Focal - JM Lab Owner's Thread

Sweet. I guess most people know how I feel about JM/Focal . The very first time I heard the Grand Utopia's and then every line under that I knew that they were great. I always ended up it those rooms. They just sounded great with all different kinds of electronics. When I heard them at audio shows, again, I loved them. Right now I have a pair of 1027Be's, a cc-901 and a SW900.

I first had the 927's. I would always listen to the 926's. I liked them also. But when I heard that JM was going to make a limited ed speaker with a Be tweeter, I got them without even listening to them. They really suited me well. But then I heard the rumblings. On this site, and my contact at JM. Everything I heard said that the 1027's were scary good. So when the chance of a life time came about, I jumped at the chance. OH MY . These are just plain incredible. The sound that I am getting now out of my system is just plain scary. From the very low lows, which I have in abundance now, through the mids and vocals, up to the high highs are just plain silly good.

I have been a fan of JM since I started learning certain facts about them from my contact. I think they make a great great product. I will be a fan for a very long time. I can't see myself trading out these 1027's in this system, ever. I could go on but I digress... For now

AudioArchitect,

Can you provide more insight on what you mean by they wanted more?

Thanks
Bruce

"Hopefully our Parasound, Bryston, and Arcam gear will open them up"
I just noticed this line. I think it's funny because I am using a Bryston 4b-ST, and 5b-ST with a Halo(parasound) C2 as a preamp for my setup. It sounds killer.
If I can guess what Audio meant by that is that the speakers wanted more and better quality power behind them.

I was in the same boat as MIKEDUKE. I had the older JM 926 and purchased the new 927's be without listening.

I traded them in for the new 1027 with even hearing them.

I have 1027be paired with Utopia center channel. This setup is absolutely the best I have ever owned. ( I also have another room with PSB Platinum setup )

You wont go wrong witht he 1027 and all of the gear that you have.

Thanks. I have managed to find great synergy with my choice of components.

Fancy,
Well lets see:
My speaker wire is Plus level Transparent audio cable
My balanced inter-connects are Transparent audio plus and one pair of
Kubala Sosna Fasanation level balanced inter-connects
MY 5.1 for SACD and DVD-A is Transparent audio
and a Transparent sub cable.
It all adds up to some serious $$$$

I bought the 1027's without even hearing them. I know I know. But from my conversations with my contact at JM and posts here, I knew it would not be a mistake. And like I said, the deal was way to go to pass up. I am so weak

i have looked at the profiles and i just cannot make terms with the inverted triangle housing the tweeter driver.

psychologically an inverted triangle like this is unstable.

utopia, electra and the new 800v series have no such design

imho the 1027be more pleasant to my ears than the sophia and 802d (twice the price)

i have looked at the profiles and i just cannot make terms with the inverted triangle housing the tweeter driver.

psychologically an inverted triangle with one sharp end pointing downwards is unstable.


utopia, electra and the new 800v series have no such design

imho the 1027be is more pleasant to my ears than the sophia and 802d

I think the profile was designed for a certain "look". Maybe more of a contemporary look that would be more room friendly. I think that some people did not like the original "Time Aligned" look. This was a try at getting something more pleasing to the eye, I think. Now personally, I happed to have liked the way the old electras
looked . But I do think it was an attempt to create a more pleasing addition to the room. A "Life Style" speaker, so to speak.

i would like to see a 3 way center in the new chorus 800v series

Considering that the 826 and 836 are 3 way, it may very well be in the future. They are very nice looking speakers. I am sure they will sound as good as they look.

yea the price difference says it all

micro utopia be bass and mid tighter and deeper and treble seems smoother. probably different magnets, materials and designs of the drivers

am just lucky a dealer carrying the two is just 3 min drive from where i live :-)

What models do you have available? Something in the Electra range would be good no doubt, but maybe if you could get the new Chorus 800 V, it would be cool. Just to show what JM can do at a lower price point. But if you demonstrate the 1027's well, which you should be able to do with the equipment you have, I predict some checkbooks will be open at the end of the day. If you have access to Utopia's then a 1027 VS Diva or Alto should be on the menu.

I just thought I would chime in that I am very happy with my Focal powered monitors. I currently have a pair of the Twin6s and a single Solo6 for the center channel. I am driving them with balanced outs from a Arcam AVP 700.

My rear speakers are NHT SuperZeros (space constraints). I will be moving soon and am considering going with a full 5.1 powered monitor setup (a additional Twin6 for the center and a Solo6 for surround).

I have never heard the Solo's. Maybe because they seem to be "professional" models. But that is great that you are happy with them. The fact that they are powered should maybe make them easier to connect. Also a total system may be a bit cheaper since you don't need an amp. An all Solo setup should be sweet.

I also have a full twin6 HT setup (L-C-R), and am very pleased. I don't know if I would call it a less expensive route, as I had to purchase a new Surround Sound Preamp that had XLR connectors, and that is the most expensive part of the system by far.

I guess your are right. But still not having to get amps, some people may consider that a positive. I am guessing that installation could be less complicated? I have never had fully powered speakers before. But I am glad that this option is out there for people to see as well. Again, they look real nice. I guess as far as the cost went, I was going from my point of view. Both HT pre's that I have dealt with have always had balanced connections and that is what I use. But if not, I can see that it would not be as cost effective as I originally alluded to.

I would agree that the Focal Powered monitors are a very good value. You don't need to worry about amplifiers or speaker cables. It takes the guesswork about how much power is required out of the equation. You also don't have to worry about "All Channels Driven" power ratings. You know exactly how much power each individual driver is getting. I believe the Outlaw 990 processor has balanced outs and it retails for around $1000. I paid a bit more for my AVP 700, but it is still less then a pair of the Twin6s.

I forgot about the Outlaw. You are exactly right . Is yours a HT and Music system? I assume they can handle the dynamics of HT with out a problem. They are professional monitors after all.

Yes I have one system that I use about 50/50 for music and HT. I previously had Magnepan speakers which were great for music, but I found that they lacked impact for HT. The Twin6s that I have for the L/R mains have 400 watts RMS each (100 tweeter / 150 each 6.5" woofer) so they are quite dynamic. Maximum output is listed at 115db so full reference level is possible.

400 watts? powered? That sounds like a great setup. These should definitely be considered as an option for more people. I think many people like the idea of having powered speakers. Glad to see that these are ones to really look at. I know you mentioned the MSRP another time, but what it it again?

The Twin6s (Beryllium tweeter and two 6.5" W cone woofers) are $1400 each.
The Solo6s (Beryllium tweeter and a single 6.5" W cone woofer) are $1000 each.

Even the Solo6 packs some impressive dynamics with a dedicated 150 watt amp on the woofer and a 100 watt amp on the tweeter. I believe that the Beryllium tweeter has a 94db sensitivity so throw 100 watts onto that and you do the math. The result is some impressive high frequency dynamic capability. The woofer isn't a slouch either around 90db sensitive I think.

That is a great deal for such good and impressive speakers. I don't think may people(me included) even new about them that much, or that they were good for HT. Thanks for bringing them out into the open

AA Sounds like you have some great lines MA, Dyn, Focal. Can you recap for us?