In this review, we will be comparing two different type of speakers by Focal. Focal Vestia No3 is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Vestia Center is a Center Channel speaker.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Focal Vestia No3 and Focal Vestia Center first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
Vestia No3 and Vestia Center are members of Focal's Vestia series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
Focal Vestia Series History
What size room are the Focal Vestia No3 and Focal Vestia Center speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size and max power parameters:
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Focal Vestia No3 and Focal Vestia Center compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Vestia No3 is a 3-way design whereas the Vestia Center is a 2-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
Driver |
Focal Vestia No3 |
Focal Vestia Center |
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1-inch
|
Midrange
|
1 x 6.5-inch |
- |
Woofer
|
3 x 6.5-inch
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
Vestia No3 features a 1" Al/Mg inverted dome Tweeter , a 6.5" Midrange and 3 x 6.5" Slatefiber Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 280Hz and 3100Hz. On the other hand, the Vestia Center features a 1" Al/Mg inverted dome Tweeter and 2 x 6.5" Slatefiber Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2700Hz.
Frequency Response
Vestia No3 has a frequency range of 42-30k Hz whereas Vestia Center has a frequency range of 58-30k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 42Hz, the Vestia No3 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Vestia Center's min frequency of 58Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
High Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
None of these speakers achieves full range experience which is commonly agreed as 20Hz-20kHz. In order to achieve lower lows / deeper bass, we recommend you pair these with a subwoofer. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Vestia No3 and Vestia Center have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Vestia No3 sensitivity is rated at 92 dB and the Vestia Center's is at 91.5 dB.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. While using an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
Vestia No3 can handle a max power of 300 watts RMS from the amp the whereas Vestia Center has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 100 watts less than the Vestia No3.
Keep in mind that a higher max power handling value doesn't necessarily make that a louder speaker
compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters
such as Impedance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Vestia No3 has a front firing port whereas Vestia Center has a rear firing ports. Focal Vestia No3's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to Focal Vestia Center with its rear-firing port.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Focal Vestia No3's and Focal Vestia Center's external dimensions. Focal Vestia No3 has external dimensions of 1121.0 x 258.0 x 375.0mm ( 44-1/8-inch x 10-1/8-inch x 14-3/4-inch) whereas Focal Vestia Center has external dimensions of 216.0 x 537.0 x 261.0mm ( 8-1/2-inch x 21-1/8-inch x 10-1/4-inch) .
Focal Vestia Center is 905mm shorter and 114mm less deeper than Focal Vestia No3 but it is also 279mm wider.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Focal Vestia No3 is approximately 967.5cm2 / 150.0inch2 and base area of the Focal Vestia Center is approximately 1401.6cm2 / 217.2inch2. The Vestia No3 requires 31% less surface area than the Vestia Center which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.