Few months ago I decided to spend some money on "good" speakers (finally) and got new pair of Focal Aria 926. Unboxing them after long day at work I was questioning why I spent money on two wood boxes with 4 drivers since I already had a pair of similar wood boxes with 4 drivers, my Dali Zensor 7 speakers. Thankfully, after connecting the 926 and listening to few songs I stopped questioning and fell in love with my new Focals.
This love affair lead to the purchase of Focal subwoofer and center speaker. So I now have 5.1 home cinema with my Dali speakers as surround. All driven with Denon AVR3600. I also have Denon 1600ne amp I sometimes use for pure stereo listening.
But there is a problem. My local Focal dealer has Focal Aria 948 for sale, at somewhat attractive price, and for some reason I can't get the idea of buying them out of my head. After discovering how much I liked the 926 the thought process was, since these sound good, the 948 must sound even better? I have tried doing listening test at my dealer but I have had no luck, there is something wrong with his setup and neither speakers sound very good in his "listening" area.
My logical side tells me it's nonsense. The only thing 948 have over 926 is more bass with it's bigger bass drivers. But I have plenty of nice bass already. Still - the idea keeps popping up to get the 948 and use the 926 as surrounds. I also enjoy "multi channel stereo" with both my Focals and Dali speakers, it would likely be even better with the 926 and 948.
I guess I am becoming Focal fan boy. Perhaps I should just get another sub - for good measure. However, locally here in Iceland, I honestly believe the Focal Aria 948 have no match for price/sound ratio. They are old stock so to speak. Price comparison to European or U.S. markets is difficult, listening and comparing to something else - even more.
Excuse my rambling, first world problem I know - any input could be useful or just fun.
This love affair lead to the purchase of Focal subwoofer and center speaker. So I now have 5.1 home cinema with my Dali speakers as surround. All driven with Denon AVR3600. I also have Denon 1600ne amp I sometimes use for pure stereo listening.
But there is a problem. My local Focal dealer has Focal Aria 948 for sale, at somewhat attractive price, and for some reason I can't get the idea of buying them out of my head. After discovering how much I liked the 926 the thought process was, since these sound good, the 948 must sound even better? I have tried doing listening test at my dealer but I have had no luck, there is something wrong with his setup and neither speakers sound very good in his "listening" area.
My logical side tells me it's nonsense. The only thing 948 have over 926 is more bass with it's bigger bass drivers. But I have plenty of nice bass already. Still - the idea keeps popping up to get the 948 and use the 926 as surrounds. I also enjoy "multi channel stereo" with both my Focals and Dali speakers, it would likely be even better with the 926 and 948.
I guess I am becoming Focal fan boy. Perhaps I should just get another sub - for good measure. However, locally here in Iceland, I honestly believe the Focal Aria 948 have no match for price/sound ratio. They are old stock so to speak. Price comparison to European or U.S. markets is difficult, listening and comparing to something else - even more.
Excuse my rambling, first world problem I know - any input could be useful or just fun.
Last edited: