RaceDVS
CarAudio.com Recruit
Wrote way more than I probably should've at first.
Anyways...
Focal PS 165 FX vs AudioFrog (GS and/or GB
Anyways...
Focal PS 165 FX vs AudioFrog (GS and/or GB
I'd go Morel before either. But both are good...if you can listen to them side by side, that'd help your decision.
This was my thought as well. Throwing new drivers at this may not give you the results you're after. How well deadened/sealed are your mounting locations? Have you experimented with tweeters on and off axis?with enough processing power and proper install/placement you can pretty much make any speaker sound how you want
Okay so I have an aftermarket Sony head unit for Android auto and run Spotify atm. I have a mosconi 6 to 8 pro DSP, arc audio 600.4 X2 and 1100.1 X2 amps with 2 alpine R's sealed in my mk7 GTI with the focal PS 165 FX (2 sets). It sounds clear but at high volume a bit more icy than I'd like.
I heard the audio frog gb series is more mid bass oriented and a lot smoother with the fabric tweeters than focals. I want a more cohesive sound throughout the whole system at high volume (I love my metal, listen to plenty of other kinds of tunes: rap, hip hop and EDM of all sorts). I really like near deafening with top notch clarity sound on a frequent basis. I feel the mids of my current speakers lack the "heaviness" I desire to bridge the highs of the tweeters and the lows of the subs. I want to keep the power of the highs and lows as it stands currently and just get much more from the mids and mid bass.
My audio guy is going to have the same setup in the same golf GTI mk7 I have as soon as he had time BUT with the AudioFrog GB series speakers so I'm going to wait a few weeks to compare the sound side by side. With the replies I'm curious as to what other brands might give me the sound Id like.
I've heard morels might do the trick too, and budget isn't much of a concern as is the "perfection" I'm looking for when all is said and done.
I also feel like I could really step up the power in speakers with the 600.4 amp (the 2 sets of focals I've got are only rated at 75watts rms each) while maintaining exceptional sound quality.
*Edit because I'm on a phone.
A couple of things that may be very helpful:
Since you mentioned you're installing into a GTI, a few of my own(MK4 VR6) discoveries may help you.
1 - The "A-Pillars" are resonating most of the engine noise you hear in the cabin. I filled the space between the facia and the structure with left-over Thermotec™ Thermo-Guard, and also surrounded each contact point/clips with little Dynamat scraps to isolate any physical vibrations.
I went for a drive down my test circuit. It sounded like my ears had been boxed. I could barely hear the motor. What I did hear instead was the exhaust note. The acoustic upgrade was pretty massive; a very clear sound stage.
2 - I should also note that I had previously stuffed about 4 inches of high density open and closed cell foam into the stickshift cavity, topped with a layer of dynamat. This cut out all the road noise coming up through and around the shifter(i.e.: "hole in the middle of your car".
These two improvements will kill 98.5% of the sonic and physical vibrations coming from the engine bay.
(I did the same on the B and C Pillars and the sills, but it wasn't until I treated the A pillars that the cabin suddenly became very quiet.) Now I hear all those subtle little things like fingers sliding up the frets on guitars, and the "air" between the instruments, details that had been drowned out by motor noise previously. The MK4 12v VR6 exhaust note is very musical too(think "Chewbacca"), and now it sounds even better since the motor noise upfront has been attenuated.
Treating your environment takes time, but once done, It will pay huge dividends. I also isolated my subwoofer in the trunk using Isolate-It! sorbothane bumpers and strapped it solidly to the side of the trunk using threaded inserts and tie-down straps. The Focals in the doors are isolated and the door skin behind the woofers is treated to deflect backwaves laterally into the door cavity, which is selectively dampened and sealed. I originally had entry level Focal 165's before upgrading and while the ES165K's are definitively an upgrade, it wasn't huge(non-audiophiles couldn't tell).
Most of the acoustic improvements came from the original structural work.
*Get a plastic lever kit for removing your interior bits. This will save you grief. Also good to get extra plastic clips from VW for the inevitable breakage.