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Looking for Advice on Focal Speakers

Hey everyone, so currently I have a 9.1 Klipsch RP system. I’m looking to upgrade big time with new towers and a center channel. I was able to audition some Focal 936s last week and was really impressed. The store offered me a pretty good deal on them and also a good deal on the Kantas which I love the look of, but haven’t been able to audition them. Are they worth slightly over double the price? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

These will be used in a living room, open floor plan. I have a Marantz Receiver and a Parasound Halo for the tower speakers. I am mostly upgrading for music listening, but of course I would also appreciate the extra quality for movies/tv.

I’m drawn to focal for the aesthetics and sound quality. I also like Sonus Faber but all of their speakers have leather on them which is a non starter for me. I only mention these so you can get an idea of the style I like. I dislike the more futuristic plastic looking speakers out there. I’m open to suggestions. I did audition some Paradigms and I did not like them (too bright for me).

suboost
suboost OP
22 posts
 

@mtbiker29 :

Not sure what you mean with the AVR pre vs integrated. Basically everything is run through the Marantz and then I have the marantz hooked to the Halo and then the speaker wires from the halo going to the towers. Sorry for my confusion on this.

 

@kota1 :

Here is a pic of the room if that helps. Right behind the photographer in this pic would be a large island and kitchen. The living room is 16’ Wide and we sit about 12’ from the speakers

I don’t know anything about frequency response, but I’m not sure what I can change exactly since it’s our living room. There’s no way I can put up acoustic panels or any treatment.

suboost OP
22 posts
 

@bigtwin Yea I've been looking, but I was able to get the dealer down to $4500 for the pair of Aria 936. It seems like the used pricing is right about $4000 including shipping. The Kantas though definitely seem to drop more used, but still about $8000 shipped and I can get them new for about $9000. I made a few offers on some used sets for maybe another grand off, but never got any takers.

mceljo
1,357 posts
 

As an owner of Focal 836v speakers, I think you'll be more than satisfied with the newer Focal 936 and will find that you'll have a lot of untapped potential with the rest of your setup.  I used mine for a long time with an Integra 50.1 receiver and have since shifted to a Pathos Classic One Mkiii.  My dream would be the Pathos sound with a home theater bypass option since I still have the speakers connected to the Integra with an amplifier switch for home theater type use.

I'm sure the Katas would be amazing, but you'd really want to upgrade everything around them at a level that's well above your current setup.

If you're goal is to spend the kind of money that a speaker like the Kantas deserves and they are a good deal, then it might be the time to make the jump, but I doubt it.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

OK, the pic is very helpful. The first thing is getting your listening position at the proper angle to the speakers. Dolby recommends a 22 to 30 degree angle to the front L and R speakers to the MLP. This would require you bringing the sofa toward the speakers or moving the speakers wider, or a combination. See this link:

 

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

Next you have the acoustic unfriendly windows on the left, maybe some curtains?

These rec’s are for any speakers you own. Finally I would get the audyssey upgrade through the microsoft store (read the review I posted) and the calibrated mic needed through amazon. Run the calibration after you get the speakers at the dolby recommended angles and maybe some drapes or curtains. Look at the room reponse I got in my profile, flat, using this same process/ I addressed my window problem a little differently, but curtains will at least help.

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