VAC amps and Focal Grand Utopias at $195k a pair

Al (Almarg) is correct. I question that anyone would have heard the Utopia's at their best, as they have an impedance that goes down to almost 2ohms arond 50hz.

And it's a pity Stereophile din't do a - Phase Angle graph as well for these as that could even add to this very low impedance, 1ohm would not be out of the ordinary.

If you would have listened with a good SS amp with good current drive then you would have heard much better, than with a tube amp on these.

http://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/GubFig6.jpg

Cheers George

I too was at RMAF and heard both Focal rooms. 2 definitely distinct flavors. I have heard the Grands sound distinctly better at Boulder Electronics' demo room in Boulder. No offense, but I don't think they were set up as well as they can be at all at RMAF. They were not as engaging as I know they are from firsthand experience.

Owned the Maestro Utopia III and it took a while to get them to sing. Took good solid state amplification and a lot of Tripoint to make them come to life. Very revealing of noises. Heard them many times at CES and RMAF and those set ups where underwhelming experiences.

10-28-14: Fplanner2000
I too was at RMAF and heard both Focal rooms. 2 definitely distinct flavors. I have heard the Grands sound distinctly better at Boulder Electronics' demo room in Boulder. No offense, but I don't think they were set up as well as they can be at all at RMAF. They were not as engaging as I know they are from firsthand experience.

Hearing them in these different set-ups I could hear their characteristics "house sound signature" and even listening to the Stella's in the other set-up that house sound was distinctive. It's not my first time experiencing.

Fplanner2000, I hope yours are more engaging because both set-ups with the Grand's including Stella set-up weren't at all, yawn - boring and where is the bass.

I see these big woofers but they appear to be held back "compressed" anyone notice that.

When I listen to the Grand and Stella speakers in general they just seem to be held back, not transparent and I feel are compressed "don't open up and breath".

Put on some demanding music and you will quickly notice.

These speakers are HUGE as we all know, they really need a good size room - anything less would be a no! no!

I'll be hearing the same model again today but this time in someone's home and designated room, 26' x 35' with a 10ft ceiling - that's a good size room for these.

Going to the TAVES Show tomorrow so there might be a pair there, will see.

I don't want anyone reading to think I'm trying to pick on these specific speakers, just providing my first hand experiences because I did have interest in getting a pair.

Dev-
Yes, my speakers sound incredible, to my ears, of course. :-) And, FYI, they are in a 19x20 foot room, so room size is not as important as you might think with these speakers since they are so incredibly adjustable. The key, I have discovered, is to properly adjust them to achieve the sound you want. I had an acquaintance do a "Master Set" on mine and the result far surpassed my expectations.