Focal Aria 906 vs Polk Reserve R200

[Froggy23]

Hi,
I have a Loxjie A30 and a pair of Eltax Monitor III, and I would like to change the speakers.
I would like to have opinions on buying a pair of Focal Aria 906 or a pair of Polk Reserve R200.
Also, if you have any other idea of another speakers pair in that price range, I would take it.
Thanks you a lot!

 

[napilopez]

Hi,
I have a Loxjie A30 and a pair of Eltax Monitor III, and I would like to change the speakers.
I would like to have opinions on buying a pair of Focal Aria 906 or a pair of Polk Reserve R200.
Also, if you have any other idea of another speakers pair in that price range, I would take it.
Thanks you a lot!

I have the Focal Chora 806, which measures extremely similar to the Aria 906, except the Chora actually seems to have a little more bass.

Long story short, the Chora has a wider soundstage and bigger sweetspot, the Polk is slightly more neutral and maybe has a bit more focused imaging. I prefer the spatial presentation of the Focals, I prefer the tonality of the Polks.

I honestly am not 100% sure which of the two I prefer overall, but they are both my favorite passive speakers under $1000. The Chora seems to have a little bit less bass extension than the polk, and the Aria has less than the chora, so I assume the Polk would have the advantage in the bass department overall compared to the Aria.

The DBR62 is a commonly cited recommendation in this price range and it looks to be very competitive, although I'd personally prefer the soudn suggested by the measurements of your two picks.

They are all close enough that I'd personally just choose whichever you think is prettiest.

 

[Chazz6]

I have the Focal Aria 906's, never heard the Polks. The Arias deliver excellent definition without sounding oversharpened, to use a photographers' term.

I listen at moderate volume and am happy with the bass; it is there but not a massive presence.

The treble can be brighter than one might want at times. When I moved from a Yamaha solid state amp to a Quicksilver Integrated tube amp, that issue disappeared.

Although the Aria lists at US$2,000 per pair in the U.S., look around and you can probably get it for less than half that, as I did. It seems the Aria sells at the equivalent of about US$800 in Europe. I bought a used pair from a man who had purchased them in Vienna, shipped them home, and after a few years listed them on the local craigslist. (He said he would move up the Focal product line.)

 

[Streamc]

I do not like how aria sounds with iron maiden 2006. Listened with musical fidelity ms6 in prepared room. Did not heard Polk but I think if there is choice I would choose Polk R200

 

[VintageFlanker]

I have a Loxjie A30 and a pair of Eltax Monitor III, and I would like to change the speakers.
I would like to have opinions on buying a pair of Focal Aria 906 or a pair of Polk Reserve R200.

If my guess is correct, you are living in France, where 906 are actually 490€ at HomeCineSolutions. The same store asks 618€ for the R200s ("confidential prices"). Sounds like a great deal in both cases!

If you ask me, I would say neither is suited to be paired with the A30 to get high SPL in a big room. I have no experience with the R200 (yet) but my suggestion is you can listen to both in the same room (ideally yours).

I do not like how aria sounds with iron maiden 2006

I do not like the sound (nor the record) with any speaker anyway.

I have the Focal Chora 806, which measures extremely similar to the Aria 906, except the Chora actually seems to have a little more bass.

Having heard both quite a few times, they are not sounding the same. Aria is the better speaker, IMHO.

 

[Streamc]

If my guess is correct, you are living in France, where 906 are actually 490€ at HomeCineSolutions. The same store asks 618€ for the R200s ("confidential prices"). Sounds like a great deal in both cases!

If you ask me, I would say neither is suited to be paired with the A30 to get high SPL in a big room. I have no experience with the R200 (yet) but my suggestion is you can listen to both in the same room (ideally yours).


I do not like the sound (nor the record) with any speaker anyway.



Having heard both quite a few times, they are not sounding the same. Aria is the better speaker, IMHO.

Nice record. Heard in headphones. Sennheiser. In the same conditions as Focal Aria 906 KEF R3 show pleasant result. I think I would like floorstander more but I do not have much space. Maybe I am wrong. Listening ACdc back in black on Roksan K3 show no big difference between R3 and 906. I think witg second revision or Aria it would be interesting listen them. Good speaker but I do now found it corresponding to heavy metal.

 

[Froggy23]

Thanks for your answers, I think I will go with the Focal.
I have a last question, how do you apply the EQ settings given in the review?
I'm on linux, don't know if it change something.

 

[VintageFlanker]

think I will go with the Focal.
I have a last question, how do you apply the EQ settings given in the review?
I'm on linux, don't know if it change something.

Ask @daftcombo

 

[daftcombo]

Thanks for your answers, I think I will go with the Focal.
I have a last question, how do you apply the EQ settings given in the review?
I'm on linux, don't know if it change something.

Ask @q3cpma for applying EQ on Linux.
On Windows: in Foobar2000 or with EqualizerAPO.
EQ not really needed with those speakers IMHO. Can't hear the difference.

 

[napilopez]

Having heard both quite a few times, they are not sounding the same. Aria is the better speaker, IMHO.

Curious, did you hear them in the same room and what differences did you hear? Not doubting your impressions, just wondering if there's something we can associate to the measurements (although we don't have full spinorama anechoic data for the chora). I've heard them only separately and did not hear enough of a difference to claim obvious superiority.

Based on Soundstage network's data for both speakers, as well as my own for the chora and Amir's for the Aria, the only things I can really point to are a slightly more jagged on-axis response for the chora, which I wonder if it's simply because of the tweeter grille.

Because of the cheaper cabinet construction it's also possible the chora has some resonances -- in the NRC's data the peaks in the response are sharper which makes me think of resonances, but it's hard to tell definitively with the available data. The Chora also actually shows less deviation from linearity/compression in the bass. But overall the Aria's data is smoother and that would make me think it's the better speaker -- the question is how much.

Here's the SSN/NRC Listening window of the two for reference (link:chora, aria):

Maybe one day I'll finally remeasure them now that I'm more knowledgeable than when I first did.

The drivers themselves shouldn't be too far in performance either, and both show similar THD levels. The tweeter is very similar between the two as well.

 

[eddantes]

 

[Froggy23]

Ask @q3cpma for applying EQ on Linux.
On Windows: in Foobar2000 or with EqualizerAPO.
EQ not really needed with those speakers IMHO. Can't hear the difference.

Thanks you, I use Deadbeef.
I have that interface :

How can I put the data of the file in that?


Any other opinion on the polk R200? I much prefer their look, it's my only grief with the focal.
Thanks you all for your answers!

 

[Transmaniacon]

Thanks you, I use Deadbeef.
I have that interface : View attachment 154079
How can I put the data of the file in that?


Any other opinion on the polk R200? I much prefer their look, it's my only grief with the focal.
Thanks you all for your answers!

I have the Polk R200 and they sound fantastic. There is a great neutral sound with strong bass and lots of detail up top. The ring radiator tweeter gives you that great airy treble without being bright. They maintain their composure well when played loud and really make for an enjoyable experience. I have no doubt you’d really enjoy them and the walnut finish looks great.

 

[MarkWinston]

The Aria 906 is double the price of the R200 in my country so naturally I would go for the R200. I have no idea why the Aria is so affordable in Europe but costs half my left nut here. The R200 is mighty impressive on the charts and getting all the basic stuff on point. Yet to see anything that measures better than the Polks for under 1000 bucks, dare I say 1500 bucks. Even if the Aria was priced the same as the R200 here, I would still go for the Polks based on measurements alone. The only thing I see about the R200 is you got to be on axis horizontally (give or take 10 degrees) and you got to get your ear height between the tweeter and the woofer so a height adjustable stand is highly recommended. There is something about neutral and balanced speakers that make them pop without any colouration like a well calibrated oled screen.

 

[dominikz]

The Aria 906 is double the price of the R200 in my country so naturally I would go for the R200. I have no idea why the Aria is so affordable in Europe but costs half my left nut here. The R200 is mighty impressive on the charts and getting all the basic stuff on point. Yet to see anything that measures better than the Polks for under 1000 bucks, dare I say 1500 bucks. Even if the Aria was priced the same as the R200 here, I would still go for the Polks based on measurements alone. There is something about neutral and balanced speakers that make them pop without any colouration like a well calibrated oled screen.

If you have access to room EQ to optimize LF response, IMHO Revel M16 have similar LW 'flatness' and more consistent directivity behaviour than R200 so could be a nice alternative to check out.

Note the >10kHz droop of M16 spin seems to be an artifact of early ASR measurements as it is not visible in other independent measurements.

 

[MarkWinston]

If you have access to room EQ to optimize LF response, IMHO Revel M16 have similar LW 'flatness' and more consistent directivity behaviour than R200 so could be a nice alternative to check out.
View attachment 154300
Note the >10kHz droop of M16 spin seems to be an artifact of early ASR measurements as it is not visible in other independent measurements.

Wonder what is causing the artifact... good speakers like these deserve a second measurement. Without that droop at 10k and hump at 100hz, this would have been a killer.

 

[dominikz]

Wonder what is causing the artifact... good speakers like these deserve a second measurement. Without that droop at 10k and hump at 100hz, this would have been a killer.

A while ago I measured on-axis response of my set and the HF response was close to the manufacturer spin (rise instead of droop).

The LF bump is there, but IMHO it can be pretty beneficial as extra LF headroom if you have access to EQ to bring down room-induced peaks. If EQ is not available the bump might exascerbate existing room resonances - in which case R200 might sound a little less boomy out of the box in comparison.

 

[testp]

If you ask me, I would say neither is suited to be paired with the A30 to get high SPL in a big room. I have no experience with the R200 (yet) but my suggestion is you can listen to both in the same room (ideally yours).

@Froggy23
i actually have Loxije A30 as well,

it drives my dyn's 52 at the moment, A30 definetely will not make speakers sing (not authoritive way), but the sound is 'pure' for the best word. It will do, if nothing other is in the horizon so to speak.

i plan on buying very soon Aria 906 as well, pair it with A30 or my old Yamaha 396, perhaps later some hypex stereo

 

[NoSnakeOil2]

I have the Polk R200 and they sound fantastic. There is a great neutral sound with strong bass and lots of detail up top. The ring radiator tweeter gives you that great airy treble without being bright. They maintain their composure well when played loud and really make for an enjoyable experience. I have no doubt you’d really enjoy them and the walnut finish looks great.

View attachment 154080View attachment 154081

do they sound full at lower volumes in the near field? thanks.)