Yeah it was someone on hear discovering this after a freak equipment blow out that means I personally wouldn’t put top end focal speakers on my eventual upgrade list. I’m just glad my aria’s don’t have them I think I’d replace them as soon as I could if they did. Due to my health issues it wouldn’t be worth the risk for me personally.
Hi Graham,
Difference is…
Focal being a French Audio Electronics brand leaves a lot to be desired in the way they market and sell globally. Naim is a bespoke funky company, driven by insanely passionate people who enjoy music. Focal has left Naim alone (R&D) basically, Focal however, well the hight end speakers Aria and such are meticulous, but really depends on your room size and musical tastes. The Mid range and Entry levels of the Focal speaker ranges share a lot of components such as drivers (up to a point) but the weak link is the capacitors, resistors and wire that is used to build the crossovers. A lot of this is just not good parts or design in my opinion.
Naim (Classic Series) have fabulous toroidal transformers that deliver “current”, which in my humble opinion is a good way to gauge how they deliver, not watts or sensitivity.
There are many easy choices to pair with a Naim, I have owned Totem, Harbeth, and currently run PMC. I have recently auditioned some Dali’s and Buchardt’s at a local audio shop. They (in store) are both quiet revealing and at a good price point. The Focal left me cold and flat and can not listen to for hours, left me wanting. The Focals seem to be middle of the road and attempt (my opinion) to colour sound, not neutral, however, if you listen to the top of line Focals Wow! So there in lies the lack of love as you stated for focal. If you can find an older pair of Linn’s then like the Harbeth, these are ones you can listen to for hours. One downside to these observations, if your source of track and mastering no matter analogue or digital os streaming is Lacking or poor then the Naim / above combo will make these tunes sound unlistenable. Hope this assists Dan
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Each speaker has its pro and cons. Focal with the beryllium tweeter are dangerous for a child. But the childs may be dangerous with Naim DBL, as they can confound them with a washing machine.
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Ha. The next time a fire breaks out in my listening room, I’ll make sure I leave. They should have mentioned not to lick your tweeter either. Talk about being over cautious.
You’re more in danger of the things you eat than having a beryllium tweeter in your house.
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I did have word, in english and french, after my initial shock…
Only if playing Thunderstruck with ears against the speaker.
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It’s very hard to predict children and it isn’t a foregone conclusion that they will get up to mischief if given physical access. Some will. Many won’t. Some people will damage speakers themselves without help from little hands.
I’ve got two kids, 7 and 5 and since birth they had full access to a Naim rack and PMCs (not standmounts - that is asking for trouble), and later a tube amp and some exotic speakers with fragile 8" full range drivers, and a turntable. Despite one of my kids being utterly feral and given to disruptive behaviour, neither has ever mucked with the hifi much.
A sharp word every time they look at the hifi has trained them like Pavlov’s dogs.
Naim Mu-So and Qb are made in China and carry the Naim badge…
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Sorry, couldn’t resist
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Not to be confused with a window licker, although not far off.
Are Focal speakers the obvious match for Naim amplification?
No
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So what speakers did you finally pick? 
To be honest, I believe its becoming more often than previously(seldom) to pair these due to same management, company owner, marketing etc…
Dynaudio Evoke 50. We currently have a big room with a high, wood beamed ceiling and my previous speakers were a bit lost in there. The Dynaudios had a sweetness to the sound which I liked, and I enjoyed them being a proper 3-way speaker with a dedicated midrange driver. I liked the ATCs too, although the 2-way PMC I heard was probably second favourite - but not up to driving a big space (larger PMCs were beyond my budget).
I’ve since put Isoacoustics Gaias on the Dynaudios, which was a significant improvement. They weren’t my favourite looking speaker at demo time, but I was surprised to find I liked their sound best. The ‘Blonde Wood’ finish (looks like limed ash to me) has deepened a quite a bit in the light and they have grown on me since getting them home and living with them.
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I was at my local dealer recently and he gave a resounding ‘No’ to this question…
He suggested that Audio Physic were a much better match (in Germany…)
That is the worst possible reason to pair electronics and speakers.
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Do I detect no love for the inverted dome blighters…
I had little reason to complain about the tweeters, my main issue was that the bass seemed to be coming from a different track than the rest. FWIW YMMV
to be fair I did audition the Focal Electra 1028 BE, and it was a stunning sound.
I wish Focal still made them. I also had the chance to audition a non-run in Sopra number 3 and it was pretty special too, but at a big cost increase to the electra.
I missed out on a great deal on the 1028BE which to my ears is an end-game speaker.
So is the Sopra (end game), but at that elevated price level there are a lot of options out there.
So in their own right, Focal does make good speakers, but again is it an obvious match - well speakers are very personal choices. what pleases my ears is different than many of my Naim friends where I live who all own different speakers than mine.
Some like and own Sonus Faber, one owns Focal, one Harbeth, so there is simply no accounting for taste.
I also have a cat and my old Dynaudio’s have the old style of grills being attached with strong pins so it is out of the question for me to have speakers that have magnetic grills.
So the Dynaudios will stay … and my cat and me are happy with that
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In my experience, absolutely not. Focal Aria standmounts were really poor with any amp I tried (including NAC125XS/NAP155XS). The only piece of equipment I sold after only owning for only a few months. Hopelessly bad (apologies to happy owners out there… just one man’s opinion). For my taste, Naim does much better with neutral sounding speakers (I went back to an old pair of Paradigm Monitors), and Arias were anything but neutral (noticeably boosted treble).