Focal Utopia Scala V2 or Persona (9H/7F)

Dear Patsuh,

Our shop has been championing the Personas since they came out and all I can say is right on!

The issue with the Personas is their remarkable transparency just doesn’t hold anything back and comments we have heard from some of the other people who have heard the Personas, not running on the correct gear, was that many of these people were not blown away or found them bright.

Too many dealers accross the country do not have the correct matching equipment or setups that an uber high resolution speakers like the Personas really require.

We would invite you to hear our reference setup with the Persona 9H it is a jaw dropping mix of T+A electronics, a Light Harmonic Davinci MK II Dual Dac a Baetis computer and Enklkein cables. Spooky trasparent, and oh so holographic. The midrange and tweeter being made out of the same material makes the speakers so coherent, and I always thought the midrange in the Focals and the tweeters sounds a bit different.

Wilson doens’t have the transparency of the Personas, and the fact that the Persona 9H can do battle with an Alexia at $55k is a testment to the engineering prowess that Paradigm has demonstrated with this line

If you ever are in our neck of the woods please give us a call and take a listen to this setup it is truly amazing.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

I have a pair of Diva Bes & they are absolutely not bright. John Atkinson of Stereophile said this when he tested the Utopia Maestro 111 on one of its settings:

"I preferred the balance with them set to "3," which took away most of the mellow top-octave quality. But, my goodness, this is one smooth tweeter.... & "...a touch mellow in the top octave..."

Regarding imaging:
"I had wondered about the Maestro Utopias’ imaging, given the fact that the tweeter is set within a wide baffle, though this does have a slightly convex curve. I shouldn’t have been concerned. The dual-mono pink-noise track from Editor’s Choice (CD, Stereophile STPH016-2) was reproduced as it should be: as a very narrow spot of sound midway between the speakers, without any splashing to the sides at any frequencies. The instruments on Rendezvous were stably placed in space precisely where I had mixed them to be, with excellent image depth where appropriate."

My Divas have a much narrower baffle and the Scala is about 12% less wide then the Maestro - most likely helping image better then Atkinson says of the Maestro.

I have the strongest doubts the Evo offers any particularly noticeable improvements over the non Evos. Unless one is biamping, which it was designed for. Biamping inevitably introduces the colourations of the xover into the mix as it simultaneously adds its own virtues in (ideally) a two steps forward, one backwards kind of way - if it works well. It has to be approached carefully.

It must be remembered Focal has done literally nothing meaningful to improve the Utopia line (in sonic terms) since Jacques Mahul left. Despite the re-engineering of the tweeter & assorted tweaks of the Utopia 111s , I & everyone I know can hear no difference between it & its predecessor. None of the reviews anywhere of any of the 111 line have ever compared any of them to its predecessor (a common practice in audio reviews). Why do you suppose that is? Exactly.

Are you absolutely convinced you need new ones? The money saved on getting first generation Bes can be applied elsewhere to great sonic effect.

Hope you haven’t bought the Focal Scalas yet - here’s a chance to get a pair for an initial asking of (before bargaining) $7500 less than retail. >

 https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis8fa6h-focal-scala-utopia-reference-3-way-floor-standing-loudspe...

I got one of the last new sets available Scala V2 in black will be here Tues....

HI Audiotroy,

Does your shop sell both focal Kanta and paradigm persona 3F ? I am wondering how do they compare ? 
Their pros and cons ?