Hey guys just wondering what people think of these compared to say dynaudio esotars and other high end stuff?
Cheers, Grant
Full Version: Focal Utopia Be
searched for focal utopia and went through about the first 3-4 pages of search results and couldn't find anything so i made this post
couple of those posts don't really help much
the most important comment would be blackrazor's
edit: oh wait your looking for comparison's between the focal be's vs other high end stuff...not looking at passive vs active
QUOTE
If you refer to the Focal Utopia BE's, then dont go active.
The reason i say that is we recently had a visit by Dominic Baker, the head engineer behind the Utopia Be project, and he said anyone trying to run them active is wasting their time. He said they spent perhaps 30% of their design time perfecting the crossover block to be perfection for the drivers, and that absolutely noone with anything short of a speaker engineering doctorate and many years designing and building drivers would be able to improve them in the slightest by going active, and will be highly likely to in fact make them significantly worse.
The Be crossovers still allow one amp channel per driver, biamping if you will, so you can still use time alignment etc, but use the passive crossover mechanism to chop the sound up otherwise you'll be wasting your investment. You have to remember, the Be crossover does a LOT more than just chop up frequencies - read up on it
The reason i say that is we recently had a visit by Dominic Baker, the head engineer behind the Utopia Be project, and he said anyone trying to run them active is wasting their time. He said they spent perhaps 30% of their design time perfecting the crossover block to be perfection for the drivers, and that absolutely noone with anything short of a speaker engineering doctorate and many years designing and building drivers would be able to improve them in the slightest by going active, and will be highly likely to in fact make them significantly worse.
The Be crossovers still allow one amp channel per driver, biamping if you will, so you can still use time alignment etc, but use the passive crossover mechanism to chop the sound up otherwise you'll be wasting your investment. You have to remember, the Be crossover does a LOT more than just chop up frequencies - read up on it
edit: oh wait your looking for comparison's between the focal be's vs other high end stuff...not looking at passive vs active
yeah im looking around to see what i could put in my pulsar up front, at the minute i got k2p's but i was thinking of upgrading and was thinking of trying out some other brands other than focal, just wanting some opinions on other brands that have a nice sound to them. the utopia be's have a nice sound to them, what does every one else think any recomendations?
ohh im getting a Soundstream TR500/4 to run them, and my options are open at the minute
so i can go three way passive, or two way active or passive
ohh im getting a Soundstream TR500/4 to run them, and my options are open at the minute
so i can go three way passive, or two way active or passive
...but your sig says you already have Utopia Be?
i'm confused
i'm confused
thats in my triumph, different car. really just looking for comparisums of other high end stuff to the focals as im thinking of trying out some other brands in the pulsar. sorry if im confusing anyone
couple of the amps in my sig i have on layby too, just couldn't be bothered to write it in there so i got nothing running my front or rear speakers yet.
in the triupmh ive got the set 6 active and the 165w3's 4" running off the 165w3's crossover and the rest of the 165w3's off kp crossovers. no amp hooked up to them yet and it is still under construction. havn't had huge amounts of time to do anyting on it or a shed to work in, in the dark. but im moving and changeing jobs so more time and a shed with lights should help out lots.
couple of the amps in my sig i have on layby too, just couldn't be bothered to write it in there so i got nothing running my front or rear speakers yet.
in the triupmh ive got the set 6 active and the 165w3's 4" running off the 165w3's crossover and the rest of the 165w3's off kp crossovers. no amp hooked up to them yet and it is still under construction. havn't had huge amounts of time to do anyting on it or a shed to work in, in the dark. but im moving and changeing jobs so more time and a shed with lights should help out lots.
you have some bloody nice gear there
could maybe look at DLS Nobelium, or Rainbow Reference, Eton Discovery
cant think of any more now
could maybe look at DLS Nobelium, or Rainbow Reference, Eton Discovery
cant think of any more now
If you want to look elsewhere, I'd probably look to Rainbow,
I don't really consider much else about thats really right up there in that range realistically,
regardless of price.
Nothing wrong with the Utopia BE either, not much around thats going to be any improvement
on a properly setup set of BE's, except maybe the flagship rainbows.
after that, it's really purely personal preference.
Juls
I don't really consider much else about thats really right up there in that range realistically,
regardless of price.
Nothing wrong with the Utopia BE either, not much around thats going to be any improvement
on a properly setup set of BE's, except maybe the flagship rainbows.
after that, it's really purely personal preference.
Juls
you know anywhere in qld i could try out some rainbow reference or dyn esotars? Heard some good stuff bout them before, maybe Maroochy car sound? any prices on them either?
thanks for the comment on the nice gear too, i don't spend my money on much else though. car audio keeps me broke
thanks for the comment on the nice gear too, i don't spend my money on much else though. car audio keeps me broke
lol there arent that many people who has had the opportunity to listen to the Focal Be. Which is probably one reason why most are inclined to suggest something that would be similar. =)
The dyns esotars are nice, but i wouldnt know how different it sounds in comparison. On a side note, if you want to hear a set of esotars, Drew at northfield moorooka has a set in his car. Take the triumph there and do a direct comparison, jumping between the cars. =)
The dyns esotars are nice, but i wouldnt know how different it sounds in comparison. On a side note, if you want to hear a set of esotars, Drew at northfield moorooka has a set in his car. Take the triumph there and do a direct comparison, jumping between the cars. =)
QUOTE (Darkness_GR @ Nov 13 2006, 03:58 AM) 
really just looking for comparisums of other high end stuff to the focals
Speakers that quality as competitors price wise would be:
* Dynaudio System 240 Esotar
* Eton Discovery
* Hertz Mille
* Phass Alnico
* Rainbow Platinum
* Alpine F1 Status
The Rainbow Reference would probably be a step above the Utopia's as far as pricing pricing goes, so in that case it may come down to whether you are willing to push the spending THAT far. They are very expensive, but based on the the Rainbow gear I've heard so far I'm sure their price would be reflected in the build quality and performance.
If there is any turn-off to me about the esotars, it's that for $2,000 or so my initial assumption is that they may be held back somewhat by the midbass drivers. I'm not saying they aren't good, but there is a good chance that at this kind of price point, the Dyn's mids may be the weakest of the bunch. If you ask me this counts, because I feel that midrange quality may well be the most critical point of an SQ system, so sacrificing midrange for a phenomenal tweeter may not bring the results that you hope for. On top of these, the sheer physical size of the Esotar tweeters may potentially make them a nightmare to install, and an even bigger nightmare to position and stage.
That said, I'd really love to hear an Esotar running together with maybe some nice OZ Audio, Rainbow, Focal, or Scanspeak mids
Also as a final note, this is all speculation, because i've not actually yet heard the Esotar's or Be's
whats the rrp for the rainbow platiniums and referance?
where in qld sell these?
where in qld sell these?
alpine f1 3 ways, the scan revelators are all up there with the best drivers ever...
they just dont get flogged as much, or marketed as well
they just dont get flogged as much, or marketed as well
Scanspeak revelators are definatly a option,
the downside is no X/over so they have to be run actively,
which isn't too much of a issue,
I believe your looking at around $2.8k for a full 3 way setup, 6.5/4/tweet
A pair of 2 Ways would knock you back just under $2k
thats just drivers.
I've heard the plain jane DD Linear Flagships ($1299) and they are not too bad really, I believe they are peerless/vifa, which is the lower market brand of Scanspeak.
The only issue i see with the scanspeak revelators is the tweeter isn't really designed to be run without a proper dedicated midrange, since it doesn't comfortably play that well under 5k (despite it's on paper freq response).
The BE is probably one of the few tweeters around that will comfortably play 2.5k and below properly.
The three brands I have considered for my next upgrade, are Scanspeak, Rainbow and Focal Utopia BE.
Juls
the downside is no X/over so they have to be run actively,
which isn't too much of a issue,
I believe your looking at around $2.8k for a full 3 way setup, 6.5/4/tweet
A pair of 2 Ways would knock you back just under $2k
thats just drivers.
I've heard the plain jane DD Linear Flagships ($1299) and they are not too bad really, I believe they are peerless/vifa, which is the lower market brand of Scanspeak.
The only issue i see with the scanspeak revelators is the tweeter isn't really designed to be run without a proper dedicated midrange, since it doesn't comfortably play that well under 5k (despite it's on paper freq response).
The BE is probably one of the few tweeters around that will comfortably play 2.5k and below properly.
The three brands I have considered for my next upgrade, are Scanspeak, Rainbow and Focal Utopia BE.
Juls
QUOTE (Darkness_GR @ Nov 13 2006, 05:31 AM)
whats the rrp for the rainbow platiniums and referance?
where in qld sell these?
where in qld sell these?
Northfield Moorooka are an Authorised Rainbow dealer, and should be able to give you the retail prices on both sets.
I have a rough idea on how much they are, but not the exact RRP. Best bet would be to contact Northfield directly, as they would be able to give you a current and accurate RRP and may also be able to provide an audition
Their contact details (as well as additional dealers) can be sourced at http://www.mobilefidelity.com.au/dealers.htm
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