Focal 1037be's Amp Suggestions ???


I have Focal 1037be's and I'm pushing them with a BAT VK300x Integrated. My listening room is 24x26 with 10' ceilings. I believe I'm under powered with the Integrated. I'm looking for suggestions as to what amplification works for others with the 1037's. I would consider seperates as well. I guess budget $$$ would be 5-6k plus what I can get for the VK300x. Thank you in advance for your input.
zenieth
You definitely do not want to move them into a square room (15' x 15'), which would be the worst possible acoustic environment - square rooms accentuate room modes, usually guaranteeing large peaks and dips in a system's frequency response.

I assume that you are reluctant to part with such nice speakers, but the space you have calls for something bigger, assuming you listen to challenging music (orchestral, loud rock). Yes, adding subwoofers would help, but your main speakers are, at the end of the day, best for mid-sized rooms (one midrange driver per speaker).

The sound is somewhat different than the Focal house sound (but reasonably neutral), and their look will not appeal to a lot of people, but a used pair of Dynaudio C-4's would be an affordable option -- they are very good speakers that will fill large rooms and should work with your amp (I am not otherwise going to get into recommending speakers, as there are so many variables and available options).
Raquel, The square room has a staircase and a hallway that lead into it. Actually, the hallway is attached to the room it's self. That would make the room another 4' wider. There aren't any interior doors in the room. Looking at it in that prespective it's not square. The other major loss by moving them is my wall of windows and my view of the lake and mountains. Different speakers? Hmm ....... that's painful ........
I have my speakers in a 15' x 15' x 9' room ... but with a view of the Hudson and the mountains -- life is full of compromises.

I heard a pair of Nova Utopia Be's (no doubt an improvement over what you are running) in a room about the size of your big room and was very impressed. Just a thought.
IMO, JM Lab's require more power than their specs and suggested amplifier power range would indicate, if you want them to come to life. My Mini Utopias have an efficiency rating a little over 91db. I was powering them with 70W conrad johnson amps but never felt like I was getting their best. So, when a 200W cj became available, I called Focal to see if they thought this might yield the results I was looking for. They told me that 70W was more than enough and that the impact of more power would be negligible - maybe a "little more oomph". Well, I made the change and got a lot more oomph and then some. They sound like much bigger speakers; they play louder with more detail, better sound-stage, and unravel complex lines without effort. It's like the difference between driving a sub-compact and a big Cadillac on the expressway.
Zenieth:
What is the current problem(bass, sound stage, impact, etc)?

Have you ever tried any other amps?

While I like Focals pretty well; as a whole I think they lack scale (even some of there larger models). I listen to a lot of hard rock. I loved them for small jazz and softer stuff but throw some Metallica in and they come up a little short IMO. You could say I have a love / hate relationship with Focal speakers.

I guess my point is that if you are trying to open them up with more power it might be a moot point. They do some very nice things though. They have "real" detail (not hyper detail) and great mids. But large scale music is not their best type. I am not saying they sound bad just that there are speakers with larger scale at the same price point. As always it is a give/take relationship. With scale other assets that the focal do so well maybe lost.

I would not rush out and buy new speaker but 5 grand for "possible" returns is a lot. I would want a sure thing. If it were me, I would keep my amp sell the speaker (for $7,000) and buy a used pair of a different brand. If you really love focal you could sell you 1037be and buy a used pair of Altos (there is a pair on Audiogon for $10,000 right now). To me the Altos would be a bigger up grade than a "better" amp.