• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Focal Aria vs Arendal 1723(S) ?

Lifer

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
33
Likes
9
Location
Europe
Hello All,

First of all, thanks to all the members and admins of this community with who I learn a great deal about a topic I am passionate about.
I am asking for your help as I plan to upgrade my hifi system since i am moving from an appartment to a house. Here are some informations about me:
  • I tend to prefer wide dispersion than narrow dispersion.
  • I listen mostly to Classic, Jazz, old Rock.
  • I live in Europe and so Revel is out of question unfortunately.
  • My plan is to build a 5.2.4 system for 70% Music 30% Movies (probably with a Denon X4700H + Hypex/Purifi amp)
  • The plan and size of the living room is not set yet, but will be 30-50m2.
  • My choice for now is stopped on Focal Aria Towers or Arendal 1723 or 1723S Monitors or Towers.
Arendal Pros:
- Footprint is smaller in general
- The towers being shorter, and the tweeter being in second position, this would allow me to allign the center channel with the tower tweeter and not have the TV too high
- Height speakers exist

Focal Pros:
- Better sensibility
- I read a lot of good comments for music, some prefering them to Revel F206/F208. Didn't read many comments or comparison for the Arendal on music, mostly on HT. Which make me think Focal would be better for pure music listening ...

Does anyone have an opinion on this please ?
I am also open to other recommendations, active speakers as well if some with wide dispersion exist.

Thanks a lot in advance
Lifer
 

theyellowspecial

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 21, 2020
Messages
253
Likes
274
If you know you like wide dispersion the Focal are probably the safer bet. I'm assuming the Arendal 17 series is fairly narrow like the 16 series.
 
Last edited:
OP
L

Lifer

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
33
Likes
9
Location
Europe
If you know you like wide dispersion the Focal are probably the safer bet. I'm assuming the Arendal 17 series is fairly narrow like the 16 series.
Thank you for your answer.
I would also think that Focal is a safer bet for wide dispersion, and music in general.
The only thing that bother me is the fact that the center will not be allign with the tower tweeter then, and the heights would be the Aria 906 which are much bigger & heavier than the Arendal heights.

Regarding Arendal series, looking at the Polar graph of each, the 1723 towers seem a fair bit wider than the 1961 towers. Or do I read this graph wrongly ?

Graph_Polar_Response_1961_Tower-1200x676-1.png

Graph_Polar_Response_Tower_S-2-1200x697-1.png
 

Chazz6

Active Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
216
Likes
151
Focal Aria 906 bookshelf speakers on stands of the height you need.
 
OP
L

Lifer

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
33
Likes
9
Location
Europe
Focal Aria 906 bookshelf speakers on stands of the height you need.
I am afraid this won't be enough in term of SPL for a >35m2 living room, listening at 3m and for Home Theater + Music purpose, no ?
 

VintageFlanker

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Messages
4,939
Likes
19,689
Location
Paris
I am afraid this won't be enough in term of SPL for a >35m2 living room, listening at 3m and for Home Theater + Music purpose, no ?
It definitely won't.

I don't know what place "Europe" is, but you should look at deals for 948 or 936 in France. Don't expect them to perform on par with F208 tho, they won't (measurements speaking). Still very good towers for the price, especially in France when you can sometimes get 948 at 1/4 the price of F208...
 
Last edited:
OP
L

Lifer

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
33
Likes
9
Location
Europe
Hello VintageFlanker,

I am indeed in Paris, France and can find great deals on Focal Arias.
I am moving end of the year in Germany though, and i am not so sure how to transport such big towers, but that's another problem...

I read several posts saying they prefer Aria 936 vs F206, some saying they prefer F208 vs Aria 936, couldn't find any comparison 948 vs F208.
Do you have measurements of the Aria 948 by any chance ?
Since indeed Revel cost 4x times the Aria in France, is there any alternative to the Revel that would measure better than the Focal Aria in Europe while still reasonable in Price ?

Thank you
 

MarcT

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
931
Likes
612
Location
East Texas
I'm interested in the new(ish) Dali Oberon 9, which was just reviewed in Secrets of Home Theater and Hi Fi. A few measurements are included in the review, but they are not extensive.


For the price($2500/pair in the US), it may be a nice option, at least for me, as I'm a sucker for big floor standing speakers. I like how the tweeter is below the mid range driver, as my seated ear height is pretty low.

d9d8d7d0a7829ae98389053df5ac8651.jpg
 

VintageFlanker

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Messages
4,939
Likes
19,689
Location
Paris
is there any alternative to the Revel that would measure better than the Focal Aria in Europe while still reasonable in Price ?
The new Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G, hands down. Measured almost dead flat anechoic (+very good subjective impressions) by either Stereophile and SoundStage/NRC.
Do you have measurements of the Aria 948 by any chance ?
By Stereo DE, yes (in-room, tho):
001002-0.jpg



I read several posts saying they prefer Aria 936 vs F206, some saying they prefer F208 vs Aria 936, couldn't find any comparison 948 vs F208.
I personally don't care about what random audiophiles think. Some people prefer A speaker to B speaker, some B to C and others C over A. That is meaningless at best with a lot of factors involved (price/exclusivity being one). Some (probably deaf people:p) prefer Davis Acoustics Balthus 90 over Aria 948. I personally prefer my bluetooth speaker to anything Davis makes. That's it.
 
Last edited:

thewas

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
6,731
Likes
16,156
The new Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G, hands down. Measured almost dead flat anechoic (+very good subjective impressions) by either Stereophile and SoundStage/NRC.
Must say though I prefer at larger angles the Focal 936 (K2 is measured by SoundStage/NRC but original 936 shouldn't be too similar) as it has its widening higher
fr_456075.png

source: https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

while the 500 7G has it the presence region which might lead to some hardness
fr_456075.png

source: https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153
 

Subway2400

Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2021
Messages
26
Likes
36
Having listened to the Aria and the Silver ranges, I find the Silver ranges to sound more natural, especially on the treble, which sounds more artificial on the Aria. There is no noticeable harshness on the Silver-series speakers, no "shouting voices".
 

MarcT

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
931
Likes
612
Location
East Texas
Having listened to the Aria and the Silver ranges, I find the Silver ranges to sound more natural, especially on the treble, which sounds more artificial on the Aria. There is no noticeable harshness on the Silver-series speakers, no "shouting voices".
Interesting that you said that. I auditioned a set of Aria 948 at a dealer in Dallas and, despite the room being pretty large, the mid range just seemed "oppressive" to my ears and the speakers seemed to be way overpowering the room. OTOH, the room had minimal sound treatments, so that likely contributed to the problem, but still... After that, I felt that the largest I would consider in the Aria line would be the 936.

The dealer then played a smaller set of speakers, the brand and model of which I cannot remember, and I thought the sound was much more pleasant to listen to, even when the volume was turned up. All this could be chalked up to my particular set of ears, I guess. I do have tinnitus in my right ear and the ringing can be set off by mid range frequencies such as with french horns and some male voices.

Those measurements on the new Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G are certainly attractive, and with Focal having raised Aria prices to the stratosphere, the 500 G7 may offer some pretty high value. But seems harder, at least in this area, to find Monitor Audio available for audition.
 
Last edited:
OP
L

Lifer

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
33
Likes
9
Location
Europe
Thanks all for your answers.
Comparing the measurements of soundstagenetwork.com, the Aria 936 seem indeed to have wider dispersion than the MA Silver 500 7G.
But I will keep in mind the MA and try to listen to them.
 

bloodshoteyed

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
4,774
Likes
20,957
Location
n/a
I'm interested in the new(ish) Dali Oberon 9, which was just reviewed in Secrets of Home Theater and Hi Fi. A few measurements are included in the review, but they are not extensive.


For the price($2500/pair in the US), it may be a nice option, at least for me, as I'm a sucker for big floor standing speakers. I like how the tweeter is below the mid range driver, as my seated ear height is pretty low.

that's going to be pretty hard to come by, not even all the dealers carry those in the EU (no idea, if they're really that new or just a hard sell)
i did like the Oberon 7 tho, tbh (objectively)
 

stemfencer

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2021
Messages
97
Likes
71
Hello VintageFlanker,

I am indeed in Paris, France and can find great deals on Focal Arias.
I am moving end of the year in Germany though, and i am not so sure how to transport such big towers, but that's another problem...

I read several posts saying they prefer Aria 936 vs F206, some saying they prefer F208 vs Aria 936, couldn't find any comparison 948 vs F208.
Do you have measurements of the Aria 948 by any chance ?
Since indeed Revel cost 4x times the Aria in France, is there any alternative to the Revel that would measure better than the Focal Aria in Europe while still reasonable in Price ?

Thank you
FNAC (Ternes or La Defance I visited) are selling 926 brand new for 650ish euro each (go in-store, cheaper than online). 948 are just under 1k euro each. This is for the walnut finish though. Howvere you will be hard pressed to find better speakers for this dollar. If you are going for 2 subwoofers, I would be going for 926 as assume you are crossing over well above 50hz. Otherwise I recommend going to Cobra in Parmentier and A/B in their listening rooms.

Edit: Not sure what subs you are considering, but Monoprice EU are running 15% off at the moment on their subs. 2x 12" THX would fit the bill nicely.
 

VintageFlanker

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Messages
4,939
Likes
19,689
Location
Paris
FNAC (Ternes or La Defance I visited) are selling 926 brand new for 650ish euro each (go in-store, cheaper than online). 948 are just under 1k euro each. This is for the walnut finish though. Howvere you will be hard pressed to find better speakers for this dollar.
First, it's La Défense.;)

Then...

(948 have been seen quite a few times at 1398€/pair BTW. But not for the last 12 months)
 
Last edited:

MarcT

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
931
Likes
612
Location
East Texas

TheBatsEar

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
Messages
3,084
Likes
4,962
Location
Germany

delta76

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 27, 2021
Messages
1,613
Likes
2,452
Late to party but the more I read the more I realize how an incredible value Focal aria 948 is shipping from France. With 1500 eur it is hard to beat. Still happy even with my rough delivery
 
Top Bottom