Interested in Focal Scala Utopias

Just heard the Scalas at Digital Ear in SoCal, also heard the Revel Salon2 but was not impressed. I listened to the Scalas, on Burmester equipment with Transparent Reference cables, for about an hour and appreciated the relaxed and nonfatiguing presentation.

I was amazed at how similar the Scalas were to my Wilson Watt/Puppy 8s (probably due to the Focal sourced drivers). Maybe a little smoother. Relaxed and organic kept coming to mind. Beautiful styling-my wife hates the Wilsons calling them R2D2.

Wondering if these would be a lateral move? I haven't heard the Maestro's yet, but maybe a lttle to rich and large for my 20'x14.5'x8' room.

Any other opinions on this new line of speakers from Focal would be appreciated. thanks.

But then again, there is the price of the Maestro Utopias to consider.

I had side by side demo'ed the Wilson Sashas and Scala Utopias and definitely don't believe it would be a lateral move. I strongly believe IMHO that the Scala Utopia is an improvement in every sense. I guess for you, even the aesthetics are improved on the home front. The Maestro is a bigger speaker and I doubt that it will overpower your room. I helped my brother in law set up his pair in July in a similar sized room to yours and they locked in to perform quite nicely.

The size wouldn't be a problem since I replaced a pair of rather large PBN Montana EPS2s, which my wife prefered to the Wilsons, probably due to the wood veneers. She truly hates the look of the mod/industrial Wilsons. Now I am very happy with the way my Wilsons present recorded music but would consider something that provided sonics at least as good as the WP8 with better visual appeal to make my wife happy. Considering the price/performance level we're discussing, that move would have to be substantially better than my WP8s.

Most people, but not all, prefer the Sasha to the WP8, and you've heard the Sasha and Scala. It sounds like you easily prefer the Scala to the Sasha, so maybe not a lateral move. But as I said earlier I was pretty impressed with the relaxed delivery the Scalas provided. My wife (important factor, as I don't have a dedicated music room) and I also prefer the looks. If I make any move, it will be to the Scala.

BTW, there's a dealer selling the new Scalas, on the net, for around $20k ! Now thats a pretty good deal. I guess theres some profit in this speaker at roughly $31k retail in the USA!

I'll keep you all posted.