Focal’s Vestia No. 1 ($1,198) are my favorite bookshelf speakers of 2023 so far, serving up sound that’s fabulously detailed yet remarkably smooth. So why am I beginning the Focal Theva review by talking about their pricier siblings? Parody, of course.
You’ll get a whole lot of what makes the Vestia No. 1 so great in the new Theva No. 1, while saving a sizable spot of cash. The Theva aren’t as immediately striking as the Vestia when it comes to sparkling detail or pristine treble extension, but at this price, I didn’t expect them to be.
What they do offer is some of the loveliest sound I’ve heard in a pair of bookshelf speakers for $1,000. That makes them a great way to build out a stereo or surround-sound setup on a leaner budget, without sacrificing that lovely Focal touch.
You’ll have a hard time telling the Theva No. 1 and Vestia No. 1 apart at a glance, down to the nearly identical-looking 6.5-inch Slatefiber cones and similar inverted dome 1-inch tweeters that sparkle in silvery rings offset by rubberized wave guides. Like other Focal speakers, each pair is designed and built in France.
The tweeters in both speakers use a similar dome shape made of aluminum and magnesium, but the Vestia’s M-shaped TAM tweeter design pushes its treble extension up to 35 kHz, while the Theva’s rolls off at 28 kHz. The company claims this gives the Vestia an “extra sense of spacialism.” Both inverted tweeters are shaped to minimize directionality, but the Vestia’s M-Shape takes this further for a wider sweet spot as well.
The Theva No. 1’s total claimed frequency response is 58 Hz to 28 kHz, with an 8-ohm nominal impedance. It’s recommended that you power them with an amplifier that can push 25 to 100 watts per channel, and I definitely noticed that they perked up in performance with improved amplification.
The Thevas trade the Vestia’s dimpled leather front face for a still attractive matte faceplate that looks especially good in the cream-white version I reviewed. That’s offset by sunny woodgrain vinyl along the cabinet sides. It doesn’t look as premium as the Vestia or the Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 that I recently auditioned ($1,100/pair), but at just 10 inches deep compared to 12 inches in the S3, the Theva are more compact and a bit easier to place.
Unlike the S3, which protect their tweeters with a metallic cover, the Theva tweeters are fully exposed, so you’ll want to handle with care. They look much better without the grilles, though, so I’d leave those in the box unless you’ve got curious kids or pets barreling through your listening room.
The Theva replaces Focal’s beloved Chora line at the entry point of the brand’s speaker series, meaning there’s a lot to live up to. To my ears, they easily pass the test. The new speakers provide sweet and detailed performance marked by clear instrumental separation and expansive dimensionality, warm and full-bodied bass and midrange instruments, and clear yet “mellow” treble, for a sound that tickles my senses in all the right ways.