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Focal Scala or Diablos with subs?

Hi all,

was looking for some advice discussion regarding a potential upgrade/purchase that I am considering.

I currently own a pair of Focal Diablos which I have had for around 6months. Amplifier is Musical Fidelity AMS Primo pre amp / AMS35P 35w class A amp. Source is Linn Akurate DS streamer.

Room size is fairly small, 4mtr x 4mtr x 2.4mtr ceiling, carpet floor brink render walls. Listening position is about 2.5mtr from the fronts. I also use the Diablos as part of my HT set-up.

I am very happy with the sound quality that the Diablos give me & feel that they suit the size of the room quite well. Synergy with the MF gear is good, the warmth of the a-class amp fits well with the detailed nature of the Focals, nice & silky. At times however I do feel that they lack a little in the bottom end.

Recently had a chance to listen to a pair of Scalas which a local dealer has as trade in, was very impressed. Everything that the Diablos offered and so much more. They will push my budget but with a trade in on the Diablos it can be done (& please don't start talking about the Maestros!!!)

However I have just started using my JL Audio F110 sub with my hifi & I have to say that it has made me stop & think. I can appreciate that the bass is not as tight or as perfectly integrated as the Scalas but it would be a lot cheaper to buy one more sub than stretch for the Scalas. It would also have the added advantage of beefing up the sub section of my HT set-up.

So questions are:
1) Thoughts on comparison of Scalas to Diablos/subs
2) Suitability of Scalas to room size
3) Suitability of Scalas in a HT set-up (I use the same speakers for both)
4) Suitability of AMS35P 35watt class A amp to run the Scalas (won't be able to change the amp any time soon, have been told that it should be more than adequate)

TBH I already feel that the Scalas are the way to go, they pretty much blew me away when I listened to them & I think that the deal I can strike is great value. But interested to get thoughts/advice from those with more experience than myself.
neuphonix
elviukai's avatar
elviukai
135 posts
 
OK, If your father can do folowing measurements-
1) from 1 meter on tweter axis left
2)same but right
3)from listneing position right
4)same but left
5) both speakers from listening position

its important that sub would be switched off during those measurements.

I know diablos frequency quite well in 4 rooms , so it will be easy to see

As for midrange- midrange resolution comes diferently in Diablo and Scala. Diablo have most of it midrange resolution going from tweeter (that sparkle snap you hear on fast records) Scala most of its reolution in midrnage have from its midrange driver (Maestro- something between those two) . Plus that Scala behavour is more civilized than Diablo.

Placing Diablo on subs makes more harm than goood in your case(xover point is low) uncless its the only place in room where sub outputs are linear.When you father will be after Diablo he can heltp you with sub placement. turn of diablo, set sub aoutpu as high as possible (up to 300hz) mesaure sub from 10-20cm as reference , then keep microphone fixed and make some sub moovements and making meausrements, until you find region 30-80hz smooth without major peak/dip. of course you can adjust diablo+sub by ear.signal tones to be flat ( dues low fr. wawes canceliation with diferent phases) , but this way i described here are much better form origin.

having Diablo mesurement in your room will make green or red light for Scalas. Then comes personal preferencies.
kzhtoo
222 posts
 
Hi Neuphonix,
It seems our musical taste are somewhat similar. I listen to a lot of electronics/ EDM (trance, house, etc). This maybe more like a lateral move. Have you considered Dynaudio C1 MKII/Sigs? I recently moved from Electra 1008 Be to C1 Sigs. Granted I've only had C1 Sigs for less than a week, but so far so good. I'm also using Pass XA30.5 (rated 30 watts class A) to drive the C1 Sigs in a 18x25 room. C1 Sigs' bass vs. 1008 Be's is no contest (all gears/cables the same). I hate to say this but it is what it is. Not sure about how it compares to Diablo as I haven't heard Diablo in my room with my equipment, my music. I have heard both Diablo and Scalas at shows and always been impressed, but then again, they don't play electronic music at shows. :D

Note: C1 Sigs are less efficient being 4 ohm and 86db speakers but my "small" Pass amp drives them quite well. They seem to love a lot of current though, which Pass can plentifully provide.

Best,
neuphonix OP
19 posts
 
Hey Elviukai,
I tried to PM you a reply but they blocked it because I listed my email address?
I'll do the measurements as you listed & let you know what I come up with.
I suspected you might say no to the sub placement idea. Again somewhat restricted about where they can go due to the size of the room. One can sit quite nicely next to the Diablo, two is too much. There are a couple of other spots where they could go and suit the asthetics of the room, but I doubt there will be the flexibility to have them placed in the ideal SQ position. We'll see.
Thanks again for your detailed response, much appreciated.
Talk soon
neuphonix OP
19 posts
 
Hey Kzhtoo,
thanks for the suggestion, the Dynaudios do sound like an interesting proposition. Elviulai in his first post on this thread made mention that they do have some "thump" down around 40 whereas the Diablos do tend to drop off much sharper than that.
Certainly price wise they are on the mark. I might have to look into what dealer stock them here in Sydney.
Really the only reason any of the thinking about the Scalas is taking place is because of the price I think I can get them for. If they were listed at RRP it couldn't happen.
That and the fact that when I did listen to them I was so impressed.
Thanks again for your input =)
neuphonix OP
19 posts
 
just thought that I would put this link up showing the specs on my amp if anyone was interested:

http://www.hifigear.co.uk/media/uploads/AMS35p-brochure.pdf

"The AMS35p drives most loudspeakers easily. We do not recommend speakers with a sensitivity below 86dB, unless you are using them in a relatively small room. Apart from that, the AMS35p will handle any loudspeaker without problem or strain.
Because of its high peak current (over 100 amps peak to peak), the AMS35p is, in real life, a really big amp.
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