Focal On Wall 300 Speakers Promise High-End Sound With Less Footprint

Focal may be best known for its high-end headphones, but the French audio company is pushing hard into more social playback with the unveil of the On Wall 300 line. Intended – as the name makes clear – to be mounted on the wall rather than used free-standing, the range is designed to deliver both for music and home cinema purposes.

The new speakers follow Focal's 1000 Series in-wall and in-ceiling models, from earlier in the year. The Focal On Wall 300 is a little more distinctive in design, and less likely to blend in.

There are two finishes, Black Satin or White High Gloss, and two sizes, scaled to pair with different sizes of TV. The On Wall 301 is better suited for screens up to 60-inches, Focal suggests, while the On Wall 302 is designed for screens larger than that.

Behind the magnetically-attached grille are 4-inch Flax speaker drivers, and an aluminum/magnesium tweeter. The Flax driver uses real French flax, which Focal says has better sound reproduction than other materials, while the tweeter handles the high-end.

As the company envisages it, you'll mount two or three around the TV that's also fixed to the wall. That way, you could have an optional dedicated center channel speaker. Focal's other models – like the 300 Series, Aria, and Flax Dome – could be used to fill in the rear surround channels.

Included with the On Wall 300 are the necessary wall hooks and a mounting template to get the aperture right. If you don't want to go for the wall-mounting option, Focal does have floor stands available separately. They're priced at $490 a pair, and available in matching black or white finishes.

As for the speakers themselves, a pair of Focal On Wall 301 are $1,980, while a single speaker is $990. A pair of On Wall 302, meanwhile, are $2,980, while a single speaker is $1,490. Both ranges will begin shipping in the US from late September.