October 2017 – Focal presents Kanta N°2, this year’s Hi-Fi sensation.
Kanta is the latest loudspeaker to join Focal’s Classic Home Audio collection. Everything in this new loudspeaker is dedicated to performance: a new material, and a design which serves efficiency.
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With Kanta N°2, Focal is once again making headlines with the introduction of a truly unique product featuring yet more innovations for even better sounding acoustics. Kanta is completely dedicated to performance. It represents acoustic efficiency in every detail.
Kanta is destined for music lovers who, above all, are searching for a loudspeaker with exceptional and crystal clear sound in a compact design. Size was an essential criterion which guided the conception of Kanta: compactness was a key aspect which Focal’s engineers had to constantly bear in mind during their research. Every detail of the design is related to performance. True music lovers who are connected and technophiles will be thrilled to find that Kanta is a loudspeaker which reflects their personality and which will blend in perfectly with their interior.
MUSIC’S ENEMY: DISTORTION
Kanta represents the continuation of the innovations launched with Utopia Evo and Sopra. Focal’s R&D engineers are always set on reducing distortion as this is the sworn enemy of music’s emotion.
The treble is reproduced by this loudspeaker’s new pure Beryllium tweeter. The IAL 3 tweeter combines the principles of the IAL (Infinite Acoustic Loading) and the IHL (Infinite Horn Loading) tweeters, which both improve the absorption of sound waves to reduce the resonance frequency of the tweeter.
THE UNIQUE COMBINATION OF BERYLLIUM AND FLAX
For the first time, Focal has developed a loudspeaker combining a Flax sandwich cone speaker driver and a Beryllium tweeter! Flax meets the requirements for obtaining low mass, high rigidity and excellent damping, ensuring crystal clear and precise sound. Made in France and patented, the Flax cone has already proved its worth in several of Focal’s speaker drivers in the Home Audio and Car Audio product universes. This unique combination of Flax and Beryllium gives music incredible warmth and musicality. With Kanta, Flax will reveal its full capabilities to an even greater extent! The midrange speaker driver is equipped with a technology which has become a must for Focal: TMD suspension (Tuned Mass Damping). All Kanta’s speaker drivers are also equipped with NIC motors (Neutral Inductance Circuit), which stabilise the magnetic field to provide perfect definition and better-controlled bass.
A KEY POINT FOR KANTA: ITS CABINET
At first sight, you’ll immediately notice how Kanta breaks with design codes. It has a very distinctive design, with every detail serving the acoustics, as is always the case with Focal. Everything has been done to offer smooth and warm sound: the density and rigidity of the materials used for the front panel and housing, the smooth edges and the dual port.
RESEARCH INTO THE BEST MATERIALS TO OPTIMISE PERFORMANCE
When it comes to innovation, constraints call for technology… The goal was to give the bass section a reduced volume to meet the criteria for a compact design. Focal’s engineers first focused on the loudspeaker’s front panel. This led them to choose a new material which is favourable to the acoustic conditions. Thus, the front panel is made out of a moulded mono- bloc high-density polymer (HDP): a material which is capable of higher performance compared to the MDF cabinets which were used until now. It is 70% denser than MDF, 15% more rigid, and damping is increased by 25%. What’s more, a mono-bloc front panel was also designed to avoid any diffraction of the sound.
EXCELLENCE LIES IN THE DETAILS
The engineers once again opted for “Focus Time”: a technology which has now become very dear to Focal, and which allows the speaker drivers to be aligned so that they’re situated at the same distance from the listener’s ears. The rear housing of the cabinet has been made out of a unique piece of moulded wood to provide even greater rigidity. Kanta also features Power Flow technology, with two ports on the front panel and at the rear which limit any dynamic compression of the bass. The Zamac base doesn’t go unnoticed either, with lots of character and a shape which emphasises the loudspeaker’s style. Thanks to the spikes and counter spikes, the stand provides greater overall stability and, most of all, a smaller footprint. The last finishing touches include a very elegant glass plate on the top of the loudspeaker, and the magnetic, beret-type grilles. Once removed, they reveal the speaker drivers’ flax cone, the ultimate design feature which gives Kanta its unique style!
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Kanta N°2 is a three-way floor standing loudspeaker totally dedicated to performance. Kanta N°2 is equipped with a new generation IAL tweeter featuring a Beryllium inverted dome and Flax sandwich cone speaker drivers. This is an unprece- dented combination of technologies to guarantee precise, detailed and warm sound. Focal’s latest acoustic innovations have been integrated into these floorstanders encompassing a modern and distinctive design. These loudspeakers are perfect for rooms measuring up to 320ft2 (30m2) and they’re also ideal for larger rooms of up to 750ft2 (60m2).
OBVIOUSLY MADE IN FRANCE
Kanta meets the criteria for Focal’s core values in every aspect. The new loudspeaker is made in France. The flax cone sandwich and the speaker drivers are manufactured in Focal’s workshop in Saint-Etienne. And they aren’t the only components made in France. Kanta is packed with technology and it has a strong identity. It’s perfectly in line with Focal’s Classic Home Audio collection, along with Utopia and Sopra on the one hand, and Electra, Aria and Chorus on the other.
A GREAT SELECTION OF FINISHES
The finishes for Kanta N°2 allow for numerous combinations to ensure that they perfectly integrate your interior, and that they meet the demands for all different tastes.
The housing is available in a lacquered black High Gloss finish or with a Walnut veneer. The front panel is available in four different colours for each of the two finishes. With the black High Gloss housing: 4 High Gloss finishes for the front panel: Carrara White, Gauloise Blue, Solar Yellow, Black Lacquer. With the wood veneer housing: 4 matt finishes for the front panel: Ivory, Warm Taupe, Gauloise Blue, Dark Grey.
About Focal
For more than 35 years, Focal has been recognised as a leader on the global stage for its high fidelity products. This French company based in Saint-Étienne (Loire department) manufactures speaker drivers, home audio and multimedia loudspeakers, car audio systems, monitoring loudspeakers and audiophile headphones. Some of our loudspeakers and technologies have become world-renowned references in the Hi-Fi industry.
All Focal products are designed and developed in France: they benefit from 35 years of innovation in exclusive and patented acoustic technologies. We have chosen to continue manufacturing products ‘Made in France’, where the quality and high standards of French workmanship place the brand above its competitors. A market leader in France, Focal exports more than 80% of its production, mainly to Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.
In 2011, Focal merged with Naim Audio Limited, the leader of high-end electronics in the U.K. Vervent Audio Group, the resulting holding company, has a turnover of over €85 millions.
