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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@suboost Go for the Kantas you wont regret it but you might if you go with the 936,s . I was able to listen to both and really liked the overall sound of the Kantas. People are always talking about the be tweeter being too bright or fatiguing  , I listen for probably three hours a day or better 5days a week and have never felt that way at all. It is truly a full range speaker I stopped using my sub all together it’s just not necessary for me  you can see my system on my profile its pretty similar to what you’ve got the breakfast nook/ kitchen is behind in the pic so the room depths are about the same, best !

 

My mistake -- thanks for the correction. The 936 is not a Be tweeter, it's a  Al/Mg TNF inverted dome tweeter. It's bright in my space, as the Be tweeters are. That's why I conflated them. Ribbon tweeters work better for me, but YMMV.

go listen to the monitor audio gold Gen 5 or the platinum Gen 2 much better than focal.

I am happy with Focal 906's. A light cotton curtain over the window right behind the listening seat was quite helpful. I bought the used 906 pair at about half price on craigslist.

 

My son has the Focal Aria 948 and think they sound great. Very good bass and not too bright on the highs. I ran them in my setup for a few months before my son got his place. I have Klipsch Cornwall III’ s which I have paired with subs. You can see my profile. The Focals do not need to be ran with subs in my opinion because the bass is that good. If you like the 936’s I would try to find 948’s but I’m sure the 936’s will sound great.