NEW FOCAL SPEAKERS! Focal Vestia Review

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► SHOP FOCAL VESTIA NO. 1 SPEAKERS

► COMPARABLE BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS


► TESTING THE FOCAL VESTIA SPEAKERS

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My Cables: custom, not avail for purchase

DIAGNOSTICS
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► NEW FOCAL SPEAKERS! FOCAL VESTIA REVIEW - FOCAL VESTIA N1

00:00 FOCAL VESTIA n1 REVIEW /INTRO
00:30 FOCAL VESTIA SPECS
01:11 FOCAL VESTIA NO 1- AMPLIFIER AND RECEIVERS RECOMMENDATIONS
01:53 FOCAL DESIGN & BUILD
02:18 FOCAL VESTIA SET UP & PLACEMENT
03:11 FOCAL VESTIA MEASUREMENTS
03:45 FOCAL VESTIA SOUND
04:19 BASS
04:58 MIDRANGE
05:49 TREBLE
06:36 SOUNDSTAGE & DYNAMICS
07:13 FOCAL VESTIA VS SONUS FABER LUMINA
08:03 REVEL VS FOCAL
08:32 POLK VS FOCAL
08:59 WRAP UP
09:44 KRISTI’S TAKE
10:50 FOCAL VESTIA 1 VS CHORA 806
12:42 FOCAL FINISHES
14:02 FOCAL VS KLIPSCH
16:05 FOCAL VS ARENDAL
17:50 CROWDED HIFI SPEAKER MARKET
19:20 QUESTION OF THE DAY

► SHOP OUR LIVING ROOM

► MY REFERENCE AUDIO AND HOME THEATER SYSTEM

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#FOCAL #SPEAKERREVIEW #HOMEAUDIO

[andrewrobinsonreviews]

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[judithhume]

I was feeling a wee bit miserable this morning with some of the news, and i then came across one of my favourite, smiling, happy people talking about something i really have no knowledge just love how this happy enthusiasm is contagious and I'm now all set.
Thank you Andrew.
David

[AbsoluteFidelity]

Owner of the Chora 806 and 826, Aria 906 and 948. People have called me ridiculous for liking the Choras more (806 vs 906). The 826 and 948 arent comparable for obvious reasons so Ill leave that out. The Choras are brighter speakers, but in a very classy way. The sharp highs are not like other speakers with boosted treble, the Choras get bright because of the lifted off axis response paired to a rather linear on axis response. This makes the highs bearable and very spacious. Think of the Choras as Dalis, you can use the Chora with zero toe in and that should douse the excessive treble at your MLP for a more neutral response, the Arias need a little toe in. It is also more dynamic than the Aria, which I love. Mids are more forward on the Choras, they bring the singer out into the room while keeping other things a step or 2 back. The Arias are warmer with the flax cones, giving the impression of being overdamped. Bass is tighter on the Arias and they seem to go a wee bit lower but that dont matter to me because Im running subs. Subs are a must, even for the 948s if you want full range.

Now I heard the Vestia No.1s and No.4s recently and I like them more than my own Arias. The Vestias dont sound as overdamped as the Arias, most probably because of the slatefiber cones? *shrugs*. The top end of the Vestia is more refined too. This might be a con to some people and will sound less exciting next to the Aria and especially the Chora but I bet that the Vestias will measure better than the Choras and Arias objectively (we have enough spins of the Choras and Arias to know why they sound like what Andrew described). With every new release, it seems like Focal is taming its treble heading towards neutrality, take a look at the Chorus, Chora and now the Theva and Vestia. They are getting less bright, which can be a good thing because quite a few people are saying Focals are too bright. A step in the right direction for the company. One thing that the Aria have over the Chora and Vestia is the cabinet quality; the Arias look way classier too. No competition there.

So now the current lineup is as so: Theva, Vestia, Aria, Kanta, Sopra and Utopia. The first 2 are using slatefiber cones, the middle 2 are using flax cones and the top 2 are using W cones. The bottom 3 are using Al/Mg tweeters and the top 3 are using beryllium tweeters. There is a pattern here and I guess this is what Focal wanted and aimed for. On a side note, Im not saying the flax is better than slatefiber, but it sure gives a warmer overdamped sound as we can hear from the Arias and Kantas. I personally like the slatefiber more. Since I cannot afford the big jump to the Kantas, I might switch the 948 for the Vestia No4. Some people might call that a bad move, but I like how the Vestia sounds more than the Aria, particularly in the mids. Wished there was a Chora 848 but that dont exist.

People will go for Focals for the huge soundstage and imaging, detail retrival, transparency and clarity, speed, agility and definition in the bass. Deep bass isnt in Focal's dictionary, at least not in their lower lineups. Lol!

[jmpersic]

These reviews continue to be the best on YouTube. I'm getting interested in smaller speakers these days. I'm going to throw this out there, in case it sparks a video idea: I'm investigating wall and/or in-ceiling speakers for my family room Hi-Fi 2-channel, since I have multiple kids under 4 years old who would LOVE to poke a speaker cone if they can find or reach one. Most of what I find is home theater oriented, and I have no idea how to get good musical sound from wall/ceiling speakers, or if I should even try.

[backrack]

Aria is a nice speaker. Detailed and warm.

[sjors]

Dear Andrew and Kristi, following a review from you regarding Focal speakers. Which told you that everything was just right and it sounds perfect. We are now the happy owners of Focal Chora 816 light wood, and your story is exactly right, the soundstage is excellent, tight bass, perfect mids. The sound is comparable to the old school Philips fb800 series, Philips stood for perfect balanced sound, which I now fortunately find back at Focal. If I had discovered this brand earlier, it would have saved me thousands of euros. I think my long search is now coming to an end. what a delight. Thanks again for your perfect advice 👍.

[gavriushka]

I feel like we’re starting to have a problem with market over saturation, which in return will cause consumer fatigue and loss of sales ultimately. When you have 3 different lines of speakers from the same manufacturer that are within a couple of hundred bucks of each other, besides the rest of the market there as well, it’s a problem. I love the approach B&W has, one bottom line, the middle line starts where bottom tops out or slightly below that, then the top line starts where the middle tops out. It makes sense. This to me doesn’t. It’s awesome to have a solid option, but it’s becoming more and more difficult to make a choice in this market.
Great review guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

P.S. dear Focal - stop putting a million words on the front of the speakers. I don’t care what marketing bs you named your speakers with. I just want them to look pretty. Thank you.

[MrDashpilot]

Always awesome hearing y’all’s take on things.

[wayneflanagan]

Interesting and helpful review, thank you. But the one thing that stood out from the review is the different camera angles!! Yes I noticed. You two are the benchmark of audio review production quality! But to be honest it feels you got into a pump it out Thursday/Sunday routine... wash, rinse, repeat routine. Please..Please don't take this as a negative criticism... I can only imagine the enormous effort and work that never shows up on camera.. just saying I loved the slight angle changes keep it fresh for yourselves..thank you for everything you do!

[jasonhilliker]

The Q Acoustics Concept 30 needs to enter the arena

[sjors]

We have four sets of speakers and three amplifiers, two of which are Classe D. Focal Chora 816 light wood, Dali Fazon F 5, Dali Spektor 6 Dali Zensor 5. Piega tmicro 6 (sold) yes, I know it's a bit much, and we switch regularly. We were real Dali Fans, but now that we have discovered Focal, it will not be long before we start selling all Dali's. and that says something. As I mentioned before, perfectly balanced sound and especially broad spectrum where the speaker disappears as it were. Dali certainly doesn't have that or far too little. Amplifiers are Primare i25 Prisma Silver, Denon Dra800H Silver, Denon Ceol N11 White. Primare and de Ceol are both Classe D, dra800 AB. the first two sound better than the dra800, the latter consumes more energy than the first two. the dra800 all Eco modes are off, speaker/levels are both set to 12DB+, only then does the dra800 sound good, everything is set to save energy by default, it sounds really bad. Consumption with eco off 37 Watt per hour. Class D consumption around 16 Watt Ceol, and Primare 20 Watt. Primare is a great amp, lots of power, very good open details in the sound, certainly doesn't sound analytical or sterile as some claim. This class D (NOT DIGITAL) as many also claim at NAD, it is an energy efficient circuit 90% efficient with energy. Circuit is above the AB as far as I'm concerned, perfect sound as the artist intended, or what you like, that's what you like :). The great thing is that despite the few components in the device, it could give the feeling that it can never sound perfect. I thought so too, the opposite is true. Nice side effect energy efficient, future proof. upgrade possible, but very expensive for an upgrade for a dac more than € 900 Primare, Nad around € 500, not cheap either.

[peace-yvqd]

In case anyone is interested. The focal aria line is on sale. I've wanted the Focal 906 for some time but haven't quite pulled the trigger. You can pick up the 906 for the starting price of $998 to $1318. The finish determines the price point. "What's Hifi" gives them five stars and they come highly recommended by many audiophiles.

[brett.altEIGHTies]

I guess you gotta keep the product line moving. I have the Aria 906 and adore them so not in the market but always interesting to see what brands do to extend their lines. Thanks for the review.

[bat]

Man what a cool job, reviewing all these amazing pieces of equipment 🙌

Very nice review, thank you for the video guys!

[PikMan]

i had a chance at a dealer's, to A/B the Aria Evo X 1 with this Vestia 1. the tweeter gave very good quality sound for the price. the bass/midrange however, you will be disappointed with if you are familiar with the Aria. In comparison, it is muddied. Was considering getting them to have the option to A/B or A&B, but the difference was too noticeable. I cannot step down to the Vestia since I own Aria 926. For someone starting out, the Vestia's treble, imaging is incredibly good for the price. They would be an acceptable starter speaker until you can get the funds together for Aria speakers.

[johnwood]

I recently auditioned both the Vestia 1 and the Sonus Faber Sonetto II. The Sonetto probably had more high end detail, but also seemed brighter than the Vestia. It became fatiguing after a while. The Vestias were mellower, very enjoyable, and good at all volume levels. I rarely listen at 80dB or above. The bass was adequate but I wouldn't mind a bit more. For bass in a bookshelf the Dynaudio Heritage Special is the best I've heard, they are in a class of their own.

[planetbee]

I own a pair of Chorus 706 since a few years, paired with a marantz pm6006. These combination produces a very precise and elegant sound.
But I would never pair the focals with bright sounding amps.

[chrisbullock]

I think with many things enthusiast, you get to a certain quality and performance level where you begin to just split hairs besides what options are also available. For the price, quality and options you get its really hard for me to beat Klipsch The Fives, Sevens, Nines for my multipurpose uses.

[AnotherAnonymousMan]

This living room interior is IMPECCABLE. It's slightly awkward to see speakers getting upstaged by the home they're in! 😂

[maximeleminter]

I would love you adding the Sonus Faber sonetto 1 or 2 in your book shelves comparisons, or maybe a review on their own? Thank you