Focals latest - Cat Houses?

@ghdprentice + 1 - Totally agree about having fun with nationalistic stereotypes (as long as all participants are on board with it and not immediately offended); I remember Graham Parker's band The Rumour put out an album called 'Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs, and Krauts' in that same spirit, as it had a Euro theme. And of course the first stereotype I'd have fun with is my own.... . 

@erik_squires 

Double check the models.  The one with 6.5" woofers is $40k.  The larger one with 8" woofers is $70k, but I would not be surprised to find deep discounts.

Sorry... I meant to say the model down (the $40K - Diva Utopia) from the one in this tread ($70K - Diva Mezza Utopia).

Either way, they both do look like a big butane lighter.  Maybe they should market them as "so good, they will set your listening room on fire!" 

....think I'll wait for the mobile version that with the help of room eq, the units will find the proper space, alignments, and settings for perfect reproduction.
And trash all the other items in the room to achieve that goal.

Remember:
Don't forget to carry your dongle that informs the system that you are in the space to listen to it.  Otherwise you might find yourself in the garage or the trash...

Focal is missing an opportunity here.  

We all remember the WATT/Puppy?

Litter Box sub to go with these?

Or, at the very least an accessory to dispose of fur balls?

@ghdprentice  - In that spirit I’ll share a joke I heard in Switzerland while studying abroad, ages ago.

Q:  How many Frenchmen does it take to defend the borders of France?

A:  No one knows, it’s never been successfully defended! 

I missed perhaps the most important part of the measurements for the small version: 

The low-level modes up to ~2kHz are linked to the side-mounted woofers and aesthetic cladding.

Essentially these cabinets ring like cardboard boxes. 

@erik_squires

+1  That is funny. With respect to the soldiers. 

But I just read a detailed book on the history of Viet Nam which included the Battle of Dien Biem Phu. Situated in a large valley the French set up their position... the General said he was completely prepared...even had more guns / cannons than he needed. They got badly defeated. Let's see what was the first clue... set up in a valley? So reminiscent of the Magonot Line not that many years earlier. 

something you have to keep in mind here is that these are not your typical passive speakers  

they are active and wireless

unfortunately it is the same as the EV auto mentality where mfg feel they need to make the design unique to stand out

I am not a fan but that is all this is, just another example of a design that seeks attention.  

I am not a fan but that is all this is, just another example of a design that seeks attention.  

Well thank goodness we are here to give it just that! @dhite71 

Here we go, I know who the designer is now, at only $740 you can get a matching travel bag:

Here's an excerpt from a test from a European audio website, it looks like the regional differences mentioned above are quite prevalent. 😉

And in conjunction with the Naim electronics and the largely reflection-free cabinet, the result is a low-distortion sound projected both low and high into the room. I had many visitors listen to the Diva Utopia during the test phase: no one had critical words, everyone had words of praise.

Nevertheless, we have rarely had such a pleasantly easy-to-use system in the listening room that sounds so good at the end of the day. How good?  Well, it's by far the best-sounding streaming speaker I know.

But I don't want to put the Diva Utopia in the corner of the pretentious modern speaker. The first active loudspeaker from the two iconic brands Naim Audio and Focal has virtually no weaknesses in my eyes and, when viewed in the light of day, is actually the best Focal model I've ever heard - including the big flagships.

@love2fly59  -  

"largely reflection free cabinet"  -  Oh, hahahahahah.  

$70,000 for a speaker no one objects to.  

"Best sounding streaming speaker"  - Seriously what is the competition, and how many of those are made by Logitech...

At those prices these should be matched up with active speakers from ATC and Grimm.  

https://www.da-x.de/de/atc-scm-300-asl-pro.html

That’s ~$64k/pair here in Europe by comparison to the Focals. Even in "working clothes" finish and on low stands the ATC’s are somewhat more (honestly) appealing to eyes, I find. Outboard actively configured, 850W total. I know these speakers very well, and they’re wonderful sounding.

Note: that’s dual 15" woofers per channel, not only 2 or 4 small weaklings, and I’m assuming the landmine sized 3" ATC dome midrange alone costs more than the totality of per item material cost of the Focals. Btw. ATC’s max SPL specification (121dB’s) is no doubt conversative vs. the Focals ditto. 

Towers definitely designed for the narcissistic, wealthy bachelor who hates both cats and kids.

Well blow me down, ATC has a similarly priced but much nicer looking model, the SCM200ASLT.  $75k but what, no Blutooth?  What a scam! 

https://tmraudio.com/floorstanding-speakers/atc-scm200aslt-active-floorstanding-speakers-pair/

Ok, personal aesthetics in hand bags aside, can we at least admit that in terms of performance and price these would be considered reasonable competitors? 

I would guess the designer is Luc Besson.... director of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planet and The Fifth Element. 

For those old enough to have been listening to music back then, "Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player" was a terrific Elton John LP. 😀

I guess DINKS w/ cats who normally buy B&O are their target market.

@ghdprentice - He had a large team of very talented artists working with him, but point taken.

I know Focal would attempt to emphasize a sense of modernism in their products.  

JM Lab Focal was a decent speaker producer long time ago. Later it got too commercial. I recently auditioned a few their latest Utopia speakers. Not only they did not impress me but their artificial bright sound reproduction was quite disappointing (nothing to say about their cost). It looks like that the commercialization indeed works in practice, quite unfortunately.  

@niodari - I have to agree while I can rant about how inexpensive their cabinets are or the tonal balance or whatever Focal, like Bose, has a really focused marketing and product development team.

I may not be their target audience but at the same time can't argue with their ability to stay in business and move stock. 

@erik_squires,

The comparison with Bose is quite appropriate to me. It is sad that this kind of commercialization/marketing works in practice, as it lowers the audiophile SQ bar. Imagine if all the producers will convert to Boses or current Focals (and, unlike Bose, Focal is not cheap at all, they are just fulling people). The same thing happened with Hurman Cardon long time ago, and it is happening with other companies, even with McIntosh. 

Now I get it.

Focal is where the designer of the Cyber Truck went, after Tesla fired him.

Heard them yesterday. I was very impressed! BTW, the side panels are detachable and they offer other finished.

@slaw - OMG - somebody has actually LISTENED to them? Hope they don't remove your post! 

😉 As far as SQ goes, in the less than ideal space I heard them....I think Focal/Naim collaboration is impressive.

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

BTW, the side panels are detachable and they offer other finished.

@slaw

What kind of Velcro was on them??    

OK, so that's a joke, but almost as big a joke as the resonances the reviewer noted in the waterfall plot caused by said, possibly hook-n-loop attached, panels.  

I am glad someone has heard them with a positive takeaway.