Focal 300 ICW8 good in wall and in enclosures
Jim from Eden, UT on 5/29/2020
I've used the Focal 300 ICW 8's both in wall as kitchen background music with a fairly small (ancient NAD 20W x 2) amp and in home built enclosures with a Niles SI-2100. They aren't terrible on the undersized amp; obviously they breath a lot better with more power. Properly powered, they take on a whole new character when placed in a well constructed, insulated MDF box sized to the Focal recommended volume, and anchored to the joists in our unfinished workout area. I'd call it 'honest', giving what is in the music without excessive coloration. I'm especially pleased with the vocals from artists like Anita Baker, Faith Hill, and Adele. If the music has good bottom end they reproduce it well, and I don't see the need to add a sub. Classical comes through with good sound stage in a less than ideal room, and they aren't even fully broken in yet. Especially considering the streamed/compressed iPhone source being used, all in all very listenable, and 100W/Channel is enough for the area I have them in. The clever mounting system takes the stress out of getting them hung in the walls, and their quality construction makes me believe they'll be there for the long haul. The ringing endorsement came from my wife, who after hearing them was ready to let me take the rotozip to our brand new ceiling and add another pair to our family room. BTW, if you lay it out correctly, using 3/4 plywood as the mounting flange side, you can get four enclosures out of one 4X8 sheet of 1/2" MDF..
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2 of 2 found this helpful
Overpriced speakers
Crutchfield customer from Frisco, TX on 3/23/2020
At the current price, these Focal speakers are no longer a good value. PSB and even MartinLogan speakers should be looked at before these.
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0 of 10 found this helpful