Focal - JM Lab Owner's Thread - Page 76

You should take them back to the store and see if they can help you. Or you should contact http://www.audioplusservices.com/frame.html
They are the distributor for focal(JM) speakers.

Tweeter is clearing out the Focal 918CLA for $2000.00 a pair. Would this be an upgrade from Revel Performa F32s? I am trying to move from the Revels that I find to be a bit forward for my taste. Are they warm sounding speaker? How is the matching center channel performance? Please don't refer me to read this thread as there are only a few 918s left in my city, and I need to buy a pair today or tomorrow. Thanks.

I have the 918's and thought they were forward initially. They took a long time to break in. Now I love them. It also helps to have good components hooked up to them. I have never heard the Revels so I can't comment on how they would compare to each other.

Focal's are definitely not warm. I would look to Dali or maybe Dynaudio.

Thx. Which one has the best center for around $2000.00 MSRP? Any other brand come to mind?

Sorry...i'm a little confused.
Did you get these speakers for $300?? ...and did they already have bad tweeters?

I have them as well and am trying to find some quality gear to upgrade to.
My dealer also said that they could be refinished...they have 6 layers of MDF so you aren't going to hurt the structure. I would just be worried about cosmetics. If you trust your 'skilled refinishers' than I would say go for it. Just make sure they REALLY protect the exposed components. A nice black laquer would look sweet!

I agree they aren't the warmest speaker out there.
You may also want to check out B&W. When I was auditioning speakers I found them more laid back and, well, warmer.
Having said that, I would be surprised if you didn't like them. They are a great speaker, especially for that price. I was in the same situation....I got the 918's in Signature and got a great deal because that finish was also being phased out. I had 2 days to decide. I;m glad I pulled the trigger. Just need to find some better gear now.

As far as the centre goes, I love mine....very accurate. I like that it is a true 3-way design.

I may audition them. I bought the Revel Performa F32 and C32. These speaker are known for their accuracy and very flat response. The center is a 3-way also. I use my Onkyo 805 as pre-pro and used a Proceed amp and the NHT Power5, and it is just too bright for me with both amps. The 805 could also be the culprit as I find the Onkyo a little bright. I have been a long time Mirage OM owner so I am used to a warm/colored sound. I guess I have to give them sometime to see if I could get used to their sound.

I have the same situation with my Denon 2807. I think it's a little bright and less clean than the Profiles deserve. I'm waiting to see the latest AVR from Arcam but it might be awhile. I heard one at my speaker shop and it sounded so much better than my Denon. I think all those Japanese AVRs are bright sounding compared to others out there. I'd love to go separates mind you but I'm already pushing it financially.

If you want a professional review check out:
http://www.guidetohometheater.com/sp...918/index.html

^^^Thank you, acopeman. I will check it out.

The tweeters work and I don't know if its more cosmetic - but they are kind of messed up looking. I just want to make sure if I'm keeping speakers like this that I have everything working 100%.

and yes I got them for 300 for the pair and yes I am very very fortunate to have speakers like that

Well I found my wife's Canon point & shoot and was able to get a few pics of the Focal 907 Be's. Finally. Still waiting for my new Nikon. Boys and their toys. hehehehe.

Hopefully one of you can tell me how to load the pics directly into the message for next time.

Nice Scorpio. They look really good siting on those stands. The Naim gear looks nice as well. When you listen to music, do you pull them up so there is nothing between them? It is hard to tell how they are setup from that angle. Do you see yourself eventually getting a full HT setup based on them? or are you going to leave them for 2ch only. Again, it looks great.

Thanks MikeDuke. Actually I don't have lots of space as you can see, but they are about a foot out in front of the rack and a few feet from both walls. Contemplating changing stands soon. Possibly changing room around also.....

Funny you mention HT. When I look at all the wonderful setups on here, I get envious and start thinking about it. Every now and then I run the tv speakers through the pre while watching a flick. But I always revert back to my 2ch. Now this can all change when we decide to buy a new home in a couple of years.

Ed

That's cool. I know all about room constraints. I am currently pushing my room to the limit. But again, those are nice speakers and I am sure they sound great with that gear.

and I thought I got a good deal...
you deserve a round of applause.

did they come with tweeter covers?
I leave mine on for that reason...extra protection

$300 for a pair of 918s?!! Well if you can get those tweeters taken care of that is a steal! I got a good deal, but not that good.

I guess it is long enough and my dealer is out of buisness. I got my 1027's for $2000 and the trade in of my 927's. Retail at that time was still $7500. Pretty good deal I think. There was no way I could say no to that. But getting a pair of speakers that retail for $3995 for $300 is for certain an incredible deal fintheman.l.

Thanks for posting those pics....I love the look of those bookshelfs.
I bet they sound nice with the Naim gear.

Hopefully we get a few more takers for Show And Tell.

I did have a question though....about having the speakers futher forward relative to the display. (hifisponge suggested I do this too...maybe he could also comment) Just curious as to the reason behind it. Is it for better imaging while watching something on the TV or for 2-channel as well? I might try it but i'd like to hear the theory first. I, too, have room constraints.

Again...nice speakers!

Hiya!

It helps to have your speakers in front of your equipment / TV, because the speakers radiate sound to their sides as well as out into the room. This sound is then reflected off of your equipment and reaches your ears a little later than the direct sound (we're talking milliseconds). The reflected sound is not only late, which muddies the waters related to imaging, but the speaker's frequency response is often different to the sides than the direct sound, which can color and distort the sound. Not to mention that the varying shapes of the gear between your speakers will reflect some but not all of the sound, which again jumbles the sound. This all sounds worse than it typically is, and the improvement is often noticeable but not dramatic. Still, you should notice improved precision of imaging and image depth by removing equipment between your speakers or placing it as far back as you can.

Yes. I have to agree with HIFI. When I had my 927's, I had them both in the corner with the wall unit and TV between them. I always got very good sound but I never got that center image where the music just seems to come from the middle of the speakers. I always heard this at my old store, but I thought that was because their gear was better then mine. Then, one day, I pulled them up so there was nothing between them and BAM, I got that center image. It was very cool. It was not my equipment, it was the placement.

I would be all over the 1027's for that. I heard a pair at Tweeter on a Cambridge seperate setup....very nice. The bass is much stronger than my Profiles, and they are way more stable (Profiles biggest fault). I haven't heard them in a while so I don't know if the tweeter is more laid back than the ones in my Profiles (they were before for sure). To be totally fair I would have to bring some home for a test drive

Scorpio-

That is a nice little 2 channel setup you have. Those speakers look great. I have never heard Naim gear before, but I bet that sounds fantastic.

I was looking at a little 2 channel setup for my office using Monitor Audio bookshelves (not sure of the model number) that sounded pretty nice, but those would definitely smoke them.

Cambridge and Focal are under the same umbrella of Audio Plus Services so I would hope they would sound good together . I have never heard the profiles but from what I have read I would guess that the tweeters in the 1027 are a bit more laid back. As for Bass, it is no surprise that you heard a difference. Your profile has a 6 1/2 inch woofer and a 6 1/2 in mid bass driver. My 1027's have 2 6 1/2 inch woofers and a 6 1/2 inch midrange. Plus the cabinet is different. But the 1037's have better bass then my speakers do with the 3 7 inch woofers that they have . But I am sure that the profiles sound great.

Mike/HIFI....

Thanks for the explanations; it makes sense.
I think I will play around with the placement a bit and see what happens.

just to piggyback--agree with hifi and mike having them further out than the tv in between is critical--imaging, center image all seem to be dramatically affected by what is in between. probably has to do with the degree of direct vs reflected sound--probably also why toe-in is so important--the tweeter is so fast that no detail (including how the sound is reflected off the walls) is too small to affect sound. just a guess as to the reason but I definitely have personally witnessed the result.

Hey scorpio those are real beauties!!! COngrats--looks like you are enjoying them--those naim components are little hotties too! I didn;t realize how beautiful and rich the finish on those 907's was. wow.

Are you finding the bass to be better than the chorus series? I know you were impressed with the difference in treble/mids and imaging. curious if the whole spectrum was vastly improved.

cheers,
deno

Acopeman,

Thanks for the compliments. As far as imaging goes MikeDuke and Hifi explained it perfectly. With my speakers closer to the rear walls and slightly arear of the TV, all imaging died and they sounded terrible to be honest. With them placed in front of the TV, much better. I'm trying to rearrange the kit so that nothing is between the spekaers. I'll let you know if it improves anything if I ever get it done.

Bool,

I appreciate the kind words. It took lots of help form Hifi, Deno and Mikeduke to get me into a very good pair of Focal speakers. When I was shopping for a new CD player Cambridge Audio and Rega were at the top of my list. My dealer suggested I listened to the Naim kit since I was there. lol. After about 10 seconds I was sold. Already planning an upgrade only two months into the Naim sound.

I think you would be happy with some MA's for the office. They were on my short list with Paradigm, B&W, Revel and the eventual winner Focals.

Ed

Thanks Deno. You know you can hlep take some of the credit. Your advise was invaluable. At first i seemed as if things were not a great deal better than the 807's. Once I played with placment and different types of music, the bass is more forceful. It remains fast and musical and it is not sloppy.

I guess have the better tweeter and cabinet design vastly improves this speaker over my 807s, which I thought were damn good to start with. I still haven't gotten around to filling them stands with sand yet, so I'll PM you with my impressions as soon as I get that done.

Again, thanks to everyone who offered advise and help when I inquired.

Ed

Well gentlemen...you learn something new everyday.

As per your advice I moved my Profiles out a bit from their position. Before I did so I played a track on CD and closed my eyes to get a good feel for the sound and its "position". As a matter of fact, lately I have been constantly altering the DB level of my fronts because I kept hearing one stronger than the other; and I could always pinpoint where the sound came from. Then I moved them out a bit and played the same track...again with closed eyes. Just like you said, the imaging did improve. Now I had more difficulty identifying L/R, and everything seemed to move to the centre. It may even sound a little cleaner but I need to do some more listening.

Thanks for the tips...