Current-Day Phoenix Gold.

[AmIGrand]

So true, so true....

Okay, update... Not regaurding car audio.. well, at least not directly anyway.

I just said goodbye to minimum wage today, and I was bumped from $6.40 up to $7.25 by my awesome employler.. Gotta love my job & and the people I work with/for!!!

So, killer car audio, is looking a bit more affordable.

As for the Kicker deal, I think I may just take you up on that offer man, sounds killer. I'm gonna go ahead and buy the sub first... (With the raise, I'm looking at a G5 with new eyes, lmao.) and then a front stage... However, I've gotta get a new head unit first. (have my tax return [$225] paycheck [$217] and in two weeks, I'll be receiving another paycheck [~$300??]) so, I'll be getting into some car audio before I graduate, which is ahead of shed-ule.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must shower, and get ready to return back to work and take on shift #2 today.

-ryan-

[Metallman56]

want me to see if i can find/get you a killer deal on the g5, or the pros?

[AmIGrand]

I put my best foot forward for a special buy on 2 Focal Polyglass 33v2's and a set of 130V2's. See what you can get the Boston's for, and let him choose!

[Metallman56]

do u sell focal?


edit: also i think he only wants 1 sub, for now. that kicker wont power 2 subs, and the pros.

[AmIGrand]

I could do just one, but I can get 2 into his price range - no small feat since these babies retail for $539 a piece! They're dual 4 ohm, so he could run them off that amp - what's it make with 2 channels bridged to 4 ohms?

I sell Focal, Audison, JL Audio, Treo Engineering, Eclipse, Audio Control, Stinger, Concept, Clifford, Clifford Matrix, Directed Video, and Vizualogic on the A/V side. Might have missed a couple. I carry only the brands I wanted, can have anything I want. When I say I prefer one over another, I mean it - I hand picked each product line we carry and handle all the purchasing.

[Metallman56]

i think like 215 per channel @ 4 ohms. i think. no thats 2 ohm. i cant remember, i would have to check.

so you think the focal will out preform the boston? this i will debate you on. i have never heard a focal sub, just some of there components, but they sounded sweet. not as good as my bostons, but better then most stuff i have heard.

edit: 175x4 @ 4 ohm

[AmIGrand]

Having owned 3 sets of Pro's in the past (5.4, 6.5, 6.5-3), I will say that anything Polyglass V2 or higher blows away the Pro's, and that the Z's sound very good, but I'd take the Polykevlars any day as well. Utopia is a whole different league. But it's a matter of taste and listening habits.

As for the subs - the G5 will out SPL the 33v2 any day, no question. There aren't many subs that can SQ like these, though, and two of them will hang with the G5's output unless you've got just WAY too much power available. At least 300 watts each will deliver excellent sound in a sealed box around 1.5 ft3, 400 or so each at 1.2 ft3 sealed. Strictly an SQ woofer.

Something louder, I think the 13w6v2 is damn near unbeatable, unless you go to the Treo SSi or SSX 15's or 18's. W6v2 sounds a tad better, but DAMN those Treo's sound good at insane output levels and work in tiny ported boxes - 2.5 ft^3 ported for a 15?!?!

The G5 is a great sub, absolutely. Not knocking it. Boston makes great speakers, no question. I could carry them.... But I don't. :shrug: I feel there's better out there for the money. If someone doesn't dig the Focal, there's JL XR which sound remarkably similar to the Boston Pro's, but a tad more 3 dimensional, and the ZR's compare well to the Z's, so I have options for people. And Boston's amps are OK, but have a way to go IMHO, whereas JL's amps are very much proven among the best in the industry.

[Metallman56]

ok again never heard the focal subs. but i think the g5 could hold its own against about any other driver on the market. $400 for one of the best sq subs ever. how can you beat that? not to mention they go lower then the focal does. it has self protection fuses, and the easiest voice coil to replace out of every other woofer ever made. the spl isnt bad, i would bet high 120 db if not 130. i am yet to see one be reviewed, or anything else from the new line. i am dying to see it. i got to hear a g5 vs a w7 when i went to decide which i was going to buy. i wanted sq. imo the w7 has too much excursion to be very accurate. dont get me wrong its a hell of a sub, but i wouldnt buy one. and i know it wasnt the box cause it was the box that jl custom builds for the w7. the g5 was in a box 0.5 cubs bigger then it was supposed to be in, and the box was not stuffed with any polly fill. not to mention i bought my 2 g5s for less then the price of a w7. wow look at me i just turned this comparing focal to boston, into jl bashing. my bad. as far as the pros go, imo i think they sound amazing! i think most people agree with me. hella good set of speakers. i cant really compare them to focal again because i didnt hear high end focal. as for the z's from boston, i must say there one of the clearest most accurate speaker i have ever heard. there extremely crisp and clear. i love them. best $1000 i have ever spent. great speakers.

i guess in the end it all comes down to personal preference as most things in life do. ryan has heard boston and i gave him alot of hype before he heard them, so needless to say expectations were high. he said he was blown away by them. which if your used to hearing best buy quality stuff is easy to do.

so ryan in the end its up to you. hell go hear some focals, tell me what u think. no one around here really carrys them so i am out of the loop. see if you can find some listen to em, and decide.

That's the downside, not Focal dealers in my area (Ocala is closest I believe, and that's not a drive I like to make... at all.) so I'm not able to hear them, again the same dilemma I have faced with several brands, including the topic of this thread, Phoenix Gold.

So, can ANYONE compare a set of Focals to a set of Bostons??? Anyone??? (that the peanut gallery hasn't heard from yet??)

thanks you guys, you're really killing me (in a good way) with info and deals!!!

-ryan-

[AmIGrand]

Again, I've owned 3 different sets of Pro's, albiet not the newest model. I converted to Focal the 1st time I heard them, in less-than-ideal circumstances. Not knocking BA, but I have a VERY picky ear, and the Focals are"truer". Hell - Wilson Audio has never used anything made by Boston, have they? Mostly Focal drivers, a good bit of Scanspeak, and some Dynaudio. All modified once they get them, but they start with what they feel is the best....

Um - G5 advertises 3=" of excursion, right by the W7...? Anyway - you compared the wrong subs! The W6v2 is priced closer to the G5, and has slightly better SQ than the '7 with slightly less maximum output. The 13W6v2 may be the best sounding woofer I've ever heard, in teh right box with enough power. Not field rebuildable, though. But I don't plan on trashing my subs, either.

[MIAaron]

AMI,
What kind of price can you do on the focal 3w2 be? I've been hearing great things about that driver.

Also, the g5's rating of 3"+ excursion is xmech. Linear is only 15mm.

Although I havn't heard that exact model of Focal, I think the g5 would be a better fit for someone new to the game. Output usually wins over newbies. IMO, Treo would be a good choice for him. They aren't tops in sq by any means, but they don't sound bad and hit like a mofo.

[DevilDriver]

i have listened to a few different focal subs (demo'd all of the KX stuff and listened to the 33v2's) and wasn't that impressed. i would take a w6v2 over any focal sub i have heard and over a g5.

in the component area, focal's win time and time again for me.

[AmIGrand]

MIA - PM sent. Not gonna post anything like that, .

Ya, I shot him a PM detailing what he'd hear differently, let him decide what he's aiming for. 15mm?! Damn - that's a LOT of extra mechanical excursion, . Approximately 1.25" actual in gap movement, and another INCH EACH WAY to spare?! :freak:

Hell - the subs I'm talking about have 9mm each way, and aren't losing 15% of their cone area to surround, ! Still, I understand what you mean. It takes a certain type of ear to enjoy the Focal woofers. Most people actually think they sound odd because they've never heard sub-bass that accurate, . Takes some getting used to.

Punk - As muh as I do like theFocal subs, I have to agree for the most part. All things considered, I really think the W6v2 is the best overall woofer on the market. The big issue here is my ability to offer a few of these subs - well, let's just say it's a REALLY good price. Were they at retail or anywhere near it, the W6 would be the coice for sure!

[MIAaron]

Thx, AMI. I've been thinking about giving them a go. Have you listened to them yet? Everyone keeps saying they sound like 5's, 6's...yet can still have kit 6k clean.

And yes, the g5 do have a lot of extra throw. I wish they would post xmag and xsus. :\

[AmIGrand]

I have heard the full 3-way setup. There aren't words. Not sure about extension of the 3w2 on it's own, but I've played the 4" P2K down to 150 Hz at respectable power levels with impressive results.

[MIAaron]

I've havn't heard the 3 way yet. I did hear the utopia 2way though. It's a really nice set, but I preferred my lotus ref set over them.

These days I'm doing the DIY thing and have been doing a lot of mixing and matching. The 3w2's have had rave reviews. Supposedly 200hz to 6k+, and doing midrange better than the Scan Revelator 4". I just havn't heard much info about their output capabilities though. But I"m sold if they can keep my midbass out of ITD, eliminate xovers in the vocal region, AND keep my tweets purely IID...with descent output.

[AmIGrand]

I will say that the Be tweeter is going to change the audio universe. That's for DAMN sure. Wow.

[Metallman56]

sorry if i seemed so biased against jl audio. its really nothing against you, i just think jl is really really overrated. its really all imo. as far as the focal componets go i am yet to hear anything bad about them. seeing as though there is no where in this town that sells focal i dont know when or if i will hear them. so as you can see i guess its easy for me to say that the bostons z6's are the best i have ever heard. sinse you sound like a sq guy, i have a question for you. do you sell mac amps?

[AmIGrand]

No, there is a shop in town that does - we now have their top 2 installers, . I'm quite impressed with Mac, though not a fan of their physical size. The JL slash series are great, and their x-over and tuning section is unparalleled. I mention them because for the money, I'll take them over the Audison Srx line all day. Audison doesn't have the raw output of the Mac's until you get the Vrx line - which are just as huge as the Macs, . The Lrx are my picks right now, though - extremely compact footprint, excellent SQ, and reasonable output if you're careful matching them to the components used.

I didn't take it personally, ! We all have our fav's, JL isn't one of yours. It's all good.... I also understand how hard it is to get behind a product that's so "popular". With all the hype and marketing behind JL Audio, and everyone and their uncles monkey using them, there MUST be something better! I'm saying that to my ear, the hype is earned. Nobody dumps the $$ into R&D that JL does, and it's really paying off. Based on what I've heard the w1V2'S DO, I expect the W3v3's to really put a dent in things.