They are on their way, now I need an amp for them. Heard them at super autobocs with a nice Audison, but it sounded like they could use more power. I noticed that while the high end made everything else sound like it was under water, the low end was just not as solid as I would have liked it to have been, like on the BA ProComp 6.5s. I thought maybe with more power, or maybe they just needed some tweaking on the crossover...

Anyhow, I considered the Tarantula 800.2 _but_ then I read a lot of bad stuff about Soundstream over the past few years on carsound.com. Kinda thinking about the Zapco reference 750.2, but at only 175wpc it might be light. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
JD

 

I'm getting the Focal 165s as well. I just a Blaupunkt Bremen CD72 and I'm planning to power the setup with Butler Audio Tube Driver Blue TD475s. I'm getting two of them. The installation will be complete by the end of the week.

 

I say go Soundstream. I like the Audisons but have the same complaint. I've never heard a car amplifier that sounds better than a Soundstream Tarantula. More expensive, yes. Warmer, yes. But not what I'd call better, regardless of price

JD, how much power do you want to your components? 800/2 sounds like you'd blow those puppies in 5 minutes. The Soundstream TRs have miles of headroom and seem underrated to me, much like the PPI amps that I've heard (and have powering my components).

 

I am going with the SS Tarantula 800.2 as well. The Tarantula puts out 220 watts rms at 4 ohms. The 165w's are rated at 100 watts rms, 200 max so it should be perfect for this application. Supposedly the Tarantula's do have tons of headroom, but from what I hear the Focal's are underrated as well. Sure would suck to blow a brand new pair of Focal 165w's though. I too have them on order and en route to me. I will let you know how it goes.

 

Pikka, if you use a TR 880/2 you are at great risk of blowing your Focals. This amp does not mess aorund. It can power two 15" subs with headroom. If the power rating is 220 watts RMS that's what it's going to put out. I think the peak on this amp is somwhere near 1,200 watts RMS. If your Focals want 100 watts RMS then you really should find an amp that puts out exactly 100 watts RMS at 4 ohms, like the Soundstream Van Gogh VGA-400.2. The Van Gogh actually tests slightly cleaner than the Tarantula and is made for component speakers in particular (the TR line is made for subs, is 20" long and weighs 28 lbs [I weighed mine]).

VGA 400.2 - $270: http://store.yahoo.com/discave/vgsost2chcar1.html

 

Thanks for the info. I have not yet ordered the amp as I am still researching. Now I am no expert on amps, but I was under the assumption that the amp put out 220 watts rms per channel at 4 ohms, when does the peak come into play. Let me see if I am understanding what you are saying, at peak power to the focals, that amp would possibly be putting 600 watts to each focal? Is this correct, if this is the case then I definately would not to get the Tarantula, I dont mind blowing an amp, but blowing my brand new focals would really really stink. I am confused about the specs on this amp now, according to sound stream, the amp is rated at 220 watts rms at 4 ohms, 440 watts rms at 2 ohms, and 880 watts bridged at 4 ohms. I was always under the assumption that if a speaker was rated at lets say 100 watts rms, you would want to at least push 150 watts to it. From what I have heard, and another member on this forum also told me, these focals, can take lots and lots of power. I also read somewhere in this forum that the 880.2 was actually a good amp for components, i will have to dig out that thread and double check. Please let me know guys, as the speakers should be here in the next few days and I have to choose an amp before then.

 

Hey Josiah!

Man, those subs of yours were AWESOME at MegaMeet 4. Really impressed me. What did you think of Harleys BA Procomps? He has a pretty nice sub setup too.

I ended up getting a Zapco AG360 which is 4x50 or 2x170 (huh, thought it was 180!) into 4ohms - I'll be using it 2x170 and powering my S-Pods through the HU. Since I can bi-amp the crossovers, in the future I might use it 4x, peel two of the channels for the spods, two of the channels for the high end, and get a punchy 2-channel amp for the front woofers.

Anyhow, I saw a post about someone putting 1000 wpc of EXTREMELY CLEAN power through their FoCal Utopias. Not planning on getting there myself - but I have "read" a bunch of stuff about them says they suck power and want to be over-powered.

When I auditioned them at Super AutoBacs I noticed (2) things. First, there was almost no low end, the bass had no punch. Second, with the same amp/head unit/volume+tone settings (aka switching speakers with the selector) they were MUCH quieter than other speakers. Since that time I have wondered if it was simply a crossover setting cutting out the low end and making it seem like it had no bass. That would also explain a percieved decrease in volume. Since the high end wasn't strained, it doesn't make sense that the amp was overtaxed...

Anyhow, in home theater I learned a different approach, over-amping the speakers. Right now I have @ 2500 RMS watts of extremely clean power (straight power, no ohm games etc) in my home theater. Naturally I wouldn't want to 'turn it up to 11' (even though an audio reviewer once allegedly hooked his set of PSB Stratus Golds directly to house AC, making an awful noise but doing no damage) but during transient bass punch my high's aren't washed out or strained as they would be if I was up at the amps limits. In fact, it took extreme over-amping to bring out the high end on my Stratus Golds, I was amazed at the difference.

I am a noob in the car audio world - does what I am saying make sense to you?

-JD

 

Sweet! It is a FoCal revolution! Are those actual tube amps? Is cooling an issue? Please post pics when you get it going.

Hey Stroudsburg! I lived 4-5 years with my grandparents in Gilbert, near Broadheadsville. Wykoffs (sp?) in Stroudsburg was a big treat for me back then.

-JD

 

Oatnet, when you mention that you tested the Focals in the store, do you know how many watts the display was running to them. Could it be that they sounded lower then the rest because they required much more wattage? One of my main goals with my system was to have very clear crisp sound but also something much more powerful than stock which I could hear while cruising with the top down.

 

Oops forgot to add one more point. THe recurring point which I see over and over with these Focals is that they are not the most efficient speakers around. I just read a review where I guy was originally running 100 watts to the focals, and they sounded good but just not right, he then changed the amp and was running 400 watts rms per channel and he said the speakers really came to life.