Focal Theva 5.1.2 speaker package

The new Focal Theva speaker range replaces the outgoing Chora line-up as the entry point into the French brand’s home cinema line-up. It sits below the midrange Vestia speakers but above the Dôme Flax and Sib Evo sub-sat systems, and is aimed at anyone looking to build a higher-end multi-channel setup without a) compromising on performance, or b) breaking the bank.

The Theva line-up doesn’t just adhere to Focal’s imaginative approach to naming products, but also retains much of what made the previous Chora speakers so good. The new six-model line-up shares identical tweeters and drivers, and is intended to encompass the needs of hi-fi and home cinema enthusiasts, with specific emphasis on anyone looking to build a spatial audio system.

As with the earlier Chora range, the Theva series is headlined by the No.3-D floorstander that incorporates an integrated, up-firing Dolby Atmos driver in the top of the cabinet. There are also the No.3 and No.2 floorstanders, along with the No.1 bookshelf, a dedicated centre speaker called the Center, and the Surround model intended for wall mounting. There’s no new subwoofer, but Focal carries over the Sub 600P.

Focal has brought its usual sonic savoir-faire to bear on the Theva range, with the brand’s 1-inch aluminium/magnesium inverted-dome tweeters and 6.5-inch Slatefiber midrange drivers, plus 6.5-inch Slatefiber woofers in the floorstanders. Slatefiber is a proprietary material, and uses a composite cone of thermoplastic polymers and non-woven carbon fibres for optimal damping, rigidity and lightness.

The Theva range doesn’t just fill the gap left by the discontinued Chora series, it also provides a minor overhaul of its predecessor. The aesthetics have been tweaked, and while the Chora were elegant and well-made, the Theva have slightly slimmer cabinets, new metallic, screen-printed rings around the drivers, and improved front panels for better structural integrity.

The bass-reflex ports have been moved to the rear, so as not to interfere with the cleaner upgraded front panels, which are further enhanced by magnetic black fabric grilles that now cover all the driver units. The tweeter installation has also been tweaked, with a new housing based on Focal’s upper-tier Aria speakers, resulting in better high-frequency dispersion across the range.

As before there’s a choice of gloss black, dark wood, or light wood finishes, but now the screw-on plinth stands of the floorstanders are colour-coded to match. While all these changes are minor, Focal believes they result in a more refined speaker both in terms of how it looks and how it sounds. So let’s run through the numbers and see if the new Theva series is a worthy successor.

Sound quality

Although Focal Theva speakers are aimed at home cinemas, they are equally accomplished with hi-fi - especially the growing library of music mixed in Dolby Atmos. Cue my trusty Blu-ray of Hans Zimmer Live in Prague with its awesome Atmos soundtrack. This immediately reveals a system that is perfectly balanced, with a mellow treble, a precise midrange, and powerful bass.

The maestro and his band certainly deliver the goods with a tight performance that the Thevas present with a pleasing sense of scale. The building momentum and driving percussion of Man of Steel is rendered with depth, while the strings of Inception’s main theme are clear and smooth. The system lacks a smidge of forensic detail, but its music bona fides are intact.

This musicality holds up well regardless of what I choose to listen to, and I am surprised to discover I already own a remarkably large number of Blu-ray releases of albums remixed in Atmos - and the format is also supported by a number of music streamers these days. It certainly brings an added dimension to your favourite recordings, giving them a fuller soundstage.

Not only are these mixes delivered with a pleasing sense of scale, but the instruments are realistically rendered by the Thevas, resulting in guitars, bass and drums that are all tight and nicely balanced. Vocals are also handled well by the Center, allowing them to blend with the other instruments, while cutting through with a clean treble that’s free of sibilance.

Dolby Atmos mixes use the surrounds and heights to steer acoustic objects (vocals, instruments or sound effects) around in three-dimensional space, and here the use of identical tweeters and drivers throughout the Theva range pays dividends. The soundstage is cohesive, these audio objects moving smoothly from speaker to speaker without noticeable changes in timbre.

The Thevas don’t just sound great with music, they also deliver the goods with movies. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi boasts superb immersion and blunt-force-trauma levels of bass, all of which this speaker and sub combo handle with skill. Heavy machine-guns are underscored by low frequency effect (LFE) that gives them added impact, and the bullets strafe the room with ferocious intensity.

Once mortar shells start raining down in a remorseless bombardment, things step up a level. The Atmos mix makes great use of the heights, allowing the shells to arc overhead before exploding among the defenders. Here the subwoofer plays its part, giving the explosions added infrasonic depth with dynamic and engaging bass that’s perfectly integrated with the two floorstanders.

The ability of the Thevas to articulate a complex sound design is impressive, with an excellent sense of control and definition. The No.1 works well as a surround option (although the on-wall Surround would be a better choice for a dedicated installation), and the Center proves highly adept, ensuring dialogue is clear no matter how chaotic or cacophonous things get.

Living with

The Focal Theva 5.1.2 speaker package is built around the No.3-D floorstander (£1799 per pair), and uses a three-way design comprising 1-inch tweeter, 6.5-inch midrange driver and two 6.5-inch woofers with rigid cones for generous low-frequency extension. There’s also a bass port at the rear, resulting in a claimed frequency response that’s rated down to a very respectable 48Hz.

The Atmos speaker built into the top uses a 5-inch Slatefiber full-range driver and 1-inch aluminium/magnesium tweeter. It features a waveguide housed in a directional baffle designed to fire sounds upwards, bouncing them off the ceiling and down to the listener – creating the illusion of overhead channels. This speaker also sits behind a magnetic fabric grille that matches the one on the front.

The No.3-D comes with a tilted plinth that’s designed to improve the speaker's time alignment, while at the back are two sets of high-quality binding posts – one feeding the front facing drivers, and the other handling the Atmos speaker. However, if you’re not interested in overhead channels, there’s the otherwise-identical No.3 floorstander or the slightly smaller No.2 floorstander to choose from.

The Theva No.1 (£659 per pair) is a two-way bookshelf speaker featuring the same 1-inch tweeter and 6.5-inch mid/bass driver as all the other speakers in the range. It’s rear-ported, and has a claimed frequency response of 58Hz to 28kHz. Focal includes blisters to attach to the bottom for placing on a shelf, but there are also screw holes for an optional tilted stand for better time alignment.

Finally, the dedicated Theva Center (£349) is a closed two-way speaker that uses the 1-inch tweeter and a pair of 6.5-inch mid/bass drivers. It has a claimed frequency response of 59Hz to 28kHz, and is designed to fit seamlessly into a multichannel home cinema setup. Focal includes blisters and a rubber base for tilting the Center, but like the No.1 there’s also an optional screw-on stand. 

The overall build quality is excellent and certainly reflects the asking price, while the finishes are lovely. There’s a sophistication to the minimalist aesthetic, and when the grilles are attached only the Focal logo is visible. I also like the design of the binding posts - they’re larger than normal and more comfortable to hold, which makes tightening and loosening them less of a literal pain.

The Sub 600P retails for £799, and is a sealed unit with a 12-inch Polyflex woofer driven by a 300W RMS (peaking at 600W) Class D amplifier. The claimed frequency response is 28Hz to 270Hz (+/-3dB). Its MDF cabinet retains an elegant simplicity, but there’s only one choice of colour: a matt black cabinet, gloss black front panel, and a circular black fabric grille.

The 5.1.2-channel speaker package under review costs £3499 and is composed of two No.3-Ds, a Center, a pair of No.1s for surrounds, and the Sub 600P subwoofer for the lower frequencies.

Conclusion 

Focal Theva speakers sit at the lower end of the French brand’s range, but they retain the style, superior build quality and outstanding performance that made the outgoing Chora series so impressive. The aesthetic and acoustic improvements are all worthwhile, resulting in a spatial audio speaker package capable of a clean delivery and exceptional tonal balance that produces a seamless blend of overhead channels and enveloping soundstage – allowing effects to glide effortlessly around the room. The result is an accomplished, immersive speaker and subwoofer combination that will elevate any multichannel amplifier with which it is partnered.

Listening notes

The Dark Side of the Moon (Blu-ray) 

Pink Floyd’s classic early-70s masterpiece is perfect for spatial audio, and this new Dolby Atmos mix doesn’t disappoint. The multilayered instruments are beautifully reproduced by the Thevas, while the audio effects are steered precisely around the room, completely immersing you in carefully structured and seamless sonic landscapes.

Suede (Blu-ray) 

The eponymous debut album by the blouse-wearing dandies of Brit-pop really benefits from this Dolby Atmos remix, which beefs up the previously thin production. The result is an immersive soundstage that fills the room with Brett Anderson’s plaintive vocals and Bernard Butler’s soaring guitars, and it's all beautifully articulated by the Thevas’ spatial audio system.

13 Hours (4K Disc) 

This surprisingly restrained effort from master of mayhem Michael Bay tells the true story of the secret soldiers of Benghazi. The Dolby Atmos track is a brutally visceral mix that really hits home during the climactic firefight, and thanks to this Theva speaker system there’s enough immersion and bass to give even the most battled-hardened veteran a case of PTSD.

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The Focal Theva series offers only incremental improvements over the outgoing Chora range, but all the changes make sense in terms of aesthetics and performance. As a result, this new line-up is a worthy successor, and if you want to put together an affordable and proficient spatial audio system, you can rest assured Focal isn’t just going by the numbers with the Theva.