Wilson Audio DAW VS Focal Scala Utopia EVO

Here is my take on both speakers

[@johnadams9044]

Focal sound more life like and easier to listen to. Even the guitar sounds realistic and has delicious harmonics audible.

[@tannerhuber1603]

The Focal's got it, even with the sub par set up.

[@dmcmaster3544]

To me it always comes down to which speaker sounds most like a live concert, and Focal has it in spades.

[@kingelijah79]

Focal looks so gorgeous

[@mesonto]

Wow, the clarity and soundstage of the Focals is just so much better. I also understand what the commentators are talking about with the fuller midrange of the Wilson's, but I think they are confused... it is not that the Wilson midrange is fuller it's just that the Focals have a generational leap with that berillium tweeter that allows them much, much, much better highs and so an obviously wider acoustical range. (I.e. when your speaker has no definition in the highs, of course you think you have more mid-range) To me even on KZbin it is obvious.

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

First time I have really appreciated the Focal. Both are great, but in this video presentation the Focal is clearly better. More nuanced presentation. Layers of information presented pleasantly.

[@katobrly9963]

The volume on the DAW is set higher than the Focal. Just take a look at the number on the pre-amp. DAW is at 35 or 38 vs Focal 29-33.

[@pacificateur3630]

katobr ly The thread on Audiogon has been closed ?

[@carlosoliveira-rc2xt]

You think their sensitivity is the same?

[@magicmulder]

Yeah because obviously they're not exactly equally sensitive.

[@99ssblnt91]

This is not a fair comparison. Obviously incorrect placement for the Focal. They are much closer to the listening position and to each other. And the Wilsons behind like pushing them to the walls. Placing them to the outer side of the DAWs would be much better.

[@MrFryfish]

Very good point raised!

[@speakertoni2680]

Very nice comparison with great song choice! It’s great to see that people who have access to this gear also share some of it on KZbin. In the past I always preferred Wilson Audio to Focal but after having heard some really bad sounding Wilson Audio set ups (for reasons I haven’t found out yet) I kinda lost interest. But after listening to the new DAW at an audio show last year I was completely blown away, they really got it right this time. Now in your video I think that a lot of the natural tone of the DAW comes across. The Focal does sound clearer and more straight forward but I think I might still prefer the Sasha. It just has this balanced and natural sound. I’ll make sure to check out the other videos as well!

[@leecarver5512]

Like many have said I don't think it's a fair comparison. Vol is different as well as position. Yes you may say Focals need to be farther out into room but you can't just place them in front of another speaker and say "what do you think"? Also would love to hear the Focals with that Audiomica cabling back in the system. It was the most musical presentation I heard of all your videos IMHO YMMV.

[@rw3915]

The Wilson soundstage is absolutely huge, airy and engaging. The space created by the Wilson speakers and the ability to hear INTO the music is pretty awesome; I find that very appealing. The Focal brings a very different type of presentation; instead of boundless sound staging, it brings a more realistic environment and the midrange presentation is smoother, nicer sounding to my ear. Even though the Wilson reproduces what is most likely not an accurate super wide stage, I just like that sort of presentation, however flawed it may be. Keep up the good work Jay.

[@zulu_mafia]

Yes the Wilson is LOUD and TIRING

[@sandrobuijs1123]

I have the Focal Electra 1028be myself, so I may be biased. But in this session and with headphones on, I think they both sound pretty good. Still, I think the Focal sounds smoother and sounds as one whole. Just as you say, the speaker has disappeared and therefore seems to sound more real. My preference in this setting is the Focal. Sorry Wilson fans.

[@MrFryfish]

Focal sounds much more calmer... as on CD with headphones on. I know this song so much and heard it with so many headphones, I know how it should sound. 🧐

[@JCLADOG]

The sound of the Focal's sound like they have a "blanket" covering them compared to the Wilsons. It's almost a muffle affect. Both sound amazing but my god those Wilson's are revealing and clear.

[@magicmulder]

Same, but I think this is related to the setup. Also try listening to the Focal first and then the Wilson. To me it's the Wilson that's too bright. I can imagine they're pretty fatiguing.

[@JimmyG91]

The scalas sound better to me, i found the midrange to be fuller and more textured. Marks voice sounded meatier and more live. In comparison the sashas sounded lean and a bit unbalanced. But could be different irl hard to make conclusions trough youtube.

[@arpakdemircan3854]

Sasha DAW hit the spot for me. More open and higher resolution, more detail and a better grip. Focal is not bad, but less light in it. Duller.

[@johnandterryfenner3311]

This is my first time commenting though I've been watching and listening right along.That Ref6 is the first change you've made that has really blown me away.Outstanding!

[@magicmulder]

Contrary to the track in Part 2, here the Focal is the clear winner for me. The drums are so much clearer, the guitar less "hanging somewhere in mid air", the overall tonality just wonderful.

[@huckfin1100]

I spent 40$ for my IEMs from KZ and they sound like these speakers in a smaller version, nice !

[@ericschultz9925]

They are in different places in the room and The DAW is behind the Focal when you listened. The level of the Focal seems lower....did you use a meter to match the levels exactly? Sorry, very flawed A/B.

[@dufonrafal]

Alright, a lot has been said about the placement and the volume, but your answer to that is in the video and I can't blame you for the not perfect setup considering the current situation. As always, your real life experience was much more interesting than the KZbin audio since it's obviously flawed, even with a perfect setup. I just had to play the video at 1.25x for it not to be boring :D As for the listening, Since it's past midnight here (I'm going to bed I promise :D ) I was listening on my "travel" closed-back headphones (Focal Listen) plugged into my laptop build-in ESS Sabre DAC. I did turn the volume up a little bit for the Focal as it seemed a bit lower. I can't really make a strong opinion of them of course, but what I can say is that the Focal sound almost like I'm listening directly to the recording, the Wilson definitely not (but still amazing). And that's probably the biggest compliment I can make to a speaker heard through KZbin. I guess I can actually hear the room more with the Wilson while with the Focal, it's like the room or the speaker doesn't exist. Looks like it does match what you were saying about them. What's also interesting is your comment about the mid range, my impression on the video is completely the opposite, the Focal sound like you described the Wilson and the Wilson like you described the Focal. Or I didn't understood you correctly, that's also a possibility :D That was fun to watch, I hope one day I will be able to afford speakers like those, I will start my first job as a fully qualified engineer soon (delayed because pandemic...) and I'll go from there :)

[@Josal]

Great review. I am seriously considering buying Sasha DAW or Alexia. Now I need to listen Focal as a serious comparison. Also, distance to the back wall comment is very useful info. Thanks.

[@danielbabeux5500]

Wow! Two very different speakers! Wilson Pro's: - One cloth sounding speaker, where from bass to high frequencies this baby sounds very natural - Midrange sooooooo good! Wilson Con's: - Does not image as good as the Focals Focal Pro's: - Imaging is crazy - Very detailled high frequencies which adds ambiance Focal Con's: - Midrange is deficient compared to the Wilson (Knopfler voice is missing some chestiness VS Wilson) - Discontinuity between bass and highs (lack of midrange IMHO) Very tough call, but I would go with the Wilson and I am a fan of the Focals!

[@Zulus22]

Why will you change the position of the microphone?

[@johnvalatos4073]

The Wilson’s had more depth and the mids were more Forward. The Focal’s were flat in their presentation. Both sound great. I don’t know I still can’t get over how the YGs sound in the sound clip linked here, regardless how the recording was done. They just disappear and those sweet detailed highs are something else. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqqcYqR8ZZunoLs

[@MrFryfish]

Just a curiosity are those amplifiers class D or class A?

[@dominadoralegado1121]

Focal is smooth.

[@davidblahey4851]

Enjoyed hearing both sets...but to my ears the Wilson’s give me more and I would spend my money on those...bass and mid ranges really nice.

[@NiSHAN256]

Great video!. Would you say the Scala has lean/thin midrange? or the Sasha is just warmer than neutral.

[@petermeyer8853]

Very nice sound. I like it.

[@leecarver5512]

Forgot to mention you stated "...there was too much information when going direct into dac..." REALLY!!!! How can you have too much information? Yes it might not have the soul to the music, it may not have the body to the music but too much information? I would think you want to hear EVERYTHING. Again just my thoughts (because you asked for what we all think).

[@jaysaudiolab]

Too much information with an added shot of redbull.... Does that make sense ?

[@datka3]

Jay is right , try listening to monitor speakers like Adam audio or similar they produce too much information for the right purpose but they are not too enjoyable to listen to casually

[@jwester7009]

I don't understand how anyone here can claim they hear any difference in these two sound clips. The volume is turned up so much that your recording equipment is struggling to compress the sound enough to prevent clipping. This makes it impossible for me to hear any difference. All I hear is compression. I've listened to some of your other sound clip and almost all of them are much much better recorded. Sometimes things fail. It can happens to all of us. So no blame from me

[@davidn8656]

Did you find the scales sounded better when you took the wheels off and put in the spikes?

[@zulu_mafia]

Quantity vs Quality

[@danshapiro1195]

Hey Jay. I wish you and your family much health. My thoughts.....1st, you should not have had a visitor come to your home. You are in S. Fl., and so many folks there are not following guidelines to isolation. Enough on that. The Wilson's showed more dynamics, however, I feel the Wilson's were set louder, even though they were further from your miking. There seemed to be a smoother coherence in the midrange, that I might have preferred on the Focal's. Still, not a justified comment, due to the restrictions. Excellent demo track, and I am very familiar with it. You might recall how I feel about multiple speakers in the same room , with those that are playing. At your volume levels, I am sure, you are hearing some artifacts of sound from all of the drivers, from all of the other speakers, just sitting there, while the pair connected, are playing. I cannot hear this through your video, nor, am I noticing much bass. Listening to this track on my rig, I cannot say I am impressed with either set via your video, but this comparison, is not a fair one. KZbin, using headphones, through my laptop, compared to cd playback, with my system. As you might remember as well, I have been running " passive " for some years now ( Luminous ), and your comment about, " too much information ", is interesting. This is what I have found to be preferred my me, as, I want to hear it all, and, I feel I do. Preamps, and tubes, just don't do it for me, and I listen through horns ( some will call me crazy, but my ears determine what I like ). I hope you do not take me too negative, nor a pot stirrer. Enjoy, and be safe. Always, MrD. (Dan).

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you for your feedback.

[@carlosoliveira-rc2xt]

What gear is being used to upload, as the sound quality is quite good.

[@JezJerzy22]

@Jay's Audio Lab - I see you have nice ML power Amp. (532h?). Could you describe how it sound? I'm going to match them with quite power hungry speakers - JBL array 1400 :)

[@vdm54]

The combination of midrange and treble was very disappointing. It sounds unnatural, not musical, and tiresome (focal scala utopia evo). The Wilson Audio DAW remains one of the benchmarks. For me.

[@pacificateur3630]

The Audiogon thread discussion has been closed. I guess the moderators found out something fishy.

[@jaysaudiolab]

The thread has been closed due to me exposing the truth about me being scammed by a dealer. Maybe I will expose what happened to me on a video but I will do my homework. Stay tuned.

[@VinnieMoore1986]

Wilson Audio with Headphone 👋👋👋👋👋👌👌👌👌👌

[@labalo5]

You go through a lot of gear? You must have flexible dealer. Good stuff

[@michaela.5363]

Must be a bummer for your Wilson visitor

[@datka3]

What recording hardware are you using could you share ? Also are you in Chicago area ?

[@jaysaudiolab]

Using my Galaxy note 10. I am not in Chicago

[@Royalorgans]

Hey Jay, how are you? I'm interested in buying the Wilson sasha DAw's I would like to send you an email with some music and would like you to recored it and post it to youtube so that I can here the details of what the Sashas sound like playing my music.

[@jaysaudiolab]

[e-mail]

[@peterkuntz6076]

Jay, would the Wilson Alexx be worthwhile for you to try?

[@jaysaudiolab]

Of course but who is going to buy from me when I am done.....lol

[@cesargutierrez4999]

So what’s the amp in the box?

[@KT88gs]

First of all great track,i cried with the Wilson and not with the Focal,the Focals are a bit dull in comparison with the Wilson,but i admit im a Wilson fan.I owned years ago a pair of JM Lab Micro Utopias,very difficult speaker to place,i sold them in the end,it was not my thing.

[@sickkids666]

Preferred the DAWs but both are good!

[@culle6522]

Blablabla😡

[@philipzappala4850]

Yeah the Wilson wins it for me. Natural revealing compared to the focal. I understand the sound level difference but the sound seemed to be “flat” compared to Wilson. Whilst the focal highs were detailed and possibly more dynamic, I think long term it would be too hard for my ear; and this is with a tube pre.

[@truth-uncensored2426]

For me overall the highs in the Focals were actually very polished but without compromising in definition, the highs and mid highs on the Sasha at times were on the verge of being piercing for me.

[@magicmulder]

@@truth-uncensored2426 Same. Especially on Part 2 of the series. The Wilson sounds like it will be fatiguing in a longer session. I've heard the Scala in person for hours and could not get enough. Curious to audition the Wilson though, there's some things it does better.

[@clemmtec9506]

This is sound.

[@clemmtec9506]

Wilson

[@borisjelenc1217]

Wilson has great treble which I can’t say for focales. Focal have better coordination between the bass and midrange. There is no winner here in my decision.

[@sadsazzad12]

IN THIS ROOM WITH THOSE ELECTRONICS I WILL CHOOSE WILSON DAW OVER FOCAL. 👍😎

[@johnadams9044]

Tube amps are for masochists during the hot summer months.

[@tilmannplocher4312]

Almost 20 minutes of talking 😅...