speaker rip off

[jayroc2k 10+ year member]

i have been thinking. concidering hi-fi speakers work 200-300 sound better then any car audio speaker under $500.

focal utopia cost $600 yet dont have a cabinet and yet wont sound as good as B&W home hifi for the same money

how do these guys justify their prices. one of us should experiment with installing drivers meant for hi-fi speakers in our car and maybe we might find what we are really looking for

what do u guys think

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[Doberdad 10+ year member]

sure, if you fund it

 

[Breogan24 10+ year member]

The prices are based on what people will pay for them(to an extent).

The car is a very tough place to get great sound, there are wayyyyy to many factors going against it. So it is unfair to compare with home speakers.

 

[justsayk 10+ year member]

Take out some of the drivers from an expensive home theater setup. Now take a look at your high end car audio speakers. Notice a difference? Home theater generally uses cheaper drivers than car audio does...The difference is in the install. Home theater speakers are perfectly installed everytime while car audio speakers go into a different install every time (i.e. one person has kick panels, another person puts their speakers in their doors). The car audio speakers need to be built differently and usually "better" so that they can work well in a variety of enclosures/places.

 

[kingpin_jeffie 10+ year member]

Most home audio speakers wouldnt last a week in a car while car audio equipment will last forever in a HT setup. Of course more durable equipment is going to cost more.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

Take out some of the drivers from an expensive home theater setup. Now take a look at your high end car audio speakers. Notice a difference? Home theater generally uses cheaper drivers than car audio does...The difference is in the install. Home theater speakers are perfectly installed everytime while car audio speakers go into a different install every time (i.e. one person has kick panels, another person puts their speakers in their doors). The car audio speakers need to be built differently and usually "better" so that they can work well in a variety of enclosures/places.

What do you mean by "perfect" ??

One thing to remember that being more durable doesn't necessarily make it sound better. Home theater or any home speaker for that matter doesn't have to be durable enough to go into a car because thats not what they were designed for. They may not be as beefy or rigid but they don't have to be either.

Adam

 

[Pete 10+ year member]

Home speakers usually use less complex drivers than car audio because they don't have to deal with the shock and strain of a car environment, and (more importantly) every time one of the drivers is installed it is put into an enclosure that has been perfectly designed and mated to that particular driver. Whereas car audio speakers need to sound good in a huge variety of different enclosure sizes, shapes, designs, etc.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

Home speakers usually use less complex drivers than car audio because they don't have to deal with the shock and strain of a car environment, and (more importantly) every time one of the drivers is installed it is put into an enclosure that has been perfectly designed and mated to that particular driver. Whereas car audio speakers need to sound good in a huge variety of different enclosure sizes, shapes, designs, etc.

I agree, they are to be able to deal with not only what you said but also they have to deal with the elements such as extreme temps and moisture from condensation. They are definitely more durable. They are also free air for the most part. I still don't see where that makes them more complex.

But one point I was trying to make is that just because they are more durable does NOT necessarily make them better sounding drivers. Is this NOT right?

Adam //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smokin.gif.f1dc8d2acb1809e863ebd6a47eaa0d45.gif

 

[jayroc2k 10+ year member]

there are definately many interesting points here but $500 for focal utopia yet even in a nice wooden cabinet in a store they dont sound anything as good as my dynaudio home speakers for $400.

but i agree, car spakers are definatelmore durable and can take more abuse.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

there are definately many interesting points here but $500 for focal utopia yet even in a nice wooden cabinet in a store they dont sound anything as good as my dynaudio home speakers for $400.but i agree, car spakers are definatelmore durable and can take more abuse.

I wouldn't pay that much for comps either. I bought my MTX Black Gold drivers used and the MB Quart passive X-overs I have I got cheap from a friend who can get them at cost. I love how they sound and I have less than $300 total into them.

Keep in mind most home speakers sound better for a couple good reasons.

- no space constraints

- they are usually listened to "on axis" where as car speakers are listened to "off axis" which hinders their performance somewhat.

Adam

 

[nweibley 10+ year member]

I bet if focal designed some home speaker cabinets specifically with $500 utopia components in mind they would sound pretty freaking awsome.

The point is: in home theaters, extensive expensive R&D is done to find the absolute best enclosure and amplification for a specific speaker, so the speaker always performs to almost full potentail. In car audio, speakers rarely are in a box or place perfectly suited for them.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

I bet if focal designed some home speaker cabinets specifically with $500 utopia components in mind they would sound pretty freaking awsome.

Probably would.

The point is: in home theaters, extensive expensive R&D is done to find the absolute best enclosure and amplification for a specific speaker, so the speaker always performs to almost full potentail. In car audio, speakers rarely are in a box or place perfectly suited for them.

Well said.

adam

 

[VTEC11 10+ year member]

I bet if focal designed some home speaker cabinets specifically with $500 utopia components in mind they would sound pretty freaking awsome.

They do make home speakers. They are sold under the JM Audio Labs name. They cost a little more than $500, actually the grande utopias cost somewhere around $70,000. So for $500, the utopias don't seem that expensive considering there made by JM LABS.. (obviously there not identical drivers to the ones used in home speakers, but you get the point).

 

[nweibley 10+ year member]

Touche! (10 chars)