By Clay Hankins, the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the
Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX metro and serving the Dallas Home Theater,
Media Room and surrounding DFW area a/v markets.
In my last blog, I introduced the topic of how we choose the manufacturers we represent. So this first one will be easy, because it is near and dear to my heart - Focal. I've written in other articles the history I have with Focal so I won't go into the long and drawn out version but Focal (then known as JM Labs) was my first pair of high end audiophile speakers. I spent a year searching for the "right" pair of speakers for me during which I auditioned several well respected, and incredibly good, audiophile speakers (B&W, Wilson, Paul Hales, and Thiel to name a few) but I kept coming back to a pair of Focal/JM Labs (the Daline 3.1's). At a fraction of the cost of some of the other speakers I was listening to, nothing else sounded as warm and rich as they did. I found myself comparing the sound of all the other speakers to them (a telltale sign of how a pair of speakers or piece of equipment becomes your reference piece!)
Anyway, they finally ended up in my home, and it was a game changer for me. I have always loved music from as far back as I can remember, but had never listened to it like I was with my new JM Labs. By the way, did I mention that I had not yet started The Audio Guy? This was all before the business was formed.
So, now for a little more about Focal. Focal-JM Labs is a french company founded by Jacques Mahul (the JM of JM Labs) in 1979. Originally, the speakers were branded JM Labs and were fitted with Focal drivers. Eventually, the JM Labs label was shortened to Focal which is where they stand now. This line of speakers won't be in our entry level packages, but for those that buy them, they hit one of the most important core values of how we pick our lines to represent and that's value. I still have my Daline 3.1 speakers in my office and have graduated into a little bigger pair of Focal speakers in my home theater but there hasn't been a day since I've owned them that doesn't bring me the same amount of joy as the day I bought them. Actually, I would say they bring me more joy since I have learned their nuances over the years. I'd call that a pretty good return on investment and an excellent value. Focal speakers also hit the other important criteria for us - reliability, customer service, and aesthetics. All in all, if they're in your budget, an easy choice to make!
Check out the Focal line of speakers at
www.focal.com
Posted
12-28-2011 3:26 PM
by
admin