I liked how MB Quartz sounded in my BM but have heard they have recently moved production to China and now they sound like crap...

So the question is, would Focal be good choice?

I listen to a wide range of music. but most of them are Lounge, requiring a strong mid range and bass performance.

I'm not looking to install a sub woofer, so ideally I would need the woofer to be as big as possible...

 

I just installed the Focal 165 KRX2 and love 'em

No complaints about bass response. Their 6.5 mid/woof cranks. Granted they don't play down to 20Hz, but that's to be expected from a 6.5. These are fairly straightforward to install but you will need to make the 3/4 spacer. I don't think going bigger is worth the effort (6.75 for ex.), but that's just me.

I'm still breaking them in and the tweeter seems to "soften" over time, which is good for me. It gets warmer sounding vs. being slightly "shrill" out of the box. Of course, that's typical for high-end speakers.

-e

 

I had bad luck with MB, will never buy them again. One of mine blew after like 2 weeks, and it was running off a clean 4 channel amp (Eclipse) well under the power peaks.

 

MB is currently made in China.. and that's why they sucked. They were much better when they were made in Germany. I believe they are returning to Germany.

Dukgrad: 165 krx2 is ridiculously expensive. I don't see a point installing a high end speaker to noisy car such as S2000. Engine noise, road noise, wind noise blah blah.

I'm simply looking for the bottom of the range MB Quartz or Focal. With or without the use of Amp.

165 KRX2 in a quiet up market car yes, in S2000.. it's a no for me...

 

the poly components from Focal would probably treat you well too. either way, IMO it's well worth going to components, with the tweets higher up. i always hated how when cruising on the highway, my leg covered the grille and therefore muted the high-end. no problem now w/ the tweeter mounted in front of the door latch.

given that you've got a MY00 you'll have the same issues i did. figuring out where to mount the tweeter can be interesting...

-e

 

Why not to a good shop and audition them?

I have the MB Quart QSD 216s and with tuning they sound fantastic. The tweeters are brash and piercing at the default setting but with the lowest level on the crossover and 60 seconds with an EQ they sound fantastic. These speakers are in the price range of the Focal 165 KRX2 though.

 

i had the mb quart from germany and they rocked.

 

dukgrad: The poly components have metal tweeters, are they too sharp?

Most music I listens to are more vocal/warm music, as said on my first post - lounge type. I've been burnt once with Alpine's Type R splits.. they were just harsh.

 

Look up hertz or morel. Warm sound you desire and their lower line won't break the budget. Also have decent midbass. You'll have to install a amp for them to shine though. I agree that MB Quart is pretty bright.

 

I have a feeling you would like legacy a/d/s speakers. You can still buy the Precision Power (PPI) 356CS set, which I understand is little more than re-branded a/d/s 346cs (Directed Electronics took over many of the "old school" brands, including both of these, Orion, and others). For ~$140, I don't think you can go wrong, and Sonic has a return policy:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_17121_...+PPI+356CS.html

and if you want Focal, sonic also has the outgoing model in the K2 Power line for about $300:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...al+165+KF.html