Focal Utopia 165W

[lizardking]

Here are a couple articles that touch on what where talking about.. It appears that increasing cables sizes either for the headlights or the amps (since they are directly hooked to the battery).

2.9.2 Can I just upgrade my headlight wiring instead? [MZ]
Although headlight wiring upgrades can often be beneficial for achieving a higher steady-state illumination, it will not improve the dimming situation. Since the headlights are not the cause of the voltage fluctuations that are producing the dimming, upgrading the wiring will not fix the problem. The voltage fluctuation is present at the battery terminals, so it will be transmitted to the headlights regardless of how the headlights are wired. If you think of the fluctuation as an AC signal, then it becomes readily apparent that this circuit can be represented by an AC signal in a voltage divider. Decreasing the resistance in series with the load by upgrading the headlight wiring actually serves to slightly enhance the AC signal at the headlight's terminals. In other words, the dimming effect could become even worse by upgrading the headlight wiring!



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2.9.3 Will the dimming go away if I upgrade the amplifier power/ground wiring? [MZ]
A common myth in the car audio community is that upgrading the power or ground wire to the amplifier will result in the amplifier drawing less current and therefore decreasing the voltage fluctuation. While the logic is sound, the premise is not. Most amplifiers on the market have semi-regulated supplies which don't maintain a steady power output at a range of supply voltages. This is reflected in the power ratings provided by many manufacturers; some provide ratings for their amplifiers at two different voltages, and the lower voltage almost always causes the amp to deliver less power. In general, the difference in power output tends to correspond well with the supply voltage such that the current draw remains roughly constant (assuming somewhat similar efficiency). Consequently, upgrading the power/ground wiring, which serves to increase the voltage at the amplifier's terminals, will not reduce headlight dimming.




Like I said resistance is not why headlights dim...Its the amps robbing all the current which are hooked to the battery which is charged/ran by the alternator. If you upgrade your wiring all your doing is giving your amps the ability to take on more current.. But as I said the the wiring on the OEM alternator is sufficient enough to provide the current the alternator is albe to provide to the the vehicle.. If you had an HO alternator that would be producing twice as much current then yes I would upgrade my wiring... I think we need to do a test since you haven't upgraded your wiring yet.. Measure the current before and after the BIG 3 and see what you gain and post the results....I'm interested and I'm sure others would be too.. It would be a fun test to conduct to see how much you actually gain which would mostly like be 1-3%.

[ßaller]

Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

what diamonds did you have?

these ones?
Diamond Audio Coaxials D661I? how can you make a comparison of comps vs coaxils heh

It's like comparing a Lexus IS300 to a Toyota Corolla. Why not compare it against the Diamond Hex? Even the new Diamond D6 sounds pretty good. I heard that somewhere over the Rainbow is purdy good too.
Sure Focal is nice, so is Dynaudio, Arc, etc, but let's compare fair with the model range.



- ßaller

[lizardking]

Originally Posted by ßaller

It's like comparing a Lexus IS300 to a Toyota Corolla. Why not compare it against the Diamond Hex? Even the new Diamond D6 sounds pretty good. I heard that somewhere over the Rainbow is purdy good too.
Sure Focal is nice, so is Dynaudio, Arc, etc, but let's compare fair with the model range.



- ßaller

He was making a joke!! I compared mine Focal Utopia's against my Diamond M6's and the Diamonds are not in the same league.. I have heard the hex's, pretty good comp but still not a Utopia... Rainbow is probably the best you can get in most eyes buy most of us can't afford the top series...$$$$$. When I decided to go with the Focals I had listened to the Hex's, Focal K2P's, MB Quart QSD's, Boston Pro's and Z's, and a few otherss....The Focals just took the cake for me, Focals home speakers in a car, you got to love it...

[ßaller]

Originally Posted by lizardking

He was making a joke!! I compared mine Focal Utopia's against my Diamond M6's and the Diamonds are not in the same league.. I have heard the hex's, pretty good comp but still not a Utopia... Rainbow is probably the best you can get in most eyes buy most of us can't afford the top series...$$$$$. When I decided to go with the Focals I had listened to the Hex's, Focal K2P's, MB Quart QSD's, Boston Pro's and Z's, and a few otherss....The Focals just took the cake for me, Focals home speakers in a car, you got to love it...

I know it was a joke, I was adding along to it (Agreeing with his comment).
You can get Rainbow SLC models for a very good price that sounds pretty good. A friend of mines have it and it sounded nice. My Hex sounds good, and it will sound better when I dampen the door.



- ßaller

[lizardking]

Originally Posted by ßaller

I know it was a joke, I was adding along to it (Agreeing with his comment).
You can get Rainbow SLC models for a very good price that sounds pretty good. A friend of mines have it and it sounded nice. My Hex sounds good, and it will sound better when I dampen the door.



- ßaller

M6's and D6's are the same, actually the M6's sounded better to me.. I was comparing comps to comps, not sure where the coaxial thing came from.. Some claim (which I don't) the Diamonds are in the Focal league so why not compare. Hex's are good comps no doubt.. To me the focals sound so natural and the midbass is just sick.. Even though I didn't have a midbass issue with my Diamonds most people believe that I talked to that the Diamonds lack in midbass.. Some claim this was addressed in the D6's. I thought the D6's sounded flat and the highs where not as detailed.. When you can pick Diamonds up for $150, I don't think the quality is there..IMO....

[Justintoxicated]

"The voltage fluctuation is present at the battery terminals, so it will be transmitted to the headlights regardless of how the headlights are wired"

So if you deliver MORE power to the Battery that shoudl help with the problem...

"If you upgrade your wiring all your doing is giving your amps the ability to take on more currenT"

No Upgrading the wire from the alternator to the battery will provide a larger amount of power from which both the amps AND headlights drain Current.

Overall your not losing as mcuh pwoer from heat, so yea your amps can drain more total if it is available and your headlights can too.

Runing 0ga to a distro block in no way allows your amps to drain more juice, unless your running 0ga to the amps themselves.

[lizardking]

Let it go, let it go....LOL