High End 2018 • Hot Product

Last year, Focal announced evolved versions of their established Utopia Scala and Maestro models. This time around, it was the turn of the larger Stella and flagship Grande to get the Evo treatment. This involved the same driver developments as seen in the Scala and Maestro Evo: the TMD surround (designed to minimize spurious mechanical energy and reflections, with a claimed 5dB improvement in intermodulation distortion) and the NIC motor circuit (designed to reduce inductance and impedance variations in the drivers as they work). But it also added a new abbreviation in the shape of MRR cabinets, in which a rear machined-aluminum mounting ring is used to create a sandwich construction between the driver basket, the cabinet material and the clamping ring, making for more consistent mounting pressure, better mechanical damping of the driver interface and a stiffer baffle assembly.

Finally, on the Grande only, the loading on the midbass driver (situated at the top of the cabinet) has changed from a ported to a sealed enclosure, aiming to improve system phase coherence and linearity, a move that has necessitated a complete crossover revision. Both speakers have also received new wiring looms and revised internal damping to take account of the TMD drivers’ improved mechanical behavior.

The changes might seem insignificant, and externally, special Evo finishes aside, they are essentially invisible, but together they amount to a major shift in system performance, a shift we heard demonstrated all too clearly on the Grande model, driven by Naim’s Statement amps, the new ND 555 streamer as source. Low-frequency speed and texture -- always Grande strengths -- have improved further, with associated benefits throughout the range, especially in terms of clarity and focus.

Speakers like the Wilson WAMM MC and big Living Voice horns might have raised the bar at the very top of the market, but as the third version of the venerable Focal flagship enters its tenth year, the Evo iteration keeps the Grande firmly at the front of a chasing pack. Available in September, the Stella Utopia III Evo (not shown) will be priced at €100,000 per pair and the Grande Utopia III Evo (both pictures) at €180,000 per pair.