Focal: For the Love of Music

Bob Cole | Updated: October 11, 2023

It’s a very long road for a company like World Wide Stereo to bring in what we call a “Signature Line.” We pride ourselves in already having the best gear available in each category. Such decisions are based on performance, integrability, reliability, and the long-term return on investment for customers. You know, it’s not about the price — it’s about the value. We also have a reputation to protect. After 40 years, we are iconic in our industry and the industry looks to see what we are up to – as do our customers, as we are typically ahead of the curve. We are very careful. After significant vetting, a group of us went to France to visit with the premium speaker manufacturer, Focal Audio. You can read all about our trip here, but the short story is, we simply fell in love. Jaded as I am, I've never met a group of people, top to bottom, more dedicated and passionate about the outcome of what they make. They are craftsmen, artists, and engineers. It took no time to bring in the line in a big way. We are the only dealer in the United States who sells Focal’s home audio, custom integration, car stereo, and media products (headphones, etc.) both on a store level and online. Having taken the plunge, we decided to have not just one big party, but two! On Thursday, September 13th and Saturday, September 15th, we hosted two “Focal: For the Love of Music” events at our Montgomeryville showroom.

A night of Focal, fine wine, and frivolity.

Night one was a private listening party, previewing Saturday's day-long event. We brought Andy Fruzzetti from Louis Latour up from Florida to present a premium wine tasting experience to exemplify the difference between a lesser wine and the better product. This also added to the French theme of the evening, and served as a metaphor for the Focal audio experience: How can Focal charge $60,000 dollars for a pair of speakers? Once guests heard them, there was no question about it. Hungry for music but also hungry for good food, our friends at Izenberg’s Deli catered the event with a French-inspired spread. We had 94 official guests and 20 people who showed up to help out. Romain Vet, a Focal executive, was here from France to add a little extra flair to the evening. Over the course of the evening, we gave away a $5,300 h-i res music player and Focal Utopia headphone package, a $1000 Naim Mu-so Qb compact wireless streaming music system, a number of Focal headphones (Listen over-ear wireless headphones and Spirit Professional closed-back headphones), and a bottle of premium wine.

The magic of the Maestros.

I got to emcee the event, which was a privilege. Having gone through the usual case of nerves (which includes an ingrained fear that no one is going to come to a party I have), my anxiety was instantly assuaged by the music and the eclectic group of guests and staff. After half an hour of letting guests mingle, eat up, and sip some wine, I cranked up the Focal Maestros with Aaron Copeland’s “Fanfare For the Common Man”. Everybody in the building stopped what they were doing at the first horn and gravitated toward the music. During the caesura (the rest between bars), you could hear a pin drop — everyone was instantly engaged as if the Philadelphia Orchestra was in the room.

Close up of The Focal Maestro Floorstanding Speaker

Focal headphone, home audio, and car audio demonstrations.

The rest of the night was more of the same. We had active audio demonstrations in six different studio rooms and a headphone demo in our digital playground. We also had three cars — a Jeep, Subaru WRX STi, and Porsche 911 GTS — that all had their factory systems upgraded with Focal amps and speakers. Everyone agreed they rocked!

A special thank you to all.

After an incredible evening, the only tough part of the evening was to end it. Thankfully we had another full day to celebrate Focal at the big event on Saturday, where dozens of more guests came out for the music. I want to thank our vendors, Louis Latour and Izenberg's Deli, for providing the exclusive wine tastings and decadent hors d'oeuvres. Of course, this event wouldn't have been possible without the help and support from our superb staff and everyone at Focal.

And last but not least: our customers and guests. This experience was for you, and it was an honor to bring you the magic of Focal. Notes from many of you have started pouring in, bringing plenty of smiles to our staff:

I visited the Montgomery store during the recent Focal promotion. Despite the store being a store full of people, the attention and support I received was still exceptional. Ken helped me find my home theater solution with careful attention to getting the best performance for my budget. The next day on Sunday, he arrived right on time as promised and connected my new Yamaha amp to a set of Focal tower speakers. The integration and performance are simply exceptional. I can't speak too highly of World Wide Stereo and their exceptional service. Don't hesitate to visit and speak to them about your needs." — Richard R.

Just wanted to say thank you again for inviting me to the Focal presentation, I was completely amazed. Plus I had a chance to hear the Maestros. The winners for me were the Electra 1038 be's & the Sopras. You said it best they are great sounding speakers as you go up the line of speakers, you will find it's more about the emotion of the music that is coming out them. You spoke more like an Engineer then a Salesmen during your presentation — you can see the passion you have for what you do. I'm looking forward to this journey with you of building a great sound system that I can be happy with." — Antwon J.

Today's advice to our readers: World Wide Stereo knows how to party. Don't miss the next one, Music Matters, coming to a World Wide Stereo showroom near you late October. Stay tuned for more details!