Interested in Focal Scala Utopias

Hraouf1,

I am not sure who your question is directed at, but if it's me, you can just click on the word "System" next to my username at the bottom of any of my posts and you will get all the details regarding my system.

Of course there are US dealers. One of which is digitalear.com in SoCal and another is soundbysinger.com in NYC.

If you want to know about the Scalas here you go:

http://www.audiophilia.com/wp/?p=1381

http://www.innerearmag.com/reviews/speakers/Focal_Scala_Utopia.shtml

http://www.audio.de/Produktdaten/Focal-Scala-Utopia_5047154.html (in German)

Elviokai,

I like how you put it. Intolerant to sibilance is I think a *huge* understatement. I was going crazy from the sibilance which I never had with the Alto. I tried everything and then figured out the problem. The Scala must be spiked directly to a hard floor. You cannot use coasters under the spikes and you definitely cannot use something like a Herbie's pad under coasters. So, if you have the Scala and hardwood flooring, you will need to get some granite slabs or similar and spike the Scala to them.

Someone might not hear sibilance if the system is using components/cables that play with the treble or the system is less than transparent or the listener is not particularly bothered by it such that they do not notice it or maybe a million other things.

Just because someone does not hear it does not mean it is not there. For example, in the short demo set up for me by my dealer, I heard no sibilance (Esoteric P-03/D-03, BAT pre and amp and Transparent cables) but when I got them home it was unmistakable.

Elviukai,

My comments were regarding someone not hearing any sibilance at all with the Scala.

Now that I have the Scala spiked into the ground there is no sibilance generally unless, of course, as you noted, it is in the recording (and ime, sibilance is not only found in audiophile recordings but, also, a lot of commercially available music) but, then again, there is a lot of sibilance in human speech that we tend to tune out. It may also be the case that I am particularly sensitive to this phenomenon.

In any case, I have no issue with the Scala and sibilance.

James63,

Thank you, I like to think so.

I really appreciate your comment on the aesthetics as I made a conscious effort to address that aspect while building my system. While performance is paramount, performance isn't mutually exclusive from presentation. My girlfriends may not fully appreciate my hobby but outside of reservations over the size of floorstanding speakers generally they typically love the way the system looks and is integrated into the room and, further, seem willing to accept the size of the speakers when they get to hear their favorite music on my system (they start bringing over their favorite CDs just to listen to them on my system and I'm generally a nice host but have to draw the line on some CDs ;) ).