Dynaudio Focus 110As or Focal CMS65s? Which sound better?

[katrina]

Has anyone auditioned the Focal CMS65s and the Dynaudio Focus 110As?

I can't find any dealers in NYC or Long Island who carries both; it's especially
impossible to hear a demo of the 110As anywhere.

Googling [dynaudio focus 110a vs focal cms65 ] was no help either.

And because I may want to buy two pairs of these not too inexpensive speakers, a side-by-side comparison-if not with my ears, then at least by
those of a few others-is very important. Please advise.

[jbjoubaud]

I've owned the BM5a for about 4 years and when I decided to ugrade monitors, I went and listened to a pair of focus 110a... just because a guy was selling them close to my place and I was curious.
They sounded very much like the bm5a...

One of the studio I've been working for a couple of years has the cms65...

Both my studio and the other one I work for are very well treated but have different accoustics, obviously... Still the lowmid/mids are much more detailed on the 65s, they have the low-end as well and are not as boomy as dyns

Once you know them, they both translate well but all in all the focal are much easier to work with.

I don't think those two really complement each other... I personally would go for the focals + a pair of something else.

[Razik]

I bought my CMS 65’s without hearing them first; basing my decision purely on hearsay and forum suggestions, I really did gamble but I am a happy camper now. My mixes translate perfectly and that is very important to me.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by jbjoubaud

I've owned the BM5a for about 4 years and when I decided to ugrade monitors, I went and listened to a pair of focus 110a... just because a guy was selling them close to my place and I was curious. They sounded very much like the bm5a... One of the studio I've been working for a couple of years has the cms65...

Both my studio and the other one I work for are very well treated but have different accoustics, obviously... Still the lowmid/mids are much more detailed on the 65s, they have the low-end as well and are not as boomy as dyns... I don't think those two really complement each other... I personally would go for the focals + a pair of something else.

Very good info. Thanks so much! BUT: 1.) I do no live or pre-recorded production mixing. I'm just a computer audiophile who wants to desk mount or wall mount one or two of these pairs first in my 12' x 11' x 7' bedroom and later on in my 23' x 16' x 8' living room. So I'm looking for powered speakers that make my CDs and FLAC file downloads sound great-not for zeroing in on mixing errors and the like.

Forget about floor stands for the rear-ported 110As; no space in my bedroom. And whether on a desk or a wall, no way will there be 0.5 meters distance from its rear and sides to the walls, like the manual wants (pp. 6 & 7, Dynaudio Focus series manual http://www.dynaudio.com/manuals/DYN_Focus_manual.pdf ). I'd be lucky to get 17cm. That would cause "chuffing" (as Roger Quested calls it), the Achilles' heel of less than well designed ported speakers?

More placement freedom for the 110As means using the included port plug-at the price of boundary induced bass response loss, correct? (see link to manual below). But could I get the bass back without penalty by using, say, a Bag End subwoofer S12E-I and companion INFRA-MXB crossover/bass extender
(see http://www.bagend.com/bagend/downloads/s12e-i.pdf http://www.bagend.com/bagend/downloads/inframxb.pdf
and http://ralaudio.com/pdf/bagend/infra%20processor_dsp_elf%20speaker%20sens.qxd.pdf ) ? I’d probably drive it with John Curl's Parasound Halo A23 power amp.

But what about imaging vs. sweet spot? The manual for the front-ported CMS65 says not to stray more than 3 meters away from them. Okay, not so bad. But instead of lounging in my easy chair, what if I want to jump up and dance? Now my ears will be a good 3x above axis. How badly will this affect the overall sound from the CMS65s?

Speaking of Quested, have you any experience with the S7R or older S7? Front-ported as well and slightly larger than the CMS65, the Quested manual says the S7 (S7R) has a 4 meter sweet spot. So if that's vertically as well as horizontally greater, would the S7R be better for me than the CMS65s when I’m standing up?

Needless to say, frequency response is crucial. But at least if the S7R or the CMS65 were lacking in the bass, couldn’t I make them sound pretty close to good (floor standing?) hi-fi speakers by using the same Bag End sub system above?

The CMS65, Quested S7R-or another powered model(s) you might recommend instead for me? Price range: Up to ~ $1600.00 each. Thanks again!

ps: I also could use some advice for deciding on the CMS50s for another less critical app. If you can spare the time, please check out my post athttp://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/641129-get-focal-cms-65-dont-waste-your-time-3.html#post7048088 Thanks!