Focal Sopra No2 in new colors
The Focal Sopra No2 is available in, according to the manufacturer, “stunning” new colors. And it must be said: they look pretty!
Focal Bathys ANC headphones
Focal has released the Bathys, the brand’s first hi-fi Bluetooth headphones with ANC on board.
Focal presents new Utopia
Focal releases a new version of Utopia headphones, including a refreshed design and improved acoustic properties.
Triple Test bookshelf speakers – 1000 Euro – Sonus Faber – Focal – Elac
On Sunday, March 27, we tested three impressive pairs of bookshelfs live for you. We also measured them and combined them with three amplifiers. This is to paint a complete picture. It was therefore a somewhat complex live stream, but certainly interesting. At least, that’s what we thought, because the results were surprising. Why? Welll… […]
Review – Living with the Focal Sopra No1 for four years
It’s been about four years since we appointed the Focal Sopra No1 as our reference speaker. Initially with a set of AVM M30 mono’s and a Pass Labs XP10 pre-amp. Later that became a Pass Labs XP12 with the Bryston 4B SST3. Fed by a Metrum Acoustics Pavane with Ambre streamer. Why is that Focal […]
Live Stream Replay – Focal VS Paradigm VS Kudos Audio
We performed a trio test on Friday 24 April: the Focal Sopra No1 versus the Paradigm Persona B versus the Kudos Titan 505. Three masterful bookshelve speakers – monitor speakers – each with their own strong points. We have used our live stream set-up to show what they are capable of. We also shared our […]
Live Stream multitest – Paradigm Persona B, Kudos Audio 805, Focal Sopra No1
Next Friday – April 24th 2020, 10:00 CET – we are going to do another live test. A trio test. The Focal Sopra No1 versus the Paradigm Persona B versus the Kudos 505. Three Titans. For powering them, we use our trusty reference system.
Multitest budget monitor loudspeakers – 360 – 650 euros
Bookshelfs – or monitors – do not have a real low end. And cheap speakers don’t sound good by definition. Isn’t that right? Well, uh… …in the old days, maybe. But is that still true? We would like to know what the state of affairs is in the entry segment. Say up to about 600 […]
Review Focal Stellia Headphones
What a beautiful product is the Focal Stellia! Both the finish and the sound is really top-notch. Now we are usually not so impressed by closed over-ear models, but the Stellia is an exception. This over-ear definitely sounds well balanced. And that’s what the measurements show. Handsome Focal. Only point: the Utopia measures even better. And if we remember correctly, the stereo image is also a bit larger. But good: open also has its disadvantages.
Review Focal Elegia over-ear headphones
The Focal Elegia is a premium headphone with a quirky character. Who thinks it’s just a closed Elear with 100 euros off… wrong. The Elegia is really a different model. With a different sound. The Elear has a much calmer character. And this is due to both a – in our opinion – finer sound character as well as a lower distortion.
We think fans of dance, house and pop can appreciate the Elegia. Pure vocal work… less. Just like copperwork.
Focal is one of the largest speaker brands in France. The brand has a very rich history and a large line-up. Famous icons are for example the Utopia Series. With the top of the Grand Utopia. Focal bases his higher series on a tweeter made with beryllium. This extremely rigid and hard material provides significantly less distortion. While the earlier models with a Beryllium tweeter could still sound sharp, the newer models no longer suffer from it. Another striking innovation are the units, built from flax. Light, cheap and very good damping properties.