When I last heard the Scalas at the factory, on the end of a full 500 system, I thought they were bloody awful, not like real music at all. That was my ears telling me that, not prejudice.
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Maybe Scalas aren’t for you, then - based on that very short experience of them.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
As you said, you had the chance to review some of the very best kit in the world, and it’s quite re-assuring (for us Naim fans) that indeed you chose with your hard earned money to buy the most expensive Naim kit.
I’m quite pleased to know this… and appreciate that you think highly of Focal speakers to buy and use them.
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I really wished Focal would do a 2-way (two driver) compact floorstander. It’s either a stand-mount or a huge multi-driver affair, nothing in-between. Odd. 
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They have the Chora range which are pretty small, and at shows I’ve heard them sound excellent on the end of Naim electronics, the little Aria is also not huge physically.
Thank you very much for all the insight. Glad to see that Naim pays well 
There is a question I meant to ask for a long time, regarding the Focal + Naim matching thing. So, on the one hand we have Focal going to great lengths with the tweeter going to 40 kHz at -3dB, in the process I would put the beryllium thing into my home which gives me the creeps when I read the Focal safety manual. On the other hand we have Naim amps traditionally rolling off the treble quite steeply above 20 kHz. I am having problems reconciling the two approaches when used together. (But the Kanta design is perfect for my home…)
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Chora 826, like Eoin I’ve heard them at show with naim kit and they were pretty impressive and cheap too
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You’re definitely overlooking 25 years of system-building and upgrades in your calculations (and a husband that shares my love of music and hi-fi!)
Re the Beryllium - you’ve got more potentially dangerous substances in your kitchen and bathroom cabinets, I bet. It’s never given me a moment’s worry - including using Focal headphones with those drivers right next to my head!
I’d also not stress about ‘traditional’ measurements - I see the skill and expertise of Naim and Focal R&D teams at work and listen at length to the results, as do they. Yes, measurement is important. But at the end of the day, we’re all listening to music, not measurements.
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Yes, the new Chora range is mighty impressive for the money- winning awards all round the world right now. And takes some design inspiration from the Naim Uniti range, too. Fabulous pairing with Uniti Atom and Star…
It’s not what i’m after. I would like a 2-way, 2 driver compact floorstander, which Focal do not make - most others do. I’ve tried looking at Focal and there is a hole.
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It’s great that you can share the joy with hifi!
And definitely the listening is the decider, but it can sound great despite some mismatches. The point remains that Focal spends a lot of money to reproduce frequencies that the Naim amp does not feed into it. Does not mean that it cannot sound great, just that some resources seem to be wasted in this combination.
Of course, the 40 kHz may well be just a by-product of fantastic tweeters and it’s likely that it does not make a difference whether they are ever actually used
As for the beryllium, there is nothing in my kitchen that comes with a manual detailing the medical procedures necessary when a kid touches it and generally makes it seem that it is best to move house if it ever breaks. (Edit: well, cleaning stuff and meds, but those can be locked away)
Don’t get me wrong, nothing would make me more happy than loving the Kantas because they are just so gorgeous.
I wonder whether there is a connection here. Are Apple a Bose of HiFi?
<<Splutter!>>
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Yes, I went with the Aethos because of synergy with my Harbeth P3ESR speakers (I had a 200/202) before .
If starting afresh with the same budget, I would go Naim every time.
Less stressing, more listening - seriously, get yourself a demo!
There’s also this gap between the Aria and Kanta ranges where quite a few if not most competitors do have offerings. I wonder if this is hurting them, or if it’s a deliberate strategy to be differently priced.
My previous speakers were Focal-JMLab 726V, and I quite liked them, so wanted to consider the brand, but unfortunately the Aria’s weren’t up there with the (admittedly more expensive) offerings by competitors, and the Kanta’s were out of my budget. (And not sure my gf would have allowed them in the house design wise anyway).
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I have looked at the Focal range many times and i can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something missing…in their ranges and pricing.
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All feedback welcome - am happy to pass onto the team.
Anyway, while we’ve been happily chatting, Naim just won another Award 
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Well i have to say well deserved and a great product. We use ours as a TV soundbar, streamer and vtuner radio. And its just the right size to go on holiday with us…and i still get to listen to Qobuz👍
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Rarely have I seen any advertisement for the ProAc D2R’s, which I currently own. IMHO even their website needs a serious refresh but they still won an award this year.
Thanks @Naim.Marketing for contributing here.
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