I think that Focal should play War of the Worlds on these speakers at demos. I know Sopra 2s which I have look like Daleks too. But their speakers look like robots!
Personally I don’t particularly like the looks of these speakers. And that puts me off straight off!
It’s called a “sense of humour” plenty of background guidance available online if you’re unfamiliar with the term
Once again, refering to my own (albeit limited) listening experience with the product and the supporting demo staff, they sounded average and at times unpleasant to my ears, which, given the demo staff bias towards playing squeeky trumpet based tracks and those beryllium tweeters being barely broken in as well as a listening space with just a few rows of chairs in it, should come as little surprise.
I’d like to hear them against similar fully integrated products and perhaps a pair of ATC STM 100’s with a decent source/pre to give a more balanced assessment.
I’m sure they can be made to sound better than my interaction with them implied, whether reliance on DSP room correction is the best means to achieve that or not, remains to me inconclusive.
Hope that naim won’t become just supplier in future . If this speaker is powered by naim (it is ) , naim should have a LOGO on it …after all , they are partners.
I’m with you on this Dan. I don’t actually mind them marketing these the way they have. They are doing that as Focal and not Naim and so why wouldn’t you hype them up versus separates. But…I do find them fugly…
I think he was more making the point that this is where the future lies for the main part of the potential hi-fi market, a high quality all in one pair of speakers that only need to be plugged into a power socket with music streamed via an app. In terms of the future generation, I think he is likely right. There will be a niche multi box market along with the LP revival, but there will be a significant market for all in one speakers. They will also appeals to those wanting to downsize.
There are similar products from other speaker manufacturers who are keeping up with changing technology and the market, Totem are one example.
The Sopra, Kanta, Chora, Aria Evo X or Vestia hi-fi loudspeakers can be combined with all Uniti music players, while Focal headphones reveal all their richness with the Uniti Atom Headphone Edition, and the Mu-so Wood edition wireless loudspeaker matches the Sopra Light Oak for harmonious listening in any room. Today, the Focal and Naim collections range from solutions for the home and integrated systems for residential and commercial use to professional products, and headphones, car kits, outdoor loudspeakers and a yachting offer .
To me, this clarifies what Focal think of Naim and where their emphasis is.
the grey skin looks more like the wrapping paper, at least on picture.
But I think I’ll give it sometime, perhaps a few years later they’ll come with better “wrapping” style & colors, and tweak some weaknesses they may find on this first generation for (an even) better SQ.
And I think it will still be connected to some boxes after all, like in my case would be my TT, power supply, SUT and phono stage, that’s for the analog part alone. That’s not to mention CD Transport
It may be a suitable offering for probably a different segments, like the young audiophile who want less boxes and simpler setup.
I’m surprised more hasn’t been made of the room correction now available with this speaker and enabled by the app?? Apart from the thread in the streaming section by @XMB
and a few posts in this thread, I don’t think it’s been discussed much at all. Isn’t this quite a big deal? Naim offering room correction? I’m sure I read previously Naim weren’t fans, saying it was generally detrimental to overall SQ when they investigated it during 272 development:
I think it’s a great development if it’s now at a stage where it can be done well. Particularly given that speaker and room matching is a very frequent topic on here. It would be really interesting if their current streaming preamp, or any future ones might end up with it if it was originally researched for the 272.
@Stevesky are you able to explain a bit about it, and if it’s likely to find its way into any other new or existing products or product lines? Will it remain just for active speakers? Either way I’m happy to see it and look forward to how it is received and any future developments.