Focal-JMlab DB 13 (1982)

If you’ve ever wondered why Focal’s name is so often paired with that of JM-lab, it’s because the two were originally different sides of the same coin, springing from the workshop of a family-run firm in Saint-Étienne, France, specialising in precision mechanics. The JM was Jacques Mahul, one of two men working on the manufacture of speaker drivers, which went on to be branded Focal, for sale to loudspeaker manufacturers starting in 1979. A second brand, JM-lab, specialised in the loudspeakers themselves, the flagship of its first range in 1982 being the DB 13. The DB 13 bookshelf speakers were equipped with a double voice coil driver, with their Polyglass and Polykevlar driver cones, and were capable of volumes more akin to larger speakers. They propelled the company towards international shores while founder Jacques Mahul was also diversifying into car audio (the Car Department was created in 1989), and later in 1995 the company’s staggering high-end Utopia line.