Focal Utopia Diablo

[M1GS]

Hi everyone,

My first post so please forgive me if this question has been asked before or should be appended to another. But here is the question(s).

I have been running a pair of Focal Utopia Diablos for several weeks and on some music they sound ok while on others they sound decidedly tinny. I have heard that they can take up to 700 hours to "burn in" and I wonder what the current thinking is on this. 30 odd years ago there was no such concept as a "burn in" period, so where has this suddenly sprung from?

Also, I am driving the speakers with a Accuphase E450. It makes all other speakers I've tried on it sound great, but maybe it just doesn't match the Diablos. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Front end is a Bluesound Node.

Thanks for all the help, advice and comments you are able to share.

 

[matt49]

They are very well regarded speakers. I haven't heard them myself, but I know people who have and rate them very highly.

But if they're not working for you, especially powered by such a splendid amp, then they ought to go back. Relying on some notional wearing in time (when it might after all just be your ears getting accustomed to a sound you didn't at first like) seems unwise in the extreme.

Good luck!

 

[M1GS]

Thanks Matt. Beginning to wonder that myself ;-)

 

[Al ears]

As stated I would ignore burn-in time. Perhaps, and it's only a perhaps, the problem is down to the music as delivered by your Bluesound. Have you ever tried running a different source through the amp?

 

[M1GS]

Hi Al,

Yes, I have tried various sources and they all sound pretty much the same. Some improvement with high end DACs but nothing you'd consider so significant that you'd have to rush out and replace the Bluesound.

 

[The_Lhc]

As stated I would ignore burn-in time. Perhaps, and it's only a perhaps, the problem is down to the music as delivered by your Bluesound. Have you ever tried running a different source through the amp?

Isn't it more likely that the focals are simply so accurate that they're just showing up the deficiencies of a poor recording? After all he says they sound perfectly fine with other music, so there can't be that much wrong with them.

 

[M1GS]

Yes, I did consider that but I'm running some 24bit/96KSPS recordings from high quality sources and have also made many recordings myself using my NagraLB and Neumann/AKG setups. These are also variable in reproduction and although it's a good theory that I'd like to believe, having gone through many music types, I don't think its the answer. So I always go back to wondering if you simply get used to their sound or they really do "mature" and you just have to wait for them to deliver. Or are we all being taken for a ride by some of these companies that put a big price tag on a product and then wait for the applause to come in? The emperor's new cloths syndrome. I really don't know the answer but sometimes the sceptic in me comes out.

On the other side, I'm 56 years old and it could be that the rather more laid back/bassy sound of my 20 y/o Bose systems simply delivers a better sound for the age of my ears. But then my old Mission 770 sounded good and a new set of Quad 2812s sounded just wonderful (just that the wife wouldn't live with their size).

Oh heck!

 

[Al ears]

As stated I would ignore burn-in time. Perhaps, and it's only a perhaps, the problem is down to the music as delivered by your Bluesound. Have you ever tried running a different source through the amp?

Isn't it more likely that the focals are simply so accurate that they're just showing up the deficiencies of a poor recording? After all he says they sound perfectly fine with other music, so there can't be that much wrong with them.

That's my point. There's nothing wrong with the speakers per se.

 

[Al ears]

Yes, I did consider that but I'm running some 24bit/96KSPS recordings from high quality sources and have also made many recordings myself using my NagraLB and Neumann/AKG setups. These are also variable in reproduction and although it's a good theory that I'd like to believe, having gone through many music types, I don't think its the answer. So I always go back to wondering if you simply get used to their sound or they really do "mature" and you just have to wait for them to deliver. Or are we all being taken for a ride by some of these companies that put a big price tag on a product and then wait for the applause to come in? The emperor's new cloths syndrome. I really don't know the answer but sometimes the sceptic in me comes out.

On the other side, I'm 56 years old and it could be that the rather more laid back/bassy sound of my 20 y/o Bose systems simply delivers a better sound for the age of my ears. But then my old Mission 770 sounded good and a new set of Quad 2812s sounded just wonderful (just that the wife wouldn't live with their size).

Oh heck!

Are you divorced then?

Possibly these speakers are just too analytical at the top end, as the_lhc said.

Unusual because at our age it's normally the higher pitched tones that are lost first.

 

[matt49]

As stated I would ignore burn-in time. Perhaps, and it's only a perhaps, the problem is down to the music as delivered by your Bluesound. Have you ever tried running a different source through the amp?

Isn't it more likely that the focals are simply so accurate that they're just showing up the deficiencies of a poor recording? After all he says they sound perfectly fine with other music, so there can't be that much wrong with them.

That's my point. There's nothing wrong with the speakers per se.

You may well both be right. But the OP still has a problem: he doesn't like what the speakers are doing with some recordings/types of music. And rather than put up with it or wait for some miraculous transformation, it'd be better to get shot of the speakers right away.

On the other side, I'm 56 years old and it could be that the rather more laid back/bassy sound of my 20 y/o Bose systems simply delivers a better sound for the age of my ears. But then my old Mission 770 sounded good and a new set of Quad 2812s sounded just wonderful (just that the wife wouldn't live with their size).

Oh heck!

If you liked the Quads, you obviously do have a taste for highly resolving speakers, which the Focals are also reputed to be. Maybe some Harbeths would work for you: some of the airiness of the Quads but without the (as it seems) overly aggressive nature of the Focals.

 

[M1GS]

You could be right. Maybe I just need to understand their sound delivery. And ashamed to say that after all these years, I have never heard a pair of Harbeths!

Really appreciate everyone's feedback and thoughts.

 

[Macspur]

Hi everyone,

My first post so please forgive me if this question has been asked before or should be appended to another. But here is the question(s).

I have been running a pair of Focal Utopia Diablos for several weeks and on some music they sound ok while on others they sound decidedly tinny. I have heard that they can take up to 700 hours to "burn in" and I wonder what the current thinking is on this. 30 odd years ago there was no such concept as a "burn in" period, so where has this suddenly sprung from?

Also, I am driving the speakers with a Accuphase E450. It makes all other speakers I've tried on it sound great, but maybe it just doesn't match the Diablos. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Front end is a Bluesound Node.

Thanks for all the help, advice and comments you are able to share.

Hi and welcome,

Good to have a fellow Accuphase on the forum.

Did you demo other speakers with the E450 before settling for the Focals?

I had a similar problem with ATC SCM40, but then switched to Harbeth and haven't looked back.

Oh, and my ears are nearly as old as yours!

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

 

[M1GS]

Hi Mac,

There doen't seems to be a large Accuphase population in the UK and I'm not sure why, but pleased to meet you.

I tried the Quads and a set of Monitor Audio together with my old Missions. Everything else sounded great (I just love the Quads, they even look like works of art as well as sounding like they are). I just find that the Diablos sound aggressive at the top end and sometimes even tinny. When they sound good, they sound very good but their moments of greatness are few and far between. Generally they are ok but no more than that. I'm sure it's not the amp and don't really want to change them as they were the only ones I'd seen that the wife would live with. I was thinking of trying a pair of Peak Consult but they didn't pass the "easy to live with" test either. Perhaps a divorce would be easier and get me the sound I seek ;0)

 

[DocG]

A divorce + a pair of Quad ESLs, looks like a great plan!

Having said that, you might consider some more speaker demos (WAF test included). In case the lady dislikes the Harbeth looks (let's face it, they look rather different than the Diablos), a pair of Audiovectors could work for you both, like the SR1 Avantgarde. I heard them with Devialet: very detailed, not agressive at all. If you can spot a dealer, that is...

 

[iceman16]

Hi Mac,

There doen't seems to be a large Accuphase population in the UK and I'm not sure why, but pleased to meet you.

I tried the Quads and a set of Monitor Audio together with my old Missions. Everything else sounded great (I just love the Quads, they even look like works of art as well as sounding like they are). I just find that the Diablos sound aggressive at the top end and sometimes even tinny. When they sound good, they sound very good but their moments of greatness are few and far between. Generally they are ok but no more than that. I'm sure it's not the amp and don't really want to change them as they were the only ones I'd seen that the wife would live with. I was thinking of trying a pair of Peak Consult but they didn't pass the "easy to live with" test either. Perhaps a divorce would be easier and get me the sound I seek ;0)

I found the Diablo's high freq. "dominates" the mid and low. The Scala's *diablo*sound more balanced IMHO.

 

[M1GS]

Thats just what i'm hearing, Iceman

 

[bigfish786]

Is probably the key here.

dont get me wrong, I know my focals are a fair way down the food chain from yours. But experimenting with positioning is probably going to get you the results you want.

Take your time, move them in small amounts, back, forwards, sideways, etc, and spend time listening, to see what gets you closer to your desired sound.

 

[Macspur]

Whatever you do, do not change the amp!... how long have you owned the E450?

Other speakers to consider... ProAc, Spendor, Sonus Faber, IQ or Revel.

Keep us posted with your quest.

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

 

[iceman16]

Thats just what i'm hearing, Iceman

Just in case you can't really live with the Diablo's and still prefer standmounts, I would suggest that you listen to a pair of Dali Epicon 2s

 

[M1GS]

Thanks Bigfish, I'll certainly give that a try.

 

[M1GS]

No, I love this amp

Would have had a Nagra but that stretched the budget just too much, but very happy with the E450.

 

[M1GS]

Thanks for the pointer, Iceman

 

[Clare Newsome]

I've personally found the Utopias a touch taxing with high-frequencies. However, the new Focal Sopras are beautifully balanced: finding can listen to anything with ease on the Sopra 2 - they deliver detail without any harshness. Haven't heard the standmount Sopra 1 speakers, but know someone that has and thinks they have the same balance... could be worth checking out.

 

[M1GS]

Thanks Clare - certainly worth looking into

 

[M1GS]

Hi CnoEvil - I tried the Kefs but thought they sounded a bit artificial. Harbeths have been mentioned more than once so they seem to have a good reputation. Thanks for taking thr trouble to come back to me.