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Focal Alto Utopias Width and Depth of Sound Stage

Hi,

I have a pair of these speakers driven by Jadis JA100 monos.
It all sounds very good but I can't get out of them the width and depth some folks say they can produce. Music is almost always between the speakers, depth limited to about 1 meter behind them, etc.

I tend to think it's related to positioning of the speakers.

My room is about WxLxH 5X8X3.5 meters, the speakers are on the wide side about 3 meters apart and 1 meter from the back wall, I seat about 3 meters away from the speakers.

Does anyone have any experience with those and how to get the best out of them?

Thanks.
amuseb
7 responses Add your response
nealrm
68 posts
 
I have the Diva Utopias (probably even harder to place with the side firing woofers). I noticed a big difference in the soundstage when I played with the toe-in of the speakers. They seem to work best with no toe-in, or just minimal toe-in if close to the sidewalls. This seems to let the wider dispersion of the tweeter work as designed. I would try no toe-in and then adjust your listening position to see if the combination will give you the soundstage you want.
mike60
275 posts
 
Try moving them further towards you (away from the wall) by about 0.5m. Maintain the width, or slightly narrower, but point them slightly inwards so there meet at a point maybe 3m behind the listening position. I think your depth (forward and backwards) will improve. Not sure about the width. In a room that size i would consider placing them against the shorter wall, around 1.5m out and also moving the listening chair away from the back wall.
amuseb OP
81 posts
 
Thanks guys for your comments. I'll try these to see how they work for me.

Regards.
jhardy
63 posts
 
I owned these speakers for over six years and although your room is a little bigger than mine, I would suggest they should be against the short wall and your sitting position triangle should be longer. With them firing straight try sitting about 4 or little more meters away.
jhardy
63 posts
 
As I think about it more, maybe about two meters apart instead of three might help you a lot also. Enjoy the excercise. Those things are heavy.
amuseb OP
81 posts
 
Thanks Jhardy,

My Altos are on the short wall, I think I didn't make it clear earlier. Sorry.
I will try putting them closer.
Sitting further away though is practically impossible in our living room.

Will report back with the results.

Thanks again,
Oren.
jp1208
502 posts
 
I owned the Electra 936's and auditioned the Utopia's many times. More upfront and intimate until the BE series came along. Tubed pre amps on the older Focal's seemed to help the depth. I won't mention what I own now since the company I bought from has the worst customer service but I can tell you that the raal tweeters produce great depth and width. If you ever sell your speakers look into using something with the best raal ribbon tweet. Or get in touch with member Johnsonwu, maybe just look at some of his post on speakers.
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