Focal Stella Utopia

[kfr01]

Michael:

Toying with change is always fun! Oh man, both the KEF Blades and the Focals would be statement speakers.

I can't tell from your picture, but how big is your room? If smaller, I suspect the dual side-firing woofers of the Focals might be easier to deal with than the woofer in the Focal. That said, both the Focal and the Blade have some unique technology that the other does not have. What a problem to try to solve! ;-)

What are your thoughts?

[djwhog]

Focal sounds similar to a Dynaudio speaker, they do however require large amounts of power and are very nice.

Clean and airy I feel describes their drivers.

[C2300MC275]

Hi Volks,

I own the Focal Maestro Utopia. They are wonderful speakers indeed and the Stellas are even better. You gotta get them!

[C2300MC275]

Btw, your 601s will have no trouble at all driving them to crazy levels.

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Michael.......The Absolute Sound thought the Focal Stella Utopia EM to be tremendous speakers, awarding them 2011 Product Of The Year Award in the Cost-No-Object category. $90,000 a pair is getting on up there, for sure. TAS stated that the Focal Stella Utopia EM is a world-class loudspeaker in every way.

Boy, look at those teeny weeny wires powering those speakers!

I guess if you've got the goods, you don't need fancy cables.

[howiebrou]

Don't forget to demo the Marten Coltrane IIs which are similarly priced.

[C2300MC275]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

Boy, look at those teeny weeny wires powering those speakers!

I guess if you've got the goods, you don't need fancy cables.

That is one saucy looking speaker.

[VT Skier]

I've heard them several times at shows, the last two times with the Devialet D-Premier. They're wonderful speakers, and I agree that they do share some characteristics with Dynaudio.

I've only heard your speakers once, and that was a while ago, but I think the sonic signatures might be similar.

[Washline]

Originally Posted by djwhog

Focal sounds similar to a Dynaudio speaker, they do however require large amounts of power and are very nice.

I've compared the Focal speakers (second utopia series) with Dynaudio, and while I'm very impressed with the imaging and staging capability of the Dynaudios, I've never been impressed with their Esotar tweeter in comparison to the beryllium on the Focals. To my ears, the beryllium is much more versatile with a lot of different kind of music. The kind of music you listen to, though, very much determines how the comparison works.

[enit]

I thought the Stellas were best driven with the mc1.2kw. Great speaker! Very very impactful and dynamic, brilliant highs and super accuracy. Very very lively, presents very good depth, layering comes easy with the Stella, mid range in the 'mtm' style is natural & effortless.