Page 1
electra beryllium 1000 series
User manual
Français page 10
couverture 1 5/10/05, 14:27:19
Page 2
User precautions
Thank you for choosing the
Electra Be loudspeakers. We are
pleased to share with you our
philosophy: “the Spirit of Sound”.
These high performance speakers
feature the latest technical
developments from Focal in terms
of speaker design, whether it is
for high fidelity or home theater
systems. In order to (make the
most of these speakers) enjoy the
maximum of their performance,
we advise you to read this user’s
manual and to keep it carefully so
that you can consult it later.
Special precautions regarding the
Beryllium dome tweeter
In its solid form, Beryllium is harmless.
However, due to its nature, certain
special precautions should be
observed to avoid exposure to
unnecessary risk.
• Under no circumstances should the
Beryllium dome be subjected to any
form of abrasive action. To ensure
no accidental damage to the tweeter
dome it is advised to carefully replace
the magnetic protection grille.
• In the unlikely case of damage to
the dome, of any form, the supplied
piece of adhesive tape should be
immediately used to seal the whole
front surface of the tweeter. The
protective cover should then be
replaced and also taped securely in
place. You should then inform the
dealer from whom you purchased
the product so that the tweeter can
be removed by a professional and
returned to the product distributor for
replacement.
• If the dome is broken in any
way giving rise to loose particles
of Beryllium, these should be
carefully collected with the use of an
adhesive tape and sealed in a zip-top
bag to be returned with the tweeter.
For further information, please
contact Focal-JMlab directly:
beryllium@focal-fr.com
Magnetic disturbance
The Electra Be line speakers generate
a magnetic leakage that may interfere
with other sensitive household
appliances. It is strongly advised not to
place the speakers closer than 50cm
to your TV screen. Frame geometry
as well as colours can be severely
distorted by a magnetic field if the
loudspeaker is placed too close to the
cathode ray tube.
Generally, every sensitive element
(audio tapes, video tapes, magnetic
data storages, projector and CRTS
overhead-projector) should not be
placed too close to non-shielded
loudspeakers.
User precautions
All the products in the Electra Be
range are lacquered in order to
offer a resistant cabinet surface
and to make the upkeep easy.
We recommend the use of a dry cloth
to dust your pair of loudspeakers. If
the loudspeaker is stained, then use a
damp cloth.
Never use any solvents, detergents,
alcohol or corrosive products,
scrappers or scouring powder to clean
the surface of the loudspeaker. Avoid
placing the loudspeakers near a heat
source.
02
English
notice electra 1000 be gb 1 5/10/05, 14:58:52
Page 3
Electra be user manual
The Focal-JMlab guarantee
only applies if the enclosed
guarantee card is returned to
us within 10 days of purchase.
Running-in period
The drivers used in the loudspeaker
are complex mechanical devices
and require an run-in period before
they deliver their best performance.
They must get adapted to the temperature and humidity conditions of
their environment. This breaking-in
period depends on the encountered
conditions and can last several weeks.
In order to shorten this period, we
advise you to let your loudspeakers
operate for about twenty hours at
medium level, playing standard musical programmes, but with a large
amount of bass.
Once the components of the loudspeakers are completely stabilized, it is
possible to enjoy the real performance
of your loudspeakers.
Specifications
• Pure Beryllium inverted dome
IAL (Infinite Acoustic Loading).
• "W" cone (midrange and woofer).
• Advanced "Gamma" structure.
• OPC (Optimum Phase Crossover).
• Low distorsion and noise laminar
port.
•Highly efficient acoustic damping.
•High reliable input sockets.
•Decoupling spikes supplied.
Focal-JMlab® - BP 374 - 108, rue de l'Avenir - 42353 La Talaudière cedex - France - www.focal-fr.com
Due to constant technological advances, Focal reserves its right to modify specifications without notice. Images may not conform exactly to specific product.
notice electra 1000 be gb 2 5/10/05, 14:58:52
Tel. (+33) 04 77 43 57 00 - Fax (+33) 04 77 43 57 04
03
English
Page 4
A
C
B
04
English
notice electra 1000 be gb 3 5/10/05, 14:58:52
ED
Page 5
installation
Positioning
The loudspeakers have been engineered to deliver the most faithful
sound reproduction, whether they are
used for music or home cinema. In
order to enhance their performance,
to guarantee a high quality of
listening, sound image and tone
balance, it is important to note the
following basic rules.
The listening area must be located
at the summit of an equilateral
triangle whose two other points
of insertion are determined by the
position of each speaker. Nevertheless
it is possible to modify these distances
to find an ideal compromise according
to the particular disposition of the
room (fig. A).
Each loudspeaker must be placed
at the same height and on the
same floor plan. The tweeter should
be at the same height as the listener’s
ear, when the listener is in their usual
listening area (fig. B).
Avoid placing the loudspeakers
too close to the room’s corners or
walls. This will induce some unwanted
room resonance and artificially
increase bass response. On the
contrary, if the bass level proves to be
insufficient, it is possible to move the
speakers closer to the walls to adjust
the bass level (fig. C).
Optimization
To please the perfectionists, we shall
give an optimum positioning formula :
if A is the distance from the boomer
centre to the closest wall (floor or
wall), B the intermediate distance and
C the longest distance (A<B<C), the
relation B
2
=AC determines the ideal
position of the speakers (fig. D).
• Example 1:
The boomer centre is 60cm (24”) from
the floor (B=60cm) (mini speaker on
a foot), standing 50cm (20”) from
the back wall (A=50cm), the
side wall will be ideally 72cm (28”)
2
(C=B
⁄ A=72cm).
• Example 2:
the boomer centre is 30cm (12”) from
the floor (column speaker) (A=30cm),
1m (39”) from the back wall (C=1m),
the clearance with respect to the side
walls will be B=√AC=54.7cm (22”).
Important
Stylish driver protective caps conjoined
to the loudspeaker. Do not remove for
optimized performances.
Connections
The Electra Be input sockets ensure
reliable multipurpose connections for
stripped cables as well as for plugs.
It is imperative to respect the connector
polarity of both the loudspeaker
and amplifier. The positive terminal
“+” must be connected to the
corresponding (matching) amplifier’s
terminal and the negative terminal
“-“ to the negative terminal (fig. E).
Stereo image, soundstaging and
bass perception would be seriously
compromised if these conditions were
not respected.
User instructions
The sound rendition of the loudspeaker
depends strongly upon the listening
room’s acoustics, the place of the
loudspeakers and the listening area.
These factors can be modified in
order to correct or enhance a desired
effect.
Should the soundstage be imprecise or not centred, try to move
the loudspeakers closer to each other.
Harsh or aggressive sound means
that your listening room is probably
too reflective. Try to use any absorbing
materials (such as tapestries, sofa,
wall coverings, curtains…) combined
with reflective materials to absorb or
diffuse resonances.
Should the sound be “flat”
or muffled, there are too many
absorbing materials in the listening
room. The sound appears to be
closed-in, with a narrow stereophonic
image. Try to find a better compromise
between absorbing and reflective
materials within your listening room.
Generally the wall to the rear of
the speakers should be made up of
reflective materials so that the sound
image exhibits satisfying volume and
width. On the contrary the wall on
the rear of the listener should be
absorbing in order to avoid reflections
damaging the perception of the
stereo soundstage. These reflections
may limit the impression of depth of
the sound image. Furniture, such as
bookshelves should be ideally placed
along the side walls in order to diffuse
sound waves and to prevent some
frequencies from being amplified,
especially in vocal range (it removes
“flutter echo”).
notice electra 1000 be gb 4 5/10/05, 14:58:53
05
English
Page 6
GF
IH
06
English
notice electra 1000 be gb 5 5/10/05, 14:58:53
KJ
Page 7
Home theater
Choice of speakers
Yours loudspeakers have been
engineered to work with stereo
systems as well as with home theater
systems. If you already own a pair of
stereo Electra Be loudspeakers and
wish to purchase a complete home
theater system, it is of the utmost
importance that you use the central
and effect loudspeakers of the same
product line. It is the sole possible
condition to bring to your system a
perfect tonal homogeneity and a
realistic and coherent reproduction
of tri-dimensional effects within the
listening room.
Central channel placement
Central channel speakers should
be placed close to the TV-screen to
obtain a proper placement and a
realistic reproduction of the dialog.
They could be placed below or above
the TV-screen if your TV-unit permits
(fig. F, G).
If a standart projection screen is used,
the central channel speaker must be
placed under the screen.
If an acoustically transparent projection screen is used, the central
channel speaker can be placed
behind and at the bottom of the
screen (fig. H).
Effect channel speakers‘s place
The soundtrack mix for a film or music
encoded in multichannel format is
very complex and allows the listener
to benefit from a wide range of special
sound effects, which require the use of
effect channel speakers. In order to
obtain a realistic 3D soundstage, the
placement of the speakers is decisive,
even when confronted with a restrictive
disposition of the listening room.
For enhanced performances, the following elements should be noted.
Avoid placing the effect speakers
too far from the listening area
otherwise the sound perception will be
altered. In order to obtain surround
effects, with great sound density we
advise you to place the speakers
against the sidewalls on each side of
the listening room (fig. I, J).
Place the effect speakers at a
suitable height, slightly above the
listener’s ears (fig. K).
A / V amplifiers include compensation systems, which allows to
set the delay applied on each
channel. In certain conditions, the
distance between each speaker and
the listening area may vary.
The latest high-level film soundtracks
are now mixed in 6.1. This system
requires the use of one or two
central surround channel speakers
(depending on the amplifier) which
should be placed behind the listening
area. If two effect speakers are used
simultaneously, make sure that they
are not too far from each other (less
than one meter; 40 inches) in order to
obtain the best results.
notice electra 1000 be gb 6 5/10/05, 14:58:53
07
English
Page 8
fine tune
Accessories
Floorstanding loud-speaker systems
include four decoupling spikes
and four butyl cone and could be
screwed, if necessary, into the four
metal inserts situated on the base of
the loudspeaker. These spikes ensure
a better stability for floorstanding
speakers, particularly if the floor is
not perfectly flat and smooth. This
stability improves clarity in bass and
midrange by decoupling the system
from the floor and thus reducing floorborn resonances.This required stability
allows the energy delivered by the
woofer’s membrane to be integrally
converted into sound. The enclosed
spikes are adjustable in height. After
having adjusted the height of the
spikes, don’t forget to lock them with
the locknut.
When the use of the spikes proves to
be necessary, we advise you to place
a piece of metal (such as a coin)
between the floor and the spike in
order to avoid scratching a tiled floor.
Bookshelf speakers can be placed on
an optional stand specially developed
for them.
About amplifiers
Contrary to what one might think, it
is not a too powerful amplifier that
might damage a loudspeaker, but
rather a lack of power. Actually if the
output level of the amplifier is too high
it will saturate and distort which will
irremediably damage the tweeter.
The power handling and frequency
response of the loudspeakers is good
enough to highlight the qualities or
weak points of the amplifiers they are
combined with. Let your retailer help
you make the right choice, matching
your personal taste and budget.
Cable
Don’t underestimate the importance
of the cable: make sure you chose the
appropriate section and length. Let
your retailer advise you.
Conditions of guarantee
All Focal loudspeakers are covered
by guarantee drawn up by the official
Focal distributor in your country.
Your distributor can provide all
details concerning the conditions of
guarantee. Guarantee cover extends
at least to that granted by the legal
guarantee in force in the country
where the original purchase invoice
was issued.
08
English
notice electra 1000 be gb 7 5/10/05, 14:58:53
Page 9
specifications
Electra 1027 Be Electra 1007 Be Electra CC 1000 Be
Type
Drivers
Cut-off frequency (-6dB)
Frequency response (-3dB)
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m)
Nominal impedance
Minimum impedance
Maw Power handling
Crossover frequency
Dimensions (HxWxD)
Net weight
3-way bass-reflex floor standing loudspeaker 2-way bass-reflex bookshelf loudspeaker 3-way bass-reflex shielded center channel
1’’ pure Beryllium IAL
inverted dome tweeter
6-1/2’’ "W" cone midrange,
1-1/4’’ voice coil
Two 6-1/2’’ "W" cone woofer,
1-1/2’’ voice coil
30Hz 41Hz 50Hz
38Hz to 40kHz 46Hz to 40kHz 55HZ to 40kHz
91dB 89dB 91dB
8Ω 8Ω 8Ω
3.5Ω at 120Hz 3.9Ω at 200Hz 4.1Ω at 136Hz
200 Watts 90 Watts 150 Watts
350Hz / 2000Hz 2000Hz 500Hz / 2000Hz
43-11/16x10-3/8x13-3/4’’
(1110x264x350mm)
72.6lbs (33kg) 33lbs (15kg) 41.8lbs (19kg)
1’’ pure Beryllium IAL
inverted dome tweeter
6-1/2’’ "W" cone mid-bass,
1-1/4’’ voice coil
15-3/16x10-3/8x10-3/4’’
(385x264x350mm)
1’’ pure Beryllium IAL
inverted dome tweeter
3’’ "W" cone midrange,
1’’ voice coil
Two 6-1/2’’ "W" woofers,
1’’ voice coil
9-1/4x24x13-3/4’’
(235x609x350 mm)
notice electra 1000 be gb 8 5/10/05, 14:58:53
09
English
Loading...