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iPod Accessories Focal XS 2.1 iPod Amplified Speaker Dock
iPod Accessories Focal XS 2.1 iPod Amplified Speaker Dock
iPod Accessories
| Focal XS 2.1 iPod Amplified Speaker Dock |
| Written by Andrew Yang |
| Wednesday, 28 January 2009 16:00 |
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Page 5 of 5
Conclusions The iPod dock market is certainly filled with a multitude of products, which by-and-large are aesthetically differentiated. Focal comes to this niche with a product that not only meets the aesthetic requirements typically associated with the market, but also class leading audio performance. It might be more fair to say the XS establishes a new class of performance for multimedia speakers in general. The sub/sats are exceptionally well integrated, and deliver a pure sound that aims to stay as true to the source as possible.
Comments (6)
focal ipod speakers.
written by Joe , January 30, 2009 I just bought a new Samsung 46 LCD display for the bedroom and I am planning to use the Focal instead of the sound from the Sammy and also I may ad a PS3 in the bedroom as well.My question is how do I incorporate the Focal to this setup of Sammy/PS3 and my Ipod?
Difficult but...
written by Andrew Yang , January 30, 2009 The XS 2.1 was narrowly targeted as a multi-media speaker. As highlighted in one of the pictures from the review, the inputs are limited to USB and a single 1/8" stereo miniplug. I don't believe the PS3 will output anything other than system and user generated sound from the USB (i.e. menu clicks and voice chat). I suppose you could hook the PS3 to the TV, and output from the TV via RCA to miniplug. The real problem would be the dispersion pattern of the speakers. They were designed for near field listening, with an assumption that the listener's head is aligned slightly above the height of the speaker. Having said all that, it would definitely be an upgrade over the built-in speakers, and the sound is still fantastic. I certainly had no issues listening to music walking about the room as opposed to being seated at the computer.
How to hook up to your PS3
written by Simon Cote , January 30, 2009 You can connect the analog stereo output of your PS3 directly to the Focal XS analog input (1/8" minijack at the back of the right speaker)
How about a Mini Pre-Amp
written by Joe , January 31, 2009 I am sure there's a device like a mini pre-amp type of setup out there to use and I can hook up both the tv sound and the PS3 and switch between them.The sound from Sammy is really bad, but the picture is a knock out though.Focal should have thought of such applications. An HDMI in/out puts would have been great.
To clarify
written by Andrew Yang , February 02, 2009 My initial, unstated assumption was that you would try to get the highest quality output from the PS3 and used the highest quality input on the XS 2.1. Thus the statement regarding the inability of the PS3 to output anything useful through USB. From my view, then, the next alternative would be to output audio from the HDMI through the Samsung. Obviously this introduces the DAC in the Samsung which is of unknown quality. In hindsight, Simon's recommendation would likely give the best result. Further to the discussion, as noted in the review, the design basis of the XS 2.1 was to be a near-field, multimedia speaker system. From my discussions with Focal, the input/output requirements were established by that market segment. Given the design and development approach, I'm fairly confident that Focal could have designed a remarkable 2.1 HTIB-type system, but it was not the intent/purpose of the XS. Gefen does make some products that might be suitable, but the price points would limit the attractiveness (I think) for your setup. The simplest product is a stereo DAC for $80 that you could use to output from the Samsung into the XS, which I'm fairly certain would be of better quality than the DAC in the TV. As for switching, you would effectively be using your TV as a switcher.
Possible solution?
written by James , September 05, 2009 I tried something similar with my B&W Zeppelin ipod dock. If you buy a toslink to optical mini jack cable and then set the PS3 audio output to the 'stereo digital PCM' format, you should be able to connect your PS3 directly to your speakers. I know for certain that this works with the B&W zeppelin ipod dock - i don't see why this wouldn't work with the Focal set up? However, i'm no expert when it comes to this! I'd like to know if you eventually got this up and running - as i've been looking into purchasing a set of focals, and connecting them to my PS3 would be a bonus! Write comment
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