Focal Event at Quintessence Audio near Chicago on 12/3

[David Matz]

Hello All,

Quintessence audio, an awesome high end audio store near Chicago, is having a Focal event on 12/3. Anyone interested in hearing some great box speakers should hear the new Focals. They will have the $50K "baby brothers" of the new $190K speakers reviewed in TAS and HiFi+ earlier this summer. They will also have the $30K siblings also.

I'm not sure I would trade my electrostats for these, but they sound very good, and much more dynamic than any electrostat I have heard. I could certainly live with them, if need be.

Additionally, Quintessence Audio is a great place to shop. They are very friendly and every time I have visited, there are many cool audiophiles hanging out and drinking beer.

http://www.quintessenceaudio.com/

 

[tonepub]

Say hi to Mick for me...

I used to know the founder, Frank quite well. Even bought my Kerry Blue Terrier from Frank!

 

[David Matz]

Anyone else stopping by? I will be there 7:30ish.

It would be great to see some Chicago guys.

 

[David Matz]

Say hi to Mick for me...

I used to know the founder, Frank quite well. Even bought my Kerry Blue Terrier from Frank!

Jeff,

Not sure if you know, Frank died about 5 years ago. Mick is doing a great job of running the store. He says hello back to you.




As for the $50K Focals, they are pretty good. They are very dynamic. Maybe too dynamic. It's great for music, which makes it sound "live". However, on spoken human voice, the dynamics really come through as a bit over-enginnered, as the voice "jumps" at you a bit too much. Also, the speakers are designed for a HUGE room. Mick has a fairly large, well treated listening room. However, the speakers felt like they really overloaded the room. Not trading my stats any time soon, as nothing sounds as natural.