Anybody Heard Focal High End Loudspeakers--The 1008 Be

[parimento1]

Hey there have any of you heard these loudspeakers? They have been getting great press. What do you guys think of them?

[markie]

At the TAVES show here in Toronto about five weeks ago, I got to hear a lot of Focal speakers, in different rooms. I think they were the best represented speaker company at the show. But I don't recall seeing or hearing the 1008 Be itself. One room I was in, a guy from Focal (or maybe a distribution company for Focal) was giving a talk on the woofer construction, how light weight and strong it was, and so on. He even passed around some of the woofer material - looked and felt like a special form of fiberglass. Yes I have felt the woofer! He said nothing about the famous Be tweeter, but then I had to move on to other rooms and probably just missed it.

Soundwise? In general, the Focal speakers - all floorstanders - I heard were impressive for sure. Detailed and yet dynamic, resulting in better realism than most speakers there. I should clarify: I heard very good dynamics on a micro and intermediate scale.

My overall impressions: They sounded detailed and 'fast', but they didn't have me tapping my toes. Was it the music selection? The less-than-cozy atmosphere in the rooms? Was it because they didn't seem to have a certain richness of tonality (distortions?) that I heard in some other speakers there? Whatever, I found certain other speakers more *enjoyable* to listen to. But of course that is a matter of personal preference. If an true audiophile rebuked me, saying that I have not yet been trained to appreciate a truly accurate speaker, I would probably agree with him. :)

Mark

[FirstReflect]

Yes, I'm quite a fan of Focal's Electra Be series speakers, although they're far from the highest value.

Hearing the Focal Professional SM11 studio monitors was something of a defining moment for me. I had never heard such minuscule details rendered audible in a recording before. And the dynamics were just tremendous.

The Electra IW1003Be remain my favourite in-wall/on-wall speakers. It's tremendously difficult to find uncompromised sound quality in on-wall speakers, but I feel the IW1003Be come about as close as possible.

But let's be clear: the Ascend Sierra Towers RAAL and Horizon RAAL give up absolutely nothing to Focal's Electra Be speakers in performance, and they utterly destroy them for value. If Ascend charged anything resembling a reasonable profit margin, rather than essentially giving away all of their upgraded components at cost, they'd be in a similar price bracket as the Focal Electra Be offerings. The Sierra-2 ought to cost $2700/pair wholesale, and $5400/pair at retail. The Towers RAAL ought to cost at least $4300/pair wholesale, and $8600/pair retail.

Anyways, I have no beef with the Focal Electra Be speakers getting high praise for their performance. IMO, they're excellent sounding speakers. I think a lot of Ascend fans would likewise enjoy and appreciate their sound. But if you're in any way looking for a "bang for your buck" comparison, it's no contest at all. Do not let the large difference in price fool you! If Ascend's Sierra series speakers were selling at retail, and Dave set his prices anywhere close to industry standards, rather than taking almost no profit for all the upgraded components, they'd be very much in the same price category. We're simply getting a ridiculous deal as Ascend customers!

[billy p]

Yes, I'm quite a fan of Focal's Electra Be series speakers, although they're far from the highest value.

Hearing the Focal Professional SM11 studio monitors was something of a defining moment for me. I had never heard such minuscule details rendered audible in a recording before. And the dynamics were just tremendous.

The Electra IW1003Be remain my favourite in-wall/on-wall speakers. It's tremendously difficult to find uncompromised sound quality in on-wall speakers, but I feel the IW1003Be come about as close as possible.

But let's be clear: the Ascend Sierra Towers RAAL and Horizon RAAL give up absolutely nothing to Focal's Electra Be speakers in performance, and they utterly destroy them for value. If Ascend charged anything resembling a reasonable profit margin, rather than essentially giving away all of their upgraded components at cost, they'd be in a similar price bracket as the Focal Electra Be offerings. The Sierra-2 ought to cost $2700/pair wholesale, and $5400/pair at retail. The Towers RAAL ought to cost at least $4300/pair wholesale, and $8600/pair retail.

Anyways, I have no beef with the Focal Electra Be speakers getting high praise for their performance. IMO, they're excellent sounding speakers. I think a lot of Ascend fans would likewise enjoy and appreciate their sound. But if you're in any way looking for a "bang for your buck" comparison, it's no contest at all. Do not let the large difference in price fool you! If Ascend's Sierra series speakers were selling at retail, and Dave set his prices anywhere close to industry standards, rather than taking almost no profit for all the upgraded components, they'd be very much in the same price category. We're simply getting a ridiculous deal as Ascend customers!

I knew you'd find your way onto this thread at some point.:p

I know you explained some of the nuances between the patent Focal uses on their Be vs. the RAAL in a PM....:cool:

[FirstReflect]

Haha, yup :)

Lemme put it to you this way, 11 Focal Electra Be speakers might have found their way into my theatre if Dave had not been willing to take on all of my custom cabinet projects -- my one-off "Skinny" Horizon RAAL Centre speaker, in particular!

But when Dave was not only willing, but downright eager to challenge himself with that "skinny" design, that pretty much sealed the deal. Cost was not my deciding factor, but it sure didn't hurt that I also wound up saving a bundle due to Dave's generosity! The Focal package I was considering would've run me about $22,000. So 10 grand less, and what I can honestly say at this point is even better sound quality? Pretty hard not to feel awesome about that choice! :D

But I'm positive I would've been thrilled with the Focal Electra Be speakers, too. For my tastes, it would've been them or some Revel speakers if Ascend hadn't easily topped them all for value AND edged them out in performance. But if someone bought some Focal Electra Be speakers and told me they thought they were the best speakers they had heard, and they were super satisfied with them? I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I'd totally be on board with that assessment. I very nearly was that person myself! ;)

[billy p]

Haha, yup :)

Lemme put it to you this way, 11 Focal Electra Be speakers might have found their way into my theatre if Dave had not been willing to take on all of my custom cabinet projects -- my one-off "Skinny" Horizon RAAL Centre speaker, in particular!

But when Dave was not only willing, but downright eager to challenge himself with that "skinny" design, that pretty much sealed the deal. Cost was not my deciding factor, but it sure didn't hurt that I also wound up saving a bundle due to Dave's generosity! The Focal package I was considering would've run me about $22,000. So 10 grand less, and what I can honestly say at this point is even better sound quality? Pretty hard not to feel awesome about that choice! :D

But I'm positive I would've been thrilled with the Focal Electra Be speakers, too. For my tastes, it would've been them or some Revel speakers if Ascend hadn't easily topped them all for value AND edged them out in performance. But if someone bought some Focal Electra Be speakers and told me they thought they were the best speakers they had heard, and they were super satisfied with them? I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I'd totally be on board with that assessment. I very nearly was that person myself! ;)

I appreciate your candor...really refreshing. I learnt a lot reading through your informative posts.

Thanks...Rob

[GirgleMirt]

Yep I think Jonathan nailed it... I've not heard that specific speaker yet, but one place Ascend usually nails it's competitors is price/performance. For RAAL towers at 2.8k, well, you just don't find a RAAL at that price point... If the Be are indeed 5k for the bookshelf, add the Focal stands which might be another 500$, I mean come on...

That's what I dislike about audio, I love Focals, they usually sound great, but so damn expensive! In a vacuum (figuratively speaker), there's so many utterly fantastic speakers out there, but when you consider that say the Utopia floorstanders cost like 50000$ ... It's a bit ridiculous.

Couple years back again going to shows, lots of good/great sounding speakers, but when a Sierra is 800$ and you compare to another bookshelf at 2500$ and it's not a day/night difference, almost similar performance, I don't know...

Another thread mentioned studio monitors. It's funny when you compare the consumer and pro products, you're likely to find the pro stuff is quite cheaper than the equivalent they're selling audiophiles. I think the audiophile products are just overpriced.

[edgeh2o]

My car audio installer/dealer just purchased the focal krx3 3-way components, cant wait to hear them. I haven't heard any home audio focal speakers, but I have heard some of their other car audio lines, and if the performance transfers over between realms, then the home audio speakers are probably even more impressive. Although I doubt they can beat the overall value that Ascend brings to the table.