I love my silk dome tweeters.
relevant to the conversation.
In an ideal world that would be my first preference. A well made silk dome tweeter is a thing of beauty.
Thanks for posting this video, it is very timely for me.
I have enjoyed my Spendor Classic SP100r2 speakers bought from a dealer about five years ago. They were the traveling pair that have some dings and nicks, but no performance issues. About 18 months ago wanting something new and shiny, I ordered a pair of Aspen FR10s. After a prolonged set up process I had them dialed in and am enjoying them. Just last week I swapped the Spendors back in. Wow. It was like coming home. I was seduced by that British sound once again.
To be fair I had changed amps (BHK250 out, Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra Premium monoblocks in) and upgraded speaker wires and interconnects to Iconoclast. Even though the rest of the kit is PMG (pre, DAC, SACD) the overall synergy just snapped into place with the Spendors. Will swap them back after a while just to verify, but I may be listing my FR10s.
Would the FR20s be a fairer comparison to the Spendors? Probably. But for this guy in this room, maybe I am already where I want to be.
I am more fortunate when I bought my most recent speakers. It gave me so much more enjoyment and feeling to my music collection whether old or new. My former speakers were beautiful sounding also, and at one point I couldnât find anything I like more, but the new Wilsonâs really are in another plateau of musicality. The full bodied density of sound, the natural air and sparation of instruments, the power of the dynanic contrast and extentions in the lower regions, the sweet fullness and extentions of the treble, thanks to the silk dome tweeters, the reality it brings to the music, all at a level my old spearkers only hints at. It makes my older speakers quite boring in comparison, especially with vinyl, where I can fine tune the sound with cartridge loadings for the right balance. Iâll bet there are more people out there who love their new speakers and would never go back to their old speakers no matter what, than there are ones who regrets buying their new speakers.
I was at Audio Solutionâs today in Indy they had a vintage Levinson 333 in the room so I had to check it out. It wasnât hooked up but the latest Levinson amp and preamp were the primary components hooked up to focal speakers playing music. 
I walked out within 30 seconds way too bright. My friend Doug who I referred to as golden ear walked in and immediately said yikes those speakers are bright! Yep. 
Well I do regret buying my new speakers, to me the Focal Utopia Scala is and expensive version of Bose.
I would like to sell all of my equipment, including cables, and with the remaining money, find somebody that could source together a system that has synergy.
Iâm finding the comments on the Focal speakers very interesting especially because the way theyâre being described by more than one commenter is nothing like I remember.
Iâm wondering now if their âhouse soundâ has changed over the years because while it was 20 years ago that I heard them they werenât bright or fatiguing and the only reason I remember them was because they made such a positive impression on me.
At the time I was a member of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS) and had the opportunity to hear them at a Los Angeles audio salon. Another reason the memories stayed with me was that Dan Wright was there with a couple of his modified CD players (one of which I think was a Denon). They front-ended a system with a Modwright (Series 9?) preamp, large VTL monobloc amps (donât rememeber the exact ones) and JM Lab/Focal Nova Utopia Be speakers.
Sorry to be so long winded but Iâm wondering if there was some kind of synergy going on because the system sounded just excellent.
These guys sure know their stuff:
and this is her hot buy:
If you purchased a pair of used FR20âs, you could then keep your current gear a little longer, and simply wait for a decent price/opportunity to purchase a used Gryphon Diablo 300.
Or if you donât have the patience, grab a used FR20, used Pass Labs XP-20 preamp and used Pass Labs XA-60 monoblock amps all from TMR.
Contact Mikey at 11stereo. com. He specializes in putting together musical systems that he guarantees will blow you away or you can return everything and thereâs no restocking fee.
Find a willing dealer. But also an appropriate one, that has clout and âreachâ. Offer your Focals as some kind of âconsignment stockâ; giving you something 2nd hand in-stock item to help you out temp. The dealer should know youâll do further business with him OR else youâll be willing to allow for a fair cut.
Since the Focals would cost the dealer Zero, maybe this option is acceptable. Worth trying?
Clearly a couple of levels below yours, but my Focal Kanta No3s took awhile to settle in. Very happy with them. May take you a couple of months, but the wait will be worth it.
Gorgeous system.
How not to stack components.
Iâm completely in love with my Wilson speakers. But there was a time, more than 20 years ago, when I disliked Wilson, found them quickly fatiguing. Back then they sourced drivers from Focal.
Donât punish yourself over this. If any one tells you that they havenât made expensive mistakes in this or any expensive hobby, youâre not getting the whole story.
From what little I know thru this thread, the biggest take-away is to find a dealer who is customer service driven.
My dealer, Innovative Audio in NYC would surely take back my speakers if I was unhappy with them. They are clearly focused on developing customer satisfaction, loyalty, repeat business. Iâm sure I would have paid a hefty restocking fee plus shipping.
And they acknowledge that while it might sound great in their showrooms, at home can be a completely different story.
@waymanchen11 ⊠what model are they?
They look very nice and youâre very happy with the sound.
Focal Utopia Scala Evo speakers in standard grey (tho the dealer calls this a custom color and cannot return the speakers even after a week)