Focal SM8 Active Monitor Pair, from Focal

The reversed dome tweeter is a hallmark of Focal. As a result of more than twenty years of development into a tweeter that could produce a high output, but without requiring high energy input and without increasing directivity. And now the company is ready to make a major leap forward with the introduction of the pure Beryllium version.

Focus Ring

This innovative and patented magnetic structure provides extremely strong flux density (2T) with the highest thermal stability achievable.

The "W" cone

For more than 15 years the composite cone sandwich technology is a Focal exclusivity. The "W" process - first initiated in 1995 with the Grande Utopia - now provides a true optimisation of the frequency response by fine tuning of mass, rigidity and damping parameters.

Passive radiator

In order to reproduce the lowest frequency range within a very small volume the SM8 is equipped with a no compromise, custom designed "W" passive radiator.

Advanced Digital Technologies 24 Bits 96kHz converters

In addition to a direct digital input, the SM8 uses the latest high quality chipsets performing 24 Bits 96kHz A/D and D/A conversion.

Multiple equalisation facilities

The combination of powerful DSP devices and carefully designed algorithms allows multiple and very precise equalisation.

Low sensitivity to vertical or horizontal placement

Due to its internal digital processing, the SM8 can use FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filters which have the property of allowing both very high selectivity and perfectly linear response: indeed the actual filters between the LF and HF sections have slopes reaching 200 dB/octave! Due to the drastic reduction of acoustic interaction between drivers, landscape and portrait orientation are virtually equivalent in terms of performance. Remote control facilities

The SM8 can be remotely controlled from various sources: PC/Mac dedicated "Focal manager" software, PDA, MIDI link or proprietary remote control unit. High Performance Amplification High efficiency, low distortion class "D" output stage Bi-amplified (200W rms/Bass, 100W rms/Treble) the SM8 uses low distortion class "D" power stages for the low frequency channel, reducing dramatically heat at high power, while wide bandwidth class AB stage is used for the tweeter.