Focal SM9 - extreme resolution | extraordinary value | bespoke stands included | class AB all analog

Assuming you want top Focal drivers, 600 watts per channel, and an *extremely* rigid and dead case, you're looking at a *lot* of money. Here's a shortcut.

I have finally found something good enough (for whole heck of a lot more money) to replace my SM9s. I have been throwing great sources, preamps, cables, acoustic tweaks, and everything else at these things: they continue to calmly resolve minute differences, make music, and kick butt. They image like crazy, and shake my (huge) room.

If you are an experienced audiophile and you haven't heard these, you owe yourself the recalibration of what's possible at a price point. If you are a new audiophile and you don't want to spend years and $$ matching amps and speakers and just listen to music, these get you to the end-game fast -- a lot more than you thought possible at anywhere near this price point.

The SM9 are, for many years, the top-of-the-line studio monitor from Focal. This means they have the same driver tech as the Utopia series, but they are an active design, priced for a studio audience. They accept an XLR line-level analog input, which runs through an analog *electronic* line-level crossover (which uses very high quality parts, but doesn't require the huge-value components in a speaker-level crossover) which is far more phase-coherent that passive crossovers. Each bandwidth limited signal then goes to a dedicated Class AB amplifier, which is *connected to the driver directly*. This is where the magic is — you cannot achieve this level of driver control with passive speaker designs; perhaps you can if you're spending several thousand dollars raw parts cost on a crossover alone. So you're talking about a ~$20k speaker minimum -- and you still need exceptional amps and speaker cables.

This is an all-analog, all Class AB design -- no DSP, no Class D. The SM9 also has a ton of configurable features (ALL of which are defeatable -- I'm a purist too) incl a bunch of crossovers (which I always bypass, but are useful for testing for room modes etc) and a high-pass filter which can make subwoofer integration much much easier.

I use the SM9s in an extremely large studio space (something like 8500 cu ft) and they play to very high levels -- and sound great in near field and farfield settings. Did I mention they're indestructible? If you want to damage your hearing and turn them up to levels they can't handle (108 db +) they simply flash a little red light and momentarily mute if you are being a complete idiot and their driver excursion limiter or internal temp sensor get unhappy. Believe me, if you live in any normal domestic setting, these things will play cleanly, louder than you can handle.

But it's not about loud: the level of detail and transparency from these things is insane -- I have listened to Focal, Wilson, Magico, ML, single-driver, et al. Nothing even close in terms of actual price here matches their combination of authority, imaging and detail -- and I am not including amps pricing, that's packaged in. I've been shopping for a speaker-only solution that I would replace these with for under $20k, and have nothing.

What am I moving to? I’ve purchased enormous ATCs, for an enormous price tag. Anyway, I'm happy to answer any questions you have. Demo available in Toronto for serious buyers.

Specs:
3-way, passive radiator, active analog monitor system
83 lbs each
1" Beryllium Inverted Dome Tweeter
6.5" W Composite Sandwich Cone Midrange
8" W Composite Sandwich Cone Woofer
11" W Composite Sandwich Cone passive radiator

100 watt dedicated Class AB tweeter amp per speaker
100 watt dedicated Class AB mid amp per speaker
400 watt dedicated Class AB woofer amp per speaker

Input sensitivity settings: +10 (consumer) and -4 db (Pro)
Low / Mid / High shelf EQ options (bypassable)
Direct Mode button - bypasses all input / EQ circuitry
45 / 60 / 90 hz High Pass filter for sub integration (bypassable for full range)
Also included are the (optional) driver grill covers. For moving only. 


Inputs:
IEC 115v power
XLR Analog only

Since they are a system, I am including heavy, very rigid custom black walnut stands specifically for this speaker, made by Massif Audio in Toronto. These are bespoke, beautiful, and the best way to situate the SM9s in a domestic situation.

I am also including IsoAcoustics Pucks -- the recommended solution from IsoAcoustics for these very heavy monitors. 6 per speaker.

I have new original boxes for the SM9s. Custom stands will be custom boxed at my expense.