How do you know you’re beyond help as a card-carrying audiophile? For me, it happened during a recent trip to Italy. Several times a day, my thoughts drifted to the Focal Maestro Utopia Evo speakers that had been delivered two days before I left for Europe. At one point, I considered FaceTiming the housesitter to request a live view of the listening room, where the Maestros were playing music, breaking in.
Chrissakes! Couldn’t I just enjoy la dolce vita? Savor the belly-busting meals in Treviso and Civitavecchia, surrender to Tuscany’s soul-soothing landscapes, thrill to Rome’s old-world charms? Ninety-nine percent of the time, I did. The trip was a delight, and I wouldn’t have missed it. But yes, I thought of those Maestros several times a day. The heart wants what the heart wants.
Drama on my doorstep
Having heard them at four audio shows over the span of a year, I’d been in justifiably high spirits the day the French speakers made it to my doorstep. They rocketed to the top of my must-review list because, each time, they’d impressed me with their power and finesse.1
There’s a second reason I won’t soon forget the French speakers arriving chez moi: They were accompanied by an unexpected palletful of Naim electronics whose value represented a few years’ income. Had I won an audio lottery? Was someone trying to get in my good graces? Mais non! It was a shipping-company error. When I called Focal America, an employee took care of the issue, seemingly grateful that I hadn’t helped myself to a fat five-finger discount. A freight truck arrived a few hours later and hauled the treasure away. I didn’t know whether to feel relief or regret.
To get the Maestros inside—they weigh 256lb each and maybe 350lb in their crates—I enlisted the aid of a local contractor and a sinewy worker from his crew. Using a dolly and ratchet straps, the three of us jostled and jerked, heaved and hoisted. Then we unpacked the speakers and maneuvered them into position. It helped that Focal’s floorstanding Utopias so you can them—just not easily across a thick rug. We managed. Maneuvering and uncrating the speakers and storing the crates in the gear closet was a one-hour-plus, three-person job.
