Focal Diva Utopia Speakers (and then some)

[BobM]

Just heard these at the Florida Audio Expo this past weekend. First off, these sound amazing. Second, if you buy them you will not have to also purchase an amp, a DAC, a Wi-Fi transmitter and receiver, or a digital room correction system, or any cables. But ...

All this complete in a package system will run you $40,000. Whew - yeah, a lot of moolah. More details.

The speakers are 3 ways. Each speaker has the Focal berillium inverted cone tweeter. You really can;t get a tweeter that sounds any better than this. The midrange is their proprietary W coned speaker. Again, not many speakers with these specs and lightness and stiffness, which means they are fast and accurate. They have 4 bass drivers, two on each side of the speaker cabinet with a down firing port into the base. Each of these drivers are powered by an independent NAIM amplifier enclosed within the speaker. 70 watts to the tweeter, 90 to the midrange and a 250 watt Naim amp for the bass drivers. Plenty of power, and man do these sound sweet and musical. Not clinical at all with the help of an active crossover system.

Also enclosed within the speaker is a Wi-Fi interface which will accept most every streaming service as well as Bluetooth and Cast. There's a NAIM Burr Brown DAC inside, obviously and SURPRISE a digital room correction system, so placement of these isn;t as critical as you might think. At the expo there was a glass doorway on one side of the room. Switching between correction and no-correction gave me a noticeable diffusion of sound when they were switched off. It wasn;t startling, but it was audible from the sweet spot. They just sounded so put together when it was switched on. So you can place these close to the front wall and not sticking out into the room and with the correction they sound beautiful and cohesive and not boomy. But the bass is prodigious so small room people watch out anyway.

The speakers will work at 192 hi res, but get even more hi res if you connect them together via an ethernet cable instead of going pure wi-fi between them for communication. That's because all of the above electronics are enclosed in one primary speaker. The cabinet is molded resin with plenty of support and baffles and such for rigidity. They weigh in at 141 lbs each, very dense and heavy. Just plug them into the wall, set them up using the provided software in the Naim app that will run on your phone or laptop, and you are good to go play your Qobuz hi res music for full enjoyment. There is an optical digital connection and a USB slot as well as one set of RCA input jacks (for that pesky turntable connection that still requires wires), as well as an HDMI connection from your TV if warranted.

Whew, a lot of stuff going on here and I dare say if you tried to put this together with separate components, meaning a comparable Focal speaker and NAIM amplification and electronics, you might very well exceed that $40,000 price tag and still require cables and rack space. Now the best part - they are wife friendly, meaning they have a visual appeal that my wife loved and was trying to convince me to buy them. Still deciding, but that price tag is indeed daunting. The outside of the cabinet has removable felt covered panels attached with velcro )( I believe). Grey felt is standard but Focal is releasing other removable panel kits this year for black, white, wood, etc to match the decor in your room. Wife friendly indeed and definitely something that will look good in any room.

The sound, finally - detailed, quick, dynamic, musical, deep without shrill and boom. That DSP system works!

So, I need convincing - is $40,000 worth it? It justy might be, and perhaps it is a bargain given the state of the art equipment here. Focal UTOPIA, not just standard fare. Top end NAIM electronics. DSP and Wi-fi. All in one package. Someone please convince me that this is worth it. No, there's really no discounting at this stage, they are a brand new product. No industry accommodation. Only available at Focal boutique dealers. Did I say these are gorgeous looking too? Well they are.

Hmmm, I'm still trying to convince myself, so help me out. Maybe a go-fund-me?

https://www.focal.com/products/diva-utopia

[Nick B]

Hi Bob,

What an interesting and thorough post. Noteworthy because of the content, but also because your wife was in favor?! Wow.... congratulations on having an audio friendly wife 😀

I having been watching OCD Mikey's short videos regarding the show and he mentioned this speaker. Said he normally is not a fan of Focal, but he really liked these. I noted that beryllium tweeter. I've only had one and that was in a Fritz speaker. It was on the harsh side in my room, but I will admit to not having any room treatments. I currently have a AMT tweeter, which is better than sliced bread..

Do let us know whether or not you listen to your wife and get them

PS go fund me money on the way when I win the California lottery 💰 💰

[ejk]

All in one? What if the streamer or amp goes bad? Do they do in home repairs. End game if you dont get the upgrade bug

[BobM]

I haven't bought anything new in audio land for 10, maybe 15 years now. I'm past the upgrade bug and totally happy with my main system, which has it's own dedicated room. Apogees and McCormack and REL and Ayre and VPI and Lyre so it's got good components. I bought each on the used market and got big discounts. Perhaps have $20k into it over many years of accumulation. So this would double my investment and I would get no discounts buying new and putting out the $$$ all at once, plus tax! First world problem I guess.

[ejk]

I haven't bought anything new in audio land for 10, maybe 15 years now. I'm past the upgrade bug and totally happy with my main system, which has it's own dedicated room. Apogees and McCormack and Ayre and VPI and Lyre so it's got good components. I bought each on the used market and got big discounts. Perhaps have $20k into it over many years of accumulation. So this would double my investment and I would get no discounts buying new. First world problem I guess.

So, you're not looking to replace your system? Just have this in addition. Still a pricey investment I think for all in one. Well, you deserve it GO FOR IT

[BobM]

So, you're not looking to replace your system? Just have this in addition. Still a pricey investment I think for all in one. Well, you deserve it GO FOR IT

No, this is for the living room by the TV. No way my main system would end up in the living room - WAF is very low. But these Focals are "Lifestyle" speakers with an audiophile pedigree and a very good amount of WAF. Designer looks, small footprint, no wires/cables, no rack mounted components, ease of use via streaming over a phone or tablet.

But ... if and when we move into a new home as we age and want smaller space (no dedicated man cave for me) and less maintenance these will still be perfect.

[ejk]

So, you're not looking to replace your system? Just have this in addition. Still a pricey investment I think for all in one. Well, you deserve it GO FOR IT

I don't know, have you searched and found anything similar on the market for less?

No, this is for the living room by the TV. No way my main system would end up in the living room - WAF is very low. But these Focals are "Lifestyle" speakers with an audiophile pedigree and a very good amount of WAF. Designer looks, small footprint, no wires/cables, no rack mounted components, ease of use via streaming over a phone or tablet.

But ... if and when we move into a new home as we age and want smaller space (no dedicated man cave for me) and less maintenance these will still be perfect.

[ejk]

So, you're not looking to replace your system? Just have this in addition. Still a pricey investment I think for all in one. Well, you deserve it GO FOR IT

I don't know, have you searched and found anything similar on the market for less?

No, this is for the living room by the TV. No way my main system would end up in the living room - WAF is very low. But these Focals are "Lifestyle" speakers with an audiophile pedigree and a very good amount of WAF. Designer looks, small footprint, no wires/cables, no rack mounted components, ease of use via streaming over a phone or tablet.

But ... if and when we move into a new home as we age and want smaller space (no dedicated man cave for me) and less maintenance these will still be perfect.

I don't know, have you searched and found anything similar on the market for less?

[BobM]

I don't know, have you searched and found anything similar on the market for less?

There are a bunch of Wi-fi speakers, for sure and I think there's a B&O  Beolab system, but that's kind of like Bose and not nearly in the same league. There's Sonos, of course and KEF's and B&W have some things that are Wi-fi, but nothing that really has it all included in one package and nothing that approaches this level of audiophilia.
 

[P.I.]

Judging from the picture, I'll take the one on the right. 

Probably more expensive than $40K.

[rollo]

 Check out Cabasse and Delvialet as well. Devialet are amazing bob. For 14K with Amp. 4K without amp. Go down below 20HZ.
   Avantguard as well. Much less money than Focal.  with great sound. My spelling sucks.


charles

[ejk]

I don't know, have you searched and found anything similar on the market for less?

There are a bunch of Wi-fi speakers, for sure and I think there's a B&O  Beolab system, but that's kind of like Bose and not nearly in the same league. There's Sonos, of course and KEF's and B&W have some things that are Wi-fi, but nothing that really has it all included in one package and nothing that approaches this level of audiophilia.
 

But Bose bought Macintosh they have to be good.lol

[ejk]

Bob I just remebered Jim(Hogg) is using Genelac powered speakers and streaming now. Long way from his Jadis and Tannoy's. He is pleased with the sound

[Nick B]

An all in one is quite intriguing. Especially if it were very modular and user friendly to replace. The other factor would be if a system could be self diagnostic... if it could pinpoint the damaged module and tell the user what to replace. I have no idea if this exists in high end audio.