Полочная акустика — Focal KANTA N°1

Introduced in 2018 at USD 5,999 per pair and made in France, the Kanta N°1 is the compact standmount of the Focal Kanta series, a two-way bass-reflex design that combines a beryllium tweeter with a flax mid-bass driver. The French maker offers it with a choice of cabinet body colours - Black High Gloss, Black Matte, Ivory Matte, White Matte, White High Gloss and Walnut High Gloss - and pairs these with four baffle colours in both lacquer and walnut versions.

Key specs that matter

Upper frequencies are handled by a 27 mm IAL3 inverted dome of pure beryllium, and a 16.5 cm flax cone mid-bass unit with TMD suspension covers everything below the crossover at 2,400 Hz. Focal states that the tweeter is capable of working across more than five octaves, from 1,000 Hz to 40 kHz. The system response is 46 Hz to 40 kHz within 3 dB, with the -6 dB point at 42 Hz. Nominal impedance is 8 ohm, dipping to 3.9 ohm at its minimum, and sensitivity is 88 dB. Each speaker measures 422 mm high, 234 mm wide and 391 mm deep and weighs 13 kg.

Engineering and use context

IAL3 is the third generation of Focal's Infinite Acoustic Loading tweeter, which uses an inverted dome geometry rather than a conventional outward-facing dome. The flax cone is a natural fibre membrane, and the suspension, called TMD for Tuned Mass Damper, is aimed at the midrange - it controls how the surround behaves by damping its resonances. Construction departs from a simple rectangular enclosure. The rear is a one-piece shell of moulded wood, while the front is a high-density polymer facade that carries both drivers. The speaker rests on a base of Zamak alloy topped with a glass plate. Because the facade and body are separate parts, Focal can offer the baffle in a different colour from the enclosure, which is how the range of colour combinations is produced. Its bass reflex opening is on the back, and the binding posts have the Focal name stamped into their barrels. Dedicated N°1 stands were offered as an option at USD 999 per pair.

Pairing

Focal specifies amplification from 25 W to 150 W per channel. Given the impedance dip, the amplifier must deliver current comfortably into loads below 4 ohm, so a design rated for 4 ohm operation is the sensible choice within that window.

Alternatives

In the same brand's bookshelf lineup, the Diablo Utopia Colour Evo uses an IAL2 beryllium tweeter with a W cone woofer and a Gamma Structure MDF cabinet.