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About Us
It all began in Saint-Etienne at the end of 70s, in a family run precision engineering business, France Filière, where a small isolated workshop was set up. At that time, only two men worked there, one of whom, Jacques Mahul, was the initiator of the project. Impassioned by hi-fi, he was a trained engineer, a specialist in speaker driver units and a journalist from the specialised press. Today, he is renowned worldwide as the founder of Focal, the brand recognised as the French designer and manufacturer of loudspeakers for the home and recording studios. Due to their innovative nature, the first speaker drivers made in the workshop achieved immediate success among the most reputed producers of loudspeakers as well as high-end hi-fi enthusiasts. With innovation in his blood, Jacques Mahul didn’t stop there: he created the JMlab brand and launched his own range of loudspeakers at the same time. Jacques Mahul learnt how to set himself apart from the rest by revolutionising the field of small bookshelf speakers thanks to the famous DB 13 which featured a dual voice coil that enabled it to offer the same sound volume as bigger models, particularly in the bass. In 1990, Focal entered a new era of growth and the rhythm accelerates with the arrival of Gérard Chrétien, a man equally impassioned by high-fidelity. By working together to create speaker drivers and loudspeakers, constantly adapting the ranges available to the demands of the market, and delivering a style of sound judiciously combining musicality and dynamics, Focal has established itself as France’s leading producer of loudspeakers.