Ebene blanc and moss green. Those are the names of the two amazing speaker finishes displayed in the Focal and Naim room at the 2024 Florida International Audio Expo, and I have to admit they caught my eye and persuaded me to rush over for a much closer examination. Focal Naim America is in the middle of promoting the new Focal Aria Evo X loudspeakers, where this moss green finish could be seen in all it’s shade-shifting glory, while the ebene blanc (French for white ebony) was found in a separate room in the suite, on a pair of Focal Utopia La Scalas holding court with a complete Naim system.
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
Am I a sucker for a nice speaker finish? Of course I am. For years I owned a pair of reference speakers finished in that dreadful black ash–loved the speakers dearly, but I was always this far from heading out to the garage for a mouse sander, or at least a gallon of paint and a brush. The way the Focal Aria Evo X and the Utopia La Scalas had my heart racing, I knew I had fallen in love.
Wendy Knowles of Focal Naim America watched me march right over the La Scalas, and she’s the one who informed of the wonders of ebene blanc. I was so transfixed by this finish that I immediately forgot the name and started calling it white zebrano, whatever that is. (Sorry, Wendy!) The moss green on the Focal Aria Evo X is even more fascinating–this unusual color changes into different shades of green depending upon the light. Wendy showed me a sequence of photographs of the Focal Aria Evo X from different angles, and sure enough I saw about ten different green finishes. I replicated the experiment with my own eyes, and yes. It’s all true.
I do have a close relationship with Focal Naim America, but it’s mainly on the Naim side because I was such a “Naim guy” back in the ’90s and ’00s. (The Naim system driving the La Scalas sounded fantastic!) Aside from Focal’s excellent headphones such as the Clear MGs, one of my all-time favorites, I haven’t spent very much time with Focal loudspeakers. So do I pick the Focal Aria Evo Xs in moss green, or the ebene blanc La Scalas for review? I can’t decide.
LaScalas for sure!