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New Speakers for AudioLab 6000A - Elac DBR62 or Focal Aria 906

Romario

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Ok, gotcha. DSP is something to consider. A 350 bucks a pair of budget elacs on a 1400 dollar unifi and a 1000 dollar subwoofer is maybe not so in balance. Add a 650 dsp flex and a 180 wiim pro and the cost is not that budget anymore haha. But yeah, can't comment on something I haven't heard myself.
 
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Toinou

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Now I feel like I'm hijacking your thread, but I thought I'd share my journey with the A6000
Please do, I would add that when I tried the audiolab 6000a on the evoke 20 (far costlier than the amp) , the salesman told me that he didn't know if the amp would be able to drive the speakers well. We tried and he was positively suprised by it, it drive them very well, we didn't feel the need to plug another amp for the test. Of course there surely is better but for the connectivity + the sound quality considering the price point, it's really quite good. Not much to be disappointed by this amp in my opinion (for this price range of course)

I wat thinking of Aria906 myself. What about Focal Aria 926?
Sorry, I didnt hear them, I cannot tell you. The focal 906 was good but not enough an upgrade for the price in my situation so I would say, it depends of what you currently have, what you want to improve and what is your budget.

I found there was a HUGE 125hz peak. Once I corrected that and some more minor modes the sound became so good.
How did you correct that ? Placement and stuff or specific eq ?

Today, I bought the Elac DBR 62 online as I can send them back if I am disappointed. It's the only speakers that I considered that I didnt hear so it will help me compare them to what I have now and the rest of the candidates and make an informed decision.
The rest was either really great and too expensive or not much of an improvement compared to my triangle comete 902.
So I'm hoping for a good surprise from the Elac, we'll see !
 

BossBunos

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How did you correct that ? Placement and stuff or specific eq ?
Since it's my desktop setup I have installed a program called EqualizerApo on my PC (which is also my source). I made a measurement at the listening position using a umik-1 and Room EQ Wizard.

Normally playing with placement would be the first step but that was very limited of course on a desk.
 
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Toinou

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Ok thanks. I'm asking because I have no idea how to do that in my situation (in the living room with either a streamer either android tv as a source. And the audiolab doesn't come with a room eq).
 

Romario

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Please do, I would add that when I tried the audiolab 6000a on the evoke 20 (far costlier than the amp) , the salesman told me that he didn't know if the amp would be able to drive the speakers well. We tried and he was positively suprised by it, it drive them very well, we didn't feel the need to plug another amp for the test. Of course there surely is better but for the connectivity + the sound quality considering the price point, it's really quite good. Not much to be disappointed by this amp in my opinion (for this price range of course)
On the Andrew Robinson you tube audio review channel about the audiolab 6000 play he connected it to a variety of speakers like the Evoke 20 succesfully.
 

BossBunos

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Here is my initial measurement (all moving mic method at the listening position) of the DBR on my desk. As you can see there is an almost 20dB peak at around 120, that doesnt sound pretty at all. Then I applied some EQ to flatten the bass response. The last image is the before and after eq; psycho acousticly smoothed.

DBR62 no eq.jpg

DBR62 with eq.jpg
Psycho acoustic compare.jpg
 
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Toinou

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I received the Elac and they sound great in my living room and with the Audiolab.
It's clearly an upgrade compared to my Triangle Comete 902, and an upgrade that won't cost me 2000€... (so it's clearly a +)
Of course, they're not as good as the Evoke 20 but they are 4 times less expensive. And clearly (at least to me), the difference in sound quality is not worth 1,5k€.

So I'm going to keep the Elac and call it a day :)
Thanks to everyone for your advices. It clearly helped me !

If anyone reads this without knowing how to move forward in his choice, I would say the best advice I received here is to go in a store and listen, that will help you to decide. You will understand better what you're looking for, what you don't want, and after that, the only question is budget :)

@Romario thanks for the thread on eq for the living room. I'll have a look into it because it can me fun and useful !
 

Romario

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That's great news! I'm happy for you that you could find your new speakers quite fast. Now you can finally enjoy.
Suggestion: keep the triangles in case you want something different one day or if your listening / speaker position is changed. After a few months it' like a whole new system again. It's nice to play around with sound. Or sell them and tread your partner on a diner haha
 

BossBunos

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Congratulations with your purchase! I think it 1.5k well saved. Enjoy them!
Next future upgrade: minidsp flex ;)
 

Romario

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I'm following the wiim pro thread and there it was mentioned that when engaging the fixed volume and using the eq it leads to distortion. When dialing the volume back the eq can be used. So now I eq'ed both my speaker sets to obtain a nice frequency response ( to my ears) and I'm setteling for that for now.

However, I saw some nice discounts on various speaker sets I wanted to try out on the audiolab 6000a. Maybe I should hold off for now, but you'll never know when temptation strikes again haha.

@Toinou How are the Elacs doing? Did you leave the house last week?
 
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Toinou

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The Elac are doing just fine for me ! Listening to them every day and clearly an upgrade in clarity, bass, and in the sound scene.
If they are part of your speaker short list to try, clearly for me, they easily compare to the 1000€ speakers i tested in store, and are better in some cases (to my ear at least). I did not find the polk r200 to try though, I would have liked to try it.

I'm on multiple things right now so I didnt start the eq/dsp thing (and I think i need to wait to install my curtains in this new place before doing the test as it may change the tonality of the room). I'm not that sure to be honest.
But i definitely want to try this. I will start from zero though, i dont have a mic for measurements, i have no idea how to start this but it will be fun
 

MindOfAudio

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I just listen the day before Focal Aria 906 in a showroom with my 6000A Play. Such a beautiful and effortless sound. I think I must buy them. For the moment I use a pair of Q Acoustics 3020 with an Emotiva 12 inch sub.
I did listen also the Goldenear BRX and Focal Chora 826, good speakers but the Aria 906 was better in every way except for the very low frequencies. The others where good at low bass but not so clear and controled like Aria.
 

delta76

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@MindOfAudio what kind of music did you listen to? The Aria's are quite hard to come by at a decent price.
if you are in EU, buying from France is usually the cheapest way. either fnac.com or www.homecinesolutions.fr, whatever cheapest total cost (shipping included)
if you are in the US or elsewhere, check with your retailer to see if they have some kind of deal. $1000 or less for a pair of 906 is not unheard of
 

MindOfAudio

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if you are in EU, buying from France is usually the cheapest way. either fnac.com or www.homecinesolutions.fr, whatever cheapest total cost (shipping included)
if you are in the US or elsewhere, check with your retailer to see if they have some kind of deal. $1000 or less for a pair of 906 is not unheard of
Thank you. I am in EU.
 

Romario

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I'm in the EU. That homecinesolution has some nice discounts, I'll keep an eye on that. But not for the Aria's, so far.

Nice collection!
 

daftcombo

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I auditionned both, but in different rooms. I would get the Aria 906 again because their sound stage is incredible.
 

delta76

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I'm in the EU. That homecinesolution has some nice discounts, I'll keep an eye on that. But not for the Aria's, so far.

Nice collection!
Yeah they are on sale quite often. 550-600 Eur per pair is quite common.

In the old days you can get them for less than 500, or even 450. But inflation f**ked us hard
 
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