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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 4 responses by kota1

kota1
2,706 posts
 

OK, the pic is very helpful. The first thing is getting your listening position at the proper angle to the speakers. Dolby recommends a 22 to 30 degree angle to the front L and R speakers to the MLP. This would require you bringing the sofa toward the speakers or moving the speakers wider, or a combination. See this link:

 

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

OP, you need to address the open floor plan as well as addressing your speakers. Have you taken measurements of your in room frequency response yet? Can you post your system, pics, and your measurements in your virtual system in your profile (see mine for an example). I would not spend a nickel on speakers until you get the frequency response of your current setup as flat as possible.

I also use a Marantz processor and the new paid upgrade of Audyssey is a huge improvement over the one that comes with the unit. Don’t buy new speakers until you get the upgrade (and a calibrated mic) with your current system:

 

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

Next you have the acoustic unfriendly windows on the left, maybe some curtains?

These rec’s are for any speakers you own. Finally I would get the audyssey upgrade through the microsoft store (read the review I posted) and the calibrated mic needed through amazon. Run the calibration after you get the speakers at the dolby recommended angles and maybe some drapes or curtains. Look at the room reponse I got in my profile, flat, using this same process/ I addressed my window problem a little differently, but curtains will at least help.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

Yes, the curtains will help. Here is the link to try out the upgrade software and infor about the calibrated mic you would need to buy separately. Buying new speakers without getting a flat frequency response first isn't a good use of funds IMO:

 

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