Focal Utopias....

[H23Accord]

Wow great points have been made throughout this thread. I understand where EVERYONE is coming from and the different angles. Bottom line it comes down to one's personal preference. The Utopia line is a great line but is not neccessarily the best although it is considered ONE of the best out there from an SQ standpoint. As many setups as I have had in my car I would have figured that I would have had focal in at some point. There are just so many varieties out there that I feel that I can attain a level of SQ that pleases my audiophile ears without having to go top of the line/dollar. I still cannot see spending that much on speakers but I can understand someone else doing it. The thing about sound is it's the same for speed and handling...it seems to never end nor ever be good enough especially if you are an audiophile. For him Focal seems to be the one that makes him say "it's done." I am still looking for that point and am almost there but there is still something missing that I have to find...I am just not willing to spend Focal $$ to do it.
I will tell you that you are the first that i know of to actually have Focal in their cb7 and hope you actually make it to a meet I attend so that I can hear this combination sing. It seems you have big plans to make the sound as clean as possible and so I would like to compare it to what I have.

[93EXaesthetic]

Wow great points have been made throughout this thread. I understand where EVERYONE is coming from and the different angles. Bottom line it comes down to one's personal preference. The Utopia line is a great line but is not neccessarily the best although it is considered ONE of the best out there from an SQ standpoint. As many setups as I have had in my car I would have figured that I would have had focal in at some point. There are just so many varieties out there that I feel that I can attain a level of SQ that pleases my audiophile ears without having to go top of the line/dollar. I still cannot see spending that much on speakers but I can understand someone else doing it. The thing about sound is it's the same for speed and handling...it seems to never end nor ever be good enough especially if you are an audiophile. For him Focal seems to be the one that makes him say "it's done." I am still looking for that point and am almost there but there is still something missing that I have to find...I am just not willing to spend Focal $$ to do it.
I will tell you that you are the first that i know of to actually have Focal in their cb7 and hope you actually make it to a meet I attend so that I can hear this combination sing. It seems you have big plans to make the sound as clean as possible and so I would like to compare it to what I have.

well put.....im a perfectionist with my musiq...i am planning on attending the NC meet...i only have Focal access''in kick panels now..and focal polyglass 6 / 9 ' in the rear fill..which i will eliminate with a focal utopia setup...

i still think the old school MB quarts maybe the best...but im gonna see what the utopia line is all about...im not sure if i think im gonna get them off of e-bay..the ones that are unopened..because they are usually the older models they havent sold around 700-800 bucks...if i got to a local store they will want somewhere around 1200 bucks for the newer component set...

really the only question now is what kind of amp will i use...they operate around 100 Rms and have a maximum handline of 200 W
A PPI...??
or an alphasonic ??
or a us acoustic??/
Rainbow???

i guess i look down on people sometimes when they have like sony explodes...i think that is how uncle el is looking at me when im trying to get Rotas slipstreams...like they are substandard... to some other brand of rim i guess...i dunno

ill try to be more open minded when someone says they have sony x-plodes..i guess..LOL....hehe..i dont know how to put it.... i just know i want some Utopias.

3-way separate system.
165mm (6-1/2") woofer,
40mm (1-3/8") v.coil,
100mm (4") magnet.
120mm (5-3/4") midrange,
25mm (1") v.coil,
85mm (3-3/8") magnet.
TN 51 tweeter.
3-way separate crossover
with high end components.
24dB/oct. (300Hz-3kHz)
with adjustable levels.
Max. power handling: 200W.
Nominal, power handling: 100W.
Sensitivity (2.8 V/1m): 92.5dB.
Frequency response:
45Hz-22kHz.
Removable woofer and
midrange grills included.

[GSteg]

Do you like warmth in your music, or do you prefer airyness and transparency?

[westsideaccord]

Image Dynamics, my personal opinion, have made awesome setup in the past and relativley inexpensive too! Peace out

[uncle_el]

well put.....im a perfectionist with my musiq...i am planning on attending the NC meet...i only have Focal access''in kick panels now..and focal polyglass 6 / 9 ' in the rear fill..which i will eliminate with a focal utopia setup...

i still think the old school MB quarts maybe the best...but im gonna see what the utopia line is all about...im not sure if i think im gonna get them off of e-bay..the ones that are unopened..because they are usually the older models they havent sold around 700-800 bucks...if i got to a local store they will want somewhere around 1200 bucks for the newer component set...

i don't think i would be comfortable buying high end speakers off of ebay, given that i wouldn't expect to have the warrant/manufacturer backing of the product, given that the seller on ebay is likely not an authorized seller/distributor of focal products.

i guess i look down on people sometimes when they have like sony explodes...i think that is how uncle el is looking at me when im trying to get Rotas slipstreams...like they are substandard... to some other brand of rim i guess...i dunno

will sony xplode's work? sure.
are sony xplode's the best of the bunch? nope.
are sony xplode's the best of the mid priced speakers? nope.
can you find speakers for the same price as sony xplode's, but reproduce sound better? you bet.

will rota slipstreams work? sure.
are rota's the best of the bunch? nope.
are rota's the best of mid priced rims? nope.
can you find rims for the same price as rota slipstreams, but of better quality? you bet.

some people like sony xplode's and are happy with them. of course, some of these people just wanted some speakers, went to best buy/circuit city/ good guys, and that's what the salesman had and sold them, they didn't know any better, they bought them, and they're content.

some people like rotas and are happy with them...

it's all good. at the end of the day, i just want you and others to know that you don't have to spend top dollar to get a higher end product. there are ways, you just have to be comfortable with them. which i guess brings it back to the original point, the focal utopia.

if you can find a deal on ebay for the focal utopias, and are comfortable with perhaps not having a warranty, then go for it. in some respects, you could say that the focal utopias are well regarded, and shouldn't have problems. but then again, you never know.

[pax217]

lol, get the utopias and let us know. (btw, rotas are cool )
-pax