Well, since I am sure you all are curious, ha ha ha, I have the Focals set up and pumping out music.
Normally folks would gush and say how happy they are with their choice, that the sound instantly changed for the better. And while I am happy with these speakers, it has taken a fair bit of time to maneuver them around to extract good sound, or at least live up to my expectations.
Better than my previous Elacs for sure, but I had lived with those friends for a couple of years, and was super comfortable with what they did and how they did it.
Wasn't love at first hear. I do enjoy them, but with any upgrade I feel it takes time to dial it in. Still dialing, it's a slow burn. But a good burn...
Well if you can live with severely stripped down and no remote I would think the Odyssey Audio Cyclops would sound great with those. Good parts and build quality with some balls.
Good call! When you upgrade your amp try and get something with high current, lots of capacitance. They look efficient on paper but my experience says they like a bit of power otherwise the bass is flabby.
I have a pair of 906s in a second system (computer audio mostly) and I’m very happy with them. While they don’t dive deep into the bass frequencies (well, after all, size matters) they do give a wonderfully balanced, musical presentation, excellent transients, and a very sharp stereo image. I find them a pleasure to listen to though they’d probably benefit from an upgrade in amplification, which I intend to do at some point. (Right now they’re being driven by a rather old Arcam A85 integrated). Of course you’ll want to treat them to good speaker cables, too. I’m using Morrow SP4s and they seem a really good match. If you're buying the speakers new, remember that they take about 100 hours of playing to find their voice, so have patience with them.
How about some Polk LSiM 703's? They are in the same range as well (800 per pair). Discontinued, but price has dropped about half from the original 1500 when they came out.
We are at a strange intersection of tyranny of choice, but no way to audition.
I was looking for a pair of T+A criterions for you and found the above. The T+A criterions sold unfortunately..
I feel like all three of the above mentioned should be considered. The Focals 906’s at $800 are a good deal too so I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go that route, but I personally would consider the other 3 that I mentioned as well!
I replaced a pair of ELAC Uni-Fi UB5s with the 906s and am very happy with them. To my ears they offer a big improvement (as they should based on MSRP). At what the 906s tend to go for used, I think they offer excellent value. I drive them with a Rega Brio 2017 and have them beside my TV in a small room similar to yours in size. In a larger room I would likely want more power than the Brio offers.
Thanks! Don't get me wrong either, love the Elacs, but if a significant step change is possible and within reach I'll go for it. Have a smallish bedroom that houses my set up, 10 by 12 ish or so.
Get a stiff SS amp to drive them and in the right room I think you'll really like them. Go with electronics that tend towards warm as opposed to bright.
Some additional information, moving on soon from a 20 plus year old mid level Yamaha AVR. Currently have Elac b6's, but now I may have a chance to upgrade both amp and speakers.
Focal Aria's worth it? Reviews seem good, but then again aren't they all?
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