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Focal Speakers The Spirit of Sound

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  #11  
Old 07-01-2017, 02:26 PM
Bar81 Bar81 is offline
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The break in is ongoing but probably haven't been able to put even 100 hours on them so far due to various reasons since they're in a shared room. I have been really enjoying the system with the Maestros - there have been some minor hiccups during the break in process but for the most part they sounded pretty amazing on day one and still sound pretty amazing - I knew my earlier speakers were holding back the system but I was still pretty surprised at just how much performance I was leaving on the table with the Scalas. The major piece that is still up in the air is the bass - it is slowly coming in but still doesn't have the physical force that I've heard from the Maestros in other setups. We'll see once break in is done and they are spiked.

I got a really good deal on the Maestros due to a mixup which is why I have them (as opposed to waiting for the EVOs) which actually worked out better for me in retrospect. Due to the mixup I forced my dealer to also agree to provide me with Maestro near full purchase price tradeup value to EVOs, but after a couple of days with the Maestros I told them he needn't bother - I will be keeping the Maestros long term. The Maestro EVO for me, is not really attractive versus the Maestros.

Last edited by Bar81; 07-01-2017 at 03:14 PM.
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  #12  
Old 07-01-2017, 06:51 PM
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Questortapes74 Questortapes74 is offline
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Thanks for the update. Sounds like your dealer has been quite helpful which is a definite plus. I can imagine that once fully broken in and positioned to your liking, the bass performance will be most impressive. Just comparing a side by side view with the Scala is quite remarkable. Enjoy and if you don't mind giving an update as you get to the optimum sound that you are striving for...

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  #13  
Old 07-04-2017, 10:12 AM
Bar81 Bar81 is offline
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So I'm now north of 100 hours and I'm a little relieved that the punchy bass that I've heard the Maestros produce elsewhere is starting to come in along with the subterranean bass (I'm guessing my neighbors are not happy).

The treble and the midrange are a little up and down but these are, relatively speaking, minor changes compared to the changes to the bass - not sure there will be a significant change in performance of these aspects of the speakers as break in continues (not that I'm complaining about the performance to date).

Based on what I've read, these speakers will take a while to break in (not less than 500 hours), so it'll probably be some time before I can fairly pass judgment.

Given the size of the Maestros, they aren't visually overpowering the room as I had feared (I think the tapered design and down-angled top along with the black color really help with this) - my wife doesn't mind them since to her they only look slightly larger than the Scalas from the couch (I think the vastly improved midrange performance sold her on the Maestros right off the bat so she's not inclined to complain about them anyway).
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  #14  
Old 07-25-2017, 07:11 PM
shpritz shpritz is offline
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I have the same front end as you but running Krell Evolution One and Two's for pre and power. I am seriously considering changing my Dynaudio C4 to the Scala V2 or after your review I am also considering the Maestro's. My concern is the size of my dedicated listening room only being 12' x 16' x 8'. The room is dedicated to 2 channel audio and has absorption, diffusion and bass traps in the corners. Do you think the Maestro's will overpower my room?
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  #15  
Old 07-26-2017, 02:27 PM
Bar81 Bar81 is offline
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Just wanted to make sure the ceiling is also treated. I think you'll have to treat it with either of the speakers.

In terms of size, the Scala is a little over 4ft and the Maestro is pushing 5ft tall. On an 8ft ceiling you're not leaving much breathing space with the Maestro. In terms of your components (I'm assuming what you have is a typical Krell monster doubling all the way to 2ohms - it needs to be since the Maestro needs power, which is not the case with the Scala), the Maestro is the proper fit, but the room is really tight for a speaker that big. If the ceiling was 10ft or higher I'd tell you to rock and roll with the Maestro.

As you read above, I had the opportunity to go for Stella, but at a 100% price differential I wasn't willing to take the risk and stuck with the Maestro, which I'm very happy with. You're looking at a similar situation with the Scala and Maestro. I don't think you'll be unhappy with Scala and it will be a considerable upgrade over what you have now.

I just don't feel comfortable giving a clear go on the Maestro in your room.
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  #16  
Old 07-27-2017, 04:04 PM
Superfrg Superfrg is offline
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Nice to read your impressions, im sure it sounds gorgeous!

However, is the midrange driver and the tweeter not the same on the Maestro and the Scalas? The specification sheet for both reads the same.
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  #17  
Old 07-27-2017, 04:28 PM
Bar81 Bar81 is offline
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Although they look identical, the midrange is custom made for the Maestro. Focal is able to cut and tweak the driver composition for different purposes since everything is made in house. For the tweeter, it looks similar as well, but it's much smoother.
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  #18  
Old 08-04-2017, 06:16 AM
justubes justubes is offline
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I have had both on my room similar sized at 10.5' x 21' x 10'.

Speakers were 6 feet out of the room. As you know the maestro were designed to allow near field recording in studios.

The maestros are indeed more relaxed, smoother and warm midrange and highs. I would say the scalas are not as warm and natural, added some harness and brighter.

Bass wise, the scala was more than sufficient and kept them. Reason being i felt that the maestros could be used in the room, if you like it louder, it comes alive with ease and feel it then wants to breath even more to open up beyond the boundaries of the room. The pressure in some cases (playing loud and feeling the visceral bass lines) again felt at time it started to overload the room, it's natural than the energy just wants to come out. Other areas of the house were filled with tremours and wall resonating

The bass adjustment doesnt do anything at my concert listening levels. The Stella with the bass output volume adjustment controls would be able to control the bass output much more.

I love the physical size, which is not over imposing but still majestic looking in my room which is not large.

The Scalas can sound more exciting with more snap for certain uptempo music, but the notable ease and smoothness of the maestros, it is no match. I feel maestros will excel with large scale music, ideally i would like a 16' wide room and allow it to show it's staging.

The scalas in a 25' wide by 20' room at the dealers failed to fill the space, sounded like monitor speakers.

It comes down to one not trying to fit the largest speaker which you "feel" may be playable in a given room, but be thankful that you don't have a room too big which will need mega amp and the like of a Stellas or Grandes to even work. Of course the sound then would be a totally different story. It save a lot of money having a system in a dedicated room not too large.
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  #19  
Old 08-10-2017, 03:20 AM
Bar81 Bar81 is offline
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I agree with the above in that you need to always match the speakers to the room.

However, in my system and in my smallish room the difference between the Scala and the Maestro wasn't subtle - treble is much smoother, midrange is significantly clearer and bass is more controlled and less chubby (I had the V1 so may be less of an issue on V2) while also being subterranean on the right recordings (you feel like it's coming from below the floor as opposed to the speakers). However, the thing that I really wasn't ready for and one of the biggest selling points to me of the Maestros is that they are a single point source in terms of their sound - it's satisfyingly cohesive. I never felt that about the Scala.

Out of the entire Utopia floorstanding lineup, the Scala, while a fantastic speaker, is the one that has obvious areas for improvement in all facets. I expect that the EVO will be a marked improvement in all areas given what looks like a smoothed out treble, clearer midrange and tighter bass.

On the other hand, I'm not interested in (although I understand why Focal made the change and from a sales point of view it is absolutely the right decision) a downgraded 3 way Maestro EVO simply to make it easier to drive and compatible with a much wider range of partnering amplifiers (the Maestros currently need ridiculous amounts of power to open up).

Last edited by Bar81; 08-10-2017 at 03:24 AM.
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  #20  
Old 08-12-2017, 04:20 AM
justubes justubes is offline
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Bar,

Exactly the characteristics i found between of the scala and maestro.

How do you rate the general sonics characteristic of your room, was it the direction of neutral bright opposed to neutral warm?

Last edited by justubes; 08-12-2017 at 04:22 AM.
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