I’m still trying to understand what makes a pair of speakers sound so different from another pair of speakers.
I recently auditioned a pair of Focal Utopia III Evo speakers at a local dealer. I’m not sure what I heard. The best way I can describe it was that they were loud even when the volume was turned down. They were clear sounding (good resolution?) (bright?), yet ‘shouty’, never ‘delicate’ sounding. The dealer went on to tell me that they are so good that they will not mask a bad recording. I realize that and am familiar with the B&W 802d1 sound as well. But these speakers seem to be grating on the ears, even tho I was assured that this is where you want to put your money.
Serious question?
Have you tried draping tissue paper / cloth or whatever over the offending drivers?
I mean, the obvs solution would be a nice equaliser and adjust and tune to your ears’ content.
You’ve obviously been in this hobby long enough not to fall for the “more must be better” trap of 70s equalisers
Some people like their ears singed when they listen. Not me. You would have to be oblivious to any audio publication or forum to not know in advance of the Legendary bright top end of Focal speakers. Someone who cares about you should have been consulted. Second opinions, third or fourth opinions are good as well. You must not have done any research. What was wrong with your ears the time you went to hear them? They drive me out of a room better than Badgers would.
Maybe have someone remove the tweeters and replace them with something softer. Just an experiment. A couple of old fashioned soft dome tweeters. One extreme to another. Look on YouTube for "replacing Focal tweeters. Someone has done it.
An easy way of soaking up treble energy is with absorbant panels. As an aside, I was once leaving a hifi show held in a large hotel. I was walking past a massive open side room that was Focal’s. I heard the most astounding cymbal crash and was gobsmacked. I can’t imagine the amplifier power that went to the speakers (IMO it’s a myth that you don’t need lots of power to produce treble, you do).
Hey, I’ve been listening to all the yahoo’s out on the forums preaching that these Focal’s need 300 to 500 hours to settle in… Phrases like ‘be patient’, ‘whats the hurry’, its the tweeter that needs time, it’s the spider on the woofer that needs time, its the crossover that needs time…in the end you will be rewarded with ‘one of the best loudespeakers ever made’, ‘best in the Utopia series’. Your crazy Focal are super bright, Focal are not bright just accurate.Guess what, very little difference if any after 400 hours.
This all followed by B&W 800 series is crap, overrated, overpriced, ‘you can get the same performance for half the cost’, they are very bright…to… the new d4 series is really calmed the upper end down. The 800 series is very bright. The 800 series isn’t bright it’s the 700 and 600 series that are bright.
And don’t even get me started with the dealers…1 stereo store every 200 miles, drive there just to carry on display the entry model of the brands they carry. And if you do find a store that has the model your interested in “Thank the Lord” they will spend a couple of hours with you, then, not exaggerating, be very pissed if you don’t buy them on the spot because after all 'they wasted 2-hours of their time forming a relationship with you (Overture).
So I ask on here for some understanding and I end up getting smart ass responses !!!
Perhaps some have become tired of reading the same story over and over. Additionally, when several responders offer sincere advice and some rather generous assistance it seems to be ingored or rejected.
Perhaps you are lonely and scared due to your health condition - that is understandable. There are better ways to engage in conversation than to repeat one’s speaker trouble and then call people yahoos who were giving their honest opinion based on experience.
You are clearly frustrated, but lashing out doesn’t get you anywhere accept more frustrated and probably more alienated.
first of all, i said i’ve been listening to all the yahoo’s out on the forums. i DID not say everyone is a yahoo out here, don’t be so paronoid.
second of all, I did not start lashing out on here, but others started making comments so gues what… i’m going to make comments back to them, because apparently they cannot restrain themselves.
How many times are you going to ask this question and then be angry or dismissive when you don’t like the answers? Yes, you will get some snarky remarks, but that is that nature of things - especially when you are perceived to be trolling based on the seemingly endless complaining and help rejecting. Clearly you are getting something out this as you continue to engage. If you don’t like it, then stop posting.
Trolling people who respond. The fist 20 responses on your initial post on PS Audio Forums were very much supportive and compassionate (reread those initial responses from April to refresh your memory). Not once did you thank anyone or positively acknowledge any of the responses. You are sour and just want to complain. You ask for advice from folks here, many who have a vast array of knowledge and experience, and then reject/ignore/dismiss helpful and sincere comments.
I have Focal Electra Be with berylium tweeters… all I can say is it depends on the room. For some reason, these Focals are hypersensitive to sidewalls, floor and ceiling. I don’t know why. I had them in a smallish but absorbant room and they were fabulous… yes, a bit forward sounding but very dynamic… old rock records came alive (I had Magnepan 20 before these… had to move to a smaller room so I replaced them with these Focals). Then I moved to another home with a large room but all glass on one side and hard wood floors. Awful!!! Really upsetting to me. My ears bled and virtually no imaging.
I just finished remodeling the room… I removed the hardwood floors and put in padded carpeting. I purchased sound absorbing panels and placed them in front of most of the glass. I have thinner panels for the ceiling, but I don’t think I will need them (I put the panels in before I remodeled).
Wow, transformative. I love these speakers again. I am still a panel guy and will probably go back to Magnepans in a year or two… panel guys are just that, once you love them nothing else does it for you.
For me, its the room for the these Focals. Is it the tweeter? I don’t know… the tweeter is crossed over very high… I don’t think so. But whatever, dampen the room… in particular, the first reflections. Put something absorptive on the walls and cieling halfway between you and the speaker… changes everything.
Plain and simple, the Be Tweeters in the Focal lines are bight. Fact. Because of that they require more care and feeding. Fact. If you are not willing to do that care and feeding you will not be happy. Many have been there and done that. Many good examples have been given here on what you can try and do and avoid.
Room Matters. Soften the room.
Cables matter. I have heard this for myself on my Sopras. the wrong cables (not bad cables, wrong cables) will make them screech.
I have had many streamers with them, no change
I do not spin so I cannot comment on CD / SACD players
Amps matter, and PREAMPS especially matter with those tweeters. - You have BHK300’ s I think…they match well. But you probably want a GOOD tube Pre. I had a few. My ARC worked great.
I have only put PSAudio DAC and Eversolo dacs on the speakers. Both brands worked fine. PS Audio for sure was better sounding.
That being said I think people are just saying “Sh** or get off the Pot” for lack of better words. Sell them or try some of things people are suggesting. Everyone is agreeing, they are bright, but we seem to think you are not doing what needs to be done to fix, or just sell. You don’t have to give them away, but yeah you are going to loose money. Sucks but most of us have been there buying something when it gets home being disappointed.
Simple summary, these speakers need help or they will be bright as hell.
