csertich

I bought the 165K's (PolyKevlar) component set (tweeters too) from Rod Birch and my installer used the stock grills for both the 6.5 speakers and the tweeters. Great fit and sound. Had this set up for over 6 years and really like it.

chuck

shu

That seems like a good deal. Focals are great speakers. I did have to so a little bit of trimming to get them to fit

Tonydec

I also have the K2's, great speakers, and all Focal typically have very good sound, even there home stuff (JM Lab). Had to get tweeter pods made as the Focals did not fit the stock pods. You would really have to know the Porsche pods to tell the difference.

95_993

I have been looking into Focal 165's for more than a year. The VR's couldn't be beat at that price so I pulled the trigger. They should be here next week.

TxnBluDvl

For those of you on the fence, this price is valid at Amazon. As of right now, there's 277 still available.

Dudley

I have the Focal 165Ks as well. They fit and perform great.
I would assume the VRs are even better.

bart1

No you're not...

Don't feel bad, while it's not Aventurine, my speakers have green logos (not installed yet and this is somebody else's pic)

ggg1ggg

Okay, my newly purchased Focal 165VR's are in. You be the judge, but I think it's close to OEM look:



To get the tweeter pods out, I followed the well known instructions of pinching at 1:00 and 7:00 (driver's side) and 11:00 and 5:00 (passenger side). I used two chisels wrapped in shop towels - some people have used vice grips but I didn't have one that worked well.

The Nokia speaker comes out really easily - just use a small screwdriver and push in each of the tabs shown below. The whole assembly comes out.


I didn't want to glue the new Focal tweeters into the OEM pods, so I used picture putty:


To fit, the tweeters were oriented a couple degrees off of the true angle of the speaker pod. Also, I had to remove two little rivets on the door panel that were holding the tweeter mounting piece on (there are four rivets in total - two should be sufficient) - the rivets were hitting the Focal tweeter and preventing a fit.

To get the midwoofers in, I had to trim the pressboard panel a bit using a box cutter. Strangely, the Infinity Kappa 6.5in speakers I had in there before fit without trimming, but the Focals needed trimming.

Oh, and note that there is no visible Focal badge on the grills. I removed them with a screwdriver and cleaned up the glue with Goo-Gone. There's a slight indentation from where the badge was, but hardly noticeable and mostly hidden by the door pocket.

Finally: what to do with the crossovers. Cable lengths were limited, so instead of extending them to hide in the door pocket, the crossover is sitting right beside the speakers.

konstantin23

ggg1ggg,

great job and thanks for the write up, but most importantly - how is the sound?

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive....

ggg1ggg

Oh yeah - forgot that part.

Here's my setup:
- Pioneer MVH-P8200BT head unit
- Alpine PDX-4 4x100W amp
- 2 JL Audio 8" subs (Rod Birch footwell setup)
- Focal 165-VR 2-way component speakers in door
- OEM (Nokia) rear deck speakers

It's been an evolution from the factory Nokia speaker with the PO's aftermarket head unit, then some Infinity Kappa coaxials, then added the amp and subwoofers, and finally, swapped out the Kappas for the Focals when I saw that great price on Amazon.

To be honest, I don't notice a dramatic difference between the Kappas and the Focals. They're both amazing. I wouldn't have done this if I didn't have the great Rod Birch setup all round - now I have my perfect car audio system, and the Focals look WAY better in the doors than the Kappas.

Now I can finally start focusing on the important stuff - like Fister Stage IIIs, coilovers, etc.

konstantin23

Just installed the 165VRs last night and they definitely sound better than the old and shot ones.
What's the best setting for those cross-overs? Anyone played around with them? Also, any good combination with the bass/treble settings?

Just wondering if someone already had the time to toy around and try out some combinations...
Mine's got Bass +7, Treble +4 and the crossovers are in standard mode. Sounds good, but probably there's always room for tweaking...

I'm running them from the OEM CR210, and I'm actually impressed that it sounds good enough without an amp.

CorrdoBrit

So are these speakers plug and play if i have the HIFi option? Any cutting involved? What about the midrange (upper cone).

Tonydec

Konstantin, those variables will change with every car depending on the rest of the components. I would recommend having them set with an analyzer,most higher end shops should have one. You want to try and set the signal as flat as you can. That will balance everything out. Then you can tweak to your preference, but you need a balanced base line to start with. It's really hard with cars, the analyzer really shortens the curve. Plus, if you set it as flat as you can, you can use the tone controls to really make those individual tracks or CD tweeks. Most folks use the tone controls to set that "base", then there is little to nothing left to use them for those individual tweeks.

I would recommend they place the mike as close to where your head would be for the best results for you. Screw the passengers if the sound stage is off a tad! : )

95_993

ggg1ggg,

Using the technique described above, were you able to do it WITHOUT removing the door panels??

95_993

Well, I did the install the morning. It went very smooth overall. The difference in sound quality is HUGE over the stock Nokia (mine were shot). I am using them with a basic Kenwood head unit for now and I am pleased with the overall result. Looks very stock, sounds WAY better. $250 well spent.

I mounted the crossover in the door pocket so it's not visible. You can get to the settings by flipping open the armrest. Settings -2db on tweeters and 6db on main.

My only snag, was one of the tabs snapped off the OEM tweeter cover when I was putting it on. Last step....MURPHY's LAW. I will call Sunset in the morning to order up another. I used a little hot glue to hold the tweeters in.