Yep, looking forward to it Dan 
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Are you sure you read my post?
Well, that will likely be entirely different.
Well not if they don’t work in your room, or with your kit. ‘Better’ speakers might not always be better in your home.
If you are buying blind as I think the OP is considering I think that way of deciding is a risky one. Less so with source than speakers perhaps
Bruce
Edit. I think the OP is able to try them. Not sure if at home with their system.
Buying blind at such high price is plain silly.
Dealers do likely massive profit on such things, find one that is willing to do a home demo.
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We don’t know where the OP lives, however it does appear that he(?) is getting a demo of the Focals, which certainly I agree is essential with speakers (though sadly not possible in all countries). Auditioning at home might be more difficult, but the suggestions I made would largely mitigate the risk.
Hmm. Speakers can sound completely different at home, compared with at the dealer, even with exactly the same electronics. The Stella Utopia is a £120,000 speaker and even with a discount would cost a huge amount of money. To buy them without a home demonstration of at least a week would be hugely risky. The market for such expensive speakers is very small and if they didn’t work out, the risk of a big financial hit is very considerable.
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You are right, but it is very difficult to test huge speakers like those at home. I didn’t find dealer that give them in test at home. The cost I found is 1/3 of list price… that’s why I’m tempted to buy
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That is where I have found it beneficial to take my speakers to the demo, hear mine first to get a feel for the room difference, setting that as a baseline, and then doing a direct comparison between my speakers and those I’m audioning.
I have done that with 60+kg speakers - and dealers didn’t bat an eyelid lugging them in (and upstairs), declining my assistance. (My then lightweight 22kg amp was a trivial addition!)
£40,000 is still a huge sum of money. What if you get them home and don’t like them? Buying something because it looks like a bargain is rarely a good idea.
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That’s a very good deal tbf. I can see why you are tempted. Speakers like that have high depreciation from new price.
Focals are often on good deals. I bought mine less than half price 6 months mint condition.
They will be top notch! I would be very tempted.
But look at me! I just go for it. Not every one is a risk taker.
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Fully agreed. So big the temptation is … if it is not working…
Even 40k is hard to sell…
I got a 2013 552dr in best condition for 8k euro from a dealer … really good price - but I had a return option!
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But would you risk £40,000? It’s very different to £7,000 on some Sopras. Big expensive speakers are not easy to sell on.
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Worth considering Dynaudio Confidence 50 with a 500 system as well. Obviously not Focal but these are speakers I would consider (not that I am… 
).
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I wouldn’t spend £40k on speakers unless I was going statement. And I would need a bigger room for the speakers.
It depends on how much money I had as well.
I would have to listen to them for sure, but not necessarily at home.
I think in today’s market conditions selling them on would be tricky. I would need to be pretty sure they were what I wanted.
I would be trying other speakers as well such as Kudos 808s and Magicos.
Can you listen to them with the 500DR?
Unfortunately no.
What is the size of your room?
Also what is the rest of your system set up. Be helpful to know preamp, source and general set up.
It is 7mt x 5mt
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