The best Dipoles, Dipoles that can do bass?

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Those can produce obscenely loud and deep bass with a lot of pressure. I remember a demo of these with the NAIM statement at the hifi news show and they had to mound a load of conference chairs against the rear fire door in a huge conference room when they played dance tracks - basically the bass pressure kept blowing the fire door open lol.


Funnily enough, I think those Naim statement amps that the Grandes (& Stellas) were demonstrated with, to trade and public, are the reason the big Utopias are not as highly regarded as they deserve.

I've had three dealers visit here separately who all attended the Focal - Naim training events organised by JM Lab, and they arrived with low expectations of the Stella's abilities. And a vanload of alternative speakers for me to try, in one instance
All were surprised at the contrast from how they remembered them. All concluded that the Naim statement amps were a poor match, combining with the Utopias for a bright and edgy presentation. This is not how they sound here....the Wavac Boulder combo lets their inherent musicality shine with an engaging, unfatiguing and slightly sweet character

None of the alternate speakers made it out of the van :D The guy thought the JBL K2's would do it for me, but when he heard the Stellas, he saved himself the effort of unloading them.
He tried to tempt me with a Vitus Masterpiece pre amp, but without the Wavac the soul was gone. Even a Boulder 2110 pre amp reduced the pleasure factor, but did add more awesomeness.

I apologise for sounding a bit up myself....pride is a sin indeed
But hopefully you will understand, my brothers :D
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
They had to mound a load of conference chairs against the rear fire door in a huge conference room when they played dance tracks - basically the bass pressure kept blowing the fire door open lol.

I have no doubt, none, that this image will turn up in my dreams :)
 

Audiophile Bill

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2015
4,293
4,093
675
Hi Baffled,

I used to own the Focal Maestro for ages so can fully attest to your comment regarding necessity to match carefully to control the Beyllium tweeter and mid. Valves in the chain were imperative just not as power as they need massive power to do their thing.
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Please Bill, its gavin :)

I did hear say that the Maestros are the sweetspot of the range for edm
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
So where did you go next?
 

wisnon

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2011
3,525
635
1,200
Hi Baffled,

I used to own the Focal Maestro for ages so can fully attest to your comment regarding necessity to match carefully to control the Beyllium tweeter and mid. Valves in the chain were imperative just not as power as they need massive power to do their thing.

The famous frogs. LoL
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Happy bank holiday to everyone on 'thread
Blew a tyre friday after the shops shut
So Just settling in for the evening with a pan-galatic gargleblaster and some choons

Whats in your glasses?

 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Man, i love Leftwing and Kody

Here's why

 

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,985
1,139
478
Nowt in the glass did that Friday and Saturday.

Check this madness out loud. The whole album literally sounds insane on my gear. Should do on yours too.

It is on TIDAL if you use that.

 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,985
1,139
478
These look right up my street.
I will put out some feelers after the bank holiday ?

They are freakin' curious things. Claimed bass to 15Hz (with no qualification +/- DBness), but it is lightning fast, extended, and seemed capable of high SPL without issues. What's more is it is really well articulated, better than cones achieve in general, I felt. Blinkin' brilliant at kick drum, because the driver in it's nature is quite like one.

The bass is higher quality than the Munich Bohne room I was yabbling on about. Less weight than the two Bohne speakers and 2 subs could achieve I'd say, but that's cheating with the two subs. If you put the Bohne speakers without subs against these, I think the AudioNec would be the clear winner.

I doubt there are any in the UK but I could be wrong. Hard to get to listen to, I suspect.

Re the Naim Statement versus the Focal Utopia. The Statement is what it is, a well engineered box of transistors. As such it was very clean with the Utopia at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show a few years back, but a bit sterile with it. A good tube pre would have helped for ears with my particular bias I strongly suspect, or a truly powerful big 600+ Watt valve amp in situ too may have been even better. Who knows without trying.

The big field coil bass driver could shift some air, though. And do weight.
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Nowt in the glass did that Friday and Saturday.

Check this madness out loud. The whole album literally sounds insane on my gear. Should do on yours too.

It is on TIDAL if you use that.


Rubbing my hands. I'm just gonna finish my Leftwing and Kody sortie
I'll rank yours if you'll hear mine? ;)
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
This is literally perfection,
in my rarely humble
opinion

 

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,985
1,139
478
I'm listening via the telly's loudspeakers which are shite - the Heartstopper tracks defo in my likeable territory. Will check it out properly tomoz, hopefully on TIDAL if they have it. Off to bed:D.

More intense madness here. The synth section just go bats in a screw your head up / take down the room fashion. I'm not sure it's your scene but you will appreciate what I mean, I am sure.

 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Nowt in the glass did that Friday and Saturday.

Check this madness out loud. The whole album literally sounds insane on my gear. Should do on yours too.

It is on TIDAL if you use that.


Sounds very Aphex twin
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
Holden.....there's a track by thim i love, on 'the inheritors'


Track 7, 'intercity'

Sounds mental

Ridiculous bass. Sounds like an elizabethan harbour. Yes i said it
 

infinitely baffled

VIP/Donor
Jul 2, 2015
1,259
387
340
Scotland
There might be a few of these

 

bach_king

Member
Mar 10, 2018
39
5
8
Northampton , England
Apogee Grands...interesting...

I've measured my living room's height and they would just fit.
The six channels of amplification would be more of a challenge


I'm also thinking it's about time i finally heard a pair of Tannoy Westminsters.

You will not be dissappointed with the “Westmonsters” They do power, dynamics and space like few others. I used them for 11 years and loved them. My only caveat would be that they need a seriously big room to do them justice. My room is 4500 cubic ft and I think that it was not really big enough. I now use Canterbury GR’s and get better sound because they are a better match for the room.

My other comment is that you should not underestimate the sheer size and mass of the WR’s. They are truly monolithic.

David
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing