Focal Aria 906 vs Elac DRB62 subjective sound quality - what to make of it

[PHD]

Hi

I have the Aria 906 as front speakers (X4800H using Buckeye NC252MP) and recently I bought the Elac DRB62 to be used as surrounds instead of the JBL Arena 120.

The first test I did was to set the AVR to pure direct and listen to music using the Elac. To my surprise, the Elac sounded way better than the Aria. I get no boominess and dry borning sound from the Aria in pure direct (Audyssey and subwoofers off).

Then I ran Audyssey calibration (Evo script, force large fronts) for the Elac as fronts and tested again in stereo (subwoofers on), and listened to music. It sounded very good until I went back to the Focal (same location) and switched to the old speaker preset with Focal calibration. Now the sound was even better.

So, to conclude:

In pure direct (no subs no EQ) the Elacs sound much better than the Focals.

In stereo (with subs, post recalibration with each brand) the Focals sound better than the Elacs but by a minor difference (it could be a placebo, so let's say they sound similar and good).

What to make of this? Is it room-related? Should I keep the Focals or sell them and get another Elac pair (perhaps get the floor-standing DFR52 ?)


I'm really disappointed in Focal as they cost me 3 times the price I paid for the Elac.

 

[rynberg]

What is a "dry borning sound"?

How close to the wall are these located? Room size and listening position location? The Aria 906 has more neutral low frequency response, if anything the DBR62 should be the boomier of the two.