It seems every winter, i'm upgrading part of my sound system. This year i'm looking to replace the fronts with Focal 165K2P.
From what I have read, these speakers love lots of power.
Will my JL amp at 75 watts a channel, make me and my speakers happy ?? I just got the amp a few months ago and have no plans to upgrade it.
Thanks

 

I would say power is the least of your concerns in getting these speakers to their full potential.

 

Care to elaborate

 

competing with road noise...
install... location, angle, reflections...

 

I can deal with those, my concern is that they will need more power to attain the volume that I normally listen to.

 

Should be plenty loud at 75watts. Definitely enough to wear your hearing down;.

 

I would insulate the hell outta the door....

 

Doors are a terrible thing to do to a nice speaker... I think a door enclosure would work well in an early c4. About .3 is needed. Then you wouldn't need to deaden.

 

I would still insulate. A layer of Frost King will go a long way to cutting down on road noise. Doors are nothing but noise factories.

 

I have been contemplating an enclosure and will be looking into it greater detail when I get a new front stage. I think there is enough space in there for an enclosure of that size.

 

Doors are deadened, but may add more during the next upgrade.

 

You can build out from the front of the panel too. Angle the speaker up a bit.

 

Well, its official. Bought the Focal K2 165 KP's on fleabay today. $340, less than half of what they are selling for here.
Might have to start a new thread quizing other owners about their speaker positions and enclosures.
I have 3 1/2 months to work on this project, good chance I'll get it done before spring.

 

I don't want to freak you out, but there are a lot of focal 165kp fakes floating around ebay selling for under $400... Check them out when they arrive and protect yourself.

The cheapest place I've seen authentic K2P is woofersetc - $650. Sometimes as low as $600.
I heard that the wholesale price is about $500.


What seller did you get them from?

Here's a few things to look for: (stolen from another site)


Serial Number is stamped into the back plate when it should be engraved. The hole on the Black Focal back plate is too large.

Couple of problems with the crossover and tweeter. Yellow on the box is off.

Impressive detail on the board but coils are way off. The caps have a clear heat shrink with the Axon labeled on them. The font is wrong and stretched. No space between the 250VDC. C1 seems to be larger than original. Caps should be C1-3.9, C2-3.3, C3-13 and all 250VDC 5% The real Focal terminal screws will accept both philips and slot screwdrivers, not just philips.

Font is incorrect along with the "TN52" is too large and in a bold font. Black back plate should have machining groves along with a beveled edge, not just a stamped steel plug. Cannot see but there probably is no "FOCAL" stamped into the side of the plastic trim that is part of the diffuser / wave guide cover. Poor solder job on the connections and Focal never strips that much insulation to make the connection. Back to picture #2 the Focal logo on the flush cup is in the wrong place. xxxx commented on his set that the logo will never line up right and look correct when the tweeter is locked in.

The big thing here is the tweeter diaphragm! Just look at your new ones. That crease / ring that is about 1/16" down from the top edge of the diaphragm is just a mess. Plus it is not even around the cone. The cone does not seem as deep / dished as a true Focal. Where cone attaches to the surround is different. The "X" marks that allow a better gluing to the surround to wrong. They use a large hole cell foam surround compared to the small cell neoprene that a true Focal has. The plastic seems to have a smooth finish vs. the Focal satin. Lastly the red stripe on the positive wiring is too thick.

Focal does not wrap the speakers or crossovers in plastic. Cannot see but I have heard there is no Focal warranty card. (Plastic business card size with Focal art on one side with Serial number on the other.) Again the Yellow on the box seems off colour.

asket seems really close but the Zamac coating is too fine and does not seem to have the same sparkle as a Focal. Poor solder job again on the tinsel terminals. The big ugliness is the trimming of the cone. Look where the cone is glued to the surround. This should be a nice clean sharp edge. Plus it looks like the back of the cone is just the foam. There should be a layer of special glass tissue. If there is, it is very rough.

 

Funny you bring that up. I was at Focal's website an hour ago and they had a warning about fakes. I'll cross my fingers.
Here's a link to the auction... http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA:IT&ih=009

 

Keep us posted. The fact he put pics of the speakers in and not stock photos is encouraging.

The packaging (styrofoam) is nearly identical to the styro my focal utopias came in.

*edit

i see you got KP not the K2p with the phase plug. Those go for $400-450 authentic grey market.

 

What site did you get that info ?? I would like to see the pics the author is talking about.

 

I havent been able to find the pics The links were dead in that thread.

 

Thanks for trying