stay with focal-jm labs speakers or jumpship??

[fredejo]

i currently have the focal sib & cub2 sub/sat package & i want to upgrade to towers & a bigger center channel. the speakers i have sound great but i caught the bug again so i think i want to buy either the focal cobalt 816's or 826's towers & the cobalt cc 800s center. BUT, after reading a bunch of magazines & online forums i'm not so sure. do these speakers match up to the axiom/psb.wharfedale, etc?? the focals i get pretty much at cost from a friend that luckily happens to work @ sound advice. i have a denon 3805 receiver. am i just buying overpriced speakers w/ a fancy name when i could get better sound from another company????? (i listen to 50% music, 50% movies)

 

[zumbo]

Great speakers.
You like the way they sound.
You get them at cost. (Luckeeeeeeey)
You are keeping the brand in your system.
Why bother?

 

[fredejo]

i just ordered the center channel (focal cobalt 800s), but am wondering if i should go with the focal 816 or 826 tower. one is 2-way one is three way, both have 6½'s. they only had the 816s hooked up which sounded great, but didnt have quite enough bass for my taste. the 826's are $1300 more, is it worth it or will my sub make up for it? (w/ denon 3805) hmmmm....

 

[zumbo]

I doubt they would be worth 1300 more to me, but I am certain they are worth more.

Why are you concerned about bass? Don't you have a sub?

I would recommend a sub with either.

 

[highfihoney]

i dont know weather my thoughts will help you decide or not but the way i see it there is no way to substitute real bass from your main speakers,subs are great for ht but when it comes to music i much prefer true full range speakers that give up the bass.

if you are set on getting one of the pairs you auditioned the better move would be to go with the 816's,the difference in bass response between the 816 & 826 is very small,neither speaker will go below 40hz & both will require a sub for a full range sound.

with the cash you'd save from buying the 816's you could buy a pair of stereo sub's & have fantastic stereo bass response.

so you know that im not bashing focal/jm labs i own a jm lab's center & i love it.

 

[Sheep]

i dont know weather my thoughts will help you decide or not but the way i see it there is no way to substitute real bass from your main speakers,subs are great for ht but when it comes to music i much prefer true full range speakers that give up the bass.

if you are set on getting one of the pairs you auditioned the better move would be to go with the 816's,the difference in bass response between the 816 & 826 is very small,neither speaker will go below 40hz & both will require a sub for a full range sound.

with the cash you'd save from buying the 816's you could buy a pair of stereo sub's & have fantastic stereo bass response.

so you know that im not bashing focal/jm labs i own a jm lab's center & i love it.

Ummm, Your mains speakers consist of tweeters with bass modules...

Bass modules are subs....

SheepStar

 

[highfihoney]

Ummm, Your mains speakers consist of tweeters with bass modules...

Bass modules are subs....

SheepStar

hi sheep,i get a kick outta the country music deal every time i read it but it pissed my wife off she listens to that drool too bad for her

an excellent designed "full range speaker" should go from atleast 20hz to 20,000hz & consist of bass,mid bass & high,it should also have a crossover point for each section of drivers,anything less than 20hz is not really full range for bass.

bass modules are subs but for good stereo seperation & imaging its far better sounding if you have a full stereo bass response either from the main speakers or stereo subs,a single sub is a mono speaker & will produce lots of bass but will not give great imaging & no stereo seperation.

recieving all the low end bass response from a single source is no different than recieving all the high end response from a single source,no stereo seperation.

as always my comments apply to the 2 channel music listening experience

 

[Sheep]

hi sheep,i get a kick outta the country music deal every time i read it but it pissed my wife off she listens to that drool too bad for her

an excellent designed "full range speaker" should go from atleast 20hz to 20,000hz & consist of bass,mid bass & high,it should also have a crossover point for each section of drivers,anything less than 20hz is not really full range for bass.

bass modules are subs but for good stereo seperation & imaging its far better sounding if you have a full stereo bass response either from the main speakers or stereo subs,a single sub is a mono speaker & will produce lots of bass but will not give great imaging & no stereo seperation.

recieving all the low end bass response from a single source is no different than recieving all the high end response from a single source,no stereo seperation.

as always my comments apply to the 2 channel music listening experience

hahaha, I didn't know she reads it. Maybe I should put it in bold letters...

Oh, your talking about stereo subs. I agree that more subs are better, but I would not go as far as saying 1 bass source is the same as 1 treble source.

Other then that, I totally agree.

SheepStar

 

[highfihoney]

hahaha, I didn't know she reads it. Maybe I should put it in bold letters...

Oh, your talking about stereo subs. I agree that more subs are better, but I would not go as far as saying 1 bass source is the same as 1 treble source.

Other then that, I totally agree.

SheepStar

she only saw it because i used it as an example for her to see how bad country music truly sucks & had her read it she's doing pretty good with the music selection right now though,she has some santana going.

i admit my example was a tad drastic but many people forget about having a stereo bass response & think that 1 subwoofer will be just as good.

 

[AudioArcher]

816

I've heard those Focal JML Cobalt 816S's. They are SWEEET! What sub would you use with them? Martin Logan?

 

[fredejo]

just hooked up the focal 800s center chanel, huge improvement over the focal sib for a center. 3 1/2 weeks till i get the 816 towers..... cant wait for that, thanks again for the input