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Focal No.2 Speaker System: A New Age Dawns

I went to The Kimmel Center yesterday to hear The Philadelphia Symphony perform Shostakovich’s Symphony No.7...I had box seats right off the stage! Amazing performance that nearly had me in tears. This morning I played my SACD version of the No.7 on my system and I could hardly believe my ears....the Focal Kanta No.2’s delivered a stunningly lifelike recreation of my experience at the Kimmel!! From the lower octave fundamentals to the sweet open pristine highs...all of it was there and in correct proportion. Dynamics were completely realistic, plucked strings were spot on and the open panoramic vista of the orchestra was laid out in all it’s grandeur. The delicacy and the power of the full orchestra was delivered in full measure, with expression, warmth and most of all...emotion. The Kanta No.2’s are very special indeed and may just be one of the most musically “right” speaker systems produced today. Truly remarkable!! Bravo Focal

Perhaps there are other music lovers who have longed for such a musical transducer to be created? For me, it has been a frustratingly long and expensive road. This was my last attempt to achieve my goal of bringing the Symphony to my listening room...at long last may I bask in the musical sonority of my choosing!

128x128dave_b
dave_b's avatar
dave_b OP
2,267 posts
 
Yes, will update system!
joey_v
455 posts
 
I might jump
ship and add this to my collection...
rsure
24 posts
 
@dave_b thanks for your feedback on the Kantas. I had a chance to listen to them when they were just introduced and I must say I was very impressed with what I heard. I initially found them to be a bit bright and thought that was because of the beryllium tweeter (it was being driven by a Devialet amp) but later I had an extended listen and found them to be quite musical and not bright/fatiguing at all. And the extended session was with a Naim Uniti Atom which is a small amp. Was impressed that these speakers could sound so good even with an entry level amp like that. And they look great as well! I am seriously considering them when I can afford to take the plunge but with the recent announcement of the Magicos at the same price point it will be very interesting to see how they compare.  Can I ask what amps you drive the Kantas with? 
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
Contuzzi, I don't doubt at all those Kantas sound excellent. I've gotta find some time to drive up to Detroit and listen to a pair. I poured over the paper Focal put out about the F cone and they certainly do have some advantages over the W cone. They're a lot more like paper but vastly stiffer. I feel like they stumbled onto something that had more potential than they expected. 
dave_b's avatar
dave_b OP
2,267 posts
 
Rsure, I use a Krell Vanguard Digital Integrated.  The Focal Kanta’s look efficient on paper but need a good high current amp to handle the 3.1ohm dip and phase angle.  Kinda like Wilson speakers .
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