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Focal Speakers The Spirit of Sound |
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Focal Maestro Utopia III Review by J. Atkinson, Stereophile
I heard those speakers at a dealer in Paris.
Simply stunning. Stereophile: Focal Maestro Utopia III loudspeaker
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There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats Albert Schweitzer |
#2
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Jérôme.......At 116 kilograms (256 lbs.) each uncrated, the Focal Maestro Utopia III might be a bit difficult to get up those stairs to your listening room, not to mention the €38,692 ($49,995) price tag.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#3
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I was just passing by... ! I have no intention to buy them. I'm delighted by the EB1i !
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There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats Albert Schweitzer |
#4
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Jérôme.......I feel exactly the same way. I am sitting here completely immersed in a Chris Botti CD. The PMC EB1i's truly are amazing.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#5
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I demoed these with a pair of Mc2301, C1000, MCD1000, MDA 1000. I'm sorry to give a conflicting view but the Maestros were absolutely horrible. I wanted to stop the demo after 5 minutes. The sound was harsh, brittle and head ache inducing. This was not a new pair. It was the main importer's pair and had been broken in for 6 months at length.
I was actually demoing the 2301s. I still have no idea what they sound like! |
#6
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Turntable: SME Synergy All-In-One Thorens TD147 Jubilee + Plixir LPS + Ortofon A-Mono DS Audio ION 1 SACD/DAC: Luxman D-10x Server: Roon Nucleus+ 8TB SSD + Plixir Elite LPS Bluray: ModWright Oppo UDP205 Amps: Air Tight ATC-5/ATM300R/ATH-3 Speakers: Avantgarde Uno XD Piano Black/Stealth Grey Cables & Interconnects: Audience Au24 SX Series Power Conditioner: Audience aR6 OX Rack & Amp Stands: Audio-Philar |
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The amps used were top of the line Wavacs ( don't remember the ref ).
They sounded everything but harsh. Somewhere between the British school and the Wilsons. A bit too clear for my tastes though. But bass and treble extension were just amazing. Mids not as warm and charming as my PMCs. The dealer told me they were extremely sensitive to cables. He used Van Den Hull reference line and told me they were not sounding as good with Transparent....
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There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats Albert Schweitzer |
#8
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Pairing 2301's with clear speakers is just a non sense. 2301's are too clear and detailed for those. They are wonderful with warm sounding speakers : PMC and KEF for example but also some JBL and SF . BW could be too clear for them. And most of all, forget about Wilsons, Cabasse, JM lab/ Focal....: you're right, those are not easy amps to demo !
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There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats Albert Schweitzer |
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I think they will be both in our homes for a very long time, with God's will. I haven't meet yet speakers that gave me the will to let the EB1i go... ! My "Linn friend" came yesterday to borrow me the Lyngdorf ( an other one ! ) because we are leaving for Florida tomorrow for 3 weeks. He was very impressed by the sound of the system. What I read on his face was " why the Hell did I spend so much money on my system..." but I may be wrong. That could just be my personal thinking regarding his system. But he had to admit with no difficulty that the bass the EB1i give in my room, with the RP-1, is just night and day with the bass he gets from his Komris, with 2 x 1000 W of internal active Klimax amplification, only dedicated to the 4 boomers of the Komris.... ( ! ) GO MCINTOSH GO.......................!
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There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats Albert Schweitzer Last edited by Jerome W; 07-25-2010 at 03:11 AM. |
#10
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I have never heard Focal being lean or brittle. To me they lean more towards the Sonus Faber sound than say Wilson or YG. |
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