Simply on the tweeter sound alone. Above that the Dyn's have a much warmer presence in the front and I beleive hit a little clearer in the midbass region. Also those 8's look great in doors.

All my humble opinion of course. Plus I have seen the 360's in action on a couple of occasions and was nothing short of exstatic each time. The focal's tweeter simply did nothing for me.

Cheers
Rex.

i had heard alot of reports of this type about metal dome tweeters, and i can assure you that i don't find my utopia tweeters (tn51) too harsh, or bright.
they certainly are accurate and revealing.
i listen to all sorts of music, techno, rock, metal, classical, blues, u name it. (except pop )
harsh tweeters certainly aren't to my taste either.
i'm guessing the "harsh" lkabel comes from the cheaper metal dome tweeters , maybe the TN45
though i don't find them to harsh either.
it also has to do with tuning and amplifiers too.
I prefer my tweeters to Critter's morel MT2's, but Critter has a liking for bright tweeters, so maybe it's just in his tuning.

the utopia mids are hard to install, as they aren't self enclosed, but you have the advantage of an easier to install mid-bass driver (easier than the 8" dyn anyway)
the midbass response is great, i have mine crossed at ~70Hz, and they haven't complained about copped 100WRMS.
In fact there was still a surprising amount of bass when i had to drive without a sub for a while. though i didn't like to go without it for too long
i haven't personally heard the dyn's to compare, but this is my opinion.
When my car was in for the CAAASCA Sq comp, the judges were omst pleased with the spectural balance. nothing too high, or too low, nothing too bright, and i have NO EQ at all.
only bass/treble settings in my HU.
i think that says alot.

whichever way you go i think you will be happy with your purchase, but you may as well go for the speakers that suit you best, so listen to them if you can, but you really need to hear them installed, not on a board. preferably somewhere where you can fiddle with the EQ

i'd also recommend more than 100WRMS to the focals, i've got a bit more than that and i wish i had more... 150 or 200WRMS per side is about right i think.
mind you, i haven't pushed the amplifier into distortion yet, maybe i'll try to squeeze some more out of it