Need help and advice as my car will be here in 2 weeks and first thing I am going to do is have the Bose speakers OUT. Am trying to figure out if I should go with Focal Utopia components which I have heard and LOVE but are VERY pricey- $850 for fronts or MB Quartz which are more reasonably priced but I have yet to hear as no one has where I am. I know they have a good rep though. Am planning on a JL 10W6 in spare tire space and either a Rockford or Alpine amp with 2x100 and 1x200 to subwoofer. Any comments on the MB Quartz versus Focal?

 

The utopia line of Focal is comparable to the QSD line of MB Quart. Both can be bought on ebay for around $500. The next in line is the Polykevlar of focal which is comparable to Q series MB quart. Both also can be bought on ebay for around $300. So it really depends on how much you want to spend. Any of those set will make you happy.

 

The Mb Quarts are a better built speaker. The cars that win stereo competitions use Quarts. they offer best flexiablity. They are the winingest speakers. Did i forget to mention I love then and they are all I would ever use. i even have then in my house.

thanks,
Greg

 

Focal -> Very crispy and clear sound quality. Moderate bass. sometimes little too bright(depends on tweeter setup)

MB -> Very rich sound(especially bass).

It's totally depends on your taste. And also, depending on installer, the results vary marginally. 2 different installers in a same audio shop make different sounds.

So.. go to some reputable stereo shops and listen all of them. Find which one you like better. Find a good installer.

 

I wouldn't say that MB Quart have better built quality. If you ever used the focal utopia line then you know what I mean. They are just as good if not better than MB Quart. As far as midbass goes, the utopia does not lack any. They put out just as much if not more than MB Quart.

 

I'd choose Focal over MB. MBs (I have a set of QSDs) in my Honda and they are way too muddy sounding with overpowering midbass. Some people call it a warm feeling but I'd call this a sandtrap sound. It goes way beyond the normal warm feeling.

Focals are known for being very bright sounding but I've heard some setups where they sound beautiful. It really takes some work with the tweeters to get the sound right, but it's worth it.

 

Focal vs MBQ?
Focal, like Audax, DynaAudio, Seas, Scan-Speak etc.. make drivers for some of the world top home speaker systems (the ones that cost as much as our Z or more). MBQ drivers in home system is no where near other mentioned, so I will have to go with Focal on this one.


But doesn't matter what kind of speakers you have, if you don't have the matching equipments, it will sound muddy or harsh or both.

 

I am selling a new in box set of MB Quart seperates, model RCS216. These are the reference components, not the top of the line, but not the lower line either. They have good ratings, and are often compared to the Focal Polykevlar version. I have read several reviews on them and they were all very good.

PM me if you are interested...

 

I have MB Quart for my front speakers and the quality is awesome. As seen below, I completely gutted the Blose and upgraded. I've never heard better quality, but I don't claim to be an expert. I know what I like and I like MB Quart.

$0.02

 

I just installed 2 mb's on my doors and 2 behind my seats (all in the existing 6.5's) as well as an eclipse 12 dynamatted into my pre made 12' hole behind the driver seat....the mb's are AWESOME .. im VERY happy with the quality...the eclipse sounds great as well but im very much into nice low bass so i might have to move that to the hatch ;-( oh well....

 

Buy the top or second best focal and forget quart, their day has passed. If you are going to spend that much though, look seriously at dynaudio.. like the 240gt.

 

I had a 10" behind the seat but it didn't have the low bass I like, so I built a box and installed a 12w3 in the hatch, now I am in love

As the for front, I use MB Quart Reference Series. The model lower than Q series. The difference is with the crossover I think. I have never tried Focal, but from what I've heard, they are just as good if not better than MB Quart. I love my MB Quart though

 

What have you guys been listening to? Focal will put MB Quart to shame! In terms of price, Focal's Polykevlar system compares to MB Quarts Reference Series, but the sound Quality is comparative to MB Quarts Q series. MB Quart's crossover has a preset EQ so that the speakers will sound great for the music they were intended for (Jazz, Classical). They don't sound that great on anything else. The tweeters on the Quarts are very bright, although they have dumbed them down a bit in the Q Series. Focal, on the other hand, has a flat EQ curve. This means that they can produce instuments from any genre of music and sound great. The tweeters are a lot softer than the Quarts but can produce strong highs without crackling. When tested, the MB Quart Reference series produced 4 voices (instuments) on a premade track. When the same music was played through Focal Polykevlar, we counted 11 different voices on the track. The midrange frequency is crisp and clear, and the midbass is punchy all the way down to 60Hz in a 6.5" speaker!! I think the quality of the speaker is perfect too. I've owned both speakers and will recommend Focal anytime. I used to have problems with my Quarts. Speakers would blow if there wasn't enough power, blown crossovers, etc. I've had my Focal Polykevlar's for 3 years and have never had a problem. They are still playing as strong as they did brand new.

 

So is the K series worth the extra money than the V series?

 

Night rider is 100% correct!! I love mine.

 

The cheapest speakers installed correctly with equal pathlenghts will out perform the best speakers installed incorrectly!!!!

Both speaker sets are quality drivers. Installation, proper phase, location, crossover selection, will give you the signature sound that makes you happy.

 

Def. like focal more than MBQ. Utopias have slightly bright tweeters, but that can easily be eq'd out. The utopia 7" has an INSANE midbass...