ON TEST Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeakers French manufacturer Focal has been in business for 35 years, though for many of those years it was known as JM-Lab, during which period it simply manufactured drivers, which it sold to high-end speaker manufacturers around the world. It changed its name to Focal late last century and kept this name even following a merger with UK electronics manufacturer Naim Audio in 2011. Despite this merger, the two companies operate completely autonomously, Naim from Salisbury, in the UK, and Focal from Saint Etienne, in France. If the 6 model number sounds familiar, that s because it is. The same three numbers have been used for several Focal models and several models when the company was JM-Lab. I only say this because this re-use of model numbers might make it a little confusing if you search for information on this model on the Internet. The Focal Chorus 6 reviewed here is the current 2013/14 model that won a Gold Medal (Diapason D Or) from French classical music magazine Diapason [www.diapasonmag.fr/] The Equipment Designed for stand-mounting or bookshelf applications, the two-way bass reflex Focal Chorus 6 was specifically designed to perform at its best in rooms with dimensions of up to 20m² according to Focal s data. The problem is that this description assumes a standard ceiling height, and I have no idea of what that might be in France. Here in Australia, the minimum ceiling height (therefore the one most often used at least in modern buildings) is 2.4 metres, which would give a room volume of 48m3, assuming a room size of 4 5 metres. While I think Focal is to be applauded for specifying room sizes, it would be better if the company specified room volumes, as that specification could be applied anywhere in the world. The tweeter is not mounted conventionally, as you can see from the photographs accompanying this review. But then neither is the tweeter conventional! It uses Focal s trademark inverted dome, as well as the company s newest Poron suspension system. The Poron suspension supports a 25mm composite aluminium/magnesium dome. This tweeter is new on the 2013 version of the Chorus 6 and is known in-house at Focal as a TNV2 type. It s protected by a removable metal mesh grille and, even though inverted domes are far more mechanically robust than conventional dome tweeters, I d recommend leaving the grille in place at all times. If you re familiar with Focal s products, you might find it strange that the tweeter has a protective grille at all, since on this 26 Australian
Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeakers ON TEST latest implementation of the 6 design, the tweeter is additionally protected by a grille, whereas on some earlier models, the grille covered only the bass driver, leaving the tweeter exposed above the grille. Presumably the grille has additional acoustic functions, such as aiding dispersion, or to modify the frequency response (or, perhaps, it s just additional protection for when you re not using the grille, about which more later on in this review.) Speaking of this grille, I like it a whole lot better than the V -shaped grille that was previously used. To my eyes it looks neater and much cleaner and it s also, as Focal puts it, more integrated. By this I mean that Focal has cleverly extended the two sides of the speaker so they protrude out from the The Focal Chorus 6 reviewed here is the current (2013) model that won a Gold Medal (Diapason D Or) from a French classical music magazine front baffle the exact same distance as the grille s depth, so that when you attach the grille, you get an almost-perfectly seamless transition from the front of the grille to the edge of the speaker cabinet. (And, by the way, the fit was perfect!) The bass/midrange driver is a 1mm polyglass-coned unit with an extremely soft rubber dustcap protecting the voice-coil assembly from the ingress of dust and dirt particles. However, when Focal says 1mm, because Focal actually manufactures the driver it uses in its speakers, it uses the typical manufacturing convention of specifying the distance between the mounting holes as the driver diameter. In fact the overall dimension of the bass/midrange driver used in the 6 is 1mm. However, the most important dimension is the Thiele/Small diameter, because it s this one that the designer uses to tune the speakers, the cabinet volume, the port size/location and so on. In the case of the Chorus 6, that diameter is 133mm, giving a cone area (Sd) of around 140cm². Interestingly, although the dustcap is soft rubber, it s actually extraordinarily rigid in the direction of cone movement, so it will improve output without coupling the cone. Very clever Focal! (It s so clever that when you get a demo, ask the hi-fi dealer if you can poke first the top of the dustcap, which you ll find rigid, then the side of the dustcap, which you ll find will deform easily, even though it s the same material. I loved it.) The front-firing bass reflex port is flared both where it exits the baffle and inside the cabinet, where the air exhausts. This shows how committed Focal is to sound quality, because many companies cut their manufacturing costs by not flaring the internal part of the port, on the basis that no-one will ever know. (Well, they won t until that sharp edge betrays itself by causing whistles at some frequencies.) Focal s port won t whistle. The port itself is 140mm long and has an internal diameter of mm. Because it s frontmounted, you will be able to push the 6 right up close against a rear wall if you need to something you can t do if a speaker has a rear-firing reflex port. Inside the cabinet (though I would not recommend you open your speakers) you ll find extensive cross-bracing, a copious quantity of mm black acoustic sheeting and a very nicely-made crossover network that uses Focal-branded cermet resistors (2 of), Focal branded capacitors (two bipolars and a metallized polypropylene) along with three inductors (two ferrite-cored and one air-cored), all of which were properly cross-mounted so there could be no interaction between them. The nominal crossover frequency is 3kHz (up from 2.6kHz on pre-2013 versions). Focal specifies the nominal impedance of this iteration of the Chorus 6 as being 8Ω, but at the same time advises that the impedance does drop as low as 3.6Ω, so you should make sure your amplifier is capable of driving 4Ω loads. Around the back of the cabinet is a single set of speaker terminals: ribbed rubber-coated silver types that are not only colour-coded but have (+) and ( ) symbols moulded into the plastic alongside them. These are very easy to tighten and the posts are not only hollowed for banana plugs, but have holes for pins or wire (plus you could also use spades). Excellent design. A plate just above the terminals not only carries an individual serial number for each speaker, but a gentle reminder that Focal speakers are Made in France which they are in their entirety for which I can vouch having visited the (very impressive) factory in Saint Etienne (near the city of Lyon) where Focal s speakers are created by a small team of dedicated French artisans, almost by hand. Although my sample speakers were finished in walnut ($899 RRP per pair), you can Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeakers Brand: Focal Model: Chorus 6 Category: Standmount Loudspeakers RRP: $899 (Walnut) $999 (Black Gloss) Warranty: Five Years Distributor: Audio Marketing Pty Ltd Address: Unit 14L. 1 Lower Gibbes St Artarmon NSW 2067 (02) 9882 3877 info@ audiomarketing.com.au www.audiomarketing.com.au LAB REPORT Superb highs Midrange Imaging Single terminals Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of the performance of the Focal Chorus 6 Standmount/ Bookshelf Loudspeakers should continue on and read the LABORATORY REPORT published on page 30. Readers should note that the results mentioned in the report, tabulated in performance charts and/ or displayed using graphs and/or photographs should be construed as applying only to the specific sample tested. Lab Report on page 30 avhub.com.au 27
ON TEST Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeakers also buy the speakers in a superb gloss black piano finish, but this attracts a $ premium which brings the RRP up to $999 the pair. The design of the cabinets is such that the sides of the cabinet rise a little above the top surface of the cabinet, creating a tiny (around 1mm) lip on either side. This is apparently the latest in modern chic European styling: I wasn t convinced that it worked visually in the walnut finish, but it might well look really good in gloss black. Each speaker measures 3 220 263mm (HWD) and weighs 8.2kg. In Use and Listening Sessions Because they re designed to be stand-mounted, there are four screw holes on the base of the speaker, no doubt designed to mate with Focal s S0 stand, which is 0mm high (a little higher when spiked), which would put the tweeters of the Chorus 6 at around 9mm above floor level. There s no doubt the speakers will sound better on stands than they will on a bookshelf, but feel free to choose other stands if you wish: the ultimate aim is simply to get the tweeters at the same level as your ears when you re sitting down. I used my own stands to achieve this aim. The very first music I played on the Focal Chorus 6 after the burn-in period was a brand new favourite CD of mine, Such a Sky, featuring Imogen Manins (cello) and Tony Gould (piano) with guest appearances by Slava Grigoryan, Gian Slater and David Jones amongst others. It s an incredible recording, recorded live at Melbourne s Recital Centre by Martin Wright of Move (on whose label it s released). There s so much to love on this disc that I don t know where to recommend you start, but a good place would be Valse, which is Bach re-arranged by Claus Ogerman (originally for Bill Evans) but here played by Manins, Gould and Grigoryan. It s haunting beautiful, and so intellectually satisfying. Another great track is Dawn Mantras, a Ross Edwards composition, here featuring Riley Lee on shakuhachi. It s spare and haunting, and has amazing sonics. And that s the other beauty of this disc: not only is the music amazing, but the sound quality is extraordinarily good: every time I listen I can barely believe it s a live performance. All the instruments are perfectly captured, so the tonal quality is intensely real, the balance is perfect and the dynamic range is superb. On the tracks where Gian Slater sings, (such as Funeral Blues, one of Tony Gould s but using a lyric from W. H. Auden) her unique and distinctive voice is almost ethereal. The Focal Chorus 6s more than rose to the difficulties of the music: they positively excelled. The lowest notes on Manins cello and Gould s piano were reproduced accurately, at the cor- rect levels and with all harmonics perfectly rendered. The precision of the decay of notes left hanging showed that the drivers are beautifully engineered, because the fading was exactly as in real life. Listen carefully towards the close of Funeral Blues, for example, where Gould strikes a key, then leaves it depressed, so the sound decays. Outstanding performance from the Chorus 6s. Next up was yet another Move recording, A Little French Cello, with Zoe Knighton and Amir Farid (piano). I nearly always start with Nadia Boulanger s Trios Piéces, not simply because I like it so much and it s a great test of a speaker s midrange, but also for sentimental reasons. Listen to this and wonder that Nadia gave up composing when her much more talented younger sister, Lili, the first woman to win the Prix de Rome (for Faust et Hélène) died at the age of 24. Look up at the sky and think of her: she has an asteroid named after her: 1181 Lilith. For a complete change of pace, it was Hunters and Collectors up next: or rather, the songs of Hunters and Collectors, re-imagined by a star-studded line-up including Missy Higgins, Paul Kelly, Emma Donovan, Birds of Toyko, Something for Kate and others. On This Morning (Matt Corby and Missy Higgins), listen to the complete evenness of the sound across the upper bass and into the midrange, plus the solid bass foundation. Great sound. Also listen to the percussion on When the Rivers Run Dry, particularly the way there s absolutely no overhang from that bass/ midrange driver: it s fast, crisp and dynamic. The ability of the 6s to create a total sonic soundfield is wonderfully evidenced on Still Hanging Around as played by Cloud Control: the sheer emptiness of the acoustic is delivered amazingly well, but so too are the harmonies. A double-disc set, the second disc contains all the original versions as well. All are still good, except for the quashed dynamics of the recordings. But you can hear the extraordinary extension of the Focal tweeter on Alligator Engine and others, leaving you in no doubt it s very very extended: I couldn t hear any high-frequency roll-off at all. I also took the opportunity to turn the volume up to stun when playing the Focal 6s, and they were more than capable of delivering sweet sound even at high volume levels, justifying Focal s use of the largest bass/midrange driver it could squeeze into the cabinet, and proving that driver quality is a huge determining factor in a small bookshelf speaker being able to play loud without compression or distortion. Driver quality also came to the fore when it came to stereo imaging, because with well-recorded material, the Focal Chorus 6s image beautifully, creating that audiophile grail of width, height and depth along with the ability to allow you to pin-point the location of performers right across the soundscape. This is all about driver quality and quality control, and with the 6 Focal has delivered both in spades. Many audiophiles prefer to listen with the grille off, and two recent reviews showed there are often good reasons for this, because poorly designed grilles can have a significant effect on sound quality. However, in the case of the Focal Chorus 6, I d recommend you leave it on at all times, for appearance and for protection, because I could hear absolutely no difference in sound quality with the grille on vs. the grille off. It is truly acoustically transparent. However, if you do want to remove the grille for critical listening sessions, you ll be able to do so easily, without fear of damaging the grille, because rather than use the easily-broken plastic lugs commonly used by speaker manufacturers (even on highpriced speakers), Focal has fitted solid metal pegs to the grille frame, which slip into rubberised fittings sunk into the front baffle. Excellent! Conclusion Focal s new Chorus 6s are amazingly good speakers and, considering they re made entirely in France, to state-of-the-art standards, I am a bit stunned by how competitivelypriced they are. If you need some really great bookshelf speakers (and who doesn t?), you certainly won t go wrong buying a pair of Focal s Chorus 6s. greg borrowman CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 28 Australian
LAB REPORT Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeakers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 Laboratory Test Report The frequency response of the Focal Chorus 6 measured by was very flat and extended. Graph 1 shows a composite response, where the lab has post-processed two different measurements (a pink noise measurement for the low frequencies) with a gated sine measurement for the high frequencies. The two have been spliced together at 0Hz. You can see that the response of the Focal Chorus 6 extends from Hz to 20kHz ±3dB, which is an excellent result. However, you should also note that this is largely an unsmoothed result, so the reso- nance peaks at 5kHz, 21kHz, and 24kHz (and the dip at 22kHz) should be ignored (according to the IEC 268-5 regulation on speaker measurement) for the purpose of stating a frequency response (for which see Graph 5). This response extends from Hz to 40kHz ±3dB and that 40kHz is the upper calibration limit of the test microphone: it s possible that the tweeter s frequency response extends even further. As for those resonances above 20Hz, they re fairly typical for any metaldome tweeter. It appears the resonances are a little more complex in the case of the Chorus 6 s metal-dome tweeter because the dome is formed from two different metallic materials (aluminium and magnesium) rather than just the one. Graph 2 shows a greatly magnified view of the Focal Chorus 6 s frequency response at high frequencies, acquired using a gating technique that simulates the response that would be obtained in an anechoic chamber. (Note that this measurement technique has a low-frequency limitation in this case 0Hz which is why the graphing starts at this frequency). You can see the frequency response is very linear (±1.2dB) from 0Hz right up to 4.5kHz, where there s a tiny 20 Hz 200 0 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K Graph 1. Frequency response. Trace below 1kHz is the averaged result of nine individual frequency sweeps measured at three metres, with the central grid point on-axis with the tweeter using pink noise test stimulus with capture unsmoothed. This has been manually spliced (at 0Hz) to the gated high-frequency response, an expanded view of which is shown in Graph 2. [Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeaker] 0 Hz 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K Graph 2. High-frequency response, expanded view. Test stimulus gated sine. Microphone placed at three metres on-axis with dome tweeter. Lower measurement limit 0Hz. Both grilles on (black trace) vs both grilles off (red trace). [Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeaker] 20 Ohm Deg 1 1 120 10 9 30 8 0 7-30 6-5 - 4-120 -1 10 Hz 20 200 0 1K 2K 5K Graph 3. Low frequency response of front-firing bass reflex port (red trace) and mid/woofer. Nearfield acquisition. Port/woofer levels not compensated for differences in radiating areas. 3-1 10 Hz 20 200 0 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K Graph 4. Impedance modulus of left (red trace) and right (yellow trace) speakers plus phase (blue trace). Black trace under is reference 3-ohm precision calibration resistor. 20 Hz 200 0 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K Graph 5. Averaged frequency response using pink noise test stimulus with capture unsmoothed. Trace is the averaged results of nine individual frequency sweeps measured at three metres, with the central grid point on-axis with the tweeter. [Focal Chorus 6] 20 Hz 200 0 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K Graph 6. Composite response plot. Red trace is output of bass reflex port. Dark blue trace is anechoic response of bass/mid driver. Light blue trace is sine response of midrange driver. Pink trace is gated (simulated anechoic) response above 0Hz. Black trace is averaged in-room pink noise response (from Graph 5). [Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeaker] 30 Australian
LAB REPORT Focal Chorus 6 Loudspeakers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 bump, after which it continues linearly (±1.2dB) out to 18kHz, after which there s a rise to a first resonance at 21kHz, then a second at 23kHz, as noted in the previous paragraph. As you can see, there are two traces on Graph 2, one is the response with both the main grille and the tiny grille over the tweeter removed, and the other with both grilles in place. The differences between the two trace are minuscule, but the response without the grilles in position is very slightly flatter and more linear. measured the lowfrequency response of the Focal Chorus 6s using a nearfield microphone technique, the results of which are shown in Graph 3. You can see that the bass/midrange driver starts rolling off at Hz, to a minima at 42Hz. The port s output certainly covers the 42Hz region, but you can see that it operates over a very broad range of frequencies, from around 30Hz right up to Hz before rolling off. There appears to be some high-frequency leakage through the port at 1kHz, but it s about 30dB down in level (see Graph 6). The impedance modulus was wellcontrolled, with the expected bass resonant peaks at 23Hz (13Ω) and Hz (14Ω) with the minima between them at Hz (5.2Ω). The impedance mostly stays above 5Ω over the entire audio range, but does dip to a minimum of 3.6Ω at 2Hz. As a result, this will be a very easy load for any amplifier, particularly since the phase angle (blue trace) is also well-controlled. The fact that the red and yellow traces (showing the measured impedances of the left and right speakers respectively) almost overlay each other demonstrate the very high standard of Focal s drivers and of its quality control. There are no cabinet resonances visible on the trace, which is excellent. measured sensitivity at 86 at one metre, for a 2.83Veq. input, using its standard test procedure. This is both slightly lower than average and also lower than Focal s specification (), but as I ve pointed out on many occasions, Newport Test Labs procedure makes it very tough for a speaker to achieve high figures (and particularly tough for bookshelf speakers), so 86 is actually a very good result. It does mean, however, that these speakers would be best-matched with an amplifier which has a power output of at least -watts per channel (into 8Ω) or more. Graph 5 shows the Focal Chorus 6 s frequency response, measured with a pink noise stimulus. You can see the response extends from Hz to 40kHz ±3dB and, as noted earlier, that 40kHz is the upper calibration limit of the test microphone. (Focal s specification is Hz 28kHz ±3dB.) The difference in the low-frequency extension between the spec and the measurement is because Newport Test Labs measures with the speaker three metres away from the nearest surface. Moving the speaker closer to a wall would increase the bass extension, bringing it in-line with Focal s specification. The Focal Chorus 6 is a very well-designed speaker, with a very flat and extended frequency response, particularly into the high frequencies. Although there have been several 6 models from Focal in the past, I can easily see from comparing the test results of this 2013 version of the 6 with test results of earlier versions that this one is significantly different in terms of cabinet tuning, efficiency, overall impedance, crossover frequency, and the linearity of the frequency response. No doubt the result of substantive improvements in the bass/midrange driver and the new tweeter, which have allowed many improvements to be made, this is clearly a superior loudspeaker design. Steve Holding 32 Australian
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