Focal, Scan-Speak, Seas mid/bass review

[npdang]

Some quick subjective impressions after listening to these mids both in the car, and free-air in the home.

All the mids were relatively close in total bass output and efficiency. The construction and attention to detail for all these mids were also top notch. I have no complaints... they are all absolutely gorgeous and deserve their reputations as some of the best drivers out there.

Scan-Speak Revelator

The first thing I noticed about these mids was that they sounded great right out of the box. Very smooth, natural sounding presentation and excellent top end extension. You could "almost" use these without a tweeter it seemed. Detail and clarity with vocals and instruments was much better than your typical mid/bass, but not quite the absolute best. On the otherhand, these speakers were very forgiving of bad recordings and didn't sound too "cold" or analytical. The bass was also very strong in my car door, with an emphasis on the low end. Not quite punchy or snappy, but deep, full, and a bit "soft" is how I would describe it.

Seas Excel

Perhaps the best way to characterize these mids would be to say they sound "real". The level of detail and clarity was just stunning, and a good measure beyond any of the other mids here. Bass was fast, punchy and had fairly good low end extension in my car doors. The only downside I could see was the severe cone breakup which ideally limits you to about 2khz or lower. Also, without properly dealing with the cone breakup you can expect the sound to be a bit colored, that is overly cold, analytical, and sterile. However, with that taken care of the midrange is just amazing. Crystal clear, smooth, and real sounding. Not very forgiving of bad recordings though, as they will bring out every painful detail.

Focal Utopia 6w2

This mid had clearly the most colored midrange out of all three drivers. However, that's not to say it didn't sound good. I'd describe the midrange as being very smooth, liquid, and a bit fuller sounding than the others. It's very musical and easy to listen to. It tends to round off the very sharp details, making it a great choice for those that like a laid back kind of sound. That's not to say that this driver is muddy or boring, far from it. In my car doors the bass was very strong and punchy, but a little boomy as compared to the other two. It also didn't have quite the low end extension as the others as well.

[mnkh27]

Great review. Exactly how I would put it. Well done. :wink:

[aaron]

I appriciate the review. I have wanted to try the SEAS for awhile.
I like the sound of the old Boston Pro's a lot. Of the 3, which would you say leans more in that direction? I am looking for that musical quality that the Bostons seemed to present, very neutral sounding, you could just keep turning up the volume and they would just play louder.

[npdang]

Originally Posted by aaron

I appriciate the review. I have wanted to try the SEAS for awhile.
I like the sound of the old Boston Pro's a lot. Of the 3, which would you say leans more in that direction? I am looking for that musical quality that the Bostons seemed to present, very neutral sounding, you could just keep turning up the volume and they would just play louder.

Any one of these drivers will do that for you... but honestly I haven't had that much experience with the Boston pro's.

[Sephiroth619]

NPDang, I'm curious. Of the three, which one did you prefer? Did you have a favorite of the three? What would you rate them individually 1-10?

[10K2HVN]

Originally Posted by sephiroth619

NPDang, I'm curious. Of the three, which one did you prefer? Did you have a favorite of the three? What would you rate them individually 1-10?

..from Dang's previous post, I think he preffers the Seas Excel's..

I personally preffer the Seas Excel's too, then the Focal Utopia's (smooth musical colored sound is nice and enjoyable too), then Scanspeak Revelator's (very nice but kinda boring for Me).

[npdang]

Originally Posted by 10K2HVN

..from Dang's previous post, I think he preffers the Seas Excel's..

I personally preffer the Seas Excel's too, then the Focal Utopia's (smooth musical colored sound is nice and enjoyable too), then Scanspeak Revelator's (very nice but kinda boring for Me).

I will second that as well...

Couldn't really rate them 1-10 though. Each has it's own characteristics and it's personal preference really.

[mk1982]

is the Excel woofer without a doubt superior to the common CA18RNX ? How would it compare ?

[sheepdog]

if the Seas were being used as a midbass in a 3 way setup, would that negate any problems with cone breakup? (since it would be crossed over well below 2K)


or if I were to use this in a 2 way setup, how would this mate with the Vifa XT19? Would a steeper slope xover set around 1500-2000 be enough to let this mid sing without breaking up (same with the tweeter).


what sort of air space does the seas need to play down to at least 70Hz. I prefer not to xover my subs higher than that. Playing down to 50-60 would be even better, but not sure if it would be possible.

[10K2HVN]

Originally Posted by sheepdog

if the Seas were being used as a midbass in a 3 way setup, would that negate any problems with cone breakup? (since it would be crossed over well below 2K)

Nope.

Originally Posted by sheepdog

or if I were to use this in a 2 way setup, how would this mate with the Vifa XT19? Would a steeper slope xover set around 1500-2000 be enough to let this mid sing without breaking up (same with the tweeter).

thats usually what everyone does.. those XT19's look like theyll play low enough to mate with these drivers, perfectly.

Originally Posted by sheepdog

what sort of air space does the seas need to play down to at least 70Hz. I prefer not to xover my subs higher than that. Playing down to 50-60 would be even better, but not sure if it would be possible.

If you stick them in the well dampend doors they extend pretty low with authority. Npdangs W18's measured down to 30hz, FLAT, in his doors. My L18 probably do the same thing (not measure yet) but at least play down to 45hz with authority, by ear.

[sheepdog]

Originally Posted by 10K2HVN

Nope.

he said that cone breakup would limit the woofer to 2K Hz or below. If I crossed it over with a 24db/octave at around 1.5K Hz, would that at least make it less audible? I realize it will still have cone breakup at some point, my question was whether I could make it less audible or inaudible with a xover set to below 2K Hz.

[10K2HVN]

i think in one of Npdang's earlier post (somewhere on the internet) in the doors, cone breakup is not audiable if crossed over at 2khz on a 24db slope because of comb filtering.

i wouldnt worry about it too much.. as long as your tweets are xovered around 2 ~ 2.5khz, your mids should be xovered around 1 ~ 2khz depending on your slopes and install.

[npdang]

Cone breakup in the doors isn't an issue with respect to frequency response, because of the extreme off-axis mounting and door panel coverage.

OTOH, there is a significant rise in non-linear distortion and energy storage above 1.5-2khz that would probably be an issue, depending on your sensitivity to these things.

[ahboy]

If i'm going to get the seas excel, what tweeter and amp will u guys recommend me to mate with if i'm going to run front 2 way, thanks.

Regards,
ahboy

[atomicquad]

So how would you compare the Lotus Reference series to the Focal Utopias? I found the Focal Utopias for $550 a set brand new. Would it be better to buy these instead of the Reference because of the big difference in price?

[95Legend]

Originally Posted by atomicquad

So how would you compare the Lotus Reference series to the Focal Utopias? I found the Focal Utopias for $550 a set brand new. Would it be better to buy these instead of the Reference because of the big difference in price?

lotus ref= seas excel, but for automotive use.

Midrange is identical basically