Best New Loudspeakers under $5,000. Focal Aria 900

"Best is a relative term ,to, what ,or who ? ribbons, cones, stats,planer?"

You left out that ultimate "bestest" speaker technology.....horns....

Shakey

It all comes down to the character of your other equipment downstream
Best is a relative term ,to, what ,or who ? ribbons, cones, stats,planer?
So many choices !!

Mistral Bow-A2's from Napa Acoustic !...

I'm french and i'd never liked Focal, even if i live 40 miles away from the factory... I never heard this new serie so i can't be categorical on it. Even if they produce good drivers (sometimes...), they can't use them properly.
When i discovered Usher audio speakers, i really understood the necessity to use drivers in a proper manner. Dc D'apollito rules...

Great looking speaker!

I like the current Focal 928 loudspeaker. This Aria 900 looks very promising.

I would give the Sonus Faber Venere 3.0's a listen. Under $5K, they would be my choice.

I already own the revel 106 monitors and they are Very good
Even at 2 x the cost.
I am not exactly sure it is between the Revel 206, and the Focal aria 926.
One thing pisses me off about Focal is their customer service stinks.
I have called and written 3 times in a week ,no answer,not a good sign,
Also their mark up vs the Euro market is an additional 60-70 percent
The 968 in Europe $3000, here $4800 ,that applies to the whole line.
That s pure greed .this speaker will have to be noticably better ,if not
The Revl is solid and for sure better looking.the aria is very boxy where the
Revel has a nice tapered boat tail ,great finish,and a acoustical top.

In that ~$5K range, you'd also want to hear the Revel Performa3 models and the KEF R series. Lots of good choices out there.

I guess that explains the 40%-off sale prices of several Focal speakers at MusicDirect--making way for the Aria line.

According to this article, they should come in at quite a bit less than $5K. The article says that the new flax-composite speaker cones provide most of the stiffness-to-weight advantage of Focal's W-cone at a much lower mfg. cost.

Hmmm.

Best is a very slippery thing, even for very experienced audiophiles. Check out the following review:
http://www.stereomojo.com/LENEHAN%20ML1%20REFERENCE%20SPEAKER%20REVIEW/LenehandML1ReferenceSpeaker.htm

One person - best he ever reviewed - other person - ho hum.

As with all things audio personal preference and taste plays such a huge role one simply can't make statements like that. You must, and there is no shortcut, must check them out for yourself.

Thanks
Bill

I would think Music Direct will be carrying these.
I've always liked the Focal line, especially for the price.