Ultimate AV’s Fred Manteghian recently reviewed the Focal Profile 918 speaker system. The Profile 918 isn’t cheap. At $3995 per pair, this speaker is meant for serious listeners only. Or maybe just those with left-over .com boom money to spend. The surrounds are the Profile 908 speakers ($2295 per pair), while the center channel speaker costs a princely $1695. The Profile SW908 subwoofer actually has an LCD display, and therefore must be expensive! It costs $3000, with a rated lower limit of 27Hz.

Enough about the price, how do they sound? Ask Fred! He says that “Dolby Digital soundtracks were always quite enjoyable with the Focals, drawing me into a movie at once.” and “With music, vocals always had a solid and proper foundation, and I never found them wanting. The Focal Profiles are quite adept at getting the human voice correct.” and “Their clarity is startling and they are very musical.” The interesting thing is that Fred recommends these speakers, but suggests getting a different subwoofer, suggesting that the $3000 isn’t worth it.

Focal Profile 918 Speaker System