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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 13, 2022 9:14:01 GMT
What are the groups thoughts on yet another speaker to add to my list for hearing, anyone have them/heard them, the speaker am talking about is the French Focal Aria 936. The reason behind me wanting to hear it is mainly as its front ported, which is handy as my speakers cannot live in "free space", but rather closer to a back wall. Thanks all
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Post by macca on Nov 13, 2022 9:54:24 GMT
What are the groups thoughts on yet another speaker to add to my list for hearing, anyone have them/heard them, the speaker am talking about is the French Focal Aria 936. The reason behind me wanting to hear it is mainly as its front ported, which is handy as my speakers cannot live in "free space", but rather closer to a back wall. Thanks all They look to be very good www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936-loudspeaker-measurementstwo caveats - I don't think they will work so well close to a wall, there is too much bass energy. Being front ported won't change that. Also they are a difficult load, you will need to consider suitable amplification (which you might already have, I don't know). Looks like they were designed to work best in free space in a large (20 foot plus dimension) room.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 15,975
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 13, 2022 10:52:19 GMT
What's the room dimensions Pete.
I have found that dealer demos for speakers are absolutely useless due to the room differences.
Maybe understanding how the room behaves can help point towards a better choice?
£2.5k for the focals isnt cheap.
I think you can do better for that money.
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Arke
Moderator
Posts: 984
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Post by Arke on Nov 13, 2022 11:01:49 GMT
The midrange response looks good, but the +7db of bass energy in the 80-100Hz region isn't ideal. It definitely isn't ideal if this excites any of your room modes.
I plan to write an article on choosing a speaker for your room in the next day or two.
I have heard my demo speakers in 6 rooms now and it really highlights the importance of their interaction with the room. If a speaker's bass response (for a passive system) is not compatible with your room it will have a pretty detrimental effect on the SQ.
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Post by macca on Nov 13, 2022 11:36:19 GMT
£2.5k for the focals isnt cheap. I think you can do better for that money. Actually going by the excellent measurements and compared to the many sonic disasters you could buy for a lot more money I think they're a bargain - assuming the room can accommodate them. For close to wall placement I'd be looking at totally different designs.
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Post by hifinutt on Nov 13, 2022 17:47:45 GMT
one of our members on here [ mister c] was for some years was one of the biggest sellers of the focal range . had the privelige of hearing several models at his places
now i had the 1028be , diablo and loved them . but last time i heard something like the 936 it nearly stripped my ears !!! will be very different to amphion !!
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Arke
Moderator
Posts: 984
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Post by Arke on Nov 13, 2022 18:22:39 GMT
What are the groups thoughts on yet another speaker to add to my list for hearing, anyone have them/heard them, the speaker am talking about is the French Focal Aria 936. The reason behind me wanting to hear it is mainly as its front ported, which is handy as my speakers cannot live in "free space", but rather closer to a back wall. Thanks all What are your Amphions not doing right for you? That may help to work out what would be better instead. Also, your room dims would be useful to consider. Port tunings can be particularly troublesome if they coincide with strong room modes - I have experience of this on numerous occasions. Those Focal Aria 936s are likely to have a lot of bass in the 80-100Hz region especially in a room with a any lengths or widths in the 3.4m-4.3m region. This is great if you like a 6-10db mid bass lift.
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Post by macca on Nov 13, 2022 19:11:29 GMT
worth noting that the way Stereophile measure is not accurate in the bass frequencies, the bass on those Focals won't be as high in level as shown on the graph.
They will not be bass shy though especially against a wall.
They don't use the 'W' cone drivers either. I'm sure the flax drivers are decent but they are Focal's second tier unit.
You could probably get better Focals second hand for less money than these cost new.
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Arke
Moderator
Posts: 984
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Post by Arke on Nov 13, 2022 19:23:35 GMT
worth noting that the way Stereophile measure is not accurate in the bass frequencies, the bass on those Focals won't be as high in level as shown on the graph. They will not be bass shy though especially against a wall. They don't use the 'W' cone drivers either. I'm sure the flax drivers are decent but they are Focal's second tier unit. You could probably get better Focals second hand for less money than these cost new. That's a shame about stereophile measurements. Seems little point in them doing it if they don't do it accurately. I'll bear that in mind in future.
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Post by macca on Nov 13, 2022 20:14:22 GMT
still better than nothing but they really should up their game I agree.
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 14, 2022 11:32:48 GMT
What are the groups thoughts on yet another speaker to add to my list for hearing, anyone have them/heard them, the speaker am talking about is the French Focal Aria 936. The reason behind me wanting to hear it is mainly as its front ported, which is handy as my speakers cannot live in "free space", but rather closer to a back wall. Thanks all They look to be very good www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936-loudspeaker-measurementstwo caveats - I don't think they will work so well close to a wall, there is too much bass energy. Being front ported won't change that. Also they are a difficult load, you will need to consider suitable amplification (which you might already have, I don't know). Looks like they were designed to work best in free space in a large (20 foot plus dimension) room. the speakers I have are not quite against the wall and the amps are the PS Audio M700 monos
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 14, 2022 11:36:25 GMT
What are the groups thoughts on yet another speaker to add to my list for hearing, anyone have them/heard them, the speaker am talking about is the French Focal Aria 936. The reason behind me wanting to hear it is mainly as its front ported, which is handy as my speakers cannot live in "free space", but rather closer to a back wall. Thanks all What are your Amphions not doing right for you? That may help to work out what would be better instead. Also, your room dims would be useful to consider. Port tunings can be particularly troublesome if they coincide with strong room modes - I have experience of this on numerous occasions. Those Focal Aria 936s are likely to have a lot of bass in the 80-100Hz region especially in a room with a any lengths or widths in the 3.4m-4.3m region. This is great if you like a 6-10db mid bass lift. The Amphions are a capable speaker, I just fancy a change, As for the bass, having 2 Rel S8/12 give me all the subtle bass I want/need
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Post by macca on Nov 14, 2022 18:19:41 GMT
They look to be very good www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936-loudspeaker-measurementstwo caveats - I don't think they will work so well close to a wall, there is too much bass energy. Being front ported won't change that. Also they are a difficult load, you will need to consider suitable amplification (which you might already have, I don't know). Looks like they were designed to work best in free space in a large (20 foot plus dimension) room. the speakers I have are not quite against the wall and the amps are the PS Audio M700 monos Those amplifiers should be fine with the Focals, but I think the speakers would need to be a couple of feet from the wall. You never know for sure until you try it though. Seems to me you already have a very good speaker system, have you done any passive room treatment? Do you use any type of EQ?
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 14, 2022 23:07:46 GMT
the speakers I have are not quite against the wall and the amps are the PS Audio M700 monos Those amplifiers should be fine with the Focals, but I think the speakers would need to be a couple of feet from the wall. You never know for sure until you try it though. Seems to me you already have a very good speaker system, have you done any passive room treatment? Do you use any type of EQ? To be honest I have no room treatment ( will not even go there to keep other half happy), as they are in our sitting room,and the immediate reflections are a very large 5/6 seater alcantara sofa with a wall 3 ft behind
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Post by macca on Nov 15, 2022 18:24:07 GMT
Those amplifiers should be fine with the Focals, but I think the speakers would need to be a couple of feet from the wall. You never know for sure until you try it though. Seems to me you already have a very good speaker system, have you done any passive room treatment? Do you use any type of EQ? To be honest I have no room treatment ( will not even go there to keep other half happy), as they are in our sitting room,and the immediate reflections are a very large 5/6 seater alcantara sofa with a wall 3 ft behind You can always improve the room without buying dedicated room treatments. Rugs, carpets, curtains, plants, pictures/paintings, wall hangings - all those things will improve the sound. Although how much depends on how bad it was to start with of course.
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 16, 2022 10:07:44 GMT
I like to think we have a "normal" type of sitting room, thick carpet and underlay, heavy curtains, large sofa, apart from the rear wall which is bare (for a reason) and the long wall that has the TV on and the hi fi rack/speakers and subs. IF I was living on my own, then more may be done, but as I have a partner, certain matrimonial compromises have had to be made, plus the fact I have mobility issues now, so that has had to be taken into consideration
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Post by hifinutt on Nov 16, 2022 17:16:56 GMT
hope you enjoy those cantons when they arrive at dealers
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Post by hifinutt on Nov 22, 2022 15:24:19 GMT
have you had a chance to hear the cantons
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Post by sq225917 on Nov 22, 2022 22:53:57 GMT
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 23, 2022 9:38:10 GMT
have you had a chance to hear the cantons not heard anything as yet from the dealer who is doing the demo.
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 23, 2022 9:41:41 GMT
I saw these, and if I can get a demo nearer to me, will give them a listen.... its a hell of a discounted price, wonder whats wrong with them? Or if they are new/open box, I wonder what Focal would say
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Post by antonio on Nov 23, 2022 10:17:07 GMT
I don't think there is anything wrong with them, Peter Tyson's have some damn good deals, I purchased my REL sub from them at a great price, unfortunately it has developed a hum, contacted REL direct, they offered good advice, still didn't sort it though, told me to go through the dealer. Sent them a message early in the morning, contacted me by 8.30am the same day asking when it could be collected by DPD, told them and it was duly collected as promised. Cannot get better service than that, when I informed the gentleman at REL just to tell him Peter Tyson's had arranged delivery back to them, the reply said Tyson's were a good dealer.
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Post by peterthebutcher on Nov 23, 2022 13:57:07 GMT
I have the Focals on the list (have been for a while), also a Dali OPTICON 8 MK2
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Post by Pigmy Pony on Nov 23, 2022 16:33:45 GMT
I saw these, and if I can get a demo nearer to me, will give them a listen.... its a hell of a discounted price, wonder whats wrong with them? Or if they are new/open box, I wonder what Focal would say They'll almost certainly be fine, maybe an updated version coming out and they just need the space. With a price reduction like that I'd be tempted - if they end up less than ideal in your room you could sell them on at next to no loss. Folk who paid full whack must be gnashing, like how it often was with Musical Fidelity products.
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