Floorstanding loudspeakers — Focal VESTIA N°3

The Vestia N°3 is the three-woofer floorstander of Focal's Vestia range, a line from the French manufacturer named after Vesta and Hestia, the goddesses of the hearth and home, and positioned below Aria. It follows Focal's earlier Aria 936 and combines drivers made with Slatefiber, Focal's recycled carbon-fibre cone material, with the M-profile TAM tweeter, first developed for Focal's car-audio range and adapted for home loudspeakers. Its three bass drivers are intended for both home cinema and monitor-style stereo listening.

Key specs that matter

The Vestia N°3 is a ported three-way design with three 16.5 cm (6.5-inch) Slatefiber woofers, a 16.5 cm Slatefiber midrange and a 25 mm TAM tweeter with an aluminium/magnesium inverted dome, mounted in a urethane waveguide. Crossover points are 280 Hz and 3.1 kHz. Frequency response is 42 Hz to 30 kHz (+/-3 dB), with a -6 dB point of 35 Hz. Sensitivity is 92 dB at 2.83 V/1 m, nominal impedance 8 ohms and minimum impedance 2.9 ohms, and Focal recommends amplifiers of 40 to 300 W. Each speaker measures 25.6 x 37.5 x 112.2 cm and weighs 26.5 kg with its grille. Front panels come in black or white leather-effect, with Black High Gloss, Dark Wood or Light Wood sides. Focal specifies rooms from 25 m2.

Engineering and use context

Slatefiber cones are made in Focal's French workshops from recycled non-woven carbon fibres, all aligned in one direction and sandwiched between two layers of thermoplastic polymer. Aligned rather than woven fibres give the cone more rigidity and damping at low mass, and the material has since been developed further for the Alpha Evo studio monitors and the in-car Slatefiber line. The TAM tweeter is made in France from an aluminium/magnesium alloy moulded into an M-shaped inverted dome, a profile that adds rigidity, lowers distortion and widens dispersion. Its urethane waveguide improves horizontal directivity so that the tweeter's dispersion matches the midrange around the crossover. Three woofers share the bass below 280 Hz, which reduces the excursion asked of any single cone. The braced MDF cabinet vents through Focal's Powerflow multi-port system, with one port at the front and one at the rear. An aluminium base with supplied spikes stabilises the tall cabinet and tilts it slightly backward to time-align the drivers at the listening position.

Pairing

The Vestia N°3 is sensitive enough to play loud with modest amplifiers or AV receivers, although the low impedance minimum rules out designs that become unstable when the load drops. For home cinema, Focal recommends the Sub 600P subwoofer for extended bass.

Alternatives

Focal's Vestia N°2 is the smaller floorstander of the range, with two woofers and 91.5 dB sensitivity.