Focal Aria floorstander owners?

[Witterings]

Excellent! If you can, please let us know your thoughts on the comparison. I've been considering the Silver 500 7G's. I've heard the Aria speakers and I wouldn't have thought the MA Silver could be any more "forward" sounding, but your impressions would be important to know. My concern with the 926 would be if they went deep enough in the bass, as they are only rated down to 45Hz, +/- 3dB.

No worries I will do, just from what I've read if it's a bigger room you / want more extended bass the 936's or 948's may be a better choice .... BUT they're quite a bit more, the 926's are ex-display and already at the upper end of my budget with the HiFi Police
Also from reserach I#ve done on the 926's I've come across a few comments saying the bass massively improves as you get some hours on the speakers.

Just to put the MA's into context, they're great for most but some of the music where they bare their teeth are Westlife - What About Now and albums - Genesis - And Then There Were Three and Chris de Burgh - Into the Light.

That said I could also say a lot of the Eagles tracks and Rumours sound absolutely sublime ..... even if just fractionally bright but not enough to worry you, they're also particularily good at low volume listening when others are asleep.

Just a by the by, when looking up MA's a lot of people said the 500's can easily be too big for the room and they preferred the 300's.

I don't want to detract too much talking about MA's as it's really a Focal thread but I will put in some brief comparison comments, if you have any other queries please feel free to DM me.

 

[Witterings]

OK ...so they arrived early yesterday morning which was a working day but with my enthusiasm to get them up and running and also to get some "burn in" time I took my lunch break at 9.45am
Set them up as quickly as I could on an speaker switch so I could A/B them and left them playing to get a bit of run in time while I went back to finish a working day.

5.00pm Friday came and having worked whilst eating a sandwich around midday couldn't wait to go get myself a cold one and sit and listen and compare them.

I sat with my switch going from one to the other and back again, I was due out for the evening, rushed out the door late, came home after a great evening out with a friend I hadn't seen for too long (played in a band with him for several years) , several beers followed by the obliatory Ruby Murray ... which was absolutely gorgeous.

Now home, a bit worse for wear, but like an over enthusiastic puppy, desperate to get to testing / comparing my new toy and continued the flow of beers that had started much earlier that evening.

Speaker A .... Speaker B .... Back to A ... Rinse .... repeat and the keep repeating again, again and again and just couldn't decide.

Fell asleep on the Sofa, woke at 3.37am, thought WTF and crawled to bed leaving music playing all night to further burn them in.

Woke this AM, relatively early for me at the weekend as the Mrs on a jolly with her sister so didn't feel it was fair to leave the dogs with no option but to soil where they sleep and hungry, so despite not feeling my best, went back to comparing speakers for another 2 hours and again couldn't decide which I preferred.

Anyway, I don't know what posessed me at that stage to check something but I do appreciate in that moment I earnt a highly coveted award ..... re-arrange these jumbled words into a well known phrase and saying ... "End Of Bell Year The"

I'm guessing some may have predicted where I'm heading with this, despite the fact the cables on my speaker switch are very clearly labelled Speaker A Left and B Left ... same for the right side .... somewhere along the way, rushing to get it set up (feeling guilty as I shoukd be working), I had a complete brain fart and got the cables muddled.

I spent literally hours comparing what I thought was one set of speakers against the other but instead was playing speaker A on the left and B on the right and vice versa when I switched.

Anyway ... short story long, I have to say they're absolutely amasing, I think it's the clarity and seperation that makes them stand out, I find them a little but weird in some ways, some of the vocals almost seem to be at a higher pitch which should make them screechy / awful and for some reason they're just not and it just works.

Anyway, really pleased with them, I thought they'd be a bit lost in my room which is a reaonable size (quite open plan) and they're definitely not .... although I'll keep my eye out for a 2nd hand pair of 936's

 

[Revelation Sound]

The bass on my 926's got deeper after playing them for a couple of weeks. I realized a sub was not needed in my room. I do boost the bass on my preamp by 2 db however but I don't think that is cheating.

 

[ash1980]

hey everyone, my 936's are really great to listen - have burned them for around 10 hours so far, not sure though, how much time is required before they reach their optimum. Also had a carpet installed, which has improved the sound. I have a MRX 740 driving all five right now and I feel , there is enough power. However, I am looking to get more finesse in the sound, what would be the best way to do that? Should I invest in a separate DAC ?

 

[delta76]

hey everyone, my 936's are really great to listen - have burned them for around 10 hours so far, not sure though, how much time is required before they reach their optimum. Also had a carpet installed, which has improved the sound. I have a MRX 740 driving all five right now and I feel , there is enough power. However, I am looking to get more finesse in the sound, what would be the best way to do that? Should I invest in a separate DAC ?

burn in is a myth by manufacturers to avoid early returns. your speakers do not sound better over time, it's just your ears get more familiar with the sound.
You don't have to upgrade any equipment, but room treatment and room correction (MRX 740 should have that built-in) would make a sizable improvement.

 

[ash1980]

burn in is a myth by manufacturers to avoid early returns. your speakers do not sound better over time, it's just your ears get more familiar with the sound.
You don't have to upgrade any equipment, but room treatment and room correction (MRX 740 should have that built-in) would make a sizable improvement.

Thanks for the response. I've done ARC already, since I didn't do a Before | After -- can't really say what difference that has made.
What do you propose for room treatment?

 

[delta76]

Thanks for the response. I've done ARC already, since I didn't do a Before | After -- can't really say what difference that has made.
What do you propose for room treatment?

it is a big topic that beyond my expertise. but here's a good start https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/room-treatments-in-the-real-world.10670/

 

[Rja4000]

About "burning in" speakers:
Speakers are essentially mechanical components, so there is more chance to see some degree of change with the first run.

But let's read this comment from a Genelec staff member on one of their forums:

"No, no break-in is required nor does it bring you any noticeable performance / sound quality gains. The only thing that changes slightly is the woofer's suspension compliance (the suspension looses up a bit) which makes the bass sound a little bit more emphasized (than right out of the box), but we are talking about very small differences here. And in any case, this will happen naturally during the few first hours of listening."

 

[Witterings]

About "burning in" speakers:
Speakers are essentially mechanical components, so there is more chance to see some degree of change with the first run.

But let's read this comment from a Genelec staff member on one of their forums:

"No, no break-in is required nor does it bring you any noticeable performance / sound quality gains. The only thing that changes slightly is the woofer's suspension compliance (the suspension looses up a bit) which makes the bass sound a little bit more emphasized (than right out of the box), but we are talking about very small differences here. And in any case, this will happen naturally during the few first hours of listening."

I was looking up if it was necessary or not last night (bit late for me by then but was just interested) and came across a couple of articles from reasonably well known audio companies with links here

How To Run In Speakers | Cambridge Audio US

Want your speakers to perform at their optimum level straight out of the box? Then look no further for some Cambridge Audio know-how.

www.cambridgeaudio.com

How to Burn-In Speakers - Yamaha Music - Blog

This article describes how to "burn in" your speakers so you can enjoy music or the audio portion of your favorite film or TV show at its best.

hub.yamaha.com

To me it makes sense that a moving part will free up the more as it's used which I would have thought would have some effect, I did leave mine on overnight in case it does but at the end of the day, just using them will do the same thing over a period of time so I'm not hung up on it.

The only time it would become critical if it does make any difference is if you have a limited time home trial and want to hear them at the their besy before making a decision.

 

[delta76]

About "burning in" speakers:
Speakers are essentially mechanical components, so there is more chance to see some degree of change with the first run.

But let's read this comment from a Genelec staff member on one of their forums:

"No, no break-in is required nor does it bring you any noticeable performance / sound quality gains. The only thing that changes slightly is the woofer's suspension compliance (the suspension looses up a bit) which makes the bass sound a little bit more emphasized (than right out of the box), but we are talking about very small differences here. And in any case, this will happen naturally during the few first hours of listening."

by our own @amirm https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/do-audio-speakers-break-in.11898/

 

[Rja4000]

by our own @amirm https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/do-audio-speakers-break-in.11898/

It seems I missed that one.
Thanks.

That's one experience, so that doesn't make it a general law.
But that's the only example so far with professional measurements to prove its point, to my knowledge.
So that gives his hypothesis a more solid starting point than the opposite hypothesis.

 

[MarcT]

I can see how a new woofer surround MIGHT loosen up a bit after some use, but considering the amount of power that is driving the woofer's operation, any loosening could be inconsequential to the perceivable sound.

 

[anotherhobby]

It seems I missed that one.
Thanks.

That's one experience, so that doesn't make it a general law.
But that's the only example so far with professional measurements to prove its point, to my knowledge.
So that gives his hypothesis a more solid starting point than the opposite hypothesis.

It's often helpful to follow the benefitiaries of claims. Every link you shared is an organizaiton that stands to BENEFIT from the belieif that speakers break-in by dissuading consumers from returning products that they are not happy with once they get them home. If an organization is in the audio supply chain, you should look at the claims with skeptisim. It doesn't mean they are wrong, but it does mean you should be skeptical.

 

[iconoclast]

I recently acquired a pair of Focal Aria 948. Wondering if any of the Topping/SMSL/Sabaj class D amplifiers would work for these? I have a mid-size room (35m2) so I probably won't push a ton of SPL into it. 3-3.5 m listening distance. The speakers are rated for 40-350 W (@8 Ohm?) and they seem not terribly hard to drive, but I'm guessing I'd want something more powerful than a Topping PA3s/MX5.

Otherwise I guess the LA90 would do the trick, or one of the NCore-based Audiophonics.fr amps?

A multifunction amp/dac would be ideal but I'm not too fussy.

 

[Witterings]

I recently acquired a pair of Focal Aria 948. Wondering if any of the Topping/SMSL/Sabaj class D amplifiers would work for these? I have a mid-size room (35m2) so I probably won't push a ton of SPL into it. 3-3.5 m listening distance. The speakers are rated for 40-350 W (@8 Ohm?) and they seem not terribly hard to drive, but I'm guessing I'd want something more powerful than a Topping PA3s/MX5.

Otherwise I guess the LA90 would do the trick, or one of the NCore-based Audiophonics.fr amps?

A multifunction amp/dac would be ideal but I'm not too fussy.

I've used an SMSL AO200 with Monitor Audio Silver 300's and it drove them fine, can't see it'd be that dofference with the Aria's, or maybe look at a Topping PA5.

 

[anotherhobby]

I recently acquired a pair of Focal Aria 948. Wondering if any of the Topping/SMSL/Sabaj class D amplifiers would work for these? I have a mid-size room (35m2) so I probably won't push a ton of SPL into it. 3-3.5 m listening distance. The speakers are rated for 40-350 W (@8 Ohm?) and they seem not terribly hard to drive, but I'm guessing I'd want something more powerful than a Topping PA3s/MX5.

Otherwise I guess the LA90 would do the trick, or one of the NCore-based Audiophonics.fr amps?

A multifunction amp/dac would be ideal but I'm not too fussy.

I tried driving my Aria 936s with my Topping PA5 and (miniDSP Flex) and I was not satisfied with the output compared to my Denon AVR X4300H.

 

[Head_Unit]

Hmm odd I missed this thread for so long. Here are tests of 936 and 936 K2
https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936-loudspeaker
https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-k2-936-loudspeaker
We have these in a setup with CC900 and SR900, also an SVS SB-2000 Pro which was not really needed for music, but adds a nice foundational lowness. The port tuning is like 40 Hz so again fine for most all music; for organ pipes or some EDM or movie effects then a sub is indicated. The 936 sound super clear and are fairly efficient-playing at loud but not earsplitting levels we weren't clipping a Denon AVR-X3600H. Now with an ATI 525NC I'll have to do some maximum output (aka MOTORHEAD) testing. We've played classical, jazz, country, prog, hard rock, metal, ranchera, really all manner of stuff. They just don't sound bad with anything.

 

[Witterings]

I've now had my 926's for a while and my comments would be .... right song, right volume they're absolutely amazing ... although their mid / lows could be a lot better.

Turn them down for background music at low volume and you may as well have a £20 bluetooth speaker playing instead.
I was running them in a quiet multiroom setting tonight, the other speakers were Elac B5.2's with a sub in a room with the worst acoustic setting you could possibly imagine and yet they completely smashed the Focals out of the park making them sound really cheap and tinny.

Just interested to hear other's comments, time has gone by, their detail / seperation is incredible but they are quite bright and their low volume performance I find seriously lacking.

You could argue they need to run with a sub ............. err .... hang on for a second, I'm spending nearly £2000 on a pair of speakers and I need to then buy a sub because they can't do the job?

 

[MarcT]

I've now had my 926's for a while and my comments would be .... right song, right volume they're absolutely amazing ... although their mid / lows could be a lot better.

Turn them down for background music at low volume and you may as well have a £20 bluetooth speaker playing instead.
I was running them in a quiet multiroom setting tonight, the other speakers were Elac B5.2's with a sub in a room with the worst acoustic setting you could possibly imagine and yet they completely smashed the Focals out of the park making them sound really cheap and tinny.

Just interested to hear other's comments, time has gone by, their detail / seperation is incredible but they are quite bright and their low volume performance I find seriously lacking.

You could argue they need to run with a sub ............. err .... hang on for a second, I'm spending nearly £2000 on a pair of speakers and I need to then buy a sub because they can't do the job?

Focal assumes the use of a sub with the Aria series, imo.

 

[anotherhobby]

I've now had my 926's for a while and my comments would be .... right song, right volume they're absolutely amazing ... although their mid / lows could be a lot better.

Turn them down for background music at low volume and you may as well have a £20 bluetooth speaker playing instead.
I was running them in a quiet multiroom setting tonight, the other speakers were Elac B5.2's with a sub in a room with the worst acoustic setting you could possibly imagine and yet they completely smashed the Focals out of the park making them sound really cheap and tinny.

Just interested to hear other's comments, time has gone by, their detail / seperation is incredible but they are quite bright and their low volume performance I find seriously lacking.

You could argue they need to run with a sub ............. err .... hang on for a second, I'm spending nearly £2000 on a pair of speakers and I need to then buy a sub because they can't do the job?

Yes, you should run subs with 926's if you want decent bass performance and don't live in an apartment. Yes the Aria's are great without subs, but they are much better with them. I run dual JL Audio e112 subs with my Aria 936's and don't have low volume presence issues.