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Focal Aria 948, Revel F208, Tekton Double Impact

Hey everyone, this is a long post, so thanks in advance to those who bear with me.

Home theater/stereo is a new experiment for me.  I was recently persuaded by some surprisingly positive experiences with soundbars to look for better, louder, options with more definition and overall sonic appeal. 

I am trying to decide on a set of floorstanding speakers for probably 70% HT use and 30% music.  This is my second attempt at finding a set of speakers in the last 6 months.  I started with a pair of Klipsch RP-8000f which I initially liked.  I found myself not wanting to listen to them for very long at what seemed like normal volumes - after maybe an hour listening fatigue would set in and my ears would feel a bit assaulted.  It is possible that they were not fully broken in, if those speakers require breaking in (I have heard that they may).  It is also possible that my room shredded the sound to crap since one speaker had to be right next to a large window, but this is not something I can avoid.  I began to wonder what better options might be available within a moderately expanded budget.

So, after reading forum after forum, review after review, I think I have narrowed the options to the Focal Aria 948, the Revel F208, and the Tekton Double Impact.  I want to start with a 2.0 system and hopefully (with eventual, begrudging approval from my wife) get at least a 3.1 system going.  So I'm really interested in floorstanders so that I can put money towards very good as-full-range-as-possible sound from the front L and R initially.  I am interested in at least a 3-way design so that I can get a dedicated midrange driver, as well, and large woofers for SPL and (hopefully) clear and substantial bass.

The problem is, I have no way of auditioning these speakers before buying and my room is so far from ideal that I am sure most of you will laugh and tell me to just use the speakers in the TV, haha.  The room is about 16' x 22' with a vaulted ceiling which rises from one long wall to the other long wall up to the ceiling of the 2nd floor of the house.  I have to stick these speakers near a corner and I have no way around that (the room simply cannot be rearranged or it will cease to be functional as a living room).  The "corner" speaker will be about 2.5-3.0' from the long wall and only inches from the short wall (immediately adjacent a large window).  The other speaker will be about 12-18" from the long wall and nowhere near a short wall.

I have heard that the Focal Aria 948 is fussy regarding placement and maybe demanding for amplification because of an impedance dip.  I've heard opinions which say these are easy to drive, as well.  I have also heard from a Focal dealer (when I was asking about a used Electra 1028 Be II) that the Arias are not the best sound for the buck.  He suggested Martin Logan Motion 60XTi, but I hear mixed reviews on the 60XTs (not many reviews on the XTi's yet).  But the Aria 948's have 8.25" woofers, which honestly excite me, and I expect they would be able to produce beautiful sound at substantial volumes.

The Revel F208 has boundary correction hardware on the speaker itself, which seems very useful if it actually works given my placement constraints.  I have also read that these are very neutral, which sounds appealing to me, but some find them "boring".

The Tekton speakers have had me intrigued since I first started looking for speakers months ago.  I first saw the Seas Pendragons but I ended up obsessing over the idea of the Double Impacts with the large mid-range array and the huge woofers.  They are reported as easy to drive and with a very "real" sound, but they feel like the riskiest choice among the three.  In spite of the rave reviews for the Double Impacts that I find almost everywhere I look, I can't help but wonder how their sound might compare to the Focals and the Revels, which are more traditional designs that, whether you like them or not, few can say are "bad" speakers (objectively speaking). 

Has anyone heard the Double Impacts, Focals and/or Revels?  Do the Double Impacts sound "nasally" with vocals or dialogue (as one forum member elsewhere commented... though I don't know if it was this forum or another)?

Will any of these speakers be more forgiving of the obviously less-than-ideal placement they will be forced to contend with?

And lastly, I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur 851W for less than half price on Audiogon.  It seems like it should be able to drive a 4 ohm or 8 ohm speaker with ease, though I have read it can get very hot.  Does anyone have any experience with this amplifier and can you comment on how it might sound driving any of the Focal, Revel, or Tekton options?  


graitscott
glupson
7,842 posts
 
Focals are great speakers and you may be done with search. However, you may check with Crutchfield if they have a pair of Revels in their showroom. It is not exactly in Richmond, but it may be worth it, even just so you can say you tried.

Crutchfield's room was not the ideal one but, at the time I visited, they said they were upgrading it. It was more than a year ago. Give them a call and it may be a nice family outing. Your wife may want to check it out. No leather, though.
badger_erich's avatar
badger_erich
128 posts
 
Watched an interesting review of the Tekton DI on YouTube. Although they were lauded by the reviewer, he said that head to head with the Klipsch Forte III he preferred the Forte III.
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,008 posts
 
I purchased my ARCAM from a dealer who sold Focal Arias and I tried to love the 948 Focal Arias, but kept saying where's the bass.  I also listened to Bowers & Wilkins and even their 804's lacked bass.  Not that I like boomy bass speakers, but I do want to hear all that is in a recording.  I ended up with a pair of Paradigm Prestige 85F towers and eventually added a pair of REL S3 SHO subwoofers and that really made a big difference.  It seemed to clear up the mids on my towers.  I also like how the REL's connect using a high level connection.  This allows them to sound like adding a pair of larger size woofers to illuminate the bass.  They also connect for home theater and they are adequate.  My wife would have a difficult time accepting the looks of the Tekton speakers.  I don't like their looks either.

It is unfortunate most dealers do not allow their customers to listen to their speakers in their homes.  I am sure this make a huge difference in sound quality.  

You have a large room and I think you might need some larger size speakers.  You might look at the Paradigm Prestige Towers.  Whatever you do, I would add a decent pair of subwoofers to fill in the sound.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,315 posts
 
OP Did you go to Audio Exchange or somewhere else?  If not AE, it's worth a visit as they have a good range of different-flavored speakers.
graitscott OP
16 posts
 
@mofojo I was very interested in the 1028 Be II.  They pop up at around my price point occasionally, used.  Is there a huge difference in the sound between the 1028 and the 948?  I know the Beryllium tweeter can provide some major high end detail, but does it integrate well with the other drivers?  I read one user's impressions and they felt the tweeter "jumped out" at them (not just on the Focal but on all speakers with Beryllium tweeters).  I'm also wondering about the bass performance.  I know the 1028 is spec'd lower in frequency than the 948 but the 948's have much larger cone area.  Wouldn't the increased cone area on the 948's provide potentially louder sound and/or clearer bass (though not necessarily deeper), all other things being equal, or is that a bad assumption to make?  With the vaulted ceilings I get a little concerned about some sound getting lost up there.  That seemed to happen a bit with the Klipsch.  I had to crank my 110 wpc receiver up to about 70 in order for those very sensitive speakers to fill the room with movie sound.  With music it was more like 60 to get room-filling sound.  While I have more power now with the Cambridge Audio amp, do you think the 1028's can fill a relatively large volume?

I also would be concerned buying a speaker like that used.  At my price point, they're generally at least a few years old when put on the used market, whereas I can get the 948's new with a warranty.

Decisions, decisions.
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