Naim Electronics V Focal Signature?
Shouldn’t it be the other way round?
No wonder people are deserting Naim in droves!
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If I was in the market for an immersive TV experience that beautiful piece of kit would top my list. Musos are terrific. I imagine that to be the same and more.
The Hekla is a fantastic piece of kit, capable of Atmos from a single box. Really impressive and I don’t see why anyone would knock it.
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I’m going to wait a bit until some reviews come out and I get a chance to listen to one, but if it passes muster I can see it having a place in our TV room.
Roger
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That’s a nice and really interesting short video. I am interested in this product and will be interested in the reviews when they come out. It will be very interesting to hear how in performs in Atmos, along with traditional stereo.
Is that @stevesky as Home Audio R&D manager?
Because it is very difficult to accommodate. Presumably one opts for an all-in-one AV solution to avoid making changes to the room for a big AV setup. Only to find that almost no one has a TV high enough over a board to give this clearance or deep enough to accommodate it and a TV. So you are back to making changes to the room so that you can use your all-in-one solution. It somewhat defeats the entire purpose. You really need a wall mounted TV and bare board below it like in the pictures.
I could fit one in the music room by raising the TV slightly on blocks closer to the wall:
But the position of the stereo speakers might disrupt the AV sound somewhat? Of course if the Helka was good enough to replace the stereo set up, it would have advantages in being a full music and AV solution including Atmos music Bluray and streaming - so potentially a good option for downsizing when the time comes. Depends on how good it is really.
One in the lounge would be nice, but can’t fit in as the TV is on a cabinet and there is a window behind, so, yes, fitting these in isn’t straight forward.
But they won’t be selling them in NZ as it’s a NPBN option only and there’s no shops here.
Yes, nice to see Steve H and Jonathan M featuring in the video.
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Naim powered by… Naim? 
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Now that would be nice.
It’s physically very awkward.
TV not high enough, shelf not deep enough, can’t wall mount it.
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My TV is wall mounted. Plenty of clearance for the Hekla to replace the Muso2. Only question mark being the weight, as my media island is also wall mounted. For a mere 4 additional kilos vs. the Muso, I’ll take my chances. Can’t wait.
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There’s no need to write it off because it doesn’t work in your situation. It’s a fine piece of kit.
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has nothing to do with my situation; I’m sure it sounds fantastic but it won’t fit in a lot of peoples spaces.
you asked the question ‘why’ and I answered.
Hi,
For some reason my job title changed in that video. I’m actually the software director… who also does the digital electronics architecture and antennas, but corporate face of Focal Hekla can be added to the list of achievements. 
Jon and I went over to France and shot this video back in October.
The Hekla was quite a tough piece of technology. Unlike most manufacturers who take an ODM reference platform and adjust ID / tweak feature-set exposed, this one was made from ground up. Internally it’s a combination of a Naim CI102 (or Focal Diva) streaming core, combined to a new dual core DSP. We then adjusted the streaming core to do native atmos streaming and ability to pass atmos bitstream to the dsp. In the DSP one core is dedicated for post processing and the beam steering as designed by the Focal acoustics team.
Best
Steve
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Congratulations Focal-Naim on releasing the Hekla…. a musical HT box that I’ve been waiting for.
I bought my Bentley Mu-so 2 without audition, as I live 14,000 km from UK, in difficult location to hear such products. I am so thrilled with its musical delivery, I sleep with it every night ! ( ok it’s in our master bedroom). I have an 8-box Naim system in my music lounge, and a Nait-2 for a dining room system.
Based upon my Mu-so experience, I will not hesitate to buy a Hekla for our TV room
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Thanks Steve, I’m glad you’re still in your post, I was worried you’d been pinched to another role, and thanks for another insight into systems architecture.
Interesting video, enjoyed hearing about the design process and the complications. I am sure it will do well as there will be a market for a neat one box surround sound systems for people who want good SQ as they watch TV, I would go for it if I had the need.
I’d also be interested in the Hekla, but it is a big beast, so not sure if it’d fit beneath my tv?