Focal Electra Question
 

Hello all,

Wondering if there are any here that moved from a B&W Diamond speaker to a Focal Electra?

I just moved from 805 Diamonds to 1008 Be 2s.

I'm about to complete an update to the amp, (Krell 400 XI to Moon i5.3), but with my current amp (Krell), and I have found that the Focal do not have the soundstage extend beyond the outer edge of the speakers as much as the B&Ws.

The biggest positive differences I've found:
1) The sound from the Focal is much more full - I can definitely hear more of the instruments in a recording
2) The tweeter just doesn't seem to break up. It remains clean and coherent on all recordings. I run a Squeezebox Touch through a Meridian DAC, and I need to set the gain of the input to 97 (verified with Meridian) to use the Volume of the amp correctly. With two pairs of Sonus Faber and the B&W, I found the tweeter would tend to break up on very high notes, or old recordings. The Focal do not have this particular feature (for which I am grateful).

Thoughts would be appreciated.

I have 1008's coming in a week, but as surround speakers so I only have theoretical knowledge and experience with Sopra 2's floor standers.

However, I'm sure you could change the sound a lot by speaker placement.

Check this review out for some placement ideas, even though it is a Utopia Diablo. (Page 2)
http://www.excelia-hifi.cz/focal/tes...udio_09_09.pdf
They are much closer together that I would think would be good.

Also, Toe-in is a major factor.
The manual for my speakers more or less suggest pointing the speakers at me, but with a wider toe-in I get the widest soundstage.

I found in general that moving my speakers a inch or two can change the imaging & soundstage by a huge amount.

Good luck with those Focals, I think they make magnificent speakers

+1. Good info.
Very pleased with the 1008BeIIs. My final decision was between the 805Ds and 1008BeIIs and am happy with my choice.

My dealer carries both lines and I have heard the Electra's and B&W Diamonds many times in the same high end Moon system. It was always the towers used, for Focal it was the 1028's and 1038's and for B&W it was the 804's and 802's. All speakers were the latest models. There was also an Alto Utopia there for a time when the 804 was in the room.

My impressions were I always preferred the diamond tweeter to the beryllium. The 1028's and 1038's were on average all around better speakers than the 804 with the exception being the treble but they had better mids and bass.

The 802's for me always surpassed the 1028's and 1038's across the board. Comparing the Alto to the 804's, well the Alto wins there :) I would also give the edge to the Alto over the 802's. For treble the advantage goes to the 802's but the Alto wins hands down in the mids and bass.

This is not the case though with the 800's. The 800's bring everything I liked about the mids and bass in the Alto along with my preference for the diamond tweeter. I sure wish the dealer had the Scala's as I've always been curious how much improvement there is over the Alto.

The 800D2's kill the Scala's in the bass and present a bigger soundstage, but some people will prefer the Scala's overall balance and slightly better projected mids.

I listened extensively to both before settling on the 800's. If you're using them as mains in a HT setup then then the choice is made even easier, unless you pair the Scala's with a pair of very good subs.

Well, one week in, and the thing I notice most is: I can hear more music.

Two tracks come to mind - Rodrigo Concerto de Aranjuez first movement. Within the first 90 seconds, there is the entrance of two very low notes. Up until today, I've not heard them on any system I've owned.

The Faces - Ooh La La. There is a bass beat that you can keep time to throughout the song. It's very clear and impactful on the Focals. Moreso than 805Ds that preceded them.

But still, there seems to be less room in the treble. Let's see how another couple of weeks go.

Might be time, given how you are improving your system, to move to a better source. The Logitech Touch, whilst a fantastic product at its price point, is limiting transparency and soundstage size. I would not blame the other components for this. An Auralic Aries, by example, is a big step up from a Touch. I think Moon (given you like their amps) have a similar product as well, although have not heard it.

I see the Auralic Aries is recommended, I own it, and its great for sound vs. price.

However, I just want to say the lightning app for streaming is buggy.
Having owned mine for a few months, they have made updates a few times - fixing one problem, creating another.
Like being part of a beta program, although it was released quite some time ago.

Also, there is no app for iPhone yet, even though the manual says they will release it autumn 2014....

I have only used it for Tidal, maybe its better for local files.

Just my experience.

This seems to be the right place to ask this question. If I'm in the wrong location, perhaps someone could redirect me.

I listen through Paradigm Signature S8 loudspeakers, the Beryllium tweeter has me in its grip. I'm getting a strong upgrade itch. Could someone give me a studied opinion about whether the Focal Electra 1038 would represent an upgrade for me? I have not heard the Focals yet ( and I have to travel a fair distance to hear them) but everything I read about them suggests that they have that listen all day quality about them. A local guy has a pair of Electra 1037s. Was there such a significant jump between the 1037 and 1038 that I should not consider it?

Cannot comment on your Paradigms, but there are some very good deals to be had on new Electra's at the moment. My guess is they are being replaced by the Sopra line. Am very pleased with mine.