Focal vestia no.1

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Focal Vestia No.1 may sound like a new fragrance, but in fact it’s the smallest and most affordable model in the French manufacturer’s mid-price Vestia range. It features some interesting technologies along with some staunchly individualistic design choices.

The Vestia No.1 is a two-way design, with a bass reflex port facing forward from the bottom of the cabinet. Above it there’s a 16.5cm mid/bass driver made from Focal’s ‘slatefiber’ arrangement of recycled carbon fibre. At the top of the front baffle there is a 25mm aluminium/magnesium M-shaped inverted dome ‘TAM’ tweeter inside a urethane waveguide. Focal says high-frequency response extends to 30Hz.

On the outside, Focal has attempted to make the No.1 as distinctive as possible, with a choice of finishes that variously involve ‘leather-effect’ vinyl and grained wood-effect material.

Given a vinyl copy of Stereolab’s Emperor Tomato Ketchup to deal with, the Focals reveal themselves to be a full-scale, burly and self-consciously sophisticated listen. The company’s claim for low-frequency extension down to 56Hz may be a conservative estimate – the No.1 dig deep, and punch through bass information with real determination and no little finesse. Detail levels are high, control is unarguable, and there is more than adequate momentum to the sound as a result. Rhythm expression is decent, and bass sounds stay strictly in their lane, with no interference with the midrange.

Well-defined soundstage

That midrange is similarly detailed, giving the mannered vocals buried deep in the mix proper character and expression. The soundstage the Focal create is as expansive and well-defined as the overall scale of sound they are capable of generating, and it means singers in the midrange get plenty of space in which to operate. Despite the generous soundstage proportions, though, there is no sense of remoteness or unwelcome individuality in the way the Vestia No.1 present recordings – instead, there i