1979 founder jacques mahul key people jacques mahul chairman and managing director products home audio mobile audio professional audio revenue 62 million 2012 42 millions for focal and 20 millions for naim total assets naxicap partners aquasour a garibaldi participations soci t des managers 1 number of employees 200 2 parent vervent audio group website www.focal.com focal jmlab is a french company which has been designing and selling high fidelity audio systems since the early 1980s . this saint tienne based company manufactures loudspeakers for the home speaker drivers for automobiles headphones and professional monitoring loudspeakers . the grande utopia is the brand s emblematic loudspeaker which earned the company its worldwide reputation . 3 it is considered one of the best high fidelity loudspeakers in the world . 4 5 focal s industrial strategy concentrates on having full control over the entire production process from the design and manufacturing of the speaker drivers to the assembly of the final product . its products are entirely designed and developed in france and most of the production is carried out at the factory in saint tienne france . focal jmlab generates a 42 million annual turnover and employs about 200 people at its facility in saint tienne which groups the production r & d and management departments at the same site . its export share is 70 % . contents 1 history 1.1 the 1980s 1.2 the 1990s 1.3 the 2000s 1.4 the 2010s 2 technologies 2.1 the inverted dome tweeter 1981 2.2 the k2 cone 1986 2.3 the polyglass cone 1988 2.4 the w sandwich cone 1995 2.5 the beryllium tweeter 2002 2.6 tweeter al mg 2007 2.7 the flax membrane cone 2013 2.8 tuned mass damper 2015 2.9 infinite horn loading system 2015 3 products 4 figures 5 partnerships 6 competitors 7 external links 8 references history edit the 1980s edit focal jmlab a research office dedicated to acoustic first was founded in 1979 in paris by engineer high fidelity enthusiast and technology journalist jacques mahul . 6 he began making his first speaker drivers in a small workshop in saint etienne at a precision mechanics company which belonged to his father . whilst producing his speaker drivers jacques mahul also launched his own range of loudspeakers under the brand jmlab . his first loudspeaker the db13 was a bookshelf loudspeaker which produced volumes comparable to larger loudspeakers particularly in bass frequencies . initially he only sold his product to acquaintances but the db13 was soon launched on the market . in the 1980s the two brands became established . focal focused on innovation producing specialised products such as the polyglass v cone and polykevlar cone . the materials used on the tweeter evolved from glass fibres to kevlar producing a more linear frequency response curve and a smoother and less piercing treble . as for jmlab the company went from being a manufacturer of small and medium sized loudspeakers to a manufacturer of veritable high end models . the 1990s edit things rapidly began to pick up speed in 1990 with the arrival of g rard chr tien another high end high fidelity enthusiast and editor in chief of the magazine l audiophile since 1977 . today he s the managing director and marketing director of focal jmlab . by adapting the company s products to the demands of the consumer the brand soon earned its role as leader on the french loudspeaker market . 7 the company s turnover increased from 9 million in 1992 to 26 million in 2000 . 8 it was also in the early 1990s that the company implemented an export strategy for its loudspeakers across europe southeast asia and north america . the brand s reputation on the international stage was reinforced by various awards . the jmlab vega model was voted loudspeaker of the year 1992 in japan 9 and in 1996 the grande utopia model was praised by the international press . 10 the 2000s edit from 2002 production was relocated in saint etienne where about three quarters of production still takes place with the aim of equipping every loudspeaker with made in france speaker drivers . in 2003 the two brands were incorporated under the name focal jmlab for home products before being renamed as just focal in 2005 for all product sectors . 2003 was also the year that the company began collaborating with paris based design agency pineau & le porcher . by combining sound quality and aesthetics this move made focal jmlab products lifestyle loudspeakers in their own right and also gave the company a brand signature . thus focal and pineau & le porcher worked in close collaboration to come up with a completely new design for various ranges profile and electra 2005 chorus 2006 utopia 2008 and dome 2009 . 11 in 2007 the company bought up the guy hf cabinet making facility located in bourbon lancy sa ne et loire . the 2010s edit in 2011 focal jmlab merged with naim audio limited the leading high end electronics brand in the uk which mainly designs and manufactures amplifiers and audio streamers . the new holding focal & naim owns and manages the two brands . however both brands remain independent with their own specific philosophies and their own respective ranges and products 12 the two companies began consolidating their activities in 2013 with their presence on a common stand at the high end show in munich . 13 in 2011 focal adopted a new visual identity and finally in 2012 built a showroom and a new auditorium at its site in saint tienne . in 2014 focal & naim group has been taken over by its management team naxicap partners major shareholder aquasourca and garibaldi participations . jacques mahul remains involved and becomes focal jmlab vice pr sident . 14 the same year focal is recognized by the french state thanks to the entreprise du patrimoine vivant living heritage company label . a label delivered under the authority of the french minister for economy finances and industry rewarding french firms for the excellence of their traditional and industrial skills 15 technologies edit focal jmlab maintains a regular research and development program in speaker drivers technologies . investments in this field have enabled the company to conceive various innovative concepts . 16 ten innovations have been patented to date . the inverted dome tweeter 1981 edit an inverted dome tweeter was designed and developed by focal in 1981 . inverted dome tweeters appeared at least as early as the late 1960s in the epi 100 loudspeaker manufactured by epi epicure . it had an inverted paper dome . one of its main advantages is its low directionality and its high dynamics . the majority of the brand s tweeters still feature this technology . the k2 cone 1986 edit in 1986 the company introduced the polykevlar sandwich structure . the poly k cone is composed of two layers of aramid fibres applied to either side of a hollow micro ball structure in order to improve the compromise between weight rigidity and damping . the polyglass cone 1988 edit polyglass technology was introduced by focal in 1988 . this consists in depositing fine glass micro balls on the surface of a cellulose pulp cone paper . this combination of glass and paper results in a very rigid material with a low mass providing excellent damping qualities . the polyglass cone resulted in a very linear frequency response curve and improved the definition of the midrange . the w sandwich cone 1995 edit in 1995 focal improved its sandwich concept with its w cone system which consists of two sheets of glass fibres applied to a structural foam core . unlike the mono material cones the w sandwich cone optimises the frequency response curve by maximising the mass rigidity and damping . the beryllium tweeter 2002 edit in 2002 focal launched another innovation to their product line the beryllium tweeter which was only the second time a tweeter had ever been manufactured from beryllium . yamaha had introduced the beryllium tweeter and beryllium mid range speaker in the ns 1000 back in 1974 . 17 beryllium is seven times more rigid than titanium or aluminium but has the same mass . it enabled focal to develop a lighter and faster tweeter which provides excellent damping qualities . when associated with the inverted dome concept the frequency response can be increased to 40 khz and more than 5 octaves can be spanned . being ten times more expensive than gold focal only uses the beryllium tweeter for the premium ranges utopia sopra and electra . tweeter al mg 2007 edit this tweeter was introduced by focal jmlab in 2007 . the use of aluminium increases damping qualities whereas the use of magnesium increases the rigidity of the dome . this enabled the frequency response of the al mg tweeter to be increased to 28 khz . the al mg tweeter is used on the chorus range of the home line and on the cms range of the pro line among others . the flax membrane cone 2013 edit eighteen years after introducing the w sandwich cones focal launched the new made in france f sandwich cone for flax . composed of flax fibres enclosed in two thin layers of glass fibre this solution offers a natural sound without colouration thanks to light rigid and damped cones . 18 tuned mass damper 2015 edit in order to control resonance and to reduce medium speaker driver distortions the tuned mass damper technology consists of an additional mass that oscillates in opposition to the resonance frequency . the suspension is optimised to avoid distortions and increase the definition . 19 infinite horn loading system 2015 edit the rear of the beryllium tweeter is loaded via a small cavity which is connected to the exterior of the enclosure by a horn . the inside is filled with a damping material . rear wave of the tweeter is gradually absorbed to reduce distortion . 19 products edit focal jmlab has organised its range of products into five universes the home line the car line the pro line for music industry professionals the headphones line since 2012 and finally the integration line public address sound systems the home loudspeakers universe represents 59 % of the company turnover and is divided into two collections classic all the loudspeakers of this collection are designed developed and manufactured in france and combine all the focal technological innovations inverted dome tweeter w and f sandwich con etc. . among the principal products there are the utopia electra aria chorus and more recently sopra lines . in 2013 launches easya high fidelity wireless loudspeakers connectable with multiple sources thanks to built in bluetooth aptx technology . the grande utopia is the collection s emblematic loudspeaker . the first generation of the grande utopia born in 1995 is a condensation of all the expertise and experience that focal had gained since its creation . the second generation in 2002 had the particularity of featuring pure beryllium dome tweeters which enable it to receive the year after the golden sound award in japan . 20 the third generation launched in 2008 was a concentration of the best of focal technologies . 21 designed by pineau & le porcher the grande utopia em distinguished itself through its extraordinary dimensions weighing 570 lbs 260 kg and standing over 6 ft 2m high . the cabinets can be customised at the cabinet making facility in bourbon lancy which is in charge of manufacturing and finishing the cabinets . new media since 2008 with the arrival of the d me miniature loudspeaker available with flax cone since 2014 22 focal has adapted its know how to new modes of music consumption with compact loudspeakers plug and play multimedia and more recently wireless xs book wireless in 2013 . in 2013 focal launched 5.1 home