alpine vs focal....

[mavro]

ok audio know it all's.
I would like you'r thoughts on a new car stereo.

I have been reading for the past few weeks all over the net ( incl JC ) trying to get more info on a better system for my VX.
what brands are out there and not just the mainstreem (pioneer/sony/kenwood and so on) stuff.
so i thought after hours and hours of reading YEP i know I'm going for Alpine.
so i went to my local hifi shop ( Tonkins..adelaide ) to see how much i am going to be ripped off.
I was looking at the PDX-5 amp & SPR-17S and SPR-17C speakers (all alpine)

After talking for an hour or so, what/ where/ why and so on, I got the advice better of getting FOCAL. thay said ,2 amps the Solid 1 & Solid 4 and as speakers the 165 A1 & 165 CA1.

now at home i am going throu the spec's and on paper the Alpine sounds better, the amp's and speakers have more RMS power than the Focal stuff.

I have heard them both in the shop and I dont know what is the better.
and I think the Alpine may go Louder because of the more RMS's

as for price there about the same.....


let me know what you think

[HCVP]

Brand is a personel preference, and should really be over looked when buying any component. Buy what sounds the best to you, within your price range. Some manafactuers can also be a little conservative when giving power ratings. End of the day, if you can't notice the difference between the set of two, get the cheaper set..

[HCVP]

Brand is a personel preference, and should really be over looked when buying any component. Buy what sounds the best to you, within your price range. Some manafactuers can also be a little conservative when giving power ratings. End of the day, if you can't notice the difference between the set of two, get the cheaper set..

[holdenboy]

Comparing Alpine and Focal is like comparing a pure muscle car to a sports / luxury
car......one is about performance (Alpine) verses refinement (Focal).
Although i beleive the Focal 165K2 are better than the 165A1 ?

Also, did they have the Alpine Type X speakers available for audition?

Did you discuss the option of mixing up brands?

[HCVP]

WTF i'm double posting everywhere all night and i cant delete!!

[Deutscher]

Focals got a nice clear smoothing kind of sound I recon... while the Alpines (Type R) are more harsher bit more heavy.. more for the metal type music. I dunno thats what I think when I listened to them.
...... O wait .... I can't actually remember the 165A1's ... I remember the 165K2 like holdenboy mentioned... but they are more pricey. I didn't listen to the A1's much because I was pretty set on the K2's. I'm sure they would be similiar tho :S I recon Focal is more clear (SQ) while Alpine is more opposite (SPL).

[mavro]

the Alpine Type X speakers are about $600 a set and I did'nt listen to them, they are out of my price range,( the wife is allready giving me theshits )

performance you say !
well it is hard to chose because I only listen to disco/house or what ever they call it these day ( lots of bass )

What about the amp's cos the Alpine is a class D & te Focal is class A/B
which is the better or is that a dump question.!

the sales man did ask if it all had to be the same brand and i said NO, i dont care as long as it is good quality.

but being in adelaide there is'nt many shops to chose from and i think JB-HIFI is ok but i think just a bit to much mainstream....

and i know there are some real AUDIO HEADS within the JC club, like you holdenboy

and its realy helpfull getting advice from some one that is'nt trying to make money of it..
or trying to move stock that doe'nt sell to well

[trepaul]

I listened to a number of speakers in my hunt for the perfect speaker mid last year. I found that Focals have (for my ears) very harsh tweeters, right up to the K2Ps (didn't hear anything further up). The K2Ps were very detailed, but just too bright for me. Same with Bostons, way too bright. MB Quarts sounded a little mushy in the mid range.

Ended up with a pair of Type X Alpines.

Source is a Alpine 9885, the Type Xs are bi-amped through a JL 300/4, with front doors fully deadened. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

I would highly recommend the JL, and you can get it from JB hifi.

[bezz]

imo when it comes to speakers i wouldnt even consider the alpine type-r's, especially over the focals. When it comes to amps however, given the choice of alpine pdx vs focal, it would be a very difficult decision. I think either way you go there you're onto a winner. The alpine being class d doesnt matter, I guarantee you wont notice the difference in sq. They have a lot of benefits too, lower power consumption, smaller footprint. For that point alone I would probably choose the pdx's.

@guy above, wow that's one of the first times I've ever heard mention that bostons were bright, perhaps they weren't set up properly as I dont find mine overly bright at all. I have heard people saying focals can tend to sound bright however.

[StoneX]

I listened to a number of speakers in my hunt for the perfect speaker mid last year. I found that Focals have (for my ears) very harsh tweeters, right up to the K2Ps (didn't hear anything further up). The K2Ps were very detailed, but just too bright for me. Same with Bostons, way too bright. MB Quarts sounded a little mushy in the mid range.

Ended up with a pair of Type X Alpines.

Source is a Alpine 9885, the Type Xs are bi-amped through a JL 300/4, with front doors fully deadened. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

I would highly recommend the JL, and you can get it from JB hifi.

The Type X's sound a lot different to the Type R's though... So that's an unfair comparison. The Type X's are smooth like Dynaudio or Morel, the Type R's are harsh and not that great at all.

Which Boston's did you listen to?

I have to agree that the Focals I've listened to have been a bit too bright for my liking but that can easily be fixed by attenuation and/or good installation location. Lower end Boston's sound alright, but high end sound great in my opinion. I finally settled with Z6's after having Pioneer bass bullet(as a newbie), Morel Dotech, Dynaudio Sys240 and now Boston Z6.

Anyway, getting way out of the OP budget now

[social]

so... who likes pioneer lol?

[MasterOfReality]

Like someone already said, the Focals have a more smoother and refined sound, clarity is awesome too.

I spent ages hunting for a set of splits, trying to avoid the fan boy crap that goes along with a lot of it and ended up getting a set of Focals. My stereo is a mix of JVC Exad head unit, Focal speakers, Pioneer rear speakers, Pioneer 2ch amp, Pioneer sub, and Alpine V12 amp. Thats the combination that worked for me, unlike my mate who spent 2 grand on purely Alpine gear and it didn't sound that great.

In the end though, its up to your ears.

[trepaul]

The Type X's sound a lot different to the Type R's though... So that's an unfair comparison. The Type X's are smooth like Dynaudio or Morel, the Type R's are harsh and not that great at all.

Which Boston's did you listen to?

I have to agree that the Focals I've listened to have been a bit too bright for my liking but that can easily be fixed by attenuation and/or good installation location. Lower end Boston's sound alright, but high end sound great in my opinion. I finally settled with Z6's after having Pioneer bass bullet(as a newbie), Morel Dotech, Dynaudio Sys240 and now Boston Z6.

Anyway, getting way out of the OP budget now

Ummm....SL60s I think. Way too bright, but then I found that I like speakers with a reasonably dull response up high. Probably can be fixed with attenuation and equalising but its just easier to get what you like in the first place.

Anyway, my lady has Type-Rs in her Corolla and I reckon they sound pretty good. Clear up high with decent bass, good if you don't want a subwoofer (although obviously not a substitute). Sound much better with a decent amp behind them.

[holdenboy]

the Alpine Type X speakers are about $600 a set and I did'nt listen to them, they are out of my price range,( the wife is allready giving me theshits )

performance you say !
well it is hard to chose because I only listen to disco/house or what ever they call it these day ( lots of bass )

What about the amp's cos the Alpine is a class D & te Focal is class A/B
which is the better or is that a dump question.!

the sales man did ask if it all had to be the same brand and i said NO, i dont care as long as it is good quality.

but being in adelaide there is'nt many shops to chose from and i think JB-HIFI is ok but i think just a bit to much mainstream....

and i know there are some real AUDIO HEADS within the JC club, like you holdenboy

and its realy helpfull getting advice from some one that is'nt trying to make money of it..
or trying to move stock that doe'nt sell to well

In your case (the music you listen to) i would say the Type Rs, they are a little harsh up high....but again thats a personal thing, see how it goes with the tweeters set on "0", then if their still too bright then change them to "-3". Feed them some decent power (>100wrms), and set the HPF to around 60-80hz if your running a sub, if not then abit lower (round the 40-50hz mark) and they'll play REAL loud

Dont get me wrong though guys, the Focals are an excellent sounding speaker, but i just think for the customer and his needs / musical requirements the Type Rs are a better choice. If he was after more of an accurate sound over bass / volume output, i think the Bostons / Focals / MBs would be some brands to consider.

Yep as far as amps go theres no real difference other than what bezz mentioned.....not really a huge issue though, power output, cosmetics and price would be the main things.