[GeorgeHill]

Guys! For those of you who wants a better sound system, I just installed my Focal Integration coaxial speakers on the front and rear with the OEM factory AMP and the sound quality difference over the crappy OEM speakers is HUGE!!!

I paid $199 for each pair and it was a simple swap! For those of you still on the fence... GO for it!

This is the link of the speakers if anybody wants more details -------> http://www.focal.com/en/universal/371-isc-165-3544055750109.html

 

[on2]

Seems a bit expensive for speakers that aren't/don't need to be powered by an aftermarket amplifier.

I feel like money would be better spent on an amplifier + decent speakers.

Please correct me if I'm wrong or inform me. I'm an amateur when it comes to car audio.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

The stock stereo just needs better speakers and a sub with a dedicated amp. Sound quality is great with my current configuration(look at my signature). 100% of my passengers, friends and strangers comment on how good the sound is. Makes me really giddy!

 

[dparky]

what made you choose the coaxials over components? the ease of installation? if it were me i would put components up front and coaxials in the back (although rears i hear are unnecessary to upgrade) with a small sub.. but as long as youre happy with your set up! :thmsup:

 

[GeorgeHill]

Seems a bit expensive for speakers that aren't/don't need to be powered by an aftermarket amplifier.

I feel like money would be better spent on an amplifier + decent speakers.

Please correct me if I'm wrong or inform me. I'm an amateur when it comes to car audio.

Exactly! This speakers don't need an amplifier to sound good! They are kinda expensive like you said but trust me... Focal nailed their porpose with the Integration series.

I didn't want an amp cause i want to keep the OEM look inside the car and the trunk area. I'm OCD and i can't stand the mess that cables create. Also it was way cheaper and the installation was a breeze.

I'm extremely happy with the results and the sounds is much much better than before.

 

[GeorgeHill]

what made you choose the coaxials over components? the ease of installation? if it were me i would put components up front and coaxials in the back (although rears i hear are unnecessary to upgrade) with a small sub.. but as long as youre happy with your set up! :thmsup:

Yes! I choose the coaxials cause they were easy to install, remember i wanna keep everything stock. I was looking for the components at the beginning but the sound difference between the coaxial and the components was very little.

To me the rear speakers make A TON of difference. I still don't understand why people say the rears are NOT necessary.

This set up sounds as good or better than my previous GTI with OEM
Dynaudio sounds system.

 

[cdx008]

Promising. I wonder if this would make any improvement to my "Premium" system. Crutchfield states this speaker won't fit in my EXL. But if these $200 speakers do the job, I'm all for it. How was the fit in the front doors?

 

[ousooner2]

what made you choose the coaxials over components? the ease of installation? if it were me i would put components up front and coaxials in the back (although rears i hear are unnecessary to upgrade) with a small sub.. but as long as youre happy with your set up! :thmsup:

Components and coax's are essentially the same thing. With components, the tweeter is just separate from the mid. Having a separate tweeter can be helpful for certain things, but if you don't have DSP then you're likely hurting yourself by creating that separation between the two speakers most of time.

Exactly! This speakers don't need an amplifier to sound good! They are kinda expensive like you said but trust me... Focal nailed their porpose with the Integration series.

I didn't want an amp cause i want to keep the OEM look inside the car and the trunk area. I'm OCD and i can't stand the mess that cables create. Also it was way cheaper and the installation was a breeze.

I'm extremely happy with the results and the sounds is much much better than before.

Most of the time you're not using more than a few watts to listen. You'd be amazed at how little power you really use most of time. Doesn't mean an amp is unnecessary, but just pointing that out

On the other hand, people who think their sub is awesome because they have a true 1500 watts on it need a whole other topic of conversation. Hello compression, terrible efficiency, etc.

Yes! I choose the coaxials cause they were easy to install, remember i wanna keep everything stock. I was looking for the components at the beginning but the sound difference between the coaxial and the components was very little.

To me the rear speakers make A TON of difference. I still don't understand why people say the rears are NOT necessary.

This set up sounds as good or better than my previous GTI with OEM
Dynaudio sounds system.

Rear speakers, when put on DSP, can make a big difference. They can really tie down the soundstage on the dash or on the hood to make it seem very believable. Most of the time without DSP, they just add more volume. Having something fire straight up into the windshield, from behind you and at distances different from other locations, etc is a recipe for peaks and nulls. Many don't mind because it's added volume and more bass (due to a usually larger speaker with more bass, possibly due to larger 'enclosure' ...the trunk)

 

[GeorgeHill]

Components and coax's are essentially the same thing. With components, the tweeter is just separate from the mid. Having a separate tweeter can be helpful for certain things, but if you don't have DSP then you're likely hurting yourself by creating that separation between the two speakers most of time.



Most of the time you're not using more than a few watts to listen. You'd be amazed at how little power you really use most of time. Doesn't mean an amp is unnecessary, but just pointing that out

On the other hand, people who think their sub is awesome because they have a true 1500 watts on it need a whole other topic of conversation. Hello compression, terrible efficiency, etc.




Rear speakers, when put on DSP, can make a big difference. They can really tie down the soundstage on the dash or on the hood to make it seem very believable. Most of the time without DSP, they just add more volume. Having something fire straight up into the windshield, from behind you and at distances different from other locations, etc is a recipe for peaks and nulls. Many don't mind because it's added volume and more bass (due to a usually larger speaker with more bass, possibly due to larger 'enclosure' ...the trunk)

What's DSP? :dunno:

 

[ousooner2]

When someone refers to DSP in audio terms it means Digital Sound Processing. It encompasses things like:

1. Time/Phase Alignment
2. EQ (equalization of each frequency..usually a 1/3 octave band EQ); Also things like PEQ (parametric EQ) which isn't boosting or cutting a specific frequency, instead you boost or cut a 'range' of frequencies around the frequency you have selected
3. Crossover & Slope Points
4. Level Adjustments


and a few more. I could go on for a long time explaining, but I don't really want to draw out a long winded post lol.

 

[DaveGH]

This is promising, I might try it. I'm also curious about the front doors, they have to come of to get at the speaker? I'm not one to do this myself so it'd be an install. ...

 

[ousooner2]

Well...not the actual door, but the door panel yes. lol

Very easy install if you just search for the PDF or how to remove the door panel. Becomes a little harder if you want to apply a trim ring between the speaker and the sheet metal on the door (done for clearance issues mostly).

 

[econan1214]

When someone refers to DSP in audio terms it means Digital Sound Processing. It encompasses things like:

1. Time/Phase Alignment
2. EQ (equalization of each frequency..usually a 1/3 octave band EQ); Also things like PEQ (parametric EQ) which isn't boosting or cutting a specific frequency, instead you boost or cut a 'range' of frequencies around the frequency you have selected
3. Crossover & Slope Points
4. Level Adjustments


and a few more. I could go on for a long time explaining, but I don't really want to draw out a long winded post lol.

How do you enable it in the car ? :thumbsup:

 

[ousooner2]

What do you mean? Enable the factory dsp..?

 

[econan1214]

What do you mean? Enable the factory dsp..?

Yes

 

[ousooner2]

DSP is enabled from the factory. I think you can change some things with it, but not sure how to do it in the models without Nav. Love to know that myself. Obviously all of this is not a feature in the factory DSP

 

[fizmixa]

Promising. I wonder if this would make any improvement to my "Premium" system. Crutchfield states this speaker won't fit in my EXL. But if these $200 speakers do the job, I'm all for it. How was the fit in the front doors?

GeorgeHill - these fit with no modifications to the front or rear deck? thanks.

 

[JacobP]

Seems a bit expensive for speakers that aren't/don't need to be powered by an aftermarket amplifier.

I feel like money would be better spent on an amplifier + decent speakers.

Please correct me if I'm wrong or inform me. I'm an amateur when it comes to car audio.

Could be cheaper for a pair of coaxials, but that's Focal. Performance should be a bit above typical cheap mass market coaxial speakers. Next, most aftermarket speakers aren't optimized to work with factory amplifier. Having said that, most speakers with good sensitivity don't have good bass capability. I also would have preferred installing components, maybe with tweeter pods from the EX. Some guys liked JBL MS-62C speakers, and they supposedly sound decent out of box with their stock crossover parts and all, but I don't know how well they work with the factory amps.

 

[JacobP]

Exactly! This speakers don't need an amplifier to sound good! They are kinda expensive like you said but trust me... Focal nailed their porpose with the Integration series.

I didn't want an amp cause i want to keep the OEM look inside the car and the trunk area. I'm OCD and i can't stand the mess that cables create. Also it was way cheaper and the installation was a breeze.

I'm extremely happy with the results and the sounds is much much better than before.

You can make the cables completely stealthy. Just run them all under carpets. For simplicity, a single 5-channel amp could power an entry-level system quite a nicely. A compact class-d amp could be screwed onto the back seat.

 

[GeorgeHill]

GeorgeHill - these fit with no modifications to the front or rear deck? thanks.

Yes! just plug and play!