After lots of browsing and question asking.. I narrowed it down to these 3 sets of components, all under 230$... Looking for the best SQ set.. Which would you guys pick?

So far from other forum responses, It's been #1 DEI #2 Focals #3 Diamonds..

What would you go with out of these three?

thanks

 

I would go with the Focals... I have the Utopias upfront and the Polyglass 165 in the rear and I think they sound awesome. They just seem to ask for more and they sound incredible.

 

A/D/S 2 series coaxials

 

how much are they?

but
which are best from those 3?

 

Going in the doors? Diamond or focal.

 

yep, doors.
the Diamonds are like 200$ on ebay now new. 215$ shipped.. Focals can be had for 230$ or so.

 

For A/D/S try www.carmedia1.com or www.woofersetc.com You should be able to get those for about $240. Off axis tweeter response on those speakers is amazing for a coaxial.

 

Never heard Diamonds before, but I have Focal 165 components up front and they Kick @ss.

 

i get different reccomendations from various forums..

here is what i got so far about the speakers:

DEI Studios - clear, loud, reliable and a very laid back tweeter
Focals - awesome midbass, "bright" tweeters (whatever that means..)
Diamonds - clear, loud, great sound, tweeters not as bright as the Focals but also decent midbass.. but someone told me the M6 line is new and not many have heard them yet..

Not sure whether midbass is good or not, or what "bright" means but people mostly reccomend the DEIs and Focals. I guess i'll go with Focals..

 

i like the focal 165k but i put mb's in my max.

 

new rims again?

 

yes, i just got the car back on the road 3 weeks ago. last time i drove it was dec. 17, 01.

i got the whole car repainted and i got 19" chrome axis hagens. now i'm working on the stereo (almost done).

 

Dei is good across the board but does not excel at any one thing.

Focals lack midbass out of the box, but are very responcive to tuneing, which is why the tweet my appear slightly brighter than some, though most THINK and don't really know, but they think it's bright cuz it's metel same as the quarts which is not true.

Diamonds have great midbass responce very clean across the board. And if i was to go for somthing with no tuning i'd go with diamond or eclipse.

 

As a Diamond/DEI/Focal dealer.....I have the Diamond Hex in my MAX. The only one to compare them to would be the Utopias (but then its a money issue). I would put them in order of :
#1 Diamond
#2 Focal
#3 DEI

I have done about 5 sets of the M6s now and no complaints, everyone loves them.The drawback is no choice between Silk or Aluminum tweets like the Hex.

Also keep in mind buying off of Ebay you are taking a risk of B-stock or Ungenuine equiptment. Which all the above mentioned are reputable companies and DO NOT endorse online sales of anykind and WILL NOT warranty your product.

My $.02

 

hey, can you tell me a retail price that dealers are supposed to sell the Diamond M6 sets for? PM or Email or something, if u can't give it out just like that.. this doesn't mean you are making a sale to me, just wondering on what the price is because this guy here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1352240891 has them for just 199$ at the buy it now option.. which is cheaper then the Focals and the DEIs from what i have seen online.. The way I understand the warranty issue with him is that you get his warranty, but if there is a problem, u send him the speakers and he takes care of it as they are warrantied for him by DA.

also
I read on the sounddomain forums that the late Diamond Audio stuff kind of lacks in quality in comparison to the previous/early stuff they made before? is there any truth to that?

thanks

 

I have Focal 165K polykevlars, they are AMAZING, the tweeter is not harsh at all if you just turn them down to -4 on the crossover, the lowest setting, they are more SQ that way I feel. The polyglass have crazy midbass man, trust me, I auditioned them with the 165K's, they had more midbass then what I got, but the 165K's were a bit more clear and imaged better I guess you could say. Personally I saw spend an extra few bucks and get the 165K's. They can handle plenty of power, rated at 80rms but Im running 125 to them and they love it!!

Focal all the way around for speakers in my car, and I cant complain, the 165HCs in the rear, great coax's. For sub though I got a monster......IDMAX......man it hits!!!

 

thanks
but,
the 230$ for the comps is already pushing my budget
I'd like to remain in that price range if not lower it. I'll go for the Focals.. will shop around for the best deal, I'd like to purchase the amps along with them, maybe i can get a discount or at least save on shipping.. hopefully in a few weeks i'll be set and ready to install everything

 

You will end up with better midbass, and Im sure with the right tweaking they will sound amazing too!

 

thanks

People are probably tired of me with my dumbass questions but I got one more

Everyone tells me with the right tweaking or if installed right... How can I mess up my install and install them wrong? I look at it as just, get the adaptor rings, put the speaker in, wire it all up, drill hole for the tweeter, put it in. etc.. thats it.. How can it be wrong and play a role on the sound? What should I "make sure" to do to have a good install of components that will give me the best sound out of them?

 

Well, for better midbass, more clear sound you wanna seal off the speakers in the doors good. And for tweeter sound, take some double sided tape and move them around a bit to get the best sounding spot, and point then AWAY from your ears to sound best, if point right at them they will kill your hearing! LOL., and ruin the staging.

I dont know much about the installation of speakers, but I know ones sound good and about them, lol, so I wont be of much help here.

 

Make sure your mids are secured and sealed, Dynamat/V-blok around them in the doors is also a help. Proper crossover points are crucial.

--Don

 

Yes, crossing them over right helps a ton. I have my comps set to HPF around 60 or HZ and it makes an amazing midbass difference over 100hz where I had them for about a week without knowing it, lol, and have your subs from about 80hz and down, that should make for a great sounding system!! Do this at the amps though, it makes it sound better and leave the crossover settings flat on the HU.