What can you tell me about Focus Audio?


I'm in the process of auditioning speakers. Looking for a small to midsize floor stander for my 12'x18' room. A dealer has turned me on to Focus Audio. I plan on listening to a pair from their Prestige series this weekend (FP80Se), but I have found little about them on the web.

Anyone have any experience with these speakers? As background, I listen to about 75% rock and 25% jazz.
dhoff01
Thanks Cmalak. Been breaking them in since they arrived on Wed. I need to get some sleep.. ;-)
Though I'm late to this thread, I've heard them on various occasions, and have always been more than impressed. Since my experience is that finding a good loudspeaker is so very difficult, that's high praise.
Thanks Trelja. I can't tell you how frustrating it was trying to find the right pair for me...
Please keep me in the loop as you develop your impressions of the FP80se. I am down to a few researched speakers for audition myself, among them, this particular Focus model. I would like to a/b audition along with Dynaudio's Focus 360s. Hope you're enjoying them!
Mbump - I'm more than happy to. I've only put about 30 hours on them so far, but I was impressed with them out of the box. Voicing is spectacular, the bass is fast and punchy, but the highs are a little harsh at the moment. It uses a scanspeak revelator ring tweeter that is known for being detailed and smooth (as it was when I demoed them) so I expect it will start to open up after another 100 or so hours. I'll keep you informed.

On a side note (and feel free to ignore any of this), I noticed your system and saw that you face some of the same limitations that I do. You have a much wider room, but your listening position is simlar to mine - I sit about 10 feet away from the speakers, which sit 3 1/2' out from the wall. Looks like you'll be a little closer, actually. Since I sit rather close and do not enjoy much space behind me, I shied away from larger floorstanders like the FP88se (presently in production - uses 2 7" drivers instead of the 2 5 1/2" used in the 80se) and the PSB Synchrony 1s. I worried that it would be too much speaker for my room, and I didn't want a muddy bass even if it did reach way down low. Just something to think about when your listening to the 360s.

Also, I did audition the 220s along with a pair of Contour surrounds. I thought the high end of the FA that I demoed to be much smoother that either of the Dynaudios with sacrificing any transparency. I really was unimpressed with the Dynaudios - they just lacked that "wow" factor that I was looking for when listening to speakers. Of course, the 360s are a different animal, and everyone listens with their own set of ears, so it could've just been my own acquired tastes. Just something to consider.

Good luck on your quest!