Hi,

I currently have Focal Utopia 165Ws in my CL-S. But they dont sound rich, they dont sound very real if you know what i mean.

Anyone who has heard B&W home audio speakers, I'm looking for components that sounds like them! They are awesome. I know SQ in high end is all opinion. But i dont know where to start in finding something that sounds like B&Ws. I was thinking of just replacing the Mids in my utopias with something that will be richer. Like Adire Koda drivers. Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

 

to be perfectly honest, there arent that many differences between speakers that you would see a night and day difference like that.
home speakers are in enclosures. usually space and placement is never an issue with home speakers.
however in a car speakers play basically in free air. this means that differences in the way they sound has everything to do with their individual charasteristics.
you cant put home speakers into a car like that and expect them to proform.

 

I think the Focals have a dry top end...I think you want something with a tweeter that is a soft dome and plays lower and has a little more authority on the midrange.

a/d/s/ 3-series, DLS Iridium, UP or UR series, Dynaudio 260, or Morel Ovation would be my recommendations. How many of those can you check out in victoria without having to into into vancouver?

 

Funny, i almost bought a/d/s to begin with. I'm not sure of anyone who sells those brands here. All i've found ar boston Z6's. I will ask around. Might have to head into van. of course i'm not going to buy them from the shop anyway at the inflated prices. But i do need to hear them first. it's all taste in high end.

 

Hmmm ... I want to address that.

So a shop has to buy the speakers. They usually have to put them on display. They have people whose job it is to be able to answer questions about them - how they sound, what they are made of, how they fit, etc.

The overhead in doing so is a lot more than listing them on eBay or on onlinecarstereo.com.

Now I know that if more shops had done a good job, the Internet would not be as popular, but a lot of these online guys list products for like 10% above sheet cost!

No one at a store could stay in business in a retail location, paying any help, at that kind of markup...

SO you can get things cheaper... but the stereo store that has a clue is a dying breed, and no one can make a living in retail any more... sad.

 

I've been thinking about that myself. Had I bought some nice speakers the first time, maybe with the help of a good shop, I wouldn't be buying my third set in three months--and I'd probably be out less money.

(In my defense, nobody stocks anything in my city--I couldn't even find a component set the other day that would handle 100 watts).

I think it is sad that only the Wal-Marts and other big-box retailers can make any money these days.

But, as sad as it is, people do shop at Wal-Mart because of the low prices. Seeking the most value for their limited resources is what rational consumers do, according to economics 101 as I remember it. And our need for cheaper and cheaper goods has also moved the bulk of manufacturing to other countries. And it's harder and harder to make a living in the largest economy in the world.

I think a good place to draw the line is this: if you need to drive it/hear it/see it/touch it/taste it before buying it, you should support a local retailer. And I think retailers should understand when something they're selling can be had elsewhere for less than half price, and sell accordingly. I definitely think it's unfair to tax a local business by using its showroom without at least giving them the opportunity to earn the sale.

My two cents...

 

Alpine SPX F1

 

YEah, the F#1s are good - being Scan-Speak Revelators with new xovers. They are nice tho.

What do YOU like about B and O? (As opposed to what I like?)

 

I do understand the whole support of the retailer thing. I myself work in retail sales so it's rather ironic. When you buy something retail you are always paying for customer service (as long as it's a reputable shop). Sure you can get things way cheaper online, but then when something goes wrong. or I dont like my focals that much, there is no free support. not to mention you buy things 3 times. Anytime i do buy something in a shop i usually widdle them down by aabout 30% too.