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New Speakers for AudioLab 6000A - Elac DBR62 or Focal Aria 906

Toinou

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Hello everyone,

Long time reader here, I finally decided to post and ask for your help :)
I currently have an Audiolab 6000A wich I'm quite happy with, paired with Triangle Comet 902.
I want to upgrade my system and I'm hesitating between two speakers, the Elac DBR 62 or the Focal Aria 906 (models limited also by the looks, it will be in my living room and my wife doesn't really like the look of most speakers)
My usage : movies for the "family usage" and music listening (by streaming or LP) for me
  • Is one of the 2 better than the other ?
  • If it's approximately the same in terms of sound quality, which will pair better with my Audiolab ?
  • I'm in France, and I never could find a store to listen to the Elac (for 2 years that I'm looking for an opportunity). I have found a store to listen to the Aria though. I'm trying to understand the sound differences on Youtube but it's not really representative. And I feel bad asking a local store guy to order some speakers to try at my home and potentially give them back.
  • In terms of budget :
    • For the Elac, in France, it's around 550€ on Amazon, and 600€ in a local store
    • For the Aria, the store I found wanted to let go of his "exposition Aria 906 model" for around 15% of the lowest price on the net (because of the newer Focal model arriving), so it should end up around 500-550€ for the Aria.

Also feel free to tell me if you think the upgrade won't be really noticeable when compared to my current Triangle. It would bother me to spend this amount of money for a minor improvement.

What do you think ? Can you help me choose ?
Thanks
 
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Romario

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On the ( Europe) master deals thread... here at asr you'll find some deals on those speakers, especialy in France ( Fnac). Get them while they're (discontinued?) cheap. Or have you already decided yet?
It's a great little amp with lots of detail, isn't it.
 

AlexanderM

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If you are considering the Focal Aria 906, you might also consider the Monitor Audio Silver 100, 7G, just saying. Is the price comparable where you are?
 

Romario

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7g is the newest model so no discount there. 6g however...
But it's hard to give advice other than add a subwoofer first with bookshelve speakers.
Triangle is around 600 a pair in France, Elac about the same or a little less in Germany and Focals around 900? MA silver 100 7g is around 1K , right?
But are all those an upgrade? I don't know
 

AlexanderM

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I'm surprised as the Focal's are more expensive where I am, the 6g's were reviewed here and did well, it's my understanding that the 7g's are an upgrade. I've listened to and liked the Silver 500, 7g.
 
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Toinou

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Thanks for your replies.
Here are some more info
- @AlexanderM : the Monitor Audio Silver 7G are 1200€ here in France so not really an option (550€ for both Elac DBR62 and Aria 906 where I am) even if I find them beautiful and they have great reviews
- @Romario : I heard on youtube some comparisons of Elac DBR62 & Aria 906 and I think I prefer the warmer sound of the Elac, which are available on Amz with free return which is not the case for the Aria

-> So I think I'm going to try the Elac at home thanks to this policy return. It will let me confirm if it's actually an upgrade or not.
If it's not an upgrade, I'll return them and buy a subwoofer
If it is an upgrade juste with the Elac, I'll keep the subwoofer upgrade for later on but it's duly noted !


Btw, for the subwoofer, I'm not sure what to look for. I have seen the REL TZero MkIII & SVS 1000 PRO which seem good overall/well recommanded.
If you have a sub to recommand, I'm all ears
Note that on my amp : Audiolab 6000A, there is no clear subwoofer output, ther is a pre-out only. The REL subs have a system which lets you plug it on the speaker output wich seems very handy in my case
 
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Romario

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But you still haven't told us what's the reason to depart with the Triangles.

For me, i got the most out of my speaker sets was getting stands to move them away from the wall, switching from streaming service ( now Tidal hifi) and adding a subwoofer with volume and freq response settings.

On the 6000a you can connect the subwoofer to the pre out and leave the mode on " intefrated". Pre out is allways "on" in every mode.

But it's nice to look for different speakers, I get it. The deal on the Focal 906 seems rather nice ( buy two, pay for one), if the condition is flawless.

Happy hunting and share what you got in the end.
 

Stelath

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I had the audiolab 6000a running dbr62 for few months and always felt something was wrong, i struggle a lot with this combination. Think audiolab couldn't drive them efficient, tonality was right but music came out lifeless. Make sure you listen for yourself.
 

Stelath

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Sold Elacs couple of days ago and still auditioning, think floorstanders are way better match for my room, I'm between KEF Q750 and Triangle Borea br07 both great with Audiolab 6000a but different. KEF's are bit layback with more natural tonality, Triangle's are bold, exiting and fun.
 

Romario

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Yeah, there's no such thing as a perfet set up right? Lol.
They both have their strength and weaknesses, I think. The imaging of the Kef's is unmatched, vocals are deadcentre and off axe response is great too. But they lack in dynamics or excitement.
 
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Toinou

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@Romario : I wanted to change the Triangle because I felt they lacked in bass and warmth, they are good but I'm not moved by them and I miss that. As I read that it's the signature sound of triangle speakers, I thought I just needed to find a warmer and if possible "universally recommanded" bookshelf speakers for this approximate budget (so I wouldn't bother with pairing questions) . And I ended up on the Elac DBR62
Maybe a better initial question would have been "which bookshelf speakers for a warm and full sound with the audiolab 6000a"?
Tower speakers is a big no no for my wife and we don't really like the "all black" design of many speakers :(
So it reduces the options quite a bit...
@Stelath : Thanks for the info, I heard that the DBR62 need quite a lot of power. .. Your experience makes me doubt again lol ...

Back to square one I guess ^^
If someone has a "no brainer" recommanded bookshelf speaker for an audiolab 6000a, please share, I'm all ears ! (the very max I can go is 1000€ in France but it's only in case of an exceptionnal pairing idea)
 

Romario

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The triangles are front ported so I get it that it might be difficult to get more bass out of them by changing the placement. On the other hand you can get them close to a wall. I don't know if that is the situation?
The Audiolab is not a "warm" sounding amp, so maybe the Triangles are a bit too much as you described.

Wharfedale tents to be described as warm . I'm eyeing on a used pair right now, just to try and resell them again. Also the Polk r200 caught my eye, but it's not on sale haha.
 
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Toinou

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Thanks @Romario, very useful link !
Yes, they are currently very close to the wall because I don't have lots of space. I guess the replacement also will be close to the wall btw.
OK, I also looked at the polk r200 quite a bit, I'll look if I can find some store thats sells them here in France.

@My adventures in stereo ,thanks, maybe I can go to the store with my amp and try the pairing there.
 
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Toinou

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I have finally accepted that the Elac were not the best pairing (it took me a while I admit it :D)

So I looked into the brands/models you proposed and I now have 3 contenders :
- wharferdale denton 85th anniversary (575€)
- polk R200 (750€)
- focal aria 906 (550€ if the local deal stilll stands...)
Any hint/tip/recommandation or disapproval for any of them ? Right now, based on what I could read online, hear on Youtube reviews and on visuel design, I think I have a preference towards the Denton.

I am in a business trip in Paris and found a store that have the Denton 85 and the Aria 906 in demo so I'll try to have a sound demo of these 2 there (not sure if they will have my amp though)

Anyway, my thought and choice process has finally made logical progress, I really appreciate that :)
Thanks for your tips, and suggestions @Romario @Stelath @My adventures in stereo , it really helped me. I'll let you know if I have good progress with any of these 3 new possibilities.
Of course, feel free to tell me if you have experience with one of these pairings :)
 

bicho_solto

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I think the focal will sound better than the other speakers. The 6000a is a great amp but it doesn't have enough power to deal with inefficient speakers. The 906s are the only speakers in that list that don't need a lot of power to sound their best.
 
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Toinou

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I went to the store today and many learnings (all tests made with the audiolab 6000a) :
- listening in store is really an eye opener. It lets you be confident to what you're looking for, because the sound does not lie, even if you have preferences, you'll know why, without listening, it's all to the preferences of someone you don't know.
- disappointed by the denton 85
- the aria were much better in my opinion but a bit too bright for me maybe ? As my current triangle, it was precise, good but lacking something, so I don't feel it's à noticeable upgrade.
- the salesman made me listen to dynaudio emit ii 20 and I found them far better than both above. They are at 950€
- I didnt have much time so I hope I'll be able to go back and test the dynaudio evoke 20, which is 1075€ and looks far better in my opinion.

Do you know any of these 2 dynaudio speakers ? Any recommandation ?
 

Romario

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Great that you auditioned what you were looking for. There are so many personal opinions about speakers ( and headphones) that it makes it hard to deceide. And as you found out, not every speaker , allthough it's a good speaker) is a match with your amp.
I found that the description of youtuber Zero Fidelity about the Audiolab 6000a was spot on ( clean, punchy, neutral) and he recommends to have a listen to the Polk r200 for a good match for a more engaging experience. But still, it' not your ears or room, but it makes sense.
Audiolab 6000 a review YT
 
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Toinou

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Thanks @Romario, I'll try to find a store to listen to the Polk R200.
Now that I've seen the difference it makes to listen vs to read about it, I'm sure I won't buy anything without listening.

Also, I made a mistake, the Dynaudio Evoke 20 is 1075€ per speaker, and not for the pair :oops:
So it's a no go (unfortunately because they're beautiful), way too over my max budget for my usage.
 
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