All,

What do you guys think of the new Focal Utopia Be components and the Audison amps?

Sound Advice here in FL, and I guess everywhere is now using them and as much as I LOVED the Older Focal Utopia's (MSRP $1200), Sound Advice wants $4000 for a set of components for the new Be series. There is no way I am paying that when I can get an older set (with a higher sensitivity) for 1/8th the price online somewhere.

Sound Advice also now has Audion amps. I hear they make very good stuff too, however they want again $4000 for the higher end line.

just fyi I am getting a truck now (keeping the TL with DLS) but the DLS dealer here I knew is no longer doing DLS stuff, so I figured best bet I know the installer at Sound Advice pretty well and does good work, just don't know about the prices..

Anyone know the MSRP for the Be series of Focals or even where I can get them?

Ryan

 

Have you gone to audionutz?

The Audison & Genesis amps have a totaly different sound then what we Americans are used to. You might or might not like it. Have you listened to one? Also dont forget the Zapco C2K's. The Focal BE series is used widely in home stereo systems....way overpriced.

 

Audison and Focal are imported into the US by the same US distributor... and Tweeter-owned stores are carrying Focal, so there was a big push to get them to carry Audison.

They have a decent rep - I was looking at carrying them when we opened, but their price points and power classes and channel configurations didn't work for me as well as DLS did, if we were going to have only one line to start out (we just brought in Genesis Profile series because they are so small...)

I think that StreetEffectz has Focal...and of course, I have DLS : )

 

Eld,

Yeah I remembered that you did. I am still trying to find a GOOD place here in FL to do DLS stuff, but I don't think it will happen.

I love my TL setup all DLS but Sound Advice (tweeter??) doesn't carry them. Just focal on the higher end and Audison for amps. They don't carry Zapco either.

I DO LOVE Zapco amps, a friend has a couple and the Audio shop I used to use in NJ uses them and swares by them too. I would like to find a place to get them but I think I am stuck with JL, Focal, and Audison from Sound Advice...

Any other brands that I can try and look for somewhere else besides the DLS? I know alot of shop use certain brands because that is what they carry.. Image Dynamics, MB Quartz, Rockford Fosgate, or whatever else.

I just know I am NOT paying $4000 for a set of components unless they are Rainbow's and even then probably not.

Ryan

 

What do people think about MB Quart Q series? Yay? Nay? Good? Bad?

 

Having sold and owned MBQ, I say no to metal dome tweeters.

Easy to sell, but I find them tiring to listen to over time... when I swapped the F speaks in my Honda I started listening to music CDs again instead of talk radio on XM.

 

Vidoprof, you might want to check with Sensuous Sounds in Tampa. Ask for Shawn and he might be able to help you.

 

I have a set, and really like them, I agree that the metal tweets do get tiring after a long time, but i have not been in the car long enough to completely hate them. Crystal clear though. Keep in mind i have never heard speakers such has a/d/s DLS or dynaudio and focal, so my review is still one sided

 

i have heard focal home speakers with their inverted hard dome for years now. not my sound, i much prefer the dynaudio/scan-speak soft domes. i, too, went to tweeter (before this particular location closed down) and "auditioned" the new focals ("k" series) and audison lr series. compared to my reference home speakers (hot rod meadowlark shearwaters, with scan speak drivers)and my car speakers (dynaudio mw 160 gt and dynudio md 100), the metallic tweeter was hard to take, and the drivers seemed more disconnected from one another (steeper passive crossover slopes?). they went loud, were very clear, and imaged well (not great) while in the board. i asked to hear them in a car, and was told they didn't have any installed yet. i also, for the hell of it, asked them to change from the audison amp to the jl slash amp (i run jl slash amps in my car). they did. the volume was slightly different. the louder sounded slightly better, but it was probably due to being louder. i could not swear on a stack of bibles that one was better than the other after this audition. i used a home made cdr (made on my phillips recorder at one to one speed for maximum sq) with jazz, rock, blues, and yes, two bass tracks with sine bombs (100 to 20 hz) to check for deep bass capability. as always, don't take my word or anyone elses for what sounds good: go out and listen for yourself. by the way, i drove my wife nuts for three years going to stereo places before deciding on my home speakers... enjoy the trip. jps

 

Thanks guys...

I am going to hear the focals soon enough.. but I am still wondering IF the $4000 is the right price.. cause that is STEEEEPPPPPP

 

Again, have you tried Audionutz in Ocala? I mean if you still wanted to go the DLS route. They've got some nice Morel stuff too.

They installed my DLS sub. Steve and Dewayne know their stuff.

 

I will have to check them out. Ocala isn't too far to drive either just to check them out.

Thanks for the tip. Good stuff to know. I do love the DLS stuff too...

Ryan

 

I'm with many of you guys. No metal dome tweeters for me. When I built my 2 channel home system I found a British speaker company named Spendor that builds mini monitors with Scan Speak soft dome tweeters in them and wow do they sound awesome. Very warm and inviting, not fatiguing at all. Currently in the car I'm running Canton alum. dome tweeters and those are the only ones I can live with. Like elduderino MB Quarts are very fatiguing, you can warm up the sound a bit if you put a ridiculous amount of power on the tweeters. My next set of car audio speakers are going to be a soft dome setup.