Focal - JM Lab Owner's Thread - Page 186

Originally Posted by bfreedma 

For the third and last time, Mike's Focal info does not suggest that the tweeter in a three way, four way, or million way speaker takes any longer than 100 hours. The higher figures describe Focal's break in estimates of the mids/woofers/subwoofers. NOT THE TWEETER.

As for your 500 hour claim, in this very post, you claim your tweeters aren't broken in after 400 hours. This is in direct conflict with the Focal information. You have no supporting evidence other than what "your ears tell you" which has been proven to be an utterly useless way to assess audio information due to the limits all humans have regarding audio memory.

BTW, how are the tweeters in the 1008 and 1028 the same, given that the 1008 has a 1" tweeter and the 1028 has a 1.25" tweeter, which can be confirmed at Focal's web site The crossover between the tweeter and the mid is at 2500hz in the 1008 and the crossover on the 1028 is at 2200hz Yeah, you really know the product line well and have credibility....

Regardless, you have your unicorns and I have science, physics, and Focal engineers. Everyone can make their own decisions from there.

Originally Posted by kzhtoo 

Sigh...1008Be also has 1.25" tweeter (anyone who's familiar with this line knows that). The info, obviously, you just looked it up is from new Focal website. I remember old Focal website showed 1.25". It can be two things. 1) typo 2) Focal changed their later 1008Be products to have 1" instead of 1.25". All the old reviews of 1008Be (see below links) that came out previously all stated it is 1.25" or 27mm. Maybe someone else can confirm this? This guy apparently JUST LOOKED IT UP!

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/focal_electra_1008_be.htm

http://www.canadahifi.com/Focal_Electra_1008_Be_II_Loudspeakers_review.php

http://www.avhub.com.au/images/stories/australian-hifi/reviews/2012/2012-03/focal_electra_1008_be2_loudspeakers_equipment_review_lores.pdf

BTW, I love unicorns. What's not to like?

Originally Posted by bfreedma 

Yes, I looked it up, something you should have done before claiming the tweeters are the same. Is the different crossover a typo by Focal as well?

We're done.

Originally Posted by steinram 

I had a look at the data sheets Focal supplies for 1008be and 1028be. The data sheets (attached below) show the same tweeter (27mm) and crossover (2200Hz) for both speakers. I think Focal has some typos on their newly redesigned webpages.

fp-1008-be.pdf 366k .pdf file

fp-1028-be.pdf 1644k .pdf file

Originally Posted by MIkeDuke 

I am going to try and verify but if I remember a talk I had a long time ago, Focal doesn't design cookie cutter drivers that can just be swapped into any speaker even if they are the same size. What I mean is, just because the 1008 and the 1028 may have the same size tweeter and midrange driver, does not mean that they are the same drivers. They would be designed differently. What I mean is I don't think they design one version of the Be tweeter or one version of the midrange driver and just put them into what ever speaker design they are making. They are totally different. Hopefully I can get conformation on this. If and when I do I will post it. Regardless if I am right or wrong.

Originally Posted by Tank_PD 

This doesn't make any sense from an economy of scale / interchangeable parts perspective. Many other speaker makers buy drivers from Focal as well and make their own cabinets. You can also buy the same drivers to put in your car. The best ones are quite expensive.

http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/focal_be.html

Originally Posted by Tank_PD 

This doesn't make any sense from an economy of scale / interchangeable parts perspective. Many other speaker makers buy drivers from Focal as well and make their own cabinets. You can also buy the same drivers to put in your car. The best ones are quite expensive.

http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/focal_be.html

Originally Posted by SuperPoser 

Thanks for that info MikeDuke,
What is the link you are referencing, I didn't see that info it in the crutchfield link you quoted.
That is also interesting they reference the Profile series which makes me think this is a few years old... I wonder what the present count of different drivers would be today.

This also brings up a question... My 1027S have 4 drivers each - a mid, a tweeter, and two woofers - are the two woofers the same or are they different drivers?
(I don't feel like removing them to check the part numbers...lol)

Originally Posted by MIkeDuke 

Great stuff Ryan. I hope you find your center. Mine doesn't match my mains but I don't care. It's was the last one out there. With yours still being a current model, I am sure one will turn up some time. All matching will sound really good.

Originally Posted by Ryan T. 

Thanks Mike, I hope so!

My dealer is working with the Focal rep...worst case scenario I have to have one made as a "custom finish" which has some ridiculous up charge I'm sure, but at least the option is there.

Originally Posted by gsr 

The custom finish up charge is 20% and don't be surprised if your dealer asks you to pay for them (not just a deposit) at the time you place the order. I currently have an order in for a CC 1008 Be in the Macassar finish and will be ordering a pair of 1038 Be's in the same finish when my play money slush fund has grown enough to pay for them.

Originally Posted by MIkeDuke 

The 1008 center is still current so but it looks like Slate Grey is not an option any more . I forget how much of an up charge a custom color is. I hope you can get one in that color without too much of an up charge. As an FYI for the rest of the forum, if you find out what the up charge is, it might be cool if you post it.

Originally Posted by MIkeDuke 

As an FYI for the rest of the forum, if you find out what the up charge is, it might be cool if you post it.

Originally Posted by gsr 

Look 1 post above your post and you'll find the answer . I'm feeling a bit invisible here .

Originally Posted by gsr 

The custom finish up charge is 20% and don't be surprised if your dealer asks you to pay for them (not just a deposit) at the time you place the order. I currently have an order in for a CC 1008 Be in the Macassar finish and will be ordering a pair of 1038 Be's in the same finish when my play money slush fund has grown enough to pay for them.

Originally Posted by Ryan T. 

Actually, maybe you guys will have some experience with this...

I have an Anthem PVA 2 I'm powering my mains (the 1028s) with.

I have a Yamaha RX-A2000 doing pre-amp / processor duties - when I hook up the other 3-5 speakers, am I safe in assuming the Yamaha should be able to power these effectively? The A2000 is rated at 135wpc, and from what I've read, that should be pretty accurate since it's one of Yamaha's higher end models.

Just trying to avoid having to buy another amplifier for channels typically used only for movies / TV.

Originally Posted by Greg121986 

I was driving through the Chicago area yesterday and I stopped at a dealer who had some Focal Electra 1028 BE and the Scala Utopia. I just wanted to post here to say I was incredibly impressed. I have been wanting to listen to some Focal speakers for quite awhile because I think they are beautiful. I listened as closely to the Electra 1028 BE as I could, paying less attention to the Scala Utopia because I could never begin to afford the Scala Utopia. Front end equipment was all Krell, I am not familiar with the Krell line of products so I'm not sure exactly what it was they were using.

The build quality of these things is 100% quality. I could not find a single fault, even on these demo speakers. They are as well built as any Magico, Marten, Vivid, Harbeth, or any other of my favorite up-scale HiFi speakers. I would say that their sound was similar in nature to a Magico S5, but with much less bass impact and a bit less detail. But for the price comparison, I think the Focal Electra sounded great. I did not listen to the bookshelf speakers, but I could not believe how robust and well built their bookshelf speakers are. They're also quite large. The 1008 BE and the Chorus 806 W were stunning. I did listen to the 836W a bit, but I wasn't too excited over it. It was not as natural and effortless as the Electra 1028 sounded. The bass was very good, very tight with a lot of impact. But the mid-range and treble were a bit warmer than the Electra and I am looking for something a bit more revealing and airy.

I am considering moving to a pair of Focal Electra 1028 BE's now. I just have to listen to the new Revel Performa3 line to be sure. I was happy to finally be able to check out the Focal speakers so I just wanted to share my thoughts.

Originally Posted by Ryan T. 

Ok, my dealer is telling me that they're ordering me a 1008 be CC in Black Lacquer because the Focal Rep told them that that is the same color as Slate Grey. The naming seems a little counterintuitive to me, but I know this wouldn't be the first time a company has "rebranded" a color...

I can't find anything on the web to either support or contradict this though...does anyone have anything in the be II series in Black Lacquer finish? Is it a grey metallic finish or is it more "pure" black as I'm imagining it?

Originally Posted by kzhtoo 

My 1028s are black lacquer and they look black (piano/metallic black) to me. In fact, I've never seen Be II series in metallic grey. As I understand, slate grey and black lacquer are the same.

Originally Posted by Ryan T. 


Ok, I'll keep my fingers crossed then, thanks. My mains (1028 be) and rears (SR 1000 be)are definitely slate grey, they say so on the box, and in the light they are clearly dark gray with some metallic flake. The fronts and rears of the mains are solid black, but the sides are most definitely grey.

The good news is that they'll let me use the one they're ordering until they get one color matched for me in case it doesn't match up correctly.

So here's hoping...