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REPRintEd FROM Hi-Fi nEWS
HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
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when I wound up the volume
to an unsociable level playing
the electronica soundscapes of
Bassnectar’s Vava Voom [Amorphous
Music AM0012].
With the ‘chillstep’ track
‘Butterfl y’ featuring Mimi Page, the
Focus 380 once again served up
satisfyingly deep and articulate bass,
the harsh electronic edge and spitty
high frequencies of the recording
kept moderately in check thanks
to the cleanliness of the speaker’s
overall sound character.
Testing the speaker’s mettle
with high-resolution audiophile
recordings showed that while it’s
not a seductive, fl attering transducer
it does score highly in its ability to
portray the variety of character and
expression in a musical performance.
I was listening to Channel Classics’
delightful recording of Vivaldi’s
Concerto in C performed by Rachel
Podger with the Holland Baroque
Society, taken from its La Cetra
SACD [CCS SA 33412]. The image
of the musicians, and the space
they occupied, was noticeably open
and lucid, the build, attack and
subsequent decay of notes all dealt
with in a most lifelike way.
THRILLS WITH HARRY JAMES
Similarly the dynamic contrasts
in Harry James And His Big Band’s
Comin’ From A Good Place
[Sheffi eld
Lab CD6] were explosive, the
Focus 380 serving up a thrilling,
seat-of-the pants rendition of this
direct-to-disc audiophile LP. With
‘Tuxedo Junction’ the speaker proved
perfectly at ease when blasting
out the muted trumpet at a lifelike
sound pressure level, once again its
excellent imaging capability resulting
in clear layering of the band’s
instrumentation in the recording
venue. Only a very slight tubbiness
in the lower registers belied the
speaker’s modest size and price.
LEFT:
A large fl ared port vents at the
rear of the fl oorstanding enclosure.
There’s just one set of high quality
gold-plated multi-way input terminals
provided for single wiring [see text]
Dynaudio claims 88dB sensitivity for the Focus 380, a
specifi cation which accords well with our measured pink noise
fi gure of 87.8dB. Although this is on the low side for a speaker
of these dimensions it still requires a nominal 4ohm impedance
to achieve it, a fi gure entirely in accordance with our measured
minimum modulus of 3.5ohm. Impedance phase angles are
suffi ciently high to result in a minimum EPDR (equivalent peak
dissipation resistance) of 1.6ohm at 75Hz, so the Focus 380 is a
moderately diffi cult load to drive without being a pig. Given the
large cabinet size, the low-ish sensitivity and low impedance, a
bass extension of 44Hz (–6dB re. 200Hz, diffraction-corrected
near-fi eld measurement) may seem a disappointment but
the roll-off is notably slow for a refl ex design suggesting that
transient performance will be clean and room integration
relatively easy. With careful placement relative to room
boundaries it should be possible to extend the Focus 380’s
effective bass response to well below this ‘anechoic’ fi gure.
On-axis response errors of ±3.4dB and ±3.2dB respectively,
200Hz-20kHz, are a good result but the on-axis response trend
is not entirely fl at, with a distinct lowering of output through
the presence band [see Graph 1, below]. This may tend to step
back the stereo image and somewhat soften the sound quality.
Pair matching error over the same frequency range is good
at ±0.9dB. The cumulative spectral decay waterfall [Graph 2,
below], is characterised by fast initial energy decay across the
band and mostly good control of resonances although there
are a few low-level ridges visible from 1kHz up to the low treble
frequencies.
KH
DYNAUDIO FOCUS 380
ABOVE: Internal bracing keeps cabinet resonances
damped though some driver modes are visible >1kHz
ABOVE: The 380’s forward response shows a loss in
presence band output with a brighter extreme treble
It might not look particularly
sexy, nevertheless the Focus 380
offers fi ne sound quality and can
shift a lot of air if your room can
accommodate its considerable
bass output. It’s explicit and
refi ned-sounding in equal
measure, with excellent dynamic
capabilities and vivid imaging
when given space to breathe. It
certainly represents good value,
since to better it you’ll need to
spend considerably more.
Sound Quality: 76%
0 - - - - - - - - 100
Sensitivity
(SPL/1m/2.83Vrms – Mean/IEC/Music)
89.0dB/87.8dB/87.4dB
Impedance modulus min/max
(20Hz–20kHz)
3.5ohm @ 103Hz
19.5ohm @ 50Hz
Impedance phase min/max
(20Hz–20kHz)
–56
o
@ 59Hz
29
o
@ 41Hz
Pair matching
(200Hz–20kHz)
±0.9dB
LF/HF extension
(–6dB ref 200Hz/10kHz)
44Hz / 30.4kHz/28.2kHz
THD 100Hz/1kHz/10kHz
(for 90dB SPL/1m)
0.6% / 0.3% / 0.1%
Dimensions
(HWD)
1225x246x385mm
LAB
REPORT
