Focal - JM Lab Owner's Thread - Page 177

For a fraction of the price of Utopias

Check the pro line

http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/sm6-line/

Same technology as the utopia

Wouldn't that be same technology, namely the tweeter and W woofer, as the Electra line? I thought the Utopia had the EM tech that isn't anywhere else.

Thanks! I got a pair of 1028's on loan and have to say they are very good, but very different than the Wilsons. Still do very well on mcintosh amps but need more attention on cabling and placement which I have not had the time to attend to.

The Focal Electra 1008 Be has the same tweeter you listed. The Electra line is the lowest line with this tweeter and sits below the Utopia line. There is still tech in the Utopia line that is not in the other speakers lines. But yes, I wonder why the Electra 1008 Be is 5K / pair and the Solo6 Be Monitors are offered at almost half the price with the amps. The Twin6 is much more massive than I would have guessed from the pictures.

The Diablo Utopia bookshelf speakers are around $12,000 / pair, not $24K; The Viva Utopia's are $12K ea. / $24K per pair.

Thanks for the advice. I did try both of these with no luck. I contacted Bryston and they think the amp is the problem. They said the bias may be set too high causing the amp to both overheat and clip. Its going in for service. Got to love that warranty .

Thanks again for all the troubleshooting advice its much appreciated.

Nothing like working with a reliable company like Bryston! Post back after they service the amp and share the results.

i've been waiting for the availabilty of the chorus 806w's in red carmin...they have been listed on focal's site for months now!

contacted my dealer friday...still no go

don't really want to settle for black, but looking like my only option...frustrating

I have to agree. I had an issue with one of the channels on my 5b-ST. I contacted them, sent it back, and the fixed it with no problem. A very good amp with really good customer service. BTW, I really like the combo of the Bryston amps and Focal speakers.

What pre do you have? I had Electra+Bryston amp and didn't work very well for me. Now I have Pass.

I have a HT preamp since my system is HT/2ch system. I am using an Integra 80.2. I was really surprised at how it sounded. Now that being said, I do understand that not everyone will probably like the Bryston+JM Lab combo. It might be to "clinical" for some people. But in my setup, with my surrounding gear, it really does sound good. I have read from other people that JM and Pass Lab really go good together so I think you probably have a nice combo there.

Hi MikeDuke,
Agree. Once it gets to a certain level, it's a matter of preference. Every part of the system plays an important role.

I also use Anthem MRX as pre/pro. I'm also surprised at how it goes up against Pass XP-10 pre IMS. I guess there're other limitations (transport, music fidelity, speakers even though they are Electra 1008 Be, cables) in my system for me to realize XP-10 pre true potential. Although XP-10 is considerably better at the moment (soundstage, refinement, noise level), I feel I wouldn't lose sleep with MRX driving the system (with a few more thousand $$ in my bank account). So XP-10 probably is going back. My system simply not ready for XP-10.

MRX ARC room correction also helps I think. With XP-10 there's no room correction. Your Integra Audyssey should be similar.

Yes, I'd describe Bryston as clinical, which could work very well with warm-ish pre for my taste. My Pass XA30.5 on the other hand I'd say it's seductive and romantic. And it's staying for long term.
Edited by kzhtoo - 8/27/12 at 5:04pm

Yep. The Audyssey really has helped out a lot in getting the most out of my system. I have an analog rig as well. I am just using a little Dynavector phono preamp for that. But with good LP's, the 1027's sound simply fantastic. Maybe one day I will get a higher grade preamp for that portion but since I am using my system as a 2ch, HT system I am not sure about a full preamp for everything. I am using a HDMI cable for my connections and I would have to connect the OPPO to the preamp with more cables. At this point, I am not sure I want to do that.

I know how good these speakers(Focal) can sound because I have also heard them with really high end gear. As I mentioned before, Pass Labs and Focal really are supposed to sound great together. I may try and get a "better" amp sometime down the line but that won't be for a bit. With my equipment and setup, I get a really good sound from the 1027's with the Bryston amps. I know there are better but they will have to do for know .

The 806W is not imported into the U.S. but, the 807W is. Focal's website eludes to this situation as being a possibility, "Some models and finishes might not be available in every country."

Pre-amp with HT by-pass? You still use your Oppo HDMI connection to Integra but now Oppo balanced or unbalanced output will connect to pre-amp main input and Integra preout to pre-amp HT by-pass input.

Do you have a sub?

Yes. I have a sub. A SubMersive HP. I sometimes listen to music in regular 2ch which uses the sub. I don't know if using bypass really does anything since I am using an HDMI cable but I can easily hear the difference between 2ch(without a sub) and the bypass mode. I like the bypass mode a little better. The front sound stage is bigger(in my system) and I like the full range sound from the 1027's. And when I listen to an LP I put the Integra in bypass mode so I know that I am only getting the processing from my Dynavector preamp and nothing more.
Edited by MIkeDuke - 8/29/12 at 7:01am

thank you emperor...i just wonder why my dealer didn't tell me that?

i have 836w's in front and 800w center....wanted to keep same size drivers. the 807w has 7" driver i believe...

Someone mentioned getting the Focal active studio Be speakers because they feature the pure beryllium tweeter and W cone driver, which are featured in the high-end Focal speakers.

I noticed even the Utopia line feature the beryllium tweeters and W drivers.

So does the Electra line.

Obviously the XO, parts, cabinet, etc, are all different among them.

But do they sound quite similar ?

Who is your dealer or sales person? I ask because I work for Audio Plus Services/Plurison (North American importer & distributor). We always try to prevent these types of things from happening but occasionally important information slips through the proverbial cracks. Unfortunately it sounds like you have run into this problem. I'd like to make sure your dealer gets a refresher on the 800W series.

As far as the 807W goes, yes, it has a 7" driver. It sounds pretty much like you might imagine it does. If you have heard the 806V vs. the 807V then you already know that they have the same midrange and top end character but the 807V has significantly more bottom end extension. To my ear, it sounds more like a floor-stander than a "bookshelf" monitor. If you have the real estate, an 807W would certainly sound great in your system. If you cannot dedicate that much space, I'd suggest looking at a pair of Domes. Despite their small size they are a ridiculously good speaker. They just like power. If you are using a smaller amp/receiver stick with the 807W. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but that has been my experience. One other upside to the Dome is that the finish on them is pretty much a spot-on match with the same color on the W series.

I hope this helps.

Yes & no. The residential and professional ranges do exhibit a "house sound" but in most cases a residential speaker will be a better long-term solution for daily living. Most models in the professional series are best suited for near field listening with a few being mid-field friendly. The real fly in the ointment in answering your question accurately is that the professional series are all self amplified while none of the home models are. So, when differences are heard, are you hearing the monitor or the amp?

Totally un related but I am not sure if you know John B. He is also a distributor. If you do know him, tell him Mike D says hello and that I am still in awe of the Overture demo .

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

A high quality amp should not color the sound; it should be neutral.

So hopefully the amp inside a Focal professional studio is high quality and we should only be listening to the speakers.

The idea of neutrality IMO is both misunderstood and the use of the word is tossed about far to easily. Let me explain, if there was an amp which was universally recognized as being 100% true to life and that is what the public was asking for, then it would be "game over" for all other amps. And, what do we mean by neutrality? Tonal accuracy? Harmonic integrity? Realistic dynamics? etc. etc. etc. Then there is the question, how do we really know what is neutral? In my view, the only people that really have a strong command of neutrality are recording engineers and producers. They are the ones that hear the live event, track it, and then play it back in a sufficiently short amount of time so as not to have a memory latency problem. Even then there could be some issues based on if the live event was amplified or not. Then there is the question of mics and mic pres. They all have characters of their own. You see what I'm getting at. With so many links in the chain it is difficult for me to buy into the idea of 100% neutrality.

To a degree, I do agree with you the amp needing to be of a high quality to have a monitor perform at its best. However, I would go a step beyond. The ideal situation for any listener is to not hear your system at all. You should be hearing only the music, soundtrack, etc. You should be hearing (or not hearing) transparency. In fact that is the Focal Professional tagline. Listen to your music, not your speakers. While that might sound like it came right out of the marketing department it did not. It came from the engineers themselves. They truly have a deeply rooted passion to create the best possible sound reproduction devices that can be made.

Ha! John and I work for the same employer. I work quite closely with him and we speak several times each week. I'll be working shoulder to shoulder with him all next week. I'll definitely make sure to say hi for you!

Thanks. I have been talking to John for quite a number of years now and I have met him twice. A really good guy.

Hi all,
Need input from owners of Focal 726V or 826V: have any of you used Creek 5350 (2x120W), or Roksan Kandy K2 (2x125W) for music?need input on how the speakers sound with either of these amps. Or pls let me know what other amps that you've used or using to drive the Focal 726v or 826v.

Also, Found this about the Creek 5350 from the Creek website:
In a further development of the Evolution 5350 integrated amplifier's pre-amplifier
section, 5 inputs are selectable by high current gold plated relays and switchable access to the power amp allows the Evolution 5350 to be driven directly by the front channels of a 5.1 AV receiver.

Newbie question: if one to use the Focal 726 or 826 for a HT setup using Denon 3312,and how would this Creek 5350 feature beneficial (for the 5350 to be driven directly by the AV receiver)?

thanks for the advice...great input!

i didn't intend to come off sounding like i'm unhappy with my dealer...just the opposite!

they do a fantastic job and i've always been impressed with the passion they bring to the table. more of a misunderstanding on my part.

looks like 807w's for my rear surrounds...any idea when i can expect them in red carmin?

We have more coming in on Sept. 18, customs permitting. In most cases we have products ready to ship within a few days after customs clears them. I hope this info helps. BTW- I didn't read your comments as you being upset with your dealer. It's just that since the 800W series isn't imported quite like other series, there can be misunderstandings about it. I like to stay on top of even the smallest confusions to prevent any frustration on anyone's part.

the feature you are asking about is a HT by-pass, my naim nait 5i has one also. basically you will use the pre-out for the front right and left speakers to connect to the creek 5350 HT Direct input(or whatever they call it), then you will run your autocalibration (audyssey) and level match everything. for music, you will just select the cd, phono or aux input that is required for whatever source component you will be using. for movies or tv, you will select the HT input and the creek will act as a power amp for your speakers.