Focal Aria floorstander owners?

[stemfencer]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there are any owners or people who have experienced testing some of the Focal Aria floorstander range? The 906 bookshelf are very well regarded but floorstanders not as common. There does not seem to be a lot of information on these on english based forums, and I suspect that has do with the large price delta for those outside the EU.

How do these stack up and any stand-outs within the range? I also see they have just released a K2 for the 936. Quick search is putting online prices around the following mark:
Focal Aria 926 - 1450 euro
Focal Aria 948 - 2000 euro (40% more)

Personal context:
I find myself in France at the moment so have some bias towards picking up some local made speakers. I spoke with someone who works for Focal (not a dealer) and said to skip the 936s, go 926 or 948, take that for what it is worth. I currently taking a bit step-up from a Cambridge Audio One system with some small bookshelfs so don't have a lot of reference points at this range.

 

[Revelation Sound]

I recently purchased the Focal Aria 926 speakers which are currently being powered by a Adcam 555 amp. I am extremely pleased with the results I am getting. Most YouTube videos will say Focal has smooth high frequencies and they are right. They have comfortable top end. The speakers are very comfortable for long listening periods. The mids bring forth vocals and electric guitars very nicely. The lows are pleasant sounding and are balanced with the mids and lows.

The quality of the speakers are really nice and they look great. I was even more impressed with the speakers playing classical music. Wynton Marsalis has a album called In Gabriel's Garden and it was truly stunning with great sound stage and depth from front to back. Playing Boston More than a feeling or John Mellencamp Little Pink Houses also sounds great.

What is lacking on these speakers is a low end punch initially. However after about 2 weeks, they opened up and the bass is great. Also I have my speakers on carpet. When I used the screws on the base and lifted the speakers a little off the carpet, the clarity improved again. I choose these over the B&W whose tweeters could sound a little harsh on some material. The 948's are nice for an even bigger room. The 926's go low enough for me, and when I want a little more bass, I increase the bass on my NAD preamp by 1 or 2 db.

 

[MarcT]

If Focal's specs are correct, the 936 are much more capable in bass performance than the 926. If you are not going to use a sub, I'd say get at least the 936.

 

[anotherhobby]

I've had a pair of 936's for almost 4 years, and I love them. I had the 906's before, but then moved into a new house with a more open floor plan and needed more power. At the time I demo'd the 926, 936, and 948's and I personally preferred the 936's, but they are all fantastic speakers. I thought was a much more noticeable bass difference between the 926 and 936 than there was between the 936 and 948.

 

[TimF]

I have a pair of the 936. I find myself siting rather close to them, say 5 feet, to get the best detail and sound stage, and that is closer than I sat with any and all previous speakers I've had. That is not a complaint or praise. I am happy with them. Recently I had the chance to buy at a good price Revel Performa 208 speakers but didn't follow through. They are in so many ways similar. In my listening room the bass from the 936 can be too pronounced and I recessed that a bit by dampening one of the ports. I find they handle most types of music well and do fine by women's vocals which is an important factor for me. By the way, if anyone out there has a position on the Revel 208 vs. the Focal 936, I would very much appreciate your comments and opinions.

 

[Revelation Sound]

I think I would have purchased the 936 speakers but they were selling the 926 for half off due to a discontinued wood color which looks great. Getting the 926 for $2,000 was a steal. Once the speakers opened up it provided a good amount of bass. So much that I disconnected my Focal sub and put it back in my recording studio setup.

 

[stemfencer]

I think I would have purchased the 936 speakers but they were selling the 926 for half off due to a discontinued wood color which looks great. Getting the 926 for $2,000 was a steal. Once the speakers opened up it provided a good amount of bass. So much that I disconnected my Focal sub and put it back in my recording studio setup.

Thanks a lot. This is where I am at the moment, 1.4k (euro) for 926 and 2k for the 948 so trying to see if jump is worth it. Interesting to hear you sent your sub back with 926 as well. Criticism I read about these are bit light in bass category, but I suspect that is from improperly powering them due to low impedance dip around 100Hz these have. If well juiced, sounds like is the go.

 

[stemfencer]

I also reached out to a user on here through private chat @Helicopter as I discovered they have the 948s. Had a lot of good comments, so with his permission I am copying some of his commeners here so it's public available for others who might come across this post in the future.

Regarding 926 v 948
926 is a much smaller speaker for a smaller space with less bass extension. The undistorted bass of the 948 is special, but 926 might be a better match for a normal sized room. My room is 50m^2 with a vaulted ceiling.

I am still very happy with the 948s and I am someone who goes through a lot of gear normally. Definitely worth it over the 926 for me, but I'd try to stick to the Focal room size recommendations.

Regarding amplification requirements/difficulties
No I don't think they really need a powerful amp. They need an amp that cam handle the minimum impedance, which is around 2.4 ohm. My little Loxjie chip (Loxje A30) amp ran them fine, but my big 845 tube amp had issues driving them. A modest vintage Marantz 4240 did fine with them too. My Hypex NC500MP dual monoblock obviously has more headroom, possibly better bass, but it is not necessary for these speakers. I would think most contemporary mainstream solid state amps would do just fine.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

There is a video I came across of a guy fixing Arias. I used subtitles auto translated.His complaints were about driver cones hitting coil wires, terrible mounting of front drivers using simple screws which are like 1 time use, inconsistent damping between pair units,
cheap crossover parts:

 

[MarcT]

There is a video I came across of a guy fixing Arias. I used subtitles auto translated.His complaints were about driver cones hitting coil wires, terrible mounting of front drivers using simple screws which are like 1 time use, inconsistent damping between pair units,
cheap crossover parts:

Interesting. I couldn't understand him, but I'm not much impressed with the whole driver mounting and crossover/speaker terminal situation they have on the Arias. Maybe if I go Focal, I'll look for a nice used set of Electra Be units, assuming they are better quality.

 

[Revelation Sound]

Thanks a lot. This is where I am at the moment, 1.4k (euro) for 926 and 2k for the 948 so trying to see if jump is worth it. Interesting to hear you sent your sub back with 926 as well. Criticism I read about these are bit light in bass category, but I suspect that is from improperly powering them due to low impedance dip around 100Hz these have. If well juiced, sounds like is the go.

The 926's are not bass light. They just don't go down as deep than the 936. If they did not have good bass, I would have kept the sub in my setup.

I listen to classic rock and Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour jazz.I actually used my sub first for bass below 50hz and even with the volume cranked all the way on the sub, I did not hear much sub bass with this type of music. So I moved the hp filter to 90hz and then I heard it more. For classic rock, there is not as much low end frequencies below 40hz which thr 926 handle. For techno, pop or dance music you would probably notice more of a difference. The 948's are too big for my room by the way

 

[stemfencer]

Interesting. I couldn't understand him, but I'm not much impressed with the whole driver mounting and crossover/speaker terminal situation they have on the Arias. Maybe if I go Focal, I'll look for a nice used set of Electra Be units, assuming they are better quality.

Interesting video (using google translate). Probably more interesting is the comments as he seems to respond to almost every comment. The question is probably can we expect any different at this price range? He didn't speak favorably of the Dali Opticon 8 or Warfdale Elysian 4 either, from what I can gather from auto-translate.

 

[Rja4000]

Count me in.
I own a pair of 948 and a pair of 906.
Coming from Cabasse Skiff (first edition).

A few years ago, I was looking for an upgrade to my 1994 Skiff.
I performed a few listening tests, comparing Dali, B&W, Kef, PCM, Triangle and Focal.
For overall tonality, the one I preferred was the cheapest of them all: the 948.

Upgrading the Dirac-EQed Skiff was not that easy.
But when my local shop proposed the 948 with a steep 40% discount, I immediately went for a pair (1700€).
I'm VERY happy with those.

Not very "scientific", I know.

 

[MarcT]

The 926's are not bass light. They just don't go down as deep than the 936. If they did not have good bass, I would have kept the sub in my setup.

I listen to classic rock and Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour jazz.I actually used my sub first for bass below 50hz and even with the volume cranked all the way on the sub, I did not hear much sub bass with this type of music. So I moved the hp filter to 90hz and then I heard it more. For classic rock, there is not as much low end frequencies below 40hz which thr 926 handle. For techno, pop or dance music you would probably notice more of a difference. The 948's are too big for my room by the wayView attachment 184969

Check out Larry Carlton's song, Hello Tomorrow, on his Discovery album. The bass line goes really deep on that track!

Also, from your beautiful pic, I can see why your 926's sound so sublime!

 

[stemfencer]

So I demo'd the 926s today and the 906 bookshelf as well. I've decided to forego the 948s as I now plan to add some (dual) woofers down the line with dirac, and assume going further up the Aria line won't generate bang-for-buck as opposed to putting budget into subs. Was demoing in a smaller 20m2 (200ft2) room at the hifi store.

What can I say - the bookshelves actually sounded "better" to me. There was some funky lower-mid boominess going on with the towers which I suspect is down to the smallish hard walled demo room in. Sure was better lower end extension with the towers but far more clarity in the low-mids with the bookshelves.

I was rather impressed with the bookshelves though, and assuming the 926 poor performance was down to the room and not the speaker itself, think I'm locking in the 926. Couple with miniDSP Flex and a Hypex poweramp, RPi streamer and SVS SB-1000 and hopefully will be looking sweet.

 

[Revelation Sound]

I would agree any issue with the 926 has to do with the room. Mine sound just amazing especially since I upgraded my Adcom 555 amp with a McIntosh MC152. Very solid bass, its not rounded but nice and punchy. Any bass below the capability of these speakers is just a low end rumble that you will feel more than hear if you crank your speakers. Very happy with these speakers.

 

[haseat]

Can someone here measure the width and depth of the 936 and 948 without the platforms they are mounted on? The manual does not state if the dimensions are with or without the platforms. Thanks!

 

[TheBatsEar]

Focal Aria 926 - 1450 euro
Focal Aria 948 - 2000 euro (40% more)

I own the Focal Chorus 826V, the direct predecessor to the Aria 926.

Same aluminium foot, same double ports, same speaker config, same network, same measurements: weight, minimum impedance, frequency response and so on. It's roughly the same speaker as far as i can tell.

The differences

1) Chorus 826V have what Focal calls "Polyglass" to sound more natural, Arias have "Flax" to sound more natural.
2) Chorus 826V has a more complex and pricey tweeter mounting, the tweeter however seems unchanged. The Chorus 826V also has same metal design elements below the front port and a more complex finish with acryl (piano style) on the front/back/top and foil on the sides. Chorus 826 has foil all around.
3) Aria has magnetic grilles.
4) The Chorus 826V was priced at 1600€.

Even the technical specs PDF was reused

https://www.focal.com/sites/www.focal.fr/files/shared/catalog/document/chorus_826v-specification_sheet.pdf

https://www.focal.com/sites/www.focal.fr/files/shared/catalog/document/aria_926_specification_sheet_gb.pdf

Chorus 826 V | Focal

www.focal.com

Aria 926 - Focal

Der Standlautsprecher Aria 926 von Focal bringt für erfahrene Musikbegeisterte den echten dynamischen Design-Lautsprecher zurück.

www.focal.com

 

[Loooop]

Can someone here measure the width and depth of the 936 and 948 without the platforms they are mounted on?

Aria 948: width 28.5cm / depth 38.5cm without grill, 43cm with grill.
I have them.

 

[anotherhobby]

Can someone here measure the width and depth of the 936 and 948 without the platforms they are mounted on?

The Aria 936 is exactly 9" wide at the widest (it tapers a little toward the back) and exactly 13" deep.
I have them.