Prodriver

Bought a secondhand set of Infinity 605cs to fit in the front doors of my MY01. Unfortunately the cone in the right speaker seems to have blown and is rattling like Hell! I can't work out why they've gone - wouldn't have thought my standard headunit would have enough power - I don't crank it up!

Anyway, I need to replace them and have seen comments on the Forum about Focal speakers. I'm reluctant to spend more than £120'ish and I don't think I shall buy Infinity's again - unless I was unlucky?!

If Focal's are the best way to go what model number do I need and where can I get 'em??

Any advice or other recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

Nige

chiark

It could be that you've knackered the speaker through putting too high a clipped signal through it. "clipping" is where the amp runs out of headroom and produces a DC signal... A dc signal makes a speaker try to stay in one position, so the motor (voice coil) is working against the damping, which overheats the voice coil and buggers it.

Small amps can do more harm than big amps, and normally do

After a quick (very quick) listen yesterday, have a listen to the Focals at around 120 quid. Chrome has the model number...

Prodriver

Thanks Chiark,

Would it be an idea to buy an amp to power the front speakers or would I be better off replacing the headunit?

Pardon my ignorance but who is chrome?

Where could I pick up a set of Focals?

Cheers,
Nige

pbee

So is the Focal access 165 they are 16.5cm components you can get them for £115, I might have a look at these instead of the Genesis P16's as they are £150.

chiark

Sorry, should have explained that - Chrome bought my old car, and I've just helped him fit some Focal speakers that cost around 120 quid.

Just be aware that asking a small amp in a head unit for too much bass is a good way of knackering the speakers, that's all. My kenwood head unit has high pass filters that you can set on the front and rear outputs. Check your head unit to see if it has got similar features, and if it has apply a 40Hz or so high pass filter to the front and rear. Also, don't whack the bass up too high without listening for distortion.

I'd go with what you have to start off with, and if you find you are listening to it loud or want it louder/cleaner then fit an amp.

It's the focal access 165s that I heard - thanks for the model number!

Prodriver

Cheers guys!

Looks like the Focals. Any idea who does the best deal?

Nige

chrome

im chrome
and yes I bought Chiarks car... very nice it is too

tbh [whisper]halfords[/whisper] were very competitive..
altho they did have to special order them in.

They sound great,
lots of "transparency" on mini discs the sound is transformed..
actually havwe a sound stage for want of a better term.

the non DAB radio is still too tinny but I refuse to crank us the DBASS for fear of ******** the speakers...its just right for MD and CD though.

CD's sound great also.
providing your not trying to run really heavy dub (and yes I have plenty)or really bass heavy hip hop at high volume thru the head unit I reckon they will be fine..

jazz is... well.... nice and anything remotely vocally biased (David gray- coldplay)is fab.

go for it mate

Shifty

Just a note about distortion and the advice to turn it down when it sounds strained - we (my brother and I) have recently noticed that some people really can't tell if it's clipping. We've heard friends of ours cranking things to terrible levels without them even realising is sounded bad. I know that all sounds a bit *****, but it does mean that what seems to be the sensible advice of "don't run it so loud it distorts" is no help to some newbies. Can someone do a simple explanation of what distortion sounds likes ? I mean, *I* know what it sounds like but it's not easy to describe. Know what I mean ?

Steve.

Prodriver

Cheers guys,

I'll check out the suppliers you mentioned (nudge nudge!) and will heed your advice about volume etc.

Thanks again,
Nige

chiark

Steve,

If you find yourself reaching for the volume **** after a while, it's distorting probably. I can listen to very loud music played on a good system all day without fatigue. Something played on a crap system makes my ears ring (literally) in a few minutes when played at a volume.

Vocals are obvious when they distort; sound becomes to my ears "compressed" - as if someone's singing in a confined space and there's stuff happening to their voice. Sorry, I can't explain it any better...

Bass tends to "fart" when clipping, but is harder to hear in some instances.

chrome

wrt to bass freq- u know you mentioned fitting acoustic foam for the door cards to reduce bass "fart" - is that not likely to make it a fire hazard etc..?
is it something that could go horribly wrong if done incorrectly?

chiark

Naah, it's not a fire hazard IMHO. The door cards look pretty flammable anyhow .

pbee

I have just ordered mine from here £115.99 free delivery. How much is halfords getting them in for ??.

http://www.car-hifi.co.uk/focal/itmidx6.htm

chrome

pbee; you got a great deal there... Halfords were a touch more..

pbee

well they havent been delivered yet so hopefully they will be in one piece. :-).

did you have any problems with the depth the focal pdf manual states 6.2cm. this seems big (a lot of others are 5.3 - 5.8 cm) Will a 12mm mdf collar be enough ??.

cheers

Peter

pbee

sorry that should be 6.6cms deep not 6.2 for the depth of the 165a

chrome

sorry peter didnt measure the mountings... Nick?