Focal Utopia 3 Scala speakers

The bass on the Scala is very clean and tight but not overwhelmingly powerful. Perfect for a medium size room. The bass is also selectable high-med-low. The only way I can imagine a muddy bass is an underpowered amp trying to drive them in a large room at high volume and possibly set to high bass. I really did a lot of listening and research and this speaker is very special in its price bracket. Nvp, I did listen to a nice high end Elac model but forget the model. The only brand I would have liked to hear more than I did was Dynaudio. Heard most of the other 'usual suspects' and the Scala was a stand-out to me. If these are genuine offerings at those prices and you have a suitable amp and room, you have a high end bargain!

Nvp, reading that link to our previous conversation, I pick you up on one point. You say the Scala is too expensive, and also too big for your room. Only point I make is that if you have a decent powerful amp to control the bass driver, and set the bass on Scala to low, I think you will be amazed at how well it integrates into a small room. If you meant aesthetics of that big animal dominating the living room, then that is a whole other story :)

Hmm...that's nice having the adjustable bass settings. More speakers should have this feature.

How is the imaging and high frequencies on these Focals?

Dave, it seems to me you like having bass knobs (on your speaker, on your pre-amp). Maybe you should change your moniker to bass_knob. I hope you do not take this the wrong way. I am just joking. :)

Mike60, thanks for the suggestion. At 12k euros Scala is certainly a bargain,
but they still are too large for my room and my listening habits. First, my ears are approximately 8 feet away from the tweeters; this may not permit a perfect driver integration. I really have no intentions to change the layout of may room again. (I did it 4 times in order to get the flattest bass response). Second, most often I listen at low levels (65-70 dB); my experience is that large floor standers need to be cracked up a bit in order to open up.

Focal Utopia Scala sounded phenomenal in the Bob Hodas/Tape Project room at the California Audio Show this last weekend. Quite a small room.

Preamp and power amps from Luke Manley (MB 450 Series III) with Tara Labs cables. The source was first class - Otari tape deck with custom Bottlehead electronics and The Tape Project material.

The Utopias were on custom Sound Anchor stands that raised them quite a bit.

I was entranced by the Rimsky-Korsakov and blown away by the Patricia Barber cut. One of the 2 best rooms, for me.

Regards,