Looking for Advice on Focal Speakers


Hey everyone, so currently I have a 9.1 Klipsch RP system. I’m looking to upgrade big time with new towers and a center channel. I was able to audition some Focal 936s last week and was really impressed. The store offered me a pretty good deal on them and also a good deal on the Kantas which I love the look of, but haven’t been able to audition them. Are they worth slightly over double the price? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

These will be used in a living room, open floor plan. I have a Marantz Receiver and a Parasound Halo for the tower speakers. I am mostly upgrading for music listening, but of course I would also appreciate the extra quality for movies/tv.

I’m drawn to focal for the aesthetics and sound quality. I also like Sonus Faber but all of their speakers have leather on them which is a non starter for me. I only mention these so you can get an idea of the style I like. I dislike the more futuristic plastic looking speakers out there. I’m open to suggestions. I did audition some Paradigms and I did not like them (too bright for me).

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Showing 1 response by ace17

Amazing how many people responded that don’t own, and never did own, Aria 936s. Guess what? I do. The Focals will be a huge upgrade over the Klipsch metal driver speakers you have now ~ better tonality, better low-end, more detail w/o the metallic-sounding high end. In your room, they might be a trifle bright, but if you are willing to put a second [large] area rug under your couch, it will help tame the highs, although I agree w/others who’ve already said, at the very least, get some curtains over those windows. I am NOT a fan of metal tweeters, as a rule [I have three setups, and the other two have soft domes], but these are highly detailed w/o the usual "metallic artifacts" of most other metal tweeters which I’ve heard. If they do prove a little bright in your room, just a bit of judicious tweaking of whatever EQ option you have on your receiver should be adequate ~ that’s exactly what it’s for.

Let me know how it goes for you!