Speakers - Speakers and more Speakers !

[Harken]

Choosing speakers is starting to feel something like shoping for a new car. There are so many out there and everytime I turn around I see another one I find interest in.

I have listened to the Focal 165K2P / Diamond Audio Hex S600A / Dynaudio 240 MKII.....

Now I notice there is a new Dynaudio 240 GT and to further complicate things I find the Focal Utopia is in the same or higher quality range or better

So today Im gonna take my own CD to another shop and audition these again AND hear the Utopia's and see if I can make some sense of what I finally want before I drive myself into a total state of confusion.

Have any of you heard these and which ones would YOU choose?

BTW, Im gonna sell my JL 300/4 and replace it with a Butler Tube Driver Blue 275. (75W x 2 of PURE CLEAN UNPARALLED QUALITY POWER)

 

[MattStarr]

You can ask us here which we prefer.... Everyone is going to be biased as to what they have or their favorite so you wont be able to get a consensus. Buy what you feel sounds best since YOU will be the one listening to it, not us. You definately have the right idea taking a CD in and listening to it on different speakers. Good Luck!

I like Alpine though if I had to choose

 

[expo5.0]

now you've done it,

anything there less than the utopia or maybe the dynaudio and imo your wasting the amp.

you need a new hu asap, and a host of audiocontrol goodies to run it all properly.

 

[Harken]

Im gettin my Focal Utopias tomorrow. The 165W model.

My JL 300/4 is on ebay so my Butler Tube Driver Blue is in the plans for the VERY near future. (shhhh..., please dont tell my girlfriend)

Im looking at the TDB2150 which puts out a true 150 Watts x 2

Check out the specs. Better yet if you could only hear the Utopias driven by it.

http://www.butleraudio.com/main.html

If only I could get it for less than list price. Anyone have any connections?

And my HU, whats wrong with it?

 

[expo5.0]

i have connections but i'm not srue they go that far. will find out tomorrow if they extend into butler land.

however, they do extend to focal land where the utopias are definitely less than retail and still have manufacturers warranty.

as for your hu- to really take advantage of the amp and the speakers your gonna need way better signal quality and amplitude.

you shoudl look into the dex-p9 and deq-p9 pioneer units inorder to take advantage of the other things you have. I'm surprised a shop is recommending a tube amp without that kind of quality signal. those are about 2000 (far more retail) or so together, but you need at least that to really make it all worth while. otherwise your launched into the stratosphere of exotics where my experience quite frankly ends.

 

[AnabolicFrolic]

The HEADUNIT is the most important element in any install. If your headunit does not send out a nice clean signal and give you the control you need, the most expensive, best sounding speakers, and cleanest amp are gonna perform only as well as the headunit allows.

The HU is alot like a motor in the car. You can have a set of tires that provide great traction, a well tuned suspension to provide great handling at high speeds, but then have a motor that cant get the car to move.. the tires and suspension are a waste.

Im not saying that the 9811 is a poor quality headunit. The SQ of that unit its ALRIGHT, but its an entry level Alpine HU. Its just not up to par with the rest of the components you are going to be adding. To get the best SQ u can out of that deck, make sure you disable the internal amp. this will not allow you to run any rear speakers, but with a set of Utopias up front powered by the 150 clean watts, u wont need it. The internal amp in the hu will add noise to the system. Im going to also reccomend looking into an Audiocontrol LineDriver. This is going to up the input voltage going into the amp. The higher input voltage will create a greater signal/noise ratio - meaning there will be more quality signal per unit of "noise" being sent to the HU.

I still think abandoning the JL amp and getting something different is a mistake. I think the JL is a wonderful amp and the SQ difference you will witness btwn it and the Butler is ZERO. You will notice NO difference.

What I ultimatly reccomend:
*Keep JL amp (pull that thing off of EBAY)
*Get the Utopias (if they do sound the best to you- dont let the higher price convince u that they sound better)
*Keep the 9811 HU. See how everything sounds. If you absolutly love it (you most likely will) KEEP IT. Most audio nuts will start to desire more as time goes on.
THEN upgrade the HU. If you upgrade the headunit and then still desire more, then u can wory about chaning the amp.

Here is my order of importance: Headunit->Front Stage Speakers->Subs->Amps->Linedrivers, EQ's, Xovers
Always remember that the system is only as good as its weakest link.

 

[expo5.0]

i concur with all of that

also, a tube amp is far more breakable.

 

[Harken]

The HU used during my speaker audition was an Alpine CDA-7897. When I listened to the Utopias with the JL300/2 (150 watts x 2) v/s the Butler Tube Driver Blue 275 (75 watts x 2), there was a world of difference. It was a side by side comparison. The Tube Driver BLEW AWAY the JL. Of course!

The speakers were also a side by side comparison. My first choice was the Focal Utopia 165W, second was the Dynaudio 240MKII and third came the Diamond Audio Hex S6000A.
Found the Utopias for $500.00

So, I figured if I got my price of at least $300.00 for the JL amp, I'd spend the extra bucks and get an amp I could keep for years and years to come. This kind of equipment is like the Teac X2000R I have in my home system, something to keep and transfer from vehicle to vehicle. I'll take the Utopias with me too.

 

[Harken]

I took the plunge.......!

Tonight I bought the Focal Utopia 165W.

Now I have to wait for my amp to get in. Its on order. Which one you might ask? I ordered the Butler Audio Tube Driver BLUE 2150.
C'mon March 2nd......

http://www.butleraudio.com/main.html

AND its made right here in the good ole' USA

I'm on my way to an awesome system........