Focal - JM Lab Owner's Thread - Page 8

I was refering tot he Sib bookshelf (meaning the smallest one). They come out to be right around 300/pair whereas i can get the 706s for the 350 a pair new.

so i guess ill go ahead for the 706.

Yea,
I definitely think that the 706's will outperform the sib bookshelf speaker. Congrats and please post what your feelings are about them. I haven't heard too much regarding them. Your insight will be valuable

Also what are the difreences between the Chorus S and the CHorus V?

The tweeter and possibly the crossovers are different. I think the V is the newer model. The tweeter looks to be better in the V. They seem to have lowered the distortion in it.
Here is an explanation of it.
"After the experience we gained in the creation of the famous tweeter in pure Beryllium, we invented the TNC tweeter, the first tweeter with the aluminummagnesium alloy.This alloy proved to have excellent damping qualities too and resulted in the entirely new TNV of Chorus 700 V.

A new mousse for surround suspension with reinforced mechanical properties, new configuration of the neodymium motor, entirely reconceived design, this new tweeter benefits from all the latest Focal research. Harmonic distortion is divided by three at 1000Hz, by 6 at 500Hz: the sweetness of the reproduction in the medium is transformed. Also, we entirely ceased the use of ferro-fluid in the tweeter, as the new motor design improves the power handling: the dynamic behavior of the tweeter is improved with a rendering of details and an air in the extreme treble of the utmost quality."

"The TNV tweeter had capitalized on the immense experience and knowledge acquired with the pure Beryllium tweeter of the Grande Utopia Be concerning the reproduction of higher frequencies: importance of damping, elimination of the phase piece for standing distortion, emergence of the concept of optimization of performance at the source, which consists of obtaining the characteristics of ideal loudspeakers without having to return to mechanical or electrical corrections at the crossover, a very risky and dangerous approach."

Thanks mike. I ended up getting a pair of Cobalt 806S. I chose this for a variety of reasons but at the top of the list was the metal grills look way nicer than cloth to me.

My new question is can i fully integrate these as my mains for home theatre (meaning is focal a good HT sound like klipsch) or should i stick to stereo music?

First off a big congrats. Glad to welcome you to the Focal family. Second, you can absolutely integrate them for HT. You would need a sub of course, but they would be just fine. Focal is great for HT. Basically one rule that some people follow is if it is good for music, it will be good for HT. Are you going to start out with 2 and then build a system slowly. What are you using to power them. We will need to hear your thoughts when they are connected.

Im going to get the 706S at 350/pair through some drop ship dealer for about the rear 2. For center im going to try to get a hold of the Cobalt 800 S Center (since i want the matching metal grills). Not sure what subw ould compliment that setup.

Also would accept any suggestions that you have for an reciever that would power these things.

806's for the fronts and the 800 S center with the 706's should be pretty good. For a receiver any Denon or Pioneer that has at least 85w should be fine. But if you can afford more, get it. It all depends on how much you want to spend.
For Denon I see:
AVR-787-$499
AVR-887-$699
AVR-1907-$549
AVR-2307CI $-799
For pioneer
VSX-816-K/S $299
VSX-80TXV- $650
For something else you may want to look at
Outlaw Audio Model 1070 $899
So again, it all depends on what you want to spend. But that should give you an idea. All you need to do is do some quick searches on them. How much did you want to spend for the sub? With a limit, I could give you a few options. Any other questions, just ask.

go for the outlaw

I dont have a set price, i just need a sub that will cause as minimal vibrations to the floor as possible. Simple ebcause i dont need my neighbors in my apt building complaining about it.

all subs will do that unfortunately. But you could get a subdude.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SubDude/
Put that under your sub and it might limit the complaints.
If you are talking under or around $1000 the you will want to look at SVS HSU AXIOM.
www.********** may have some choices for you
also check out
http://www.audioc.com/speakers1/spea...#acisubwoofers
They are supposed to be very good.
Those are some choices to get you going.

Hi guys,

What do you think if I can get this center for 2k brand new in box? Is it a good deal compare to the discounted profile now at about 1.4k ? Has anyone listened and compared between electra cc1000be vs profile cc908 yet? b/c I want to upgrade all the way from cc700s.
Thanks all !

Get it before the dealer changes his mind. My guy at JM said it is just a fantastic speaker. I have the cc901 and I asked if I should upgrade or would there be a big difference. What do you think he said . Do it and you will have a fantastic center. If I could I would. Maybe sometime in the future for me. But I would jump on that one if I could.

I am currently building a dedicated home theater in a new home and have auditioned many speaker systems. The best two channel I have heard are the 826. The only place in my area that sells focal doesn't have a theater set up for listening, so I am looking for any opinions on how the center channel and surrounds sound. the 2 way center channel is probably my biggest hang up on pulling the trigger.

Mike, so you said that number is the best deal to get it in term of its value compare to many other top models center speaker out there. I can't wait to get it when my budget is about ready. I think this center should be very good. It's very close to the utopia center. I have not seen any review comment for the cc1000be yet !

Like I said, that should be a fantastic center. My guy at JM said that it is really good. One day I will upgrade to that. If there are no comments then you can be the first. Your accounts will be helpful. I think the retail is much higher then that. Other top centers are much higher then that. If you get it, you will surely take your HT to the next level. It will be great with the 927's that you have.

Go for the center it matches seamlessly with 826V It images as good as the mains becasue it uses the same tweet and woofs, it images so good that it carves its own 3d space in the center of the soundstage, just pure...
You Cant go wrong with the center, it sounds very lifelike with voices crossedover at 60hz it will sing!, the surrounds I dont use

i listened to the chorus 836v yesterday and loved it, my big concern is the cc800 center , it just seems so small, can it handle 80% of a movie . The size of the center is the only thing stopping me from buying focal

Here is a link to some pictures of my new home theater setup.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8AaOWzJy0buGK7

My setup includes the new Focal Chorus 836V fronts, CC 800V center and SR800 surrounds. My amplifier is a Parasound Halo A52 with the C2 controller/processor.

It took a couple of days but I believe I finally have everthing sucessfully connected and configured. I initially thought I had a bad processor unit since upon setting up the auto-calibration, I got poping noise and the light on that channel was blinking on my amp. After some careful troubleshooting, I realized one of my brand new Audioquest Type 8 cables had a short in it. This was the absolute last step of my testing process as I was thinking I had a bad center speaker. So luckily I was able to use my previous monster bi-wire cable on this center by using a plug and spade to join the two appropriate ends to the positive and negative posts. With this temporary change in place I was finally in business and able to calibrate and setup my system.

The more I thought about this speaker cable issue, I believe that is the true reason my Onkyo receiver kept shutting down on me. The cable obviously had a short in it and was causing the receiver to go into protection mode.

My initial impressions of this completed system are very positive. I saw the comments previously about whether the CC 800 V speaker was beefy enough to handle center channel. I know it is slightly smaller than my Polk Center channel speaker it replaced but so far it is lacking nothing that I can detect. Overall my experience has been that the seperation of the channels is much sharper and more distinct than my previous system. This may partially be helped out by the inclusion of a dedicated amp. But so far these Focal speakers have an added level of clarity and distinction that my Polk system could not quite match. Even though that system was great also. At times I feel like I am back to when I intially setup my original surround system and finding myself turning around to notice the rear surround effects that seem new again. I know there is a break in period for both these speakers and the new amplifier. So I fully expect the sound quality to only get better.

Nice pics congrats! the system looks like its kicks a**
Polk is a great company but nothing it has out now can top the Chorus V line!

Here are some Focal history/background reading links for all the Focal Fans...

France's Best Kept Secret
Jacques Mahul Stereophile Interveiw
Focal Video Interveiw (Cinenow)

HJJ.
A very nice looking setup indeed. I like the look of the Halo products in the wall unit . Very nice comments on how the whole system sounds. It is good to hear that you are satisfied. Please keep updating as you notice things in your system,
Vampyro, thanks for the links

hello hjj i am very seriously considering getting the same focal combination, they look great
do you have the time to post some honest thoughts about your new system in regards to some popular movies, my only concern is that center. I wish my local dealer would allow a home trial.
thank you in advance

I was really suprised at the sound it puts out. Don't let its size fool you.

Great thread. I'm probably very close to purchasing either a pair of 806 V's or 807 V's for my stereo setup in my bedroom to match with my NAD components. The 807 V's might be visually dominating but I want to hear them as I've been told they're more open and dynamic. Currently I'm leaning towards the 807s.

I recently had the opportunity to hear the much of the Focal line of speakers through the same setup. Overall, the new Chorus line is the sweetheart of the bunch. In particular I listened to the 816V and I found its sound to be better then the profile series. In fact, I thought its midrange warmth and presence was a a mite more enjoyable then the 1000Be series. Yet clarity and resolve was certainly a bit lower in quality compared to the 1000Be. I would avoid the Profile, this speaker unfortunately does not perform up the standards of its looks.

Comparing the Chorus to the Paradigm Studio 100 v.4, I would give the Chorus the nod. The midrange area seemed to have better body and focus. Mind that neither are amazing, but the Chorus represents its self extremely well at its price point.

WOW . Look at all this great info on the Chorus line. It really seems that they hit a good mark with them. Please keep posting on what you experience. It is very helpful. You guys are really doing a great job on conveying your experiences. They look great in the pictures. I am sure that they look very nice up close as well.

I am only at about day 3 or 4 of having my new system setup and configured so I am still in the early stages of seeing what this system can really do. I can say that I find myself looking for deficiencies in that center now but I honestly can not say any have been detected at this point. I guess it is all in what you are used to but I really doubt you will find a better center for the money. And I can confirm without a doubt it is better than my previous Polk center.

The biggest difference in this setup versus my previous setup is the separation of each channel and how clean it sounds. I had an Xbox 360 racing game demo playing through my system over the weekend. In an opening scene, they had a racing car zoom by on the screen. I literally tracked my head from left to right at the roar of the car zooming from my left front to the center and finally to the right front. I am looking forward to picking up that new HD DVD drive that Xbox just put on the market. It is the most cost effective path to HD DVD at this time since I believe it is only $199. But I will be trying out my new Mission Impossible 3 DVD on my existing DVD player soon. Along with some of my old favorites like the Matrix and Gladiator. Both of those have scenes that many salesmen use in their showrooms to show off their speakers.

Does anyone know when Focal is going to come out with the surround speakers for the Electra line? That is the only thing keeping me from considering them. I would love to have the 1027's up front, the CC1000 center, and some surrounds whenever they come out. I need wall mounts cause my wire is already in the wall. Anyone heard of a release date?

Need,
They may be out all ready, just not on the website. They would be called the SR1000Be. I would contact your local dealer or Audio Plus Services directly.
http://www.audioplusservices.com/frame.html
from that page goto contacts