Anyone heard the new Focal Grande Utopia EM?

Yes, I did. The difference between the EM and the "old" one of 2003' is as big as the difference between the first model and the 2003' Beryllium model... I'll let you imagine...

That's not surprising. The amount of customization by itself lets the speaker be fine tuned to an extent no Utopia model could dream of. Add to that the EM woofer and rebuilt drivers and you have something that should impress.

My fingers are crossed (becuase i've just paid for a pair) that the Nova Utopia Be will impress me. And is good value compared to the new series. Looks like they've doubled the price for each model in series 3...

Monday morning Focal delivered the Grand Utopia EM's to my house to replace the Alexandria's that I have been using. If anyone is interested in buying the Alexandria’s please let me know. Bob Hodas, a good friend and wonderful acoustician will be setting them up shortly. Currently we have them facing each other, wrapped up in blankets, and set out of phase in a corner of my listening room while they break. The folks at Focal, who I might add are really nice people, recommend breaking them in like this for a few weeks i.e. for 500-1000 hours. I am being uncharacteristically patient and disciplined while this happens. I decided to get them to settle down before tuning them to the room. If anyone would like for me to report on my experience with the new speakers just post any questions you might have and I will do my best to report back.

I'd love to get my ears on a pair even though they would never be in my budget.