Soundermn, you nailed it, the Tektons have a fun sound, but they are not coherent sounding and the drivers are not anywhere near as blended as the revels. This is something that needs to get talked about more, no frequency sticks out or smears over another, unlike so many hi end speakers, which to me sounds more real, while others find this boring, because nothing screams look at me! So many designers bump up the bass and treble which makes them stick out. Partnered with the right gear revels can really reward you.
Focal Aria 948, Revel F208, Tekton Double Impact
Hey everyone, this is a long post, so thanks in advance to those who bear with me.
Home theater/stereo is a new experiment for me. I was recently persuaded by some surprisingly positive experiences with soundbars to look for better, louder, options with more definition and overall sonic appeal.
I am trying to decide on a set of floorstanding speakers for probably 70% HT use and 30% music. This is my second attempt at finding a set of speakers in the last 6 months. I started with a pair of Klipsch RP-8000f which I initially liked. I found myself not wanting to listen to them for very long at what seemed like normal volumes - after maybe an hour listening fatigue would set in and my ears would feel a bit assaulted. It is possible that they were not fully broken in, if those speakers require breaking in (I have heard that they may). It is also possible that my room shredded the sound to crap since one speaker had to be right next to a large window, but this is not something I can avoid. I began to wonder what better options might be available within a moderately expanded budget.
So, after reading forum after forum, review after review, I think I have narrowed the options to the Focal Aria 948, the Revel F208, and the Tekton Double Impact. I want to start with a 2.0 system and hopefully (with eventual, begrudging approval from my wife) get at least a 3.1 system going. So I'm really interested in floorstanders so that I can put money towards very good as-full-range-as-possible sound from the front L and R initially. I am interested in at least a 3-way design so that I can get a dedicated midrange driver, as well, and large woofers for SPL and (hopefully) clear and substantial bass.
The problem is, I have no way of auditioning these speakers before buying and my room is so far from ideal that I am sure most of you will laugh and tell me to just use the speakers in the TV, haha. The room is about 16' x 22' with a vaulted ceiling which rises from one long wall to the other long wall up to the ceiling of the 2nd floor of the house. I have to stick these speakers near a corner and I have no way around that (the room simply cannot be rearranged or it will cease to be functional as a living room). The "corner" speaker will be about 2.5-3.0' from the long wall and only inches from the short wall (immediately adjacent a large window). The other speaker will be about 12-18" from the long wall and nowhere near a short wall.
I have heard that the Focal Aria 948 is fussy regarding placement and maybe demanding for amplification because of an impedance dip. I've heard opinions which say these are easy to drive, as well. I have also heard from a Focal dealer (when I was asking about a used Electra 1028 Be II) that the Arias are not the best sound for the buck. He suggested Martin Logan Motion 60XTi, but I hear mixed reviews on the 60XTs (not many reviews on the XTi's yet). But the Aria 948's have 8.25" woofers, which honestly excite me, and I expect they would be able to produce beautiful sound at substantial volumes.
The Revel F208 has boundary correction hardware on the speaker itself, which seems very useful if it actually works given my placement constraints. I have also read that these are very neutral, which sounds appealing to me, but some find them "boring".
The Tekton speakers have had me intrigued since I first started looking for speakers months ago. I first saw the Seas Pendragons but I ended up obsessing over the idea of the Double Impacts with the large mid-range array and the huge woofers. They are reported as easy to drive and with a very "real" sound, but they feel like the riskiest choice among the three. In spite of the rave reviews for the Double Impacts that I find almost everywhere I look, I can't help but wonder how their sound might compare to the Focals and the Revels, which are more traditional designs that, whether you like them or not, few can say are "bad" speakers (objectively speaking).
Has anyone heard the Double Impacts, Focals and/or Revels? Do the Double Impacts sound "nasally" with vocals or dialogue (as one forum member elsewhere commented... though I don't know if it was this forum or another)?
Will any of these speakers be more forgiving of the obviously less-than-ideal placement they will be forced to contend with?
And lastly, I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur 851W for less than half price on Audiogon. It seems like it should be able to drive a 4 ohm or 8 ohm speaker with ease, though I have read it can get very hot. Does anyone have any experience with this amplifier and can you comment on how it might sound driving any of the Focal, Revel, or Tekton options?
Home theater/stereo is a new experiment for me. I was recently persuaded by some surprisingly positive experiences with soundbars to look for better, louder, options with more definition and overall sonic appeal.
I am trying to decide on a set of floorstanding speakers for probably 70% HT use and 30% music. This is my second attempt at finding a set of speakers in the last 6 months. I started with a pair of Klipsch RP-8000f which I initially liked. I found myself not wanting to listen to them for very long at what seemed like normal volumes - after maybe an hour listening fatigue would set in and my ears would feel a bit assaulted. It is possible that they were not fully broken in, if those speakers require breaking in (I have heard that they may). It is also possible that my room shredded the sound to crap since one speaker had to be right next to a large window, but this is not something I can avoid. I began to wonder what better options might be available within a moderately expanded budget.
So, after reading forum after forum, review after review, I think I have narrowed the options to the Focal Aria 948, the Revel F208, and the Tekton Double Impact. I want to start with a 2.0 system and hopefully (with eventual, begrudging approval from my wife) get at least a 3.1 system going. So I'm really interested in floorstanders so that I can put money towards very good as-full-range-as-possible sound from the front L and R initially. I am interested in at least a 3-way design so that I can get a dedicated midrange driver, as well, and large woofers for SPL and (hopefully) clear and substantial bass.
The problem is, I have no way of auditioning these speakers before buying and my room is so far from ideal that I am sure most of you will laugh and tell me to just use the speakers in the TV, haha. The room is about 16' x 22' with a vaulted ceiling which rises from one long wall to the other long wall up to the ceiling of the 2nd floor of the house. I have to stick these speakers near a corner and I have no way around that (the room simply cannot be rearranged or it will cease to be functional as a living room). The "corner" speaker will be about 2.5-3.0' from the long wall and only inches from the short wall (immediately adjacent a large window). The other speaker will be about 12-18" from the long wall and nowhere near a short wall.
I have heard that the Focal Aria 948 is fussy regarding placement and maybe demanding for amplification because of an impedance dip. I've heard opinions which say these are easy to drive, as well. I have also heard from a Focal dealer (when I was asking about a used Electra 1028 Be II) that the Arias are not the best sound for the buck. He suggested Martin Logan Motion 60XTi, but I hear mixed reviews on the 60XTs (not many reviews on the XTi's yet). But the Aria 948's have 8.25" woofers, which honestly excite me, and I expect they would be able to produce beautiful sound at substantial volumes.
The Revel F208 has boundary correction hardware on the speaker itself, which seems very useful if it actually works given my placement constraints. I have also read that these are very neutral, which sounds appealing to me, but some find them "boring".
The Tekton speakers have had me intrigued since I first started looking for speakers months ago. I first saw the Seas Pendragons but I ended up obsessing over the idea of the Double Impacts with the large mid-range array and the huge woofers. They are reported as easy to drive and with a very "real" sound, but they feel like the riskiest choice among the three. In spite of the rave reviews for the Double Impacts that I find almost everywhere I look, I can't help but wonder how their sound might compare to the Focals and the Revels, which are more traditional designs that, whether you like them or not, few can say are "bad" speakers (objectively speaking).
Has anyone heard the Double Impacts, Focals and/or Revels? Do the Double Impacts sound "nasally" with vocals or dialogue (as one forum member elsewhere commented... though I don't know if it was this forum or another)?
Will any of these speakers be more forgiving of the obviously less-than-ideal placement they will be forced to contend with?
And lastly, I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur 851W for less than half price on Audiogon. It seems like it should be able to drive a 4 ohm or 8 ohm speaker with ease, though I have read it can get very hot. Does anyone have any experience with this amplifier and can you comment on how it might sound driving any of the Focal, Revel, or Tekton options?
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- 47 posts total
Graitscott, I'll add my 2c if you haven't made a decision yet. I own the Focal Aria 948's (oddly, not as many out there in the wild as I would have thought). They are magnificent speakers and have plenty of bass, more so than I am comfortable with, sometimes, but easily rectified by changing the crossover frequency. They have marvellous mids and crisp highs, but nowhere near the ear-piercing levels that the Klipsch RP-8000F would give you. This is a good thing, in my experience. I've had them for about 6 months and they have genuinely gotten even better than I thought they could - however, that may be due to some additional fine-tuning, toe-in, moving around, etc.I also now have them hooked up to Rotel RB-981 amps, which has changed the dynamics even more. I'll link my reddit post about my system, for what it's worth, but it's outdated and doesn't mention the Rotel Amps (I have them in 2x Mono config with 360W on tap). https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/comments/ctalg3/some_updates_to_my_home_theatre_system/ I'm not saying that the Focal Aria 948's are the only answer, definitely not, but I love mine dearly. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help. |
- 47 posts total