Looking for Advice on Focal Speakers

@mtbiker29 I can't seem to figure out how to see your virtual setup. I clicked on your profile, but didn't see it anywhere. And yes I have been referencing that list of Integrated Amps with HT Bypass like crazy the last few days, haha.

@erik_squires Yeah I looked at those along with so many others. They look awesome, but might be a little pricey for me. But I'll keep looking for used ones.

@willy-t Damn that's a steal. You get them on here or local?

@kota1 So we have curtains up. That picture was taken with the curtains sitting in that chair on the far left, because we had just installed new window trim. So I can close them anytime I'm listening to music if it makes a difference. Thanks for all the help. I'll look into the audyssey upgrade. Does the mic that came with the marantz suffice or do I need a better one?

@mtbiker29 :

Not sure what you mean with the AVR pre vs integrated. Basically everything is run through the Marantz and then I have the marantz hooked to the Halo and then the speaker wires from the halo going to the towers. Sorry for my confusion on this.

@kota1 :

Here is a pic of the room if that helps. Right behind the photographer in this pic would be a large island and kitchen. The living room is 16’ Wide and we sit about 12’ from the speakers

I don’t know anything about frequency response, but I’m not sure what I can change exactly since it’s our living room. There’s no way I can put up acoustic panels or any treatment.

@mceljo Hey thanks for the feedback. So can you explain to me a bit about what I'm missing now? What makes an amp like the one you mentioned so much better than the Parasound A23 I have now? I'm just trying to understand what components I need to consider that make a significant difference.

@bigtwin Yea I've been looking, but I was able to get the dealer down to $4500 for the pair of Aria 936. It seems like the used pricing is right about $4000 including shipping. The Kantas though definitely seem to drop more used, but still about $8000 shipped and I can get them new for about $9000. I made a few offers on some used sets for maybe another grand off, but never got any takers.

@mtbiker29 Ok I think I understand. I'll probably stick with the Aria in that case. So does the dedicated integrated amp replace the Marantz or Parasound or both? Thanks for all the help with this stuff.

@mceljo So if I stick with the Arias should I still consider upgrading the amp(s)? Will I hear a difference? I mostly want to upgrade the speakers, because they sound better overall and the Klipsch speakers are very fatiguing. The Arias I auditioned were so smooth and not fatiguing at all.

@cd84 Thanks for all the info! Do you think that an integrated amp would sound better or offer any benefit over just buying a pre-amp? Now that I finally understand what all this stuff means, I'm just trying to figure out the best option. It would be a fairly similar price to add that vs selling mine and buying an integrated, so I'm totally open to opinions on this subject. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

@ricmech23 Yeah I was open to the 948s, but the dealer I spoke with said that for my room size and the fact that I have a sub it would be a complete waste of money. First time a dealer of any kind encouraged me to spend less money, haha.

Thanks for all the help from everyone! I'm going to go with the Aria 936 and I'm just looking for the best integrated amp now. Definitely intrigued by the tube amps, but I've never heard one before.

@dcevans Yea I'll probably stick with the solid state because it'll get used a lot by the girlfriend and it'll drive me nuts thinking of the tube life going down every time she watches bob's burgers, ha. So you think a pre amp might be better than going with an integrated? Just trying to decide which is the better option for me. I'm open to both options.

@boostedis Well my goal is to get as good of sound quality as possible with my setup. I can certainly space the speakers slightly wider, although they were pretty similar distance when I auditioned them. I can't really sit any closer than 12ft with the 77" TV and we also want to have floor space of course for kids, etc. At the end of the day I'm just trying to optimize as best as possible in this space. I know it will always sound better in a dedicated room, but I also know I won't go to that room nearly as often as I am already on the couch and just want to listen to some music for 20 minutes or while cooking, etc.

@dcevans But if I get an integrated with HT bypass, when I’m using all of the speakers for a movie or whatever the integrated will still drive the front 2 speakers right? I know when I bypass it will only drive the front 2, but a little clear on what happens when I’m not using bypass.

Also, what do you think about a good integrated like Moon with a built in DAC vs getting something like the Marantz Model 30 and a separate DAC like the Chord Qutest? I’ve been reading that the integrated DACs can be good but never as good as a dedicated. Thanks for all the help.

@mtbiker29 Hey so my source for everything is a PC. All digital and all FLAC. No streaming or Bluetooth and no physical media. I ordered the Arias and I think I'm going to hold off on the integrated until a good deal pops up on a used Moon 340i. My dealer offered basically no discount so I figured what's the rush. I just want to enjoy the speakers for maybe a month or two and if a good deal hasn't come up then I'll suck it up and buy it at full price. In the meantime I'm going to run a new dedicated 20amp line, get a decent receptacle ($40 not $400, ha), a power conditioner and some good powe cables and upgraded speaker wires. Any other recommendations? Thanks again for all the advice, it's a huge help.