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Originally Posted by pikkashoe,Oct 18 2005, 02:34 PM
Amer, if anyone has that set up, they are in the wrong forums, those components cost about $4000 a set. Big time money.
Berrylium is 100 times more expensive than titanium.
Those are nice, that is the set that replaced the Utopia's I had. I called to get a price on those, then I almost passed out when I got the quote.
Here is some pics of my old system. not much to see, but you can see the 6.5 inch drivers and the cross overs.
no kidding, those speakers are the most overpriced crap ive ever seen.
they have the focal sound and much warmer. i would not pay $4000 for the focal sound. they have other sets costing more than $6000. i dont get the crossover either, why pay so much damn money for a passive crossover, i dont care what the hell they use, active will always be better.
they are using the focal name and trying to sell it to the rich people. focal is in it for the money now people, they are no longer trying to produce good sounding equipment. wait till you guys see what they are doing to the entire line next year.
Hey Albert, if you had an infinite budget, what components would you go with. And please dont say LOTUS (Just kidding with you).
I mean with Rainbow Platinums, Hertz Mille and other to choose from, what would you go with. Some day, I will have enough money to splurge on totally absurd crap like $5000 speakers. One day.
Originally Posted by pikkashoe,Oct 19 2005, 10:51 PM
Hey Albert, if you had an infinite budget, what components would you go with. And please dont say LOTUS (Just kidding with you).
I mean with Rainbow Platinums, Hertz Mille and other to choose from, what would you go with. Some day, I will have enough money to splurge on totally absurd crap like $5000 speakers. One day.
That is a super hard question to answer. to clear something up, i was a SEAS fan and Lotus user before I became the national sales rep for SEAS Lotus.
I became friends with the US distributors by purchasing a set from them, it turned out that they were 3 minutes from my house. You can imagine what would happen when there are car audio audiophiles living near each other. we started hanging out and basically they asked me to work for them, but anyhow...
Rainbow reference, easily one of the best speakers i have ever heard. worth it? no, maybe 4 years ago when i heard it for the very first time. would i buy it if i had an infinite budget, no. there is something better coming out soon. it is an old model with old techonology. although it would be on the top of the list of things to buy.
Hertz mille, have not heard it yet, but i dont think the ribbon midrange will do so well. my buddy who is a hertz sales rep says they are good. i have not heard it myself so i have no comment.
Focal Be, straight crap.
Alpine F#1/Scan speak rev, too warm for my ears, i like sweet and smooth with a light touch of warmth.
Rainbow platinum, good buy, it is something i might consider.
Brax graphic pro. really nice, again, on the top of my list to buy. there is suppose to be a new line coming out called brax Matrix. dont think any real changes took place, more of just the name.
SEAS reference, the set that is currently available is an old model, came out 2001, the tweeter is outdated and is going to be changed for 2006. the new reference tweeter, which is what i am running now is one of the best car tweeters i have ever heard. simply superb, it is sweet and the top end detail is awesome, this is a soft dome tweeter may i add. everyone at finals who demo'd my car complimented on the tweeters.
SEAS Lotus Extreme, the new flagship line, literally, if i had all the money in the world, it would be this set. not exactly sure though because i have not heard it. from what i know, this will be based off the Excel Cresdendo tweeter, which in my opinion, the best damn tweeter i have ever heard period. for the extreme line, SEAS will shrink the cresdendo into a smaller size so it will fit easily in car applications and the midrage is the same as the excel line but in 4 ohm impedance. retail pice will be somewhere in the $2500-$3000 range. you best believe when it is available for me to test, i will have it in my car ASAP.
SEAS uses a copper short ring in all their high end midrange and midbass with helps with the distortion, when the SEAS lotus reference was tested by Car audio electronics, it has the lowest distortion ever tested by CAE. that is something you dont see all the speakers i mention in those post except for the rainbow reference.
not sure if i answered your question, but this is my truthful answer. i have been a SEAS fan for about 3 years now. they have not let me down.
I like your descriptions and views on the different speaker brands, lines and models.
Curious, what is your take on the prior Utopia's.
I myself cannot compare, as I had the Utopia's and before that about 7 years ago I had Pioneer Premier Components, and back then I thought they where gods gift to car audio. Oh how I was wrong!
Originally Posted by pikkashoe,Oct 20 2005, 11:50 AM
I like your descriptions and views on the different speaker brands, lines and models.
Curious, what is your take on the prior Utopia's.
I myself cannot compare, as I had the Utopia's and before that about 7 years ago I had Pioneer Premier Components, and back then I thought they where gods gift to car audio. Oh how I was wrong!
when they first came out, they were good. i heard my first set of utopia about 7 years ago, end of 1998, possibly 1999. personally, i prefered the polykevlar that came out a lil bit after those.
i like 165k2 set, the tn45 was a great tweeter, to me, not as harsh as the tn51. what i liked about the focals were the transparency of the sound. i like transparent and that is what 165k2 gave me, then i heard the lotus reference, oh man, the transparency of those speakers were amazing.
in my opinion, focal has gotten worse, they are more into making money now than anything else.
pioneer premier, pioneer makes awesome products, they are just not offered here in the states. in asia and europe, they offer good equipment. the only audipphile type products they offer here is the dex-p9 and the top end premier component set. the older premier amps, prs-x_ _ _ amps were awesome, sounded great and put out double its rated power.
Really Premier is high end in europe, whats the different between PRemier USA and Europe.
I know most serious audiophiles use the DEX 9P combo. I myself run the Premier 860 MP, good enough for me for my needs, I have always used Pioneer head units, and love them.
What do you anticipate the cost of the New Lotus components to run for, not the premier line. I might be interested in my next car.
Mounting a sub in the cabin is the ideal set up, but also the hardest to accomplish. The bass does not have to travel through anything to get to you. But like i said, just look at our cabin, its small enough to begin with. It has been done, but you have to get creative, and I neither had the resources or time do to that.
Modifry had an enclosure that was up against the front of the passenger footwell. That footwell is so damn long that I dont think any passenger (short of 6'4") will miss that room. There was a DIY on here at some point, but the link is giving me a "404 error." Looked decently easy to fab and install, as I think it was all MDF, and housed either an 8" or 10" sub. You would not need a lot of power to push that. I am considering moving my Clarion sub up there in a little bit (no room in budget for new amp / sub, so I can afford materials, and am good with wood ).
10-19-2005, 07:48 PM
