Focal Scala Utopia v2s have arrived

Hot Chocolate...

And one of my projects is Cheque Dematerialisation, so after donkey's years the UK clearing system might finally catch up with the Internet era!

Nice speakers Dave- I have Electra 1038's myself- never heard the Scala's. You have them toed in?  Tried with grills on vs off?  Also, what are your room dimensions and how far are yours from back wall?

david

In my experience most Focals sound better with the grills removed, certainly true with my Scalas.

Estimate rather than accurate measurements... Room about 4.5m wide, 6m long, 2.5m ceilings. Speaker fronts 1m from real wall and 1.2m from sides. Listening position about 1m from rear wall, but there's a large bay window behind giving another 0.8m. Speakers toed in a bit, but not pointing directly at the listening position. Grills off on all drivers.

How far do u sit from the Scala's?

Is this a test? I say 4m. That's 6m minus 2m. 

Right answer but wrong calculation it's 7m minus 3m = 4 m. 

I think not. Where does 7m come from? The extra 0.8m is irrelevant as it's behind the listening position, if indeed the 0.8m is the extra 1m. 

You must calculate using pi 3.142?

DaveBk posted:

Hot Chocolate...

And one of my projects is Cheque Dematerialisation, so after donkey's years the UK clearing system might finally catch up with the Internet era!

Wow, they looked black in the photos!  In the third picture the side does look a different colour, I had assumed that was down to the sunlight on them.

I imagine a fair amount of cheque dematerialisation occurred to pay for the Focals...

Stunning pics Dave.Hope you get loads of enjoyment.Love mine to bits.

Hi Graham,

The actual colour is a deep brown / bronze with a pearlescent effect that's very difficult to capture in a photograph. I believe they use a top quality automotive lacquer.

Performance wise, they are loosening up very well after 3 days playing. I was warned that the beryllium tweeter will take an age to run in properly, but I have to say it's sounding pretty good already. It's difficult to say how they compare to an active S600, especially one driven with a Statement pre, but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that they are miles ahead of my old passive S600s. Give them a couple more weeks to run in, then feel free to pop round and have a listen.

Dave.

Dave,

I'd expect them to be a lot better than passive S600s, in fact given they're nearly 3x the cost I would be very disappointed if they weren't!

I've love to pop along for a listen - let me know when convenient once nicely run in.

Regarding comparison to a Statement pre, well you could always bring the speakers down here

I'll email in a couple of weeks Graham. Having watched James and Henry manhandle these beasts into my my room, the chance of a quick trip down to your place with these strapped to the back of my SL500 seems seems vanishingly small!

Congratulations Dave. I'm sure you'll enjoy them just as much as I have mine. FYI I didn't experience any significant breaking in "ups and downs". They just kept getting better and better. I suppose they loosened up after a few weeks. They allow the music to flow with astonishing scale and seemingly without much effort.

My 500 has gone off to be DR'd so it will be interesting to hear what difference that makes. You'll have to pop over....I need some more CD recommendations:-)

All the best, Scott.

DaveBk posted:

I'll email in a couple of weeks Graham. Having watched James and Henry manhandle these beasts into my my room, the chance of a quick trip down to your place with these strapped to the back of my SL500 seems seems vanishingly small!

M-B don't make roof racks or tow hooks for SL500s?

Impeccable taste in cars there Dave!

No Graham, you can't fit a tow hitch to one and although theoretically you could fit a roof rack, you'd have to make sure you don't forget & try and fold the roof down. It'd be...nasty.

Dave,

Awesome - are you going to sell tickets?

Regards,

Lindsay

tonym posted:

Impeccable taste in cars there Dave!

No Graham, you can't fit a tow hitch to one and although theoretically you could fit a roof rack, you'd have to make sure you don't forget & try and fold the roof down. It'd be...nasty.

I did once see a picture of a Lamborghini Countach towing a small trailer.  This was before digital pictures and Photoshop so I don't think the picture had been faked...

I suppose the alternative would be to drop the roof on the SL500 and pop them on the passenger seat.  Maybe that would be the ultimate in car audio upgrade.

Bravo Dave, time to change your profile!

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Profile updated Frank...

It would be good to catch up again Scott. I'll drop you an email.

The Scalas are still sounding wonderful.

Dave. 

Graham Clarke posted:

tonym posted:

Impeccable taste in cars there Dave!

No Graham, you can't fit a tow hitch to one and although theoretically you could fit a roof rack, you'd have to make sure you don't forget & try and fold the roof down. It'd be...nasty.

I did once see a picture of a Lamborghini Countach towing a small trailer.  This was before digital pictures and Photoshop so I don't think the picture had been faked...

I suppose the alternative would be to drop the roof on the SL500 and pop them on the passenger seat.  Maybe that would be the ultimate in car audio upgrade.

The rug in the full room photo was transported in the passenger seat with the roof down, so this might be a workable plan!!

DaveBk posted:

I thought the S600s were the end of the journey, but these babies build on the strengths of the Ovator and deliver so much more. Much more to come I suspect.

Congratulations Dave. Can you tell us even more of the comparison? I understood that the Ovator range may be discontinued very soon to be entirely replaced by Focal's. 

Chag -  

hi Dave, can nap 300 drive these speakers well? Do they require nap 500 to get the job done rightly? I am now using 552+300, and searching for right speakers.

lancalee posted:

hi Dave, can nap 300 drive these speakers well? Do they require nap 500 to get the job done rightly? I am now using 552+300, and searching for right speakers.

They are quite sensitive speakers, so the 300 has more than enough grunt to get them going really loud. I have a 300DR which seems more capable in the bass region than its predecessor, so this might be a factor. The first time I heard these speakers they were being driven by a 500, but had previously been driven by a 300 to good effect. The 500 is undoubtedly a better amp in some ways, but the 300 can still get speakers at this level performing well.

Dave.