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Review 1 of 6
Price Paid:
$750.00
from ebay Summary:
I want to post a review now although these still need some breaking in. According to another audiophile whose opinion I repsect, they need like 300 hours of playing time to really open up and lose some of their brightness. However, their "brighter" presentation is their signature sound and, from what I've heard, common of French-made speakers.
What I haven't seen written about the Focals is how fast these speakers are. They are fast! They give an effortlessness to the flow of sound and give reasonably-powered amplification total control over themn. Although I can see how someone with less than great digital gear would find them too lean. I don't see that. I see them as very revealing due to their speed and ability to reveal the flaws of your amplification or your source. If your digital source is not up to task and has a poor output stage, you will hear the grit. The stock opamps in a lot of players will come through these speakers as sounding too harsh.
I would imagine that a vinyl rig would sound wonderful through these as they will definitely show off the smoothness and musicality of a vinyl rig. The bass is a little lean and room treatment would be critical to getting the most out of them but, then again, room treatment should be something that anyone spending thousands of dollars on a stereo should be doing anyway. Currently, I find the bass accurate and not straining to reproduce anything it cannot.
I will have another review/update when they open up a bit more and I get a higher-end digital source. Right now, they are bi-amped with an Arcam Alpha 10 and an Alpha 8. However, I suspect I will grow to love thier sound and to apprecaite the ability to match them with good ss amplification or tube amplification.
Either way, if you treat these speakers with good equipment, you will be more than satisfied with thier detail, speed, and definitely with their imaging. I do not come from lots of experience with speakers, but I did hear them demo'd at Tweeter against the Polk LSi15 and the JM Lab Profile speakers. I found the Profiles to be too polite for me, and the Polks didn't have nearly the same resolution of the 816S. This was the speaker that came out on top for me against these other two. They had a sound I thought would mate well with rock and jazz. So far, they haven't disappointed. Strengths:
speed, imaging, detail
French "house sound"? Weaknesses:
will expose weaknesses of upstream gear
not for bass heads
room treatments needed or at least have a big enuf area where they can breathe Similar Products Used:
Polk LSi9
Arcam Alpha 10
sacdmods SAPC-1
modified Ack! dAck! 2.0
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