Focus Audio Master 3 Loudspeaker

Can a handsome Canadian contender woo an audiophile’s heart?

A friend recently complained that I get so excited about every new component to come along that it’s almost as if I’ve never heard a decent stereo before. My first thought was to suggest that this person complain instead to the TAS editors for sending me so much cool stuff to review. But then I decided I could do one better—invite my friend over for a listen to the Focus Audio Master 3 loudspeaker and see if he could come up with a reason why I shouldn’t be excited. It didn’t take but a few minutes for my surprised visitor to admit that the Master 3 was, indeed, one of the most well-balanced and musically expressive loudspeakers he’d ever heard. With no apologies for my enthusiasm, I’d have to agree.

In addition, the Focus Master 3 is simply a gorgeous speaker, with the kind of impeccable build-quality that will withstand the scrutiny of even the pickiest among us. (As well it should, with a window sticker of $20,870 per pair.) The piano-black finish couldn’t be any sexier than a man in uniform, and I love the midheight, easy-access silver/rhodium biwire binding posts ’round back. When it comes to eye-candy, these speakers are seriously hot.

Standing five feet tall and weighing in at 175 pounds each, these beauties can’t be spirited into the house unnoticed, but once installed, the slim profile and small footprint of the Master 3s make them less imposing than you might think. While my 14-foot by 20-foot main listening room seemed a perfect fit for this speaker, a slightly smaller space might work just as well. But don’t hold me to that, as I’ve not tried it. I’m just guessing based on a bottom end that never showed the slightest hint of bloat or flab, and probably wouldn’t overwhelm given a few less feet of width or length to work with.

Before doing any serious listening to the Master 3, I’d recommend allowing plenty of Sue Kraft break-in time and installing the spikes. Fresh out of the box and without being anchored to the floor, the imaging of this speaker leaves a lot to be desired. A week or so of 24/7 playing time helped, but it wasn’t until I enlisted the aid of a friend to help me get the spikes in place that the imaging finally came around. The Master 3 is voiced with the spikes installed, so if you hear a pair that doesn’t sound quite right, before passing judgment make sure it is properly anchored. The improvement is quite dramatic.

Once broken in, nailed down, juiced up, and bi-wired with the Vitus Audio Andromeda speaker cables, I heard what has to be among the most beautifully lush and fleshed-out, lifesized and inviting midranges in all of high-end audio. Although I’d highly recommend the bi-wiring part, you might need to find a more affordable cable than the Andromeda at $5865 per 2.5m pair. I doubt many in this hobby have pockets that deep—and if you do, and are currently single, give me a call. All I can say is that this stuff is, by far, the most seductive wire I’ve ever heard. I call it the no-going-back cable that unfortunately, has to go back as I can’t afford it. It will be downright painful to part with. But thanks anyway to Kam at Focus Audio for allowing me to give it a try.

Getting back to the Master 3, image lines weren’t necessarily soft, but perhaps just a bit diffuse, leaning this speaker towards the warmer, more forgiving side versus the similarly priced B&W 800D. In a side-by-side comparison, the superior accuracy of the 800D was most evident in the upper frequencies. When I listened to a 20-bit remaster of Count Basie’s “Freckle Face,” from Basie Big Band [Pablo], percussive brush strokes were a bit slurred and hazy through the Master 3. The 800D’s improved clarity, focus, and extension on top were able to more accurately (and remarkably) capture and articulate the essence of a brush having individual wires or strands. And while the trumpet and trombones may have been smoother via the Master 3, next to the 800D they lacked a bit of the leading edge luster that makes a horn sound like a horn.

In defense of the Master 3 (which I really like), images were by no means homogenized or run together. I lived with this speaker for nearly two months and enjoyed every minute. But I knew before I even did the comparison that the pinpoint accuracy of the 800D would be tough to beat—and I was right. On the very complex Sheffield Labs CD The Usual Suspects, images were impressively life-sized and sufficiently wellplaced with the Master 3. But again, next to the 800D, the superior specificity of images had each note and instrument literally “popping” from the soundstage.

And I don’t mean “popping” as in being forward. I mean “popping” as in being so precise and distinct as to immediately catch the ear. The Master 3 does have a delightfully spacious, roomenveloping presentation that can actually be quite intoxicating at times. But the tradeoffhere is looser imaging, and a speaker that doesn’t exhibit the same exemplary control as the B&W 800D.