Focal Vestia Released - New High-End Speakers for Home Theater

The No.1 is Focal’s traditional 2-way bookshelf speaker and measures 8 5/8” x 10 1/4" x 15 1/4." Both bookshelf speakers are packed in the same box and when you take them out you’ll notice the sleek leather front panel. You’ll have a tough choice of going grill-less to keep this exposed or covering it up with the grill. The choice is yours.

The No.1s will have an optional stand available for purchase separately. The stands will be 21 5/8” tall and places the speakers at the perfect height to match your seated listening position.  

The aerodynamic front port is an ideal design to be able to place the bookshelf speaker in a more enclosed space without overly affecting the audio reproduction. Other manufacturers will have rear ports for their entry level bookshelf speakers but will include plugs to help reduce wall effects. You often will not see front ported speakers until you reach much higher in the lineup. I appreciate that Focal has included this feature in the No.1s.   

The No.1 is designed for rooms up to 322 square feet (about the area of a parking space), which makes them great for a small listening room or personal office and will handle smaller amplifiers from 25-120 watts. I found that when I tested it I didn’t need to have a big beefy amp for it to play well so it would work with a lot of amplifiers. However, I would lean towards higher wattage amplifiers because you will be able to enjoy clarity at lower volumes.   

The No.2 is Focal’s 3-way floorstanding speaker in the Vestia line and is sized at 10 1/8” x 14 5/8" x 39 7/8." The larger size will add two 6 1/2" woofers to accompany the 6 1/2" midbass driver and the 1” TAM tweeter. The new tweeters have a good and wide dispersion which helps out with creating stereo imaging. The two woofers will make a significant difference in low end output, so much so that you might feel like you don't need to add a subwoofer (for 2-channel listening at least).

That is also helped by the No.2 being the first speaker in the Vestia line that will have the Focal PowerFlow multi-port technology. This feature allows for better bass response by using a front and rear port, where both ports are tuned to different frequencies allowing better distribution.

When positioning these speakers, Focal is recommending that the No.2 floorstanding speakers be at least 10 feet away from the listening position and will play nicely in rooms starting at 215 square feet (about twice the area of an apartment bedroom) and above. You will want to give these speakers room to shine and breathe.

The best setup for these speakers is to toe them in to point towards the listening position AND make them the same distance between the speakers as it is from the listening position. Imagine an equilateral triangle and treat your seat as the point and the speakers as the base (it’ll help with bass, too).

The No.3 is a floorstanding speaker and is a natural progression from the No.2 by using the same PowerFlow multi-port technology, the same 1” TAM tweeter, 6 1/2" midbass driver, and an additional 6 1/2” woofer. The No.3s are taller than the No.2s but have the same width and depth at 10 1/8” x 14 5/8" x 44 1/8." If you go home with a pair, you might as well write an apology note to your neighbor ahead of time, because the walls are going to be shaking.

The No.3s will be $1,799.00 each, meaning they’re only $800 more than a pair of the No.2s, so if you have no good placement for a subwoofer in your room, upgrade to the No.3 and be justified in your decision. Just make sure your room is also big enough. Focal is recommending a room starting at 270 square feet (the size of a cozy NYC studio apartment) to match the size of the sound that is going to envelop you with these loudspeakers.

The No.3s are the ones I auditioned the most while playing with the Vestia lineup, because I feel they could fill my listening area nicely, and I’m conflicted about having a dedicated subwoofer for my listening space. The low end output is definitely enough to not need the sub (but that doesn’t replace the want).

I did get to see some pre-production models of the No.4s at CEDIA, and I was happy we brought them into our store to evaluate without the hustle and bustle of a trade show floor. I like the idea of taking the No.3s up a notch by changing the Slatefiber Woofers from 6 1/2" to 8,” but they will have the same 1” TAM tweeter, and 6 1/2” midbass driver. The larger woofer will make the largest speaker in the line up at 12” x 16 7/8” x 49 1/4". The No.4s are priced at $2,199.00 each and are the top-tier of the Vestia lineup.

With the addition of the 8” woofers, Focal says that they will have effortless bass output, and they would be perfect for music enthusiasts seeking high performance. Be careful not to have these sit too close to the wall. They have a lot of bass impact and the closer to the corners of your room and to your back wall the more unwanted bass response and room resonance you will get.

The center speaker is simply known as the Vesita Center and measures 21 1/8” x 10 1/4" x 8 1/2." It shares the same TAM tweeter, which will give you the same wide dispersion, and will come with two 6 1/2" midbass drivers. Focal is also releasing a center stand for the Vestia Center that is 17 3/4” tall.

I think there was a missed opportunity to call it the "No. Zero" (although, it would look like No0 and I'm sure marketing wouldn’t be into that). The Vestia Center uses the same TAM tweeter and 6 1/2" midbass as every other speaker in the Vestia series, so it will be a perfect accompaniment in a home theater setup because it will timbre match any of the other Vestia speakers to create the ideal soundstage.

Make sure to match up the tweeter height of the center speaker as best you can with your accompanying left and right speaker. This will balance out your front stage and give you a more even sound between the three speakers. Unlike the other Vestia speakers, it is the only one with a double rear port, but it still comes with the base for tilting the speaker.