# Focal- Good or Bad???



## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

I have been looking at getting a pair of 6" kelvar splits to go in door pods of my 280ZX and I was wondering if anybody has had or does have theses speakers and how good or bad they are.

Thanks for the help :cheers:


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

which model specifically? And yes, I think all Focal speakers are good. Generally the more expensive the Focals, the better they sound


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Very punchy and tight, accurate midrange and highs, very aggressive tone. Good speakers, especially if you listen to aggressive music. If you like a more laid back speaker then something from BA or CDT might be better suited to you. I have a pair of the Focal polyglass and they're nice, especially for the money.

BTW - which are the exact speakers you're looking at? The 165k2? If so I would upgrade to the K2P, they only cost a little more and they have a much better mid IMO.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> BTW - which are the exact speakers you're looking at? The 165k2? If so I would upgrade to the K2P, they only cost a little more and they have a much better mid IMO.


I cannot remeber the model number but they are one step down from the utopia series, they are yelow with a sharp cone design with a silver cone, if that helps


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

ah alright, those are the K2Ps, very nice speakers


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> ah alright, those are the K2Ps, very nice speakers


Yeah, I knew,straight away when I heard them that they are what I wanted, I was just wondering if anyone had bad experiences with them,does anyone know their specs?


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## ImportCarTuner (Jun 9, 2002)

Click the link below for the specs at the Focal website:

http://www.focal-america.com/catalog/K2 Power/165k2p.html

BTW... excellent choice of speakers. I plan on getting the same speakers.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

ImportCarTuner said:


> Click the link below for the specs at the Focal website:
> 
> http://www.focal-america.com/catalog/K2 Power/165k2p.html
> 
> BTW... excellent choice of speakers. I plan on getting the same speakers.


Cool, How do you think Focal compare to Boston acustic? (spelling?)


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## ImportCarTuner (Jun 9, 2002)

nissan_280zx said:


> Cool, How do you think Focal compare to Boston acustic? (spelling?)


I think Focal speakers sound just as good as Boston Acoustic speakers do.

BTW... today I just bought a pair of Focal 165KP 6.5" component speakers from eBay for my ride. Can't wait to have them installed.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

nissan_280zx said:


> Cool, How do you think Focal compare to Boston acustic? (spelling?)



IMO Focal speakers have a more aggressive tone and a brighter sound. They also have a punchier and more powerful midbass. The BA speakers are more laid back and musical, with more detail in the upper midrange. That's just my opinion, both are pretty equal in performance, but some people really prefer one over the other due to their tastes.

If you listen to rock and metal I think Focal fits you better, if you listen to jazz, classical, or anything else that really has detail and tonality then BA would fit better. If you listen to rap then it doesn't really matter, since the mids don't do anything anyway.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

ImportCarTuner said:


> I think Focal speakers sound just as good as Boston Acoustic speakers do.
> 
> BTW... today I just bought a pair of Focal 165KP 6.5" component speakers from eBay for my ride. Can't wait to have them installed.


Let me know when they are installed and what you think of them, even though they are a differnt model it should still give me an idea as to what I should expect.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> IMO Focal speakers have a more aggressive tone and a brighter sound. They also have a punchier and more powerful midbass. The BA speakers are more laid back and musical, with more detail in the upper midrange. That's just my opinion, both are pretty equal in performance, but some people really prefer one over the other due to their tastes.


Thanks sr20dem0n, When I had the shop play the Focals for me they did not reproduce much bass at all, because they had them low passed, I am likley to do the same and I was wondering if you have any suggestions as to a mid-bass speaker somewhere between 5" and 7"?


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

They have pretty good bass, but then again these are 6.5" speakers, they don't have any bass compared to a sub if that's what you're thinking. Really depends on where you have them highpassed too, which depends on what kind of music you listen to and how loud you like to listen to it.

If you want a dedicated midbass there are quite a few out there, but where would you put it? In place of the rear speakers?


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> They have pretty good bass, but then again these are 6.5" speakers, they don't have any bass compared to a sub if that's what you're thinking. Really depends on where you have them highpassed too, which depends on what kind of music you listen to and how loud you like to listen to it.
> 
> If you want a dedicated midbass there are quite a few out there, but where would you put it? In place of the rear speakers?


I have decided not to have a mid bass driver, just be using my sub for all that, I think that if I set everything up right it should work well and blend it together.

I was just going to mount the mid bass where the rear speakers are, which is just behind the front seats, in the side of the car. But lets say I was going to get some mid bass driver, do you have any recomendations, I would be spending around $300 US.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

The Adire Koda, ID midbass, I've heard the Kicker midbass are good, Morel HCW series, DLS has some sick mids but I'm not sure if you can buy them separately, and probably more that I'm forgetting


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> The Adire Koda, ID midbass, I've heard the Kicker midbass are good, Morel HCW series, DLS has some sick mids but I'm not sure if you can buy them separately, and probably more that I'm forgetting


I checked those mid bass speakers out and my favorite are probably the ID set. 

BTW, what do you think about the brand eclipse?


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Eclipse is pretty decent, I wouldn't buy any of their products other than their headunits or subs though. Other than those 2 categories, there is better out there for the money.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> Eclipse is pretty decent, I wouldn't buy any of their products other than their headunits or subs though. Other than those 2 categories, there is better out there for the money.


Yeah, sorry, I should have been more specific.
What I was planning was a full focal setup (ie speakers & subs) with an eclipse HU and maybe eclipse amps.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

An eclipse head would be nice
I can't stand their appearance, but they are some very very good quality decks, in terms of reliability and sound. In the amp department you can get better for the money, they're decent but I would still look elsewhere. There is better out there, and the prices eclipse charges aren't good enough to make it worthwhile IMO.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> An eclipse head would be nice
> I can't stand their appearance, but they are some very very good quality decks, in terms of reliability and sound. In the amp department you can get better for the money, they're decent but I would still look elsewhere. There is better out there, and the prices eclipse charges aren't good enough to make it worthwhile IMO.


I like the lok of the new range of H/U from eclipse, yeah, I agree about the price of the amps, after I had another look, i thought I would try elsewhere.

Do you have any suggestions, i need it to power front splits (about 100wrms) and a sub (about 400wrms). 

:cheers:


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

What kind of price range?


With those requirements you should look into 2 separate amps. 2 100x2 amps (a 100x2 will do ~400x1 bridged) will most likely be cheaper than a single 100x4 amp. It's also easier to upgrade later if you have separate amps.


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> What kind of price range?
> 
> 
> With those requirements you should look into 2 separate amps. 2 100x2 amps (a 100x2 will do ~400x1 bridged) will most likely be cheaper than a single 100x4 amp. It's also easier to upgrade later if you have separate amps.



I am probly looking at around $400 US per amp
:cheers:


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> An eclipse head would be nice
> I can't stand their appearance, but they are some very very good quality decks, in terms of reliability and sound. In the amp department you can get better for the money, they're decent but I would still look elsewhere. There is better out there, and the prices eclipse charges aren't good enough to make it worthwhile IMO.


Great head units but UUUUUUGLY cosmetically. I have never heard any Focal or MB Quart speakers in my life that have sounded less than superb.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

nissan_280zx said:


> I am probly looking at around $400 US per amp
> :cheers:



$400 each? So like $800 for the pair?

Well damn, alrighty then
You could get some VERY nice amps in that price range, we're talking US Amps, Zapco, Arc, and the like. I want to make sure this is what you mean before I start throwing out suggestions though, it's not every day someone has a budget like that


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## nissan_280zx (Dec 7, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> $400 each? So like $800 for the pair?
> 
> Well damn, alrighty then
> You could get some VERY nice amps in that price range


YERRRRRP :thumbup: 

If I am going to do this then I want to do it right the first time. So yes, that means $800 for the pair, soo, any favorites that I should check out?


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

What impedence is the sub?

You could go for a pair of US Amps USA-400's
They're VERY nice amps, exceptional sound quality, insane reliability, and small. The 400 is 9"x11.75"
The 400 does:
50 Watts x 2 into 4 Ohms
100 Watts x 2 into 2 Ohms
200 Watts x 2 into 1 Ohms
200 Watts Bridged into 4 Ohms
400 Watts Bridged into 2 Ohms

and the 400X does:
100 Watts x 2 into 4 Ohms
200 Watts x 2 into 2 Ohms
400 Watts Bridged into 4 Ohms

The 400X would be good for components, and you could go with the 400 or 400X depending on if the sub was 4ohm or 2ohm. Both the 400 and 400X are $370 on www.speedsound.com

The Zapco Reference 350.2 is a good choice too
Stereo, 4 ohms: 2x100 Watts
Stereo, 2 ohms: 2x175 Watts
Bridged, 4 ohms: 1x350 Watts

$300 from www.woofersetc.com or www.indoaudio.com

Arc makes some killer amps too, the 2100 XXK or CXL would do what you wanted, but you have to get it locally and I'm not sure of the price.

The Linear Power T03 is an amazing amp, freaking TINY, loads of power, amazing sound quality, but absolutely no features (no boost, no filters, etc). Those are $379 I think factory direct with a 6 year warranty.

The Phoenix Gold Ti 400.2 is pretty nice too, $310 from www.sounddomain.com
Keep in mind, it's rated at 14.4V, so if your voltage drops too low it could be putting out considerably less than 100x2 or 400x1, providing their ratings are accurate and not underrated.


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