Why so many used focals?

Hey Steve,

I’ve been an audio enthusiast for close to 45 years now, and for the time being have settled into a pair of 946 Focal Electra for a few years.

Pertaining to your question, "are Focals a clear upgrade path OR are they short term speakers that wow the listener early, and fatigue in the long term"?

Ans: Focals can certainly be a clear upgrade path. To what extent depends on what’s infront of them, and to a huge extent the room they’re are being played in. I use an Oracle Delphi table, with a highly modified RB300 arm and a Dynavector 20X2 cartridge. It’s fed into a Audion Premiere 2 box Silver Night, pure classe A, single-ended pre-amp, using Siemens E88CC tubes. My amp is a stock Classe' Audio DR9.

Are there more esoteric systems? You bet. Could the room be more optimal? Yes. But all in all an excellent platform for any reference system.

If you’re auditioning them, or use them with high volume, mass produced, big box store electronics, the clear upgrade path becomes opaque.

"Are they a they short term speakers that WOW the listener early"?

Ans: Hardly. If anything I find Focals mundane. The reason being is that they’ve been engineered to be linear. Nothing jumps out at you, they’re not an in your face speaker. They are subtle, laid back, smooth, even, transparent, with a defined sound stage and good timbre; yet when the music calls for it they’re dynamic (if you have a good amp).

This why the 946 Electra is a long term speaker, they do everything right, they predominately sell ya steak along with the sizzle, not the other way around.

Why so many used focals? That calls for speculation, but 1 reason is that with audio buffs the grass is always greener. We are an incessant breed.

Cost no object would I trade my system? You bet!!! The Muraudio px1 speakers are the nicest set-up I’ve ever heard. Drive them with by a pair of Pass Labs xs300 amps, with a new Wheaton Tri-planar mk8 tonearm on my Oracle with a new set of Telefunken 6922 tubes in my Pre-amp, being played in a 20ft wide x 36ft long room with a 16ft ceiling and I’d be a happy camper. - - - Which leaves us with .... when is enough, enough?

For the most part the conversation was helpful with only a few cheap shots. I have a room that made a pair of salon2's sound lean with 250 wpc so i'm opting for the kanta'3 with the bigger box and drivers, not for the deeper bass since most of what I listen to doesn't have much if any energy below 40 hz and I want spl! My question was legit because I was so impressed with the speakers at the store, but it usually takes me a bit more time than a typical dealer's going to want a pair of speakers out of his shop. I've been buying and selling used hoping the next one will be the last, but it's a slow process and even with reselling it costs money, not thousands but hundreds and it add's up. I have to sell the salons b4 I buy the kanta's and my dealer will let me take home his floor demos first, but since i'm going to work him on the price I want to do as much of my own leg work as i can first, and if i'm buying new i have to get it right.

There's an old saying in engineering Steve, "If it looks right -  it usually is".The Kanta 3's look right. I don't know why, but rear ported speakers are a game breaker for me. The Kanta 3's are front ported, and look at these numbers. Sensitivity 91dBFrequency Response (+/-3dB) 33Hz - 40kHzLow Frequency Point 26HzNominal Impedance 8 Ohms26Hz pretty much gets any job done, 91db with a nominal Impedance of 8 Ohms .... so they're not that hard to drive, two 8" drivers give them good weight, an inert cabinet, and they're decoupled from the room because of the speaker stands; I'd say you have the foundations of a speaker here that should give you many a year of listening nervana - - - at least on paper. (Mind you the proof in the pudding is in the actual listening).You're right to take your time .... they'll be making them for awhile.

I'll check but I think they're ported front and back. I couldn't pass on a pair of Usher BE-20 DMD Dancers that came up locally and am really having fun with them. It never ceases to amaze me how much impact a room can have on sound. I had a pair of R 107/2's down here, the ones with 2 10" woofers inside the box eq'd to be flat to 20 hz and vented out the top, even those speakers loaded my room with decent bass tho' overall the tweeters turned out to be a little bright for my taste. I have no engineering background or prejudice to speaker design just what works in my room. 

^ Good find. Rest assured you chose well - much better speakers than what Focal produces at that price point.

There's an old saying in engineering Steve, "If it looks right - it usually is".The Kanta 3's look right. I don't know why, but rear ported speakers are a game breaker for me.

Any speaker engineer worth his/her salt knows that a front port is more likely to produce audible port noise when playing near its limits.