Three-way, 3 woofers, 5 drivers in all... the floorstanding speaker Chorus 836 V has no fear of (very) large spaces. High-end in sound and shape, the power of the bass will surprise you. Chorus 836 V is nothing short of a grande dame, generous, powerful but refined and subtle as well.

The Chorus 826 V is the penultimate speaker in the 800 V range, sitting below the 836 V (which has an extra bass unit) and above the 816 V floorstander and 806 V and 807 V standmounts (pricing starts at $1299 per pair for the 806 V). The 826 V is a three-way with a pair of 165mm bass units, a matching midrange driver and a 25mm aluminium and magnesium tweeter. Unlike previous Chorii, both cabinet and drive units are built in-house, and the tweeter drive unit (dubbed with the mystery acronym TNV) is housed in a very attractive casting.

Focal has been making some radical changes to its entry-level loudspeakers. The 26-model Chorus V range has replaced the 54 models of the Chorus S and Cobalt S ranges. That's still a lot of speakers. So, in order not to baffle its potential customers, France's biggest speaker maker has divided Chorus V in two, creating the entry-level 700V range and the 800V ‘affordable luxury' alternative.