Focal - JM Lab Owner's Thread - Page 105

7Below, the reason I compared it with a well regarded floorstander instead of another bookshelf is because there is no way the Diablo can reproduce full range music like those guys. We don't even need to discuss character or taste, it's just physics. This automatically turns the Diablo into an overpriced product. But Focal has always been like that even with the Chorus line. I bought my 806V 50% because of the nice room decoration that it is. The Diablo is certainly one of the coolest looking bookshelves in the market. So you're paying an extra 150% for aesthetics. Or you can get the Usher that's also very nice looking and spend the rest on a nice painting.

7,
don't forget to gives us an update on your Diablo thoughts.

Not quite sure I agree with that.

One of the reasons I originally purchased Focal is the Chorus S 714 floorstanders I bought were dollar for dollar much better than the others I auditioned....those being B&W, Totem and Klipsch.....all were around 1K.

Perhaps the Utopia line is a little inflated but not the Chorus line.
Great value...

Aww come on if you compare the Chorus to those, of course it's no comparison.

The Chorus 700 + 800 IMO is priced just right due to the nice aesthetics. If it's sound to sound, I'd take a PSB instead.

Respected opinion of course on the PSB's because it's yours. Speakers are like women. Some like blonds. Others brunettes, red heads or shades of colors in between. Sometimes the more the merrier! Nice thing about speakers is if you decide to divorce them, you don't lose half your life savings.

The Diablo's from the reviews I've read are very, very good speakers. Everything I've read has pretty much "blessed" them with their praise. I would love to bring them into my room for a month to get a feel for their output. I do think as you wrote before, 12K for monitors seems costly, but then 30K for the Magico Mini's seems outrageous. Don't suggest that to the guy who buys the Magico's as I am sure he's over the moon with his purchase.

Veda
Your point is understood. If I was on a budget and looking for big music, and cared less about the utmost in overall precision, then I would indeed agree that I would take a larger speaker. Physics does win here. A small to medium room, then the Diablo would be an untouchable choice if you can appreciate what they do.

Mike D
Today I got to sample the Diablo against the Micro. The speaker has about 50hours on it. Cut to the chase and the Diablo clearly makes the Micro sound small, veiled and a little too warm. Diablo has deeper, punchier, more accurate bass and unbelievable, holographic clarity in the midrange through the top end. They image much better, have more detail (a lot more) and sound HUGE in comparison. And she is smoooooth at the same time. This was a direct AB comparison and I can tell you this speaker brings it. It was great on Vinyl, but then they connected the scala, and jeez, I feel bad for anyone buying another speaker in the 30K-40K range who has not considered this gem. The bar has been raised. Not just by one notch, but by 4 or 5.

I'll check on the Diablo soon after they have broken in to see how they develop.

Spoken like a true man! You know my wife often says she's lucky because my mistresses are all speakers. At least I'm confined at home.


Even the previous model is superb, among the best I've heard for bookshelves but still quite overpriced for the overall sound quality that you're getting. But a bookshelf is a bookshelf, no way to compete with floorstanders or added sub for true music reproduction.

Thanks 7. I was afraid your report would be something like that. I have the 1027,s. But of course you knew that already. My room is small. Only 9.5x12.5 with an 8ft ceiling. I love the 1027's don't get me wrong. But I am wondering if at sometime if I should see about a "trade up". I think there may be a dealer that I can get to easier(closer) than NY to check out the new line. If I get a good trade in on what I have, at some point I may be able to swing it. But not for a while. I still want to take care of the items I have on the List. On Focal's website I have read some reviews. They have all been stellar. One thing, can the rock? Can you lean on them a bit?
Thanks for the update. I am looking forward to more of your thoughts.

Mike,

Like you, the new line is an interesting thought to audition and consider in the future. One of my questions and concerns would be about a center channel if it's used in the mix. The Utopia III line will have a matching center I guess in the next few months, but the pricing is around 10K?? Could you use any of the other center channels in the line to match?

It would seem you need to have the Series III across the front 3 for a perfect match??

My guess is that the L\\C\\R would be about $15,000+. Now with the Utopia Be series they had a dedicated center and the L\\C\\R. I think the center utopia was less then the L\\C\\R. I know. It's steep. At this point it is a day dream. But, I have lived very happily with an older 901 center with the 1027's. Maybe a cc1000be would fit the bill. Or an older Utopia Be. You can pick them up on Agon right now. Not perfectly, but maybe. The current retail for the Center Be is $7000. I think the retail for the L\\C\\R is about $12,000+-. So, if they come out with a dedicated center, it will probably be a bit lower then the L\\C\\R. Relatively speaking that is.

Duke,

They can pump high DB's, but I don't know if they can stack up to the 1027 bass output in a small room at lower volumes on rock, etc. I will try one day to see if I can listen to them with some rock and crank them up. I hear them in a LARGE room, so it may not be an accurate depiction of how they output in a smaller room. Hopefully, I can try and compare the 1027 vs the Diablo for you during a lunch break sometime soon. Regardless, I think the 1027 is still an outstanding speaker and value.

I have recently heard the old Utopia Center BE. I can only describe the sound with other Utopia BE fronts and it was awesome. A magnificent center channel speaker. Dialogue was perfect. However, the Diablo compared to the Micro sounded different enough that I may hesitate recommending the old Center BE. Especially if you have the $ to wait for a matching center (but I hear that is far out and not coming around in a few months as others have said). Tough to say. I think you can find the old center be for a good deal. If you were to keep your 1027, then finding a value priced Center BE would be awesome.

Thanks 7. I really do like the sound I get from them(1027). I also do like full bottom bass I get. I was listening to some Tool the other night and it sounded great. In fact, during one song, there is thunder and rain mixed in with the music. The thunder and rain actually sounded like it was coming from the side and in back of me. Plus, when I heard them with the Dart I was amazed. In the end I will probably stick with what I have. Now the center is interesting. I believe that the 1000be center would probably sound great as well. I am not quite ready to get the center yet so I will see what happens when the time comes. Thanks again for your thoughts and please keep them coming. I am still interested.

I'm starting over on a home theater. Everything is on this page. I believe I'm going to get the Yamaha RX-V3900 to drive Focal Chorus speakers: 807v fronts, CC-800v center, SR-700v backs (I don't think my room can do 7 or 6 but I'll figure something out later. Just 5.1 for now. Atlantic 8" powered sub. I may upgrade that later, but no panic.)

Do I need SR-700v backs or are they just too much for a surround channel? If I don't need them, can you suggest a more affordable pair that might do the job with the focal fronts and center? Any suggestion for a center "back" channel speaker?

I found a pair of the 807v fronts for 2/3 the cost of retail and the guy says there's only 20-30 hours on them, excellent condition, etc. Is this risky? I mean, if they look good and sound good (can I do more than dropping in music and listening along?) it seems that they should be good, right?

thanx

cl

Ahhhh, 10,000 Days.
A stunning tune from my favourite band.
I have actually found Tool's CD's to be kinda poorly recorded. What do you think?....maybe I haven't heard them through the right system. They dont seem very clean to me.
Perhaps they just need a remaster. I know that the vocals on the 10K Days album were definitely mixed-down relative to the guitars.

I don't know. To me, on my system it sounds really good. The bass is very full and the drums just pound. That guitar work is just sick. I really like it. I admit that I am new Tool fan. I only have the last two albums. But they are great to jam to. The Pot is another song that is fantastic. I can hear the vocals perfect. In fact, I heard the vocals so much better on my system then just the radio.

The SR-700v would not be too much for surrounds. That setup would probably sound pretty good. If you are looking for a more afordable choice, look into Polk. I have been using the Polk RT3's for years and for me it has worked fine. Now, my room is small so for me it does the job. I have never bought used speakers so I can't help you there. You need to trust your gut. If this is a big step for you then it might be worth spending the extra cash to get new. This way, you have your piece of mind. As an alternative you could think about just getting a pair of Chours 706v. I think they list for $650 a pair. They are not true "surround" speakers but it would lower the over all price. Hope all that helped.

I think this is a better link to the HiFi+ review of the Diablo. It was very positive from the highs down to the lows
http://www.focal.tm.fr/catalogue-doc...files/2061.pdf
It takes a few secs to load, but it will come up.

Mike,

Thank you for the link! The Diablo's are not made to fill a large room by any means as that is why the Scala and the Grande EM are in the product mix. I do think for a small to midsized room, these speakers could be/would be ideal.

There was one item in that review that intrigued me when the author wrote:

Well I took the plunge and bought a used pair of 1027be. They were delivered yesterday but I didn't spend much time listening last night and comparing them to my 726v. I played some piano and acoustic guitar music and my initial impression was more detail and smoother. Over the next few days I plan to compare both over a wide range of music. Then I'll spend some time placing the speakers in my room which is 18x13x8. Currently my 726v were approximately 3' from the front wall with acoustic panels behind and on the side walls up to the reflection point towards my seating area. I read in the Focal instructions that it's best to leave the wall behind the speakers empty for reflection so I'll have to experiment with that too. I plan to sell my 726v on Agon sometime next week and some advice for the selling price. They list for $1600 and were bought in 5/07.

That's fantastic Ron. I will say that these are very sensitive to placement. It tookl about 2 1/2 weeks for me to get it right. Then when I removed what was a reflection point(DVD case) it really became much better. Looking forward to your views on them. Over time, you will really appreciate what they can do.

I caught that quote as well and thought it was interesting. I happen to agree. I can imagine that with a great signal, they should sound fantastic. I think All Focal speakers are like that. As I have said before, I was bowled over when I heard my own speakers with the Dart amp. With that amp I just could not believe the amount of high quality bass coming from the 1027's. Along with everything else. I agree that the Diablo's are not made for large rooms. But it seems like the "high end" monitor field just got a bit more crowded.

I wanted to introduce myself my name is Brad and we just picked Focal back up (we had them, then parted ways to go with another line... long story was a stupid idea on our part) so i am looking forward to getting some of the models back in our 2 showrooms 1 being in S.W Florida the other being right outside of Nashville, TN. I really liked the line and am excited to see there is a forum that supports it here, what do you guys get to talking about in here? Chorus? Profile? Electra? Utopia? I am curious because we have a dedicated 2 channel room and and theater room as well so want to know kinda what hot right now for Focal before i meet with them next week to bring in models. Well, thanks alot!

Getting the Utopia seems to be a hard thing to do. I think only selected dealers will get them. IE Sound By Singer and some store like Overture Audio. The Electra gets some talk here. I have the 1027's with a 901 center. The Chorus is very popular here. I think a lot of people like that particular line. Not too much chatter on the Profile. Some, but it seems not as much as the others. If you are getting them back you definitely want the Electra and Chorus line. But the Utopia is the new topic here. The people with the Electra and Chorus speakers like them for HT and 2ch. You should maybe get the 1037's for 2ch. A full Electra setup with the 1027's, cc1000be, sr1000be and SW1000be and if possible a HT setup with the Chorus speakers. Maybe you could set up the Electra system so you can move the 1027's and 1037's in and out. I don't know how big your rooms are though. If it was one or the other and you have a massive room then get the 1037's in a 2ch or 2ch/HT setup in one store and the Chorus in the other. If the room is smaller then do the 1027's in a 2ch/HT setup and again, a chorus HT room

I like the sound of the 807v fronts, and CC-800v center but didn't listen to the SR-700v surrounds. I'm going to go listen to the pair of used 807v tomorrow night and trust my gut

What's the story on surround speakers? It just seems like I shouldn't need to pay for as much speaker as the SR-700v for the surround channels. How much does the quality and power of the surround speakers matter? Should I just throw any pair of satellites to the sides and backs? In a 7.1 system I would have a $1200 front pair (used at $800, but still), a $660 center, and then $765 a pair for surrounds & backs ($1310 for surrounds) -- am I putting more into surrounds than I need? I like the fronts and center and think the price is fair, I just don't know if I'm buying way more than I'll need on surrounds.

thanx!

When we had Focal before i had 1027 Be's and i loved them... and the also did well with the Chorus line. Must be the same the profile line was kinda eh... not much said about it... always was fighting with Tweeter but they are gone now i had Utopia in the showroom, just the Micro's however i almost did a theater room for a customer with Diva's in the front Utopia center micro's in the rear and a sub... but he went with another brand that we carry instead... Question about the Utopia... how are the Diablo's on the bottom end? i am no asking about like you know being like a bass freak but compared to the Micro's the Micro's just had nothing.... i mean they sounded real lacking what did you think... i loved everything else about them except that...

I have not heard the Diablo yet. But there is someone who has. According to him, the bass is not an issue. And if you look at that review I posted a few posts ago, it was really a non issue for them as well. I think that the difference between the old Micro and the Diablo is pretty big. Check out post 3137.

Hey!....I have Profiles!!
although, i think i'm the only one.

I have to agree with the others about carrying Electras and Chorus.
Each have there own target groups....Profiles being a compromise between the two. I got mine because I got a good deal and didn't have the means to go up to the Electras.
I think you can only get the Profiles in black laquer now so you may want to suggest them only to those who put alot into asthetics and take a shine to the Profiles unique style.

Hi like the rest of them Im a Focal Electra 1027 BE with the CC1000BE. Can't go wrong with these beauties.Used to have Focal Electra 936 but the 1027BE certainly do the better job.

Yeah, i miss my Electra's in the showroom... we traded out Focal for a line that was no where near as nice as we could not sell it by giving it away... Thankfully we never burned the bridge with Focal and left on good terms with them. If anyone knows of anyone in the Middle Tennessee of S.W. Florida area send them our way we are pairing up the Electra's with Parasound & Simaudio and the Chorus and Profile's with Denon, Arcam, and all of the above. We are also working on getting the Utopia line. We carry the full line of all the other speakers we carry and we don't want Focal to be the exception. However the buy in for Utopia is a little more than we can do right now... but we are working on it...Anyone know does the Utopia dealers have more than just a pair on display? Like are they showing just Diablo's any of them? I might also be getting a pair to demo Curious how they sound in comparison to my Dyn C1's

It's funny you mention that.
Right now, my Profiles are powered by a Denon 2807 and I really want to go Arcam. I had my heart set on the AVR 600 but its waaay too much so I may "settle" for an AVR350. The price has really come down.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the Profile - Denon/Arcam matchup.