| Focal Scala Utopia - A
lot of sound for everyone who loves music |
The following is a review
based on separately analyzed components: The Focal Scala
Utopia loudspeakers, connected to the Boulder power amplifier
and VAC Renaissance Signature preamplifier and the Teac Esoteric
Component CD player. The JL Audio Gotham subwoofer was also
used for some of the listening sessions. Cables were from
Transparent Audio. Auditioning CDs included my own compilation
of jazz, blues, voice and classical music (see below)
 The Utopia Series of loudspeakers is made up of four models,
of which the Scala is halfway between the more expensive
and larger Maestro Utopias and Grand Utopia and the smaller
Diablo Utopia. I have reviewed some of Focal’s speakers
(the earlier versions were known as JM Labs) and always thought
of them as designs that accomplish to recreate the essence
of music in all of their models. However, the scale of finesse,
the speakers’ ability to convey the refinements of
the musical elements, extends along with the price. Not
yet the top-of-the-line of the Utopia series, I rate the
Scalas as sufficiently refined loudspeakers, comparable
both in build and musical quality of the more expensive
sibling the Grand Utopias.
Appearance
The Scalas are large but not oversized in my opinion. They
will fit into all listening rooms, almost any acoustic
environment, and the will look great. They stand a little
over 49 inches tall with a footprint of 15.5 x 26.2 inches
(WxD) and weigh in at 187.4 pounds.
The Sound
I began listening to Scalas in the system connected with
the Boulder power amplifier, the VAC preamp and the Esoteric
CD component system. The first CDs I used for the evaluation
was the Heath Brothers Concord CCD 4777-2) which features
Sir Roland Hanna on a Baldwin grand. As I’m well
acquainted with the sound of a Baldwin (also Dave Brubeck’s
favourite keyboard), I was looking for its timbre, its
unique sonic personality. Well, the Scalas in this system
readily reproduced the “Baldwin sound” I
would describe as full-bodied mid midrange and bass (left
hand) and slightly subdued, but well defined upper mids
and highs.
The next test involved listening to Gene Harris’ Masquerade
played on a Steinway grand. Again, the sound was authentically “Steinway” — sparkling
highs, vibrant mids and sonorous bass.
While reproducing the sound of pianos is important, it is
by no means the only instrument good loudspeakers have to
handle. However, when I hear not only the difference between
pianos, but also recognize their characteristics, I would
have to say that the Scalas got it right. It also indicates
that the musical signal is essentially uncorrupted.
What struck me after about an hour of listening was the
Scalas’ crystal
clear midrange. This is the range where almost ninety percent
of the music is and is another reason why a lot of time
is devoted listening to piano CDs. Most of the compositions
I listened to range from about 220Hz (an A) to a little
over 41Hz (a C, I think). Of course, some compositions
reach into the dog-whistle range as well as the deep bass,
but most musical program material remains between 220 and
about 1500Hz.
With this in mind, I began evaluating the Scalas midrange
and highs and first listened to Carmen McRae’s SACD
Live At Birdland West (Concord Jazz SACD1005-6). Not only
did I get to hear Carmen’s voice at its best, I also
noticed that the backup musicians were playing where they
belong, namely behind Carmen, toward the rear of the sound
stage. On this CD Jack McDuff on the Hammond B3 is the “centered” solo
artist and his complex, but gentle improvisations merged
art with music, voice with instruments and timing with saxes,
bass, drums and guitar. Not one tone out of balance, and
not one performer out of place. Double bass (Red Holloway
on this CD) had just the right touch to hear the body of
the instrument — that certain woody sound — and
visualize its size on the sound stage.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Telarc CD80603) re-enforced
my belief that the speakers’ critical midrange was
correctly reproducing the string section, the horns and woodwinds,
the cellos violas — and all with clarity and composure.
Next up, I used the Dorian CD featuring the Toccata In
D Minor played on the Great Organ Of St Eustache. This
CD is immaculately produced and its bass pedals will reverberate
the listeners’ chest cavity, maybe even the entire
skeleton. It did exactly that to me and, though very impressive,
didn’t quite manage to resolve the lowest notes (see
text of the JLAudio subwoofer). Nevertheless, bass below
160Hz — made up of upper bass between 80 and 160Hz,
midbass between 40 and 80Hz, and low bass below 40Hz — was
perfectly believable and genuine. The speakers do reproduce
the rated 24Hz, though not with authoritative resolution
which is best at the 38Hz region. In case you are wondering,
that is, in fact, very good. Another audition with the Fidelio
CD Sept Paroles Du Christ (FACD008) which is a live recording
in a Montreal cathedral and features a 16Hz note. This, of
course, is very difficult to reproduce and, while the Scalas
didn’t manage resolution at 16Hz, they did an admirable
job reproducing the musical spirit of this great organ.
With the Boulder amp in the system, the Scalas also conjure
up a sound stage four feet off the ground with superbly
defined boundaries at least three feet wider than the speakers’ position
may imply. Thus, imaging is astoundingly real as the speakers
re-create the original size spaces and locations of instruments
and voices across the sound stage; in holographic detail,
no less.
When I used my in-house single-ended tube gear, the Wyetech
Lab Ruby monoblocks (36 watts/channel), the spatial elements
remained as before, but I couldn’t achieve the gloriously
textured, more melodic sound I was getting with the Boulder
in the system. The sound wasn’t shabby at all, and
I was able to hear the Wyetch Labs’ characteristics,
but I thought that the combination was not a great match
with the Scalas. Obviously, the Scalas, though efficient,
prefer amplifiers that can deliver plenty of power, though
they can be driven with much less than the 300 watt/ch
the Boulder provides.
For my last audition, I took Jimmy Smith’ CD titled
Some Serious Blues (Milestone MCD-9207-2). The CD is an ADD
production from 1993 and features, in addition to Smith’ B3,
ten sidemen, one female and one male singer. It’s
a busy CD with loads of dynamic passages, plenty of bass,
trombone, and horns. A good system will show the odd glare
and some small distortion at high volume. The Scalas, however,
just played back what the amps delivered and rather than
listening to the speakers, I found myself listening to
the music. This CD confirmed that the Scalas would deliver
a musical impact that shows its force as from a strong,
deep bass attack, and visceral dynamics when this is asked
for by arrangement.
What came to light is that the Scalas have great control
over the important midrange section that handles most musical
program material, such as male and female vocals, violins,
horn and woodwinds, etc. I noticed how the loudspeakers
never forced themselves onto me and didn’t focus my attention
onto the mid-band segments (many speaker manufacturers enhance
this section to retrieve detail). Rather, they centered my
attention onto image, layering, dimension and the design’s
effortless presentation of the music. Never forward, always
smooth and with harmonious tonal equilibrium, the Scalas
render timbre, hue and the many tonal intricacies with an
unforced, organic quality; and this means to me that the
loudspeakers aren’t in the way of the music. Moreover,
they aren’t in the way of the amplifiers driving
them, or the source components for that matter.
Synopsis
I agree with a statement J. Gordon Holt published many
years ago which said that “Midrange accuracy should be
the STARTING POINT of loudspeaker design, onto which
our other prized audiophile attributes should then be
appended in order to convert that musical midrange into
a semblance of literal accuracy.”
I’d like readers to understand why I devoted much time
to define the Scalas’ performance at various frequency
segments and I hope to have made it quite clear that the
Scalas midrange is truly stunning. What makes them very special
indeed is that the designers succeeded to bring bottom and
top frequencies together with equal energy, so that the all-round
presentation is without voids. Thus the Scalas sound relaxed
and natural with virtually all musical program material and
almost make one forget that they are, after all, important
components of a music system. With an appropriate amp/preamp
combination, they will impeccably reproduce the personality
of amp, preamp and source components. This will likely appeal
to audiophiles as they can achieve the desired or preferred
sound. However, the Scalas’ are also enviably musical — and
I attribute this to their ability to reveal the harmonics,
likely beyond the 10th harmonic. This, of course, reveals
the personality of instruments and voices in any musical
program material, and will please those who are primarily
music lovers.
In other words, there is a lot of sound for everyone who
loves music and is into high-end audio. All that’s
needed to achieve great audio with the Scalas are premium
backup components and a rather healthy bank account.
|
| MODELS |
MANUFACTURER |
| Scala Utopia |
Focal |
| RATING |
CONTACT |
| ♪♪♪♪ |
Plurison
313, rue Marion
Le Gardeur, Québec, J5Z 4W8
Tel. 866.271.5689
www.plurison.com |
| PRICE |
| $29,000.00 / pair (CDN) |
| Dimensions |
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TECHNOLOGY
The system is a not-so-basic three-way design operating in
a bass reflex enclosure.
There is a 6.5 inch (16.5cm) “Power Flower” midrange driver that
sports a third generation "W" composite sandwich technology, with a
laser cutout magnet, to handle maximal power and reduced magnetic leakage.
Focal’s IAL2 (infinite acoustic loading) inverted dome tweeter pure Beryllium
covers an extremely wide frequency from 1 to 40kHz while its resonance frequency
is at 580Hz — well below interference levels.
An 11-inch (27cm) "W" woofer — also with the W composite sandwich
technology — with a laser cut-out, robust permanent magnet handles bass
down to 28Hz. Crossover points are at 250Hz and 2200Hz. Nominal impedance is
a 6 ohms; sensitivity is 92dB and frequency response is from 24Hz to 40kHz (+/-
3dB). Bass and treble adjustments on the enclosures’ rear allow a bit of
tweaking or adjustments for environmental acoustics. At the bottom of each cabinet,
a high section laminar port is made to eliminate airflow or distortion noises
and allow bass information without compression.
To enhance focus and achieve precise imaging, Focal employs mechanical phase
optimization of the drivers whereby they are aligned towards the listener.
As in any of the older models I reviewed in the past, the cabinet construction
is superb. Focal calls its design a Gamma structure, which is made up ofMDF panels
up to 2 inches (5cm) thick. This heavy structure assures a stable mechanical
reference, optimized by vibratory cartography. |
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