Hi Everyone,

I apologise if this has already been covered but i have tried the search function and came up with nothing so here goes...

Ive seen some Focal documentation and off the top of my head they say something like we are one of the top three speaker brands or something so i was wondering if anyone knows whos considered numbers 1 and 2?

Any info would be very much appreciated!

Regards

Daniel

There are a lot of top speaker brands, certainly more than three, question is, how would u rate them??

totally subjective...when one person likes the sound of one particular brand of speaker, another person may find that brand's 'sound' to be quite average and prefer a different brand.

also, focal could have been meaning by sales, rather than quality, which in my opinion means absolutely nothing, because by that logic jvc, sony and pioneer could claim to be the top three companies for headunits and we all know there is better manufacturers of headunits than those three.

completley subjective.

but u guys KNOW u love my rainbow 3-ways

top would be pioneer i would say.. (amout of sales)

as for best? dunno

nothing wrong with a decent pioneer head unit or some of their entry level subs.

Thought it might be something like that! just thought there may be some lil company or comitiee lol that chooses who the top 3 is lol but neways i got some hard hard choices

Out of these 3 what would you prefer for SQ not SPL

Boston Z6
Focal Utopia no 7 (3-way set)
Hertz Mille MLK3

Just trying to save creating another topic when i already have your attention Thanks guys

Such good taste you have




Once again subjective.... I have only heard the Boston's so no comment on my behalf.

Yes definately a few high end brands up there and would be difficult to seperate.

I suspect you would get completly different answers if you compared.

Top 3 based on worldwide sales

Vs

Number of winning SQ results

Vs

Number of winning SPL results

Vs

any other....

Yeh tru, just trouble is im in Perth WA and don't know any place i can auditon the Boston and Hertz speakers i listed that and 99% of places only get that stuff in when people ask for it so that sucks i dont want to pay a few grand for just 1 pair and find ther was another pair of diff brand for same price that suits my music tastes better lol

What are your music tastes?

if you want to audition boston and hertz in perth
Technik
16-18 Augusta Street, Willetton
Phone: 9457 1700

and the speakers you mentioned they would probably have to get in like you said, but you have to be understanding that shops won't be selling $2000+ speakers by the truckloads, if they can organise a demo for you thats another matter

are you also limiting yourself to these choices?

Im not limiting myself to them just ones i think sound alrite really, my music tastes - well ill listen to anything that sounds god from any genre but mainly i prefer rnb, hip hop, rnb, rap an variations of that

Ill have to go check those guys out!

For those genres you mentioned, you probably don't need $2,000 speakers... I've finally realised that I don't need my Z6's for my music tastes (rock, heavy rock, metal, punk, alternative).

Doesn't mean you can't have them simply for the wank factor.

I know I don't need Z6's or the rainbows I am now saving for if no one snags them for my taste... which are the same as yours... But I'm still getting them :>

Yeh tru but i like the whole wank factor of whoah look at these rofl, but mainly its just the fact with most these speakers when you turn them up loud they dont lose clarity, ok i can get cheaper speakers that would do my music tastes quite well but ive found from beinin mates cars the clarity is awseome wen volume is low n completley sux wen it goes higher

My Z6's were fine when I tested them at high volumes. Still need to make pods for em' but not bothering till I get my license.

there are some bands that record pretty well for that kind of music. A Perfect Circle do some pretty well recorded albums, off the top of my head.

Yeh thats tru, im buggered if i can remember any albums atm lol but yeh what speakers up around the 2 grand mark would you get for my music tastes?

What would be your ultimate choice

add tool - lateralus and sevendust all albums except next, i find the overall presentation to be too dark

speakers to perhaps look at also
rainbow can be from profi, profi vanadium or power line cs
dls ultimate series
diamond hex series
of course if you have the opportunity try to demo them, to some people these speakers sound like the duck's nuts while to some others they sound like the dog's nuts

having $2000 speakers is one thing, don't skimp on the other equipment eg source, amp, installation etc

Yeh i will have to try an check them out, quite fond of rainbow's gear, but with rainbow there isn't any wholesalers stocking them or have they finally found someone for the aussie market?

hmm rainbow or focal rainbow or focal hmmm,

was thinkin of the iva-d310 and pxa-h701 and some F545's if i went the rainbows, if i went the focal utopias id be getting them without the crossover coz that adds like an extra 2 grand to the price tag or sumthin crazy like that!

If i went the utopia way then i would have obviously run it active then i would have to go with something like the hx-d2 but then i lose the 5.1 idea i was having decisions decisions

i run the power/profi vanadium gear.

i find the the 7inch power driver by itself just doesnt hack it, but just chuck in a profi vanadium midbass and its all apples.

and dont worry about the metal dome tweets, they are very nice, very detailed as u would expect but not harsh.

if u want a passive crossover (god knows why) then u r gonna have to do a custom passive setup which = money. u have to give the speakers a chance and factory passive normaly doesnt cut it @ all.

nah i wouldnt b getting custom passive lol, those new hertz mille with the ribbon midrange, they good speakers clarity wise? or is the general thing ne speaker up the 2grand mark is def gonna have clarity?

if i went down the 5.1 line would it only be 5.1 for movies?

Cant believe no one has said anything about the Dyn Esotars lol

And yes it will only really be for movies.

Unless you go to concerts where the stage is around you and you stand in the middle. Which would sound WEIRD! lol

there are a very few recordings in 5.1. Pink Floyd's - Dark side of the moon has been re recorded onto 5.1 (only available on SACD's. which is a bonus!!) but generally speaking it is only really good for movies. u can listen to music in 5.1 but it isn't recorded into 5.1 so doesnt sound right.

generally, in the price range ur talking about, the difference in speakers is noticeable but they usually have similar characteristics. like for 2k u can expect speakers to play very well with a decnt sub (as in play down low enough so that the sub doesnt have to play to high. just as an example) and yes they will pretty much have very good clarity but will also have their own unique sound.

but if ur gonna spend 2k on speakers u might as well spend 1.5-2k on ur source and get proper crossovers and equalisers etc.

Ok kool thanks for eveyones replies!!!

ok say if i was to go with the milles or utopias what would you recommend for everything else? mind you if i went utopias im not gettin them with crossover coz its ridiculously expensive

is there anyone in WA with milles or utopias in ther cars willing to give a demo by any chance? or anyone in WA that has equivalent in diff brand speakrs willing to giv a demo seeing shops dont demo those types of speakers??

click click if you want to go active with the focals

http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/in...63683&hl=utopia

hmm maybe i wont go active then with focals...

im surprised that focal actually put that much time and effort into passive crossovers. how can they be sure that its going to be right in many different types of cars where the surroundings are gonna be pretty different. can someone expand on how the surroundings wont affect the sound of the speaker?

i cant say that my setup will be exactly the same as the tested conditions even if the manufacturers actually specified how big the door cavity required is etc etc.

The deal with expensive crossovers would be to not change the music at all. what goes in is what goes out. no phase shifts, no peaks or troughs added.
Then the installer gets the job of tailoring it to the cars peculiarities.

It would be a lot more work (expense?) to go active with the same quality as the crossovers suppplied.

I have the previous (cheaper) utopias. really like em. look great too.
The other brand I would check out if i was doing over is DLS.

in the general case most speakers (like 99%) only have crossovers simply so that u dont blow ur tweeters up etc. because simply, not everyone has the funds to run everything active. im just curious as to why Focal did put so much effort into the passives because the troughs and peaks are caused by install mostly aswell as the characteristics of the car. and personal taste since our ears all work slightly different (i'd imagine). does anyone here actually like to listen to a flat freq response??? answer is a simple no. an equalizer would fix this i guess.

other thing is then wat about the sub?? wat about the interaction between the sub and the front stage? what if someone wants to run 5.1??

i mean if u r gonna pay 5k (or watever) for speakers, does this sort of person normally like to sit there and listen to someone elses tuning?? i know i cant help myself. i have to fiddle then when i think im close ill try something different and work on that. my tuning is ALWAYS changing.

heheh i dont understand how one can spend so much money on speakers BUT still knowing that they dont need it.. waste of money!!

If you need it, by all means purchase it!! but knowin u dont need it, and still want it is a waste!!

why not buy speakers suited to your music tastes??

or just a wank factor in the end??

HAhahah but i would still love to have like a 2k spekaers in my car..

most ppl could drive around in a $2000 car but instead buy a $40,000. they dont NEED the $40,000 car when the 2k one would do just fine but they still buy the 40k car because thats wat they want. i want 2k speakers for the occasion where im sitting in my car and can appreciate the music.

U damm rite i sooo agree to that!!!

Only thing with the focals is i soo can't believe that their crossover block is worth around 2 grand!!!

hmmm DLS you say that seems to be all the rage now, anyone know where in WA has them?

1. Dynaudio
2. Focal JMLab
3. Alpine F#1 status

Bam. Thank you, question is now answered.

1. Rainbow
2. Others
3.

If you really want to play that game ikerr

audioart has dls available

Audioart
509 Murray Street, Perth
Phone: 9485 1234

i listened to the ultimates (UR's) a few years ago and i thought they were brilliant

So Stazed, you really like rainbow that much aye - anyone ere like utopias or am i gonna start wwIII lol, Thanks Redlined ill have to go check them out

brands to check out

focal
dynaudio
seas
scanspeak
alpine (scanspeak/vifa)
boston
dls
genesis (scanspeak)
rainbow
mbq
jlaudio (evolution ZR made in mbq factory germany)

lots of great stuff on the market

yeh thats tru but the trouble is with the gear im looking at its either something you got to order in or do not have it on a demo board or anything (yes i know demo boards are crap) lol

all mids and tweeters have distinct sound differences.

basically you have to let us know what kind of sound you love

heres a very very very general over view of materials used

3/4inch -1inch
mellow smoooth top end = soft dome tweeter
dynamic quick sometimes aggressive top end = metal dome
ribbon tweeters can sound somewhere inbetween but require lots of install work.

2inch -4inch
dome tweeters are a gap filler. They are perfect for 3 way applictions where the midbass 6.5inch or bigger can not reproduce the upper midrange. These allow the midbass to handle less of the midrange and also help with improved imaging allowing the small mid to be placed in a good position. Very low depth and small in size (usually smaller than 110mm diameter).


4inch -6.5inch
dynamic quick exciting midrange, sometimes a little over analytical = metal cone (seas, rainbow)
less agressive but still dynamic = hybrib cones (focal, mbq, dyn)
natural mellow a little rolled off sometimes a little muddy and relaxing mid (best upper mid transition)
= paper cone

6.5inch ++
midbass bigger the bettter. Try and find one designed for IB (infinte baffle) applications so they can be used for door installs. If the midbass is used as a mid in a 2 way application look at the midrange section. For two way application i would only look at 6.5inch speakers if you can fit them.

unlike home audio the car enviroment can sound a little more dynamic than on a demo board. A mellow boring set of splits can come alive when placed into a car.

good luck

No mention of Rainbow Reference or Platinum??

I'm sure these would HAVE to be thrown into the mix

Naaa those are tooooooooooo expensive!

Well if it helps with speaker selection i prefer to listen to rnb, hip hop, pop, trance, dance and all its variations with some alternative and rock thrown into the mix lol

I like my music to be loud but at the same time retain sound quality, i hate distortions just like everyone else

The Platinums if i'm not mistaken are no more expensive then the Hertz Mille or Focal Utopia Be's.

The Dynaudio Esotar set may also be worth considering - from what ive heard the Esotar tweeter is one of the best car tweeters on earth, and Dyn's have a very sweet, refined sound.

oh ok, thing is im just not a fan of dyn's, but yes the rainbow speakers ar way more expensive

Out of curiousity, what is it you dont like about Dyns in general?

The reference are way more expensive yet.

The platinums are around the same price as both sets.

Herz Mille range from $1.986 / $2,996
Focal Utopia Be range from $2,099 - $4,649

Rainbow Platinum's range from around $2,500 - $3,500 roughly (don't quote me on exact prices, this is just a rought guide) so they are definately in direct competition with the Utopia Be and Hertz Mille.

Difference is they are only availiable as a two way set from my experience, while the others are availiable as eitehr a three way or two way set.

Here is a link to a comparison between a group of tweeters:
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showth...=9&page=1&pp=10

Reviewers comment on the rainbow platinum tweeter was:
"I would say without hesitation this is the finest compact dome I have ever heard"

Granted this didnt include either the Be or Mille tweeters, as neither set was availiable at the time.

I must also ask what it was about Dyn that you didn't like? I heard them one or twice and to this day still regard them as one of the best (maybe THE best) I have ever heard. This includes Boston Pro, Rainbow Profi/Power/Vanadium, Damond HEX, Morel Elate Supremo and probably others that i'm forgetting.

And this was just the bread and butter System 220 with the standard tweeter and 5.75" midbass. If anything i found it lost out in the high end (slightly) compared to the Elates with Supremos, but the Esotar set would no doubt obliterate this advantage entirely.

Well the Sets of dyns that i have heard that have been around the grand mark well they just were boring, sounded ok but they weren't something that grabbed my attention and said hey u gotta get them!

Its just like how some people say that Focal tweeters are harsh and how some say Focal Tweeters are the best, personal choice i spose, just hard to make a choice on the high end gear because you can't hear it before you buy!