Focal VS. MB Quart
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=84969
Printed Date: April 28, 2024 at 3:25 PM
Topic: Focal VS. MB Quart
Posted By: lcplklyons
Subject: Focal VS. MB Quart
Date Posted: November 01, 2006 at 6:55 PM
I'm looking to upgrade my stock speakers with some 6.5in components. Being ignorant to all things car audio I've been doing alot of research before making a purchase. The speakers that I have yet to hear anything but good things about are the Focal and MB Quart brands, and have decided I will probably go with one of the two. This is where I have questions. 1) I listen to mostly electronic music, does this need to be a consideration when purchasing non-sub speakers? 2) If I'm looking to go with a less expensive model of these brands, for instance the Focal Access lIne vs. the MB Quart Reference line or even the Focal Polyglass line vs. the MB Quart Premium line, are there discrepancies making one a better choice than the other? 3) How would you rate these four lines? 4) Am I overlooking a brand or line offering similiar quality for a comparable or reduced price?
Replies:
Posted By: boulderguy
Date Posted: November 01, 2006 at 7:34 PM
Bottom line, your ears WILL have a favorite of all those choices, there's no substitute for listening before you buy.
That said,
1. Absolutely. I've had both Focals & Quarts, the Focals have a bit smoother vocals which won't be important for Techno if that's what you mean by electronic. The tweeters are pretty similiar with both, bright & active, Focals again get the edge. I found the quarts had a bit better midbass, good for techno also.
2. If you get the cheaper, get quart Ref, very little difference between ref & premium IMO. If you spend more, I'd choose the Focals. With the Focals, the more you spend the better they sound.
3. Both are excellent speakers.
4. Lots of good speakers out there - check CDT, Rainbow, DLS among others. They'll all be hard to find on a dealer's soundboard tho & they all cost money, like any good speaker will. Lots of threads about speaker choices, do a search.
Last thought - the single most important choice you'll make in designing a system (apart from the overall design & install) is the speakers. Spend your money there, the amps, cables, EQ's, headunits all combined will have less impact on the overall sound.
Posted By: vbel
Date Posted: November 01, 2006 at 8:49 PM
Well, after testing 2 different amps in my system, I will have to disagree that they have little impact. After all, they are what give your speakers sound. If you gonna buy good speakers, then you either buy a good amp to go with it, or you just wasted money.
Posted By: mike12volt
Date Posted: November 01, 2006 at 9:50 PM
Well said, the system is as good as weakest link.
Posted By: boulderguy
Date Posted: November 01, 2006 at 9:55 PM
First off he's only asking about speakers. Of course he should get a good amp but that's not the issue.
Second, power is pretty much power. Pound for pound amps are pretty much interchangeable as long as their power & capability suit the application.
[flame proof undies on]
Posted By: jvillefinest
Date Posted: November 02, 2006 at 12:32 PM
well...i think i understand where your coming from boulderguy, but still disagree with ya in the fact that not all power is the same. if you compare an Alpine MRPF450 (75x4) and a Audison LRX4300 (75x4) your saying that they are the same...and in fact that is not true i can guarrantee you that they are not and are very far from being the same. like i said i see where your coming from but there is just too many variables in your statement. In my opinion the amp is just as important if not more important than the speakers you are running. I dont care how much money you have in a speaker or how good it is, if your sending it a crap signal your going to get a crap sound out of it. with that said i have had customers have the HIGHEST end quartz ($1200+), come in and want an "upgrade" i show them our focals and be skeptical. We put in a pair of 165KF (598.99 retail) in his 2006 WRX ran off of a JL 500/5 and he was blown away! he couldnt understand how a speaker that cost half as much as the pair he had could sound so much better. So in my opinion Focal vs. Quartz, Focal wins hands down....and if you could i would spring for the Polyglass or Higher lines, very nice...and can handle some power. ------------- 2007 Acura TSX
SQ setup in the works
Posted By: killer sonata
Date Posted: November 02, 2006 at 1:03 PM
having owned focals my whole car audio life obviously im a focal fan. My buddy has the quarts in his car. I'll take my focals over his quarts any day. Ofcourse I do have the better install so im sure his quarts could sound a little better. But I dont think they could ever sound as good as my speakers. Recently ive spent a lot of time comparing all the focals against each other. Ive found that the polyglass 3 way components are much better than the KFs and the K2Ps.
Posted By: mike12volt
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 3:34 PM
Please tell me if I am wrong killer sonata, that 3 way Focal comps. are K2Ps with another set added?
Posted By: killer sonata
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 3:38 PM
the k2ps are not 3 ways. the polyglass series is not the same as the kevlar series. focal makes several sets of 3 ways. check out www.focal-america.com for more info. I own the 165V3Es
Posted By: mike12volt
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 3:39 PM
If I was going to do it again, I would buy 3 way and use mid-high front, mid-low rear + sub.
Posted By: mike12volt
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 3:48 PM
Looks like only 2 sets on their web is available 165V3E and 270V3. I thought there was another set like K3p or something before.
Posted By: killer sonata
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 4:04 PM
focals are not authorized to be sold on the web. chances are they are fake.
Posted By: killer sonata
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 4:13 PM
there is a kevlar 3 way. i forget the number. you could always get the 165KBE which is the bass extension kit for the k2p. If I was to do it again id go DIY, but I d also like to try out the 270V3 which is a tweet, 5.25" and a 11" sub. I highly dont recommend splitting up a 3 way like you were thinking with the woofer in the rear with the tweet and the midrange in the front. it would sound terrible as far as soundstage and time alignment goes. for SQ purposes you want as much of your sound up front as possible.
Posted By: mike12volt
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 4:22 PM
So in your opinion the three way set should be installed only in the front?
Posted By: killer sonata
Date Posted: November 05, 2006 at 4:24 PM
exactly. if you put the woofers in the back it seperates the freqs and just sounds terrible.
Posted By: boulderguy
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 6:28 PM
I agree that the Focals sound better too, they're also pricier than the quarts generally. The "2" in K2P refers not to the number of drivers, it's the second version of the KP line & much improved over the originals.
If I did it all again I'd replace the K2P 2-way 6.5's with the 3-ways & install the mid/tweet in small kicks for better soundstaging. The 6" would go in the Fr door.
Posted By: boulderguy
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 6:36 PM
jvillefinest wrote:
well...i think i understand where your coming from boulderguy, but still disagree with ya in the fact that not all power is the same. if you compare an Alpine MRPF450 (75x4) and a Audison LRX4300 (75x4) your saying that they are the same...and in fact that is not true i can guarrantee you that they are not and are very far from being the same. like i said i see where your coming from but there is just too many variables in your statement. In my opinion the amp is just as important if not more important than the speakers you are running. I dont care how much money you have in a speaker or how good it is, if your sending it a crap signal your going to get a crap sound out of it.
Up until a week ago I would have defended your statements 'til the cows came home. Then someone showed me something that rocked my audio world & made me reassess.
The $10,000 amp challenge
That document spurred me to about two hours of research trying to refute their claims. I couldn't do it. So the short version of what they've shown is that people with much better ears than mine simply cannot tell a difference between ANY two amps running the same power & operating within their capacity. I.E., 75w from Audison is no different than 75w from Craig/Sony/Pyramid etc.
Does this mean all amps are created equal? Course not. Amps differ vastly in build quality, reliability and ability to deliver power into varying loads. Differences you CAN hear between amps -
Turn on/off noise
DC offset
Hiss in some cases
Noise reduction technology
Compression
Radio interference (class D and T)
Damaged components
Power (one being louder)
oscillation/instability
What is does prove is that power is power, all other things being equal. And it appears making those other things equal sure is easy.
This means I've blown thousands & wasted God knows how much time & effort pursuing the ultimate amp.
Incidently, the same has been "proven" with cables, the net result is there's no significant sonic difference between the ratshack $2.50 patchcord or 16g lamp cord vs your $1000/m Kimber Kables. Ouch again.
So ultimately when you look at the big picture of what a car system is made of, that is source-amp-speakers, the speakers are the "voice" of the system, the amp is the "lungs," the source is the "brain."
The brain pretty much just delivers the signal it's told to with little variation. The lungs just push the air, some more, some less. The voice tho, that's infinitely variable. This is why I say invest your money in a set of vocal cords that please your ear, the rest is simple.
And obviously the install quality will decide if the equipment lives up to its potential.
Posted By: maliboom
Date Posted: November 12, 2006 at 11:24 AM
I go with focals hands down in this challenge. they are better quality and sound much better than most other speakers in the same price range
|