Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895
"The Chorus 800V series is the second from the bottom of the four families of speakers Focal designs for two-channel home audio. (The Utopia Be line is their flagship series, and the Chorus 700V speakers comprise their entry-level line.) The 800V series includes two bookshelf and three floorstanding models that range from $795 to $2995/pair, as well as several home-theater models. I chose the larger of the bookshelf designs, the 807V ($995/pair).
The Chorus 807V is a front-ported, two-way speaker with a 1" TNV aluminum-magnesium inverted-dome tweeter and a 7" Polyglass-cone woofer. Focal America's Daniel Jacques explained to me that the tweeter voice-coil is attached midway along the dome rather than on the periphery, as in most tweeters. He claimed that this improves the driver's pistonic movement, to give greater speed and better control. Jacques also claimed that Focal doesn't believe in ferrofluid cooling: "How fast can you walk when you are in a pool?"
The 807V looks stunning. Focal employed the Parisian design house of Pineau & Le Porcher to develop the attractive "V" look, which combines polished, acrylic-covered ebony with a highly figured finish of moka wood. I set the speakers on my trusty, 24"-high Celestion Si stands, which were loaded with sand and lead shot. I noticed no difference in their performance with their grilles on or off, so I left them on—the V-shaped grille is a key part of the speaker's appearance. The Chorus 807V is not magnetically shielded.
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Concluding
The Focal Chorus 807V is an attractive and revealing loudspeaker of very low coloration and high versatility that gave me hours of enjoyment with a wide range of program material. I also feel that, at $995/pair, it is a superb value for the money. However, its tweeter is so extended in range and consequently so revealing that careful matching with other components and recordings is warranted. With the finest associated gear and recordings, the Chorus 807V achieved a level of performance that competed with much more expensive speakers. I commend Focal for trickling down the technology of their more expensive wares to such an affordable realm." -- Robert J. Reina
"The Focal Chorus 807V offers excellent measured performance, though its treble balance will require care in choosing source and amplification components if it is not to sound too revealing." -- John Atkinson
Full Review: Stereophile.com
