Which to choose: Focal or Scanspeak

[harrisni]

Hi,

Floorstanding speaker

Option 1:

Focal Audiom TD5
Focal 6WM
Focal 11WX

Option 2:

SS D2905-990000
SS15M4531K00
2x SS 18W8531G00

Both are about the same in parts.

I suppose the choice is, do I want a JM Lab Utopia clone or a Sonus Faber clone????

[Zaph]

Focal drivers are generally inferior to Scan Speak drivers.

I've taken a few Focal motors apart and their design is nothing special which is reflected in their lackluster performance.

For Scan Speak tweeters, I'd use a 6600 Aircirc if you can get one.

[Mingo]

If you choose Scan-Speak, here is what you need - a French link to a Cremona clone containing enclosures and crossovers.

http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/v...faa43be2bb66f2

By the way I am in the same situation choosing.
I want to build a Watt Puppy clone and have been offered secondhand Focal tweeters. As I have some SS 9500, 9800 and 9900 lying about, I want to use any of these instead if they are suited for this exact job. Can you give me advice on this?
Thank you.

Mingo

[harrisni]

Originally posted by Zaph
Focal drivers are generally inferior to Scan Speak drivers.

I've taken a few Focal motors apart and their design is nothing special which is reflected in their lackluster performance.

For Scan Speak tweeters, I'd use a 6600 Aircirc if you can get one.

Hi Zaph,


What about the R2904-700000?

Have you used the D3004/6600?

[Alfetta87]

Originally posted by Zaph
Focal drivers are generally inferior to Scan Speak drivers.

I've taken a few Focal motors apart and their design is nothing special which is reflected in their lackluster performance.

I'ts an abberance to say this kind of things. I've been using both brand in many combination, for years, and can tell you they are good and bad in both.

Did you ever listen to the Beryllium tweeter? Far superior than even the Scan R2407!! The t120 Tdx is not soo good, of course, but if you use them, be carefull in the XO design.
The driver that Focal sold in the past may not be technically seen the most sophisticated; but some industrial Focal design (and thus unavailable for DIY normally) are technically advanced, and sound good. Try a 6" W diaphragm mid-woofer, and don't be surprised that it sounds better than a 18G from SS.

There is only on 6" driver than beats both: the Audio Technolgy C-Quence 18H is simply the finest on earth.

Maybe one day Focal will put drivers available again for DIY, but then also the Beryllium tweeter also, please.

Cheers,
- dan

[Inductor]

ok. harrisni,
try to choose your main driver first, let's say the 200-2K/voice - speaker driver first, and from there and on, with your finances, go and choose what you need to complement, 2 way or 3 way.
Cheers

Nice moto, Alfetta87.

[Taco]

6600 is better than 7000 imho. And as woofer there is only one brand, Audiotechnology.

[DSP_Geek]

Originally posted by Zaph
For Scan Speak tweeters, I'd use a 6600 Aircirc if you can get one.

By the way, will you put up the curves for the 2007 version? Your site mentions sensitivity/response differences, but it'd be nice to see the data. Thanks.

[Inductor]

I know Zaph is not that careful...
Zaph, maybe you will not like. And the graph that say's PHASE on top and does not show it is the worse because we start looking for the phase somewhere... I like your (Zaph) driver pictures though... and bet there is a lot of work (there) that is not showing. I assume you have a "lot of money" and no time to spare. (Obvious not) And I don't want to be that bad, this is just envy. Keep the good work.

[Zaph]

Originally posted by Alfetta87
I'ts an abberance to say this kind of things. I've been using both brand in many combination, for years, and can tell you they are good and bad in both.

I've had my hands on a lot of Focal drivers, and none have ever impressed me. Good riddance from the DIY market. My opinion is based on objective testing, rather than use in systems. As I've always said, I don't evaluate drivers in systems because then you are only hearing the crossover and other system related design elements - which could be good or bad. A good design with Focal drivers will sound good. A good design with Scan Speak drivers will sound great. Bad designs sound bad no matter what drivers are used - and that throws off people who are evaluating drivers while used in systems.

Originally posted by DSP_Geek
By the way, will you put up the curves for the 2007 version? Your site mentions sensitivity/response differences, but it'd be nice to see the data. Thanks.

These were posted in my Blog. Check a few weeks back, they are still available.

Originally posted by Inductor
I know Zaph is not that careful...
Zaph, maybe you will not like. And the graph that say's PHASE on top and does not show it is the worse because we start looking for the phase somewhere... I like your (Zaph) driver pictures though... and bet there is a lot of work (there) that is not showing. I assume you have a "lot of money" and no time to spare. (Obvious not) And I don't want to be that bad, this is just envy. Keep the good work.

I have disabled phase plots on all my measurements. This is because proper far field response curves require different mic distances depending on driver size. Larger drivers = further mic distance to maintain top end accuracy. As such, between different driver groups, phase is all over the place and will only confuse people who are actually trying to design from my information. (using SPLtrace, BDS, and the other FRD tools for example)

For my own designs I don't use, keep track of or require acoustic center info. Everything is relative to the baffle. But I design using actual in-box measurements. For those not doing their own measurements, having to take a guess at the acoustic center setback of the woofer is the price paid.