Any ideas on Focal Chorus 816 V?

[mhushain]

I am planning to buy Focal Chorus 816 V. Is anything better than this one? pl suggest.

 

[unleash_me]

Well there are always better ones out there! Can you elaborate a little bit about your requirements?

 

[mhushain]

I am planning to choose between Dynaudio Audience N72, Focal chorus 816 V and Kef IQ9.

Pl suggest

 

[unleash_me]

My experience with Dynaudio is limited (read casual listening) but I can definitely comment on the Chorus and Kef. Between the two, provided everything else remains the same, my choice would be the Chorus, anyday!

But then again the caveat remains the same, it all depends on how, what and where you listen (some even consider the ??when? part also; not to mention waf, wine etc.)

All the best. Happy auditioning...

 

[suniil]

WAF ! Focal wins!!

But then again the caveat remains the same, it all depends on how, what and where you listen (some even consider the ??when? part also; not to mention waf, wine etc.)

All the best. Happy auditioning...

 

[suri]

My experience with Dynaudio is limited (read casual listening) but I can definitely comment on the Chorus and Kef. Between the two, provided everything else remains the same, my choice would be the Chorus, anyday!

But then again the caveat remains the same, it all depends on how, what and where you listen (some even consider the ??when? part also; not to mention waf, wine etc.)

All the best. Happy auditioning...

Hi unleash_me,

I listened to these speakers(focal chorus 816v) today - the source was a marantz cd-17 and integrated marantz pm-17.

i thought the image was smeared and veiled - that is the best I can say about how it sounded.

tell me what your impressions are of this speaker

 

[unleash_me]

i thought the image was smeared and veiled - that is the best I can say about how it sounded.

tell me what your impressions are of this speaker

It's no surprice that one find another's findings contrary to their own in HiFi. The whole idea sometimes feels like thrive on subjective opinions afterall!

AFAIR the 816 sounded nice, better than the IQ9 imo. It had good imaging and impressive sound-stage. The voices were clear and the bass was tight. Infact, I felt the vocals were natural with that rare neutral touch. I don't remember correctly but believe it was driven by one of the Denon PMA/DCD-2000 or 1500 combo with Chord cables. Another better option would be to get the 807V

As they say, ymmv!

 

[suri]

It's no surprice that one find another's findings contrary to their own in HiFi. The whole idea sometimes feels like thrive on subjective opinions afterall!

AFAIR the 816 sounded nice, better than the IQ9 imo. It had good imaging and impressive sound-stage. The voices were clear and the bass was tight. Infact, I felt the vocals were natural with that rare neutral touch. I don't remember correctly but believe it was driven by one of the Denon PMA/DCD-2000 or 1500 combo with Chord cables. Another better option would be to get the 807V

As they say, ymmv!

hi unleash me,

I came across this post today - (cranky) http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/5693-kef-speakers-2.html

the Focals were a waste of time. I don't know why they even bother to sell those speakers (Chorus 816V). No detail, muddy through the entire spectrum and constricted soundstage.

I found them very disappointing, personally.

Well, i felt the same and was quite surprised that you felt they were good.

 

[unleash_me]

First of all, why would you be surprised?! Well, I'm aware of cranky's comments and the numerous rest. In fact, many times after reading others experiences I used to wonder how I found it sound particularly good that day. May be it was the magic of Absolut!

Well there could be lot of factors that determine how a particular speaker sounds. May be it was the settings or the cdp/amp combination. Anyway, its a long time ago and may be my rather amateur ears dint see the demerits that other pros noticed Plus, I have a bias for Focal. Couple of years back, I almost picked up 1027BE. Couldn't work out the logistics and dropped the idea later as other priorities took over. Btw, if you get a chance do check out the BS model 807 as well. I heard it recently with the Vincent S6/236 combo. It was a wonderful match.

Like they say, listen to the shortlisted combos patiently as long as possible before swiping that card. Reviews are always subjective and hardly ever neutral. So what, if a particular brand or series you liked is poorly reviewed by the rest. You still like it! That's all what matters.

Cheers.

 

[marsilians]

...Well, i felt the same and was quite surprised that you felt they were good.

So its 2 against 1 and why should that make you feel surprised that the 1 did not agree with your observations?

To the OP, the 816 are good for HT applications than music. Also they are 2.5 way design. So you ahve to be careful on the placement.

 

[moserw]

I would probably go the way of unleash_me myself. Ever since I saw and heard Focals Grande Utopia I'm sold on Focals. That's true of everyone in every area too. For instance I drink only Coke & Co. and don't drink Pepsi & Co. unless Coke & Co. is unavailable. I know some people who are the other way around.

Focals would probably end up sounding better to me just because they are Focals (we can call it mind coloration of music!!!). KEF on the other hand, a friend bought them over a year ago (costing around 3.5 lacs IIRC and brought all the way from France) and they did not sound like anything that was worth Rs. 3.5 lacs to me personally. With this personal experience behind me probably anything KEF would not sound great to my ears and sound overpriced!!!

 

[suri]

So its 2 against 1 and why should that make you feel surprised that the 1 did not agree with your observations?

Hi marsilians,

It's like this- when one makes the transition from (listening to reproduced music or sound on ) mono speaker to stereo speakers, one feels that nothing could be better. I remember this moment in my childhood. Then, of course, we listen to different systems, and as we go along the bar keeps getting raised. Each one of us looks for different things, but there is a common floor on which all of us (interested parties) stand.

Since I joined the forum, i have followed unleash-me's posts, and I know for sure that he has listened to, and experienced quite a few "absolut" systems.

Now if a person moves from an open baffle Philips HiQ directly to this putative mid (price) range from the Focal group, namely, the focal chorus 816V, and then waxes eloquent about it's SQ, I would not be surprised!

But when unleash_me...................................................., that does surprise me, even if it was 23 against 20, or 200 against 39

 

[dinyaar]

I would probably go the way of unleash_me myself. Ever since I saw and heard Focals Grande Utopia I'm sold on Focals. That's true of everyone in every area too. For instance I drink only Coke & Co. and don't drink Pepsi & Co. unless Coke & Co. is unavailable. I know some people who are the other way around.

Focals would probably end up sounding better to me just because they are Focals (we can call it mind coloration of music!!!). KEF on the other hand, a friend bought them over a year ago (costing around 3.5 lacs IIRC and brought all the way from France) and they did not sound like anything that was worth Rs. 3.5 lacs to me personally. With this personal experience behind me probably anything KEF would not sound great to my ears and sound overpriced!!!

Have almost no experience with the Chorus line. Had liked some electras and have only heard the micro utopia, never had the chance to hear the grand utopia. Moser all these speakers sound very different and it would be suicidal to jump into a brand since u liked the Utopias. Had heard some KEF (ref i think) years ago and i thought they were superb, but the current ones i hear are pretty pathetic.
As cranky noted these marketing guys are very smart. The choice of words is fantastic. People actually accept so much of what the Co is saying. Latest example is the strategy used by B&W to sell the overhyped 685, and the fact that the speaker is 'eerily' close to the 805 at about a quarter of the price. Frankly the above statement is bull shit. One has to hear the speakers for a few minutes to figure it out. Am not croaking as I am a sore owner of the 805 and feel foolish splurging when i could have got similar with far less outlay.

Rgds

 

[moserw]

@cranky & @dinyaar - I do agree with what you guys are saying, just stating that the human mind is peculiar in its own unique way. Tell a person it's an expensive cable and he will say the sound is better. Similarly tell a person its an MP3 (and if its a so called audiophile) he will surely say the SQ is bad. But in blind A-B tests not many will actually make out a difference between a high bitrate MP3 and an Audio CD and ditto for cables.

 

[moserw]

it would be suicidal to jump into a brand since u liked the Utopias.

Quite rightly said. I'm actually targeting the Grande Utopias themselves and not any other speaker in Focals. Still a bit of time to go for them though.

Right now am confused about what next in the upgrade path. Nothing seems to do for all the different kinds of music I blast. I'm planning to audition the EPs based on another thread, let's see how they hold up.

 

[dinyaar]

Well i dont have the home for the Grand Utopias nor the money!!
EP? Emerald Physics ? Well a dear friend bought them from Shridhar and have been hearing them ever so often. If impact and scale is what u are after the 2.3 will stun u.
We all have our preferences and that diversity of opinion makes a forum fun to be part of IMO.
I also get u perfectly on these brand loyalties. I myself am guilty of having a few 'fixations' in my mind. Example is HONDA. I end up liking anything they dish out and always end up with one. This time when i was looking i tried every damn car in the range and finally once again bought a vehicle from the brand.
Rgds

 

[longshanks]

i have listened to almost all models in KEF and JM Labs.

KEF to me is speaker with a decent lower end freq and very good with mid rage but bad top end.The top end sounded little harsh and edgy even at moderate volume levels, when the volume was increased a little more i felt the sound was little distorted.These charecterstics were present in almost all the KEF speakers i have heard including a 5 Lac rupee KEF reference series. but again, i am not sure how they might sound if it was matched with the perfect amp for those speakers.

Focal on the other hand has amazing tight sweet bass and good midrange but not as good as the KEF reference. The top end was sweet and detailed (could sound a bit bright if matched with the wrong amp) and overall it had bigger sound stage, when ever i start listening on the focal's its hard for me to stop the music cause its that good for me.Although i am not a big fan of the chorus line up i gotta say it was way better than many speakers ive heard in that price range.The Electra's and the Utopia's are my favorites and one has to remember that depending upon the model the focal's sound very different when compared with each other.The more you travel up the range the more revealing the speakers get.Amplifier mathing is an important thing since its very easy to drive focal speakers and a YBA amp will bring the best out of any focal speaker.


if its between the focal and KEF i will go with Focal hands down cause when matched with the right electronics and cables it will please the listener for years with out the wanting for any upgrades or changes.

 

[unleash_me]

We all have our preferences and that diversity of opinion makes a forum fun to be part of IMO.

Dinyaar, one of the finer moments of feeling good about being in this forum! Thank god, we are all civil and sane so far! Been to lots of forums and there are few out there where this could grow into an ugly monster.

Moser, you are not alone my friend. I have few brand obsessions as well from simple things like Hidesign, Escada, Florsheim to Marantz & ProAc - I know, a wide stretch! But these are few brands I cant get out of, just like dinyaar's honda story.

Suri, for pete's sake - you 'make' speakers man! Who can beat THAT. I can only imagine. Glad to know you were following my posts. But it looks like I have let you down mate. For whatever reason, I did find the particular focal in question sound really nice. Guilty as charged!

Cranky, you bring us a lot of technical knowledge which, quite frankly, I don't understand most of the time. This only makes me wonder how much more is out there to learn. I consider myself a layman with rather amateur ears who goes wide eyed at any new system that comes by! Intricacies of electronics and materials is always secondary if ever.

After setting the ball rolling, I wonder what our OP has finally ended up with!

Cheers.

 

[square_wave]

Different people hear different due to various reasons:
1. Mismatch of electronics
2. Mismatch of room
3. Bad/correct setup
4. FletcherMunson curve of their ears
5. Brand loyalty
6. Music taste
7. An audiophiles early influences ( Difficult to get out of this)
8. Assumptions and prejudices
There are many more. There are far too many variables to list.

In most cases neutral sound is not what many people want. Then again very few speakers do everything neutral. There are compromises everywhere. There are design related decisions based on the designers belief system /prejudices in every product out there. If you find what is important to you in a particular loudspeaker at a certain price point, just buy it

If you want truly neutral, go buy the best studio monitor and associated equipment. They make your music on them

 

[moserw]

If you want truly neutral, go buy the best studio monitor and associated equipment. They make your music on them

Don't know about high-end but been using Mackie for years and they sure do sound great.