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Focal Speakers The Spirit of Sound

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  #1  
Old 09-30-2013, 09:48 PM
lordemsworth lordemsworth is offline
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Default Focal/Dynaudio

Hello all Focal fans,

I'm wondering how one would characterize the Focal sound to other brands (Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, B&W, others).

I've always like the Focal sound, but most times I would end up choosing a competitor.

I wanted to share a couple of experiences.

Music:
Kiri Te Kanawa - Puccini Arias
Joseph Calleja - Tenor Arias
Pascal Roge - Satie Gymnopedie
Haitink LSO - Beethoven Symphony 7
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Marvin Gaye - Best of
Stacey Kent - Raconte Moi
The Faces - Ooh La La

First, the PM1s - nice speakers. Really nice speakers. Physically, beautifully finished on the sides, nice stands, but the material between the veneers look like it was made of the same thing car dashboards ten years ago.

If I had listened to only the PM1s, I may have been happy.

And then I listened to the 805 Diamonds - everything the PM1s did and more. Better fleshed out midrange, more sound emanating from beyond the speakers, greater frequency response. Oh - and the stands for PM1s are better than the 805 Diamonds. Also, you don't realize how small the PM1s are.

Both were powered by a Bryston Amp 100SST and fed with the Bryston Music Player and Bryston DAC. I know - not tubes, but the shop didn't carry any - and my amp is currently in storage.

Next, on to the Dynaudio C1s - driven by a VTL amp and using a Project Music Server playing lossless audio and Moon CD Player.

I finally understood the bass comment. In the track 'Ooh La La' there is a bass drum line that carries the song through. On the B&Ws (either), you barely heard it. On the Dynaudios - you could use it to keep time. The C1s did not seem to extend as high as the B&Ws (could be the Project Music Server), but they seemed to provide more of a complete musical picture because of their lower frequencies.

I then gave the Focal another chance. I dismissed them the last time, but when I thought, what the heck, one more time.
Electronics were a Naim SuperUniti. Maybe it is just me, but whenever I see a picture of the Electra Series, I seem to dismiss them from a physical perspective. The pictures on the web don't do them justice. When I sat down and had a pair of the 1008 BEs on black stands - very, very pretty.

When I had heard the Electra 905s many years ago, they were a little bright. I expected these to also be bright. They were not. I felt the 805 Diamonds had greater clarity than the Dynaudios, but the Electras were more extended than the B&Ws without sounding like they were poking screwdrivers in my ears.

On 'The Faces' track, that bass drum line was there, maybe not as prominent as the Dynaudios, but very much present. Through the two opera arias, I had to listen all the way through because I couldn't make myself stop listening.

Yet on another listen, I ended up preferring a pair of Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors (not M) and chose them over the Focal because I felt they conveyed emotion a bit (much?) better.

Happy to have a discussion about Focal.

Lord Emsworth
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Old 09-30-2013, 11:19 PM
harri009 harri009 is offline
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Didn't you just buy some S1.4's? How would you compare the above to the S1.4?
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Old 09-30-2013, 11:20 PM
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I've never heard a Focal that didn't drive me out of the room inside of five minutes...
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Old 09-30-2013, 11:36 PM
lordemsworth lordemsworth is offline
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Puma Cat - now that you ask the question, there was the question of value.
The Focal provided alot of what the Dynaudio did, but were much less expensive. For me the Focal were a less expensive replacement.

In my humble opinion, if I closed my eyes, I would have sworn the C1s were a floorstander.

And yes - I just bought S1.4s - this listening experience I shared occurred a year ago, but I had logged it, just didn't get around to sharing it.

One further note - this comment about the Focals being bright is actually pretty common. You have to be uber careful matching components. Focal are fast and detailed, but the 1008s were the first pair that I had heard that also had a midband that held up to the tweeter.

Last edited by lordemsworth; 09-30-2013 at 11:44 PM.
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Old 09-30-2013, 11:40 PM
Still-One Still-One is offline
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Personally I would take most Focal Utopia speakers over any other options other than MBL or Alexandria/XLF's.
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Old 10-01-2013, 12:01 AM
lordemsworth lordemsworth is offline
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The Utopias are so far up the chain!

Audio is a wonderful hobby, but many of us can only bask in the glow Utopias, or Evidence, or Aidas at audio shows, or if really lucky, a friend's home.

It's great the Focal drives some of that technology into their lower lines and give us an opportunity to experience it in some form.
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Old 10-01-2013, 01:22 AM
Pider Pider is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Puma Cat View Post
I've never heard a Focal that didn't drive me out of the room inside of five minutes...
That's been my experience as well, although I experienced these when I was just cutting my teeth and was unaware of what model, and what was driving them. In all honesty, I should go back and have another listen now that I've some experience under my belt. The S1.4's are awfully nice, though.
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Old 10-01-2013, 03:37 AM
raidho raidho is offline
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Hallo Lord Emsworth,

sorry but is not so easy decide this or the other speaker with allway a differente setup! one with tube, one was fully Bryston&Dac... How can you decide what is the "best" speaker?

And the price liga between a 805D and a C1 versus a Focal 1008be!

The C1 is a amazing speaker to hear voices & Co. better from a 805D that have a tweeter made ​with the hardest material in the world..anyway the C1 is more performer.

using the Focal the correct competitor is the Utopia Diablo: no way for the other challengers.


Now you have a SFaber. Waht for amplifier / cd player you use?

Thanlk you Style
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Old 10-01-2013, 11:34 AM
lordemsworth lordemsworth is offline
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Raidho,

Fair point.
The challenge is not all dealers have all equipment.
You hope that they can setup the 'system' to showcase the individual components to the best of their abilities.

Home demos are ideal. Being able to bring in your own equipment can be a hassle.
I would be very hesitant to bring in the ARC VSI55 every time I wanted to demo a new pair of speakers.

If we end up comparing the C1 to the Focal Diablo Utopia - it would be interesting. I know the Diablos are very fast. Very, very fast.
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Old 10-01-2013, 01:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lordemsworth View Post
Raidho,

Fair point.
The challenge is not all dealers have all equipment.
You hope that they can setup the 'system' to showcase the individual components to the best of their abilities.

Home demos are ideal. Being able to bring in your own equipment can be a hassle.
I would be very hesitant to bring in the ARC VSI55 every time I wanted to demo a new pair of speakers.

If we end up comparing the C1 to the Focal Diablo Utopia - it would be interesting. I know the Diablos are very fast. Very, very fast.
The C1s are very, very fast, too, and they don't have that inverted dome tweeter that the Focal's have. I think this is why I didn't like them or the Wilson's that used the Focal tweeter. Just can't handle that tweeter. I like the Alexia better because it uses a soft dome tweeter like the Dyns do.

But, everyone's different; it's great there are offerings in the market that meet people's needs.
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