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http://www.woofersetc.com/product.asp?0 ... 292&3=1175

As I said before, 650 for the set.

kevinberry1 wrote:Man, that is what I paid for my first car, lol.

hay me too, and then I stuck a 1500 stereo in it. Those were the days

I went into a car toys when I was first looking for components last year and I listened to some Focals the guy pronounced it 'Foe Cal'. Since then I have been unsure whether this guy was correct, but the $400 components I listened to sounded good, probably a little better than my Rainbows. Of course that was in a listening studio where the accoustics are better than a car (I think).

I'm thinking about going back and listening to the Focals as well as the Alpine Type X comps. Listened to a couple 12 W7's and i really enjoyed them. They were inside a room, but compared to some of the other subs, they were excellent. Of course, that's what you get when you pay big bucks. The Alpine Type X's also sounded very nice, but not comparable to the W7 in output though.

Kind of like SEAS. Most people think it's pronounce like you would say the word sea, but it's Say-ahs.

i have a question.. what exactly makes Focal components better then say.. any other top components in the $200-$300 per pair range?

Materials, reaserch, tolerances used in the manufactoring. Basically the same stuff when it comes to amps, or a new sub design.

As for sound, they don't add in as much coloration as alot of cheaper components, and IMO sound amazing. If you want a more detailed explination, catch Jonathon, he really knows his stuff when it comes to components.

Focal Utopias are among the more controversial of high end speakers, mainly due to the tweeter. It is easily one of the most detailed tweeters out there, but can have some peaks and dips in the response that can tend to make it a bit harsh in some areas. Mainly caused by the difficult installation characteristics, the biggest problem with the tweeter is fighting the odd dispersion of the inverted dome, it is one of the most difficult to install right and get it to sound right. It's primarily an on axis tweeter and takes some experimentation. The Midbass is very punchy and has a lot of output. Midbass performance isn't quite as natural and airy as others in the price range such as Dynaudio, DLS, Morel, SEAS (Rainbow) and others, but has more output than most. The midrange has a smooth, creamy sound to it, excellent clarity. It's an excellent midbass driver overall, but doesn't really excel in a specific area (can be a good thing as well, since it doesn't really have a bad characteristic that sticks out like a sore thumb either). The crossover integrates both drivers very well and the set retains a good, neutral balance IF you pay attention to the install. Like I said above, the tweeter is a bitch to get just right.

hah, whole thing sounds all technical, then he gets to the bottom:

jonathan wrote:the tweeter is a bitch

my front components retail for $1200.. oh well.

my take on pronouncing focal: "frog" rhymes with "blog"
was I close?

as for tax, if its not tax you're adding, it's shipping. either way you're over a grand be it store or net sale.
plus technically you're supposed to report and pay your own state's sales tax for any purchases made over the net.
If ya don't believe that, look at the laws being passed presently on internet cigarette sales.. The governments from state to state are having fits over teh millions of dollars in taxes they're losing to the internet buyers, and trying frantically to plug those hemoraging leaks.

Ohio Use Tax,

You are to report "honestly" all purchases you have made retail, internet or mail ordered that have not been taxed by the state of Ohio.

This include E Bay (They call it "internet auctions") from my understanding if your buying from a person not a business then you should be fine. Like if I buy Kikis lawnmower, Im NOT going to pay tax on it!