@mceljo Hey thanks for the feedback. So can you explain to me a bit about what I'm missing now? What makes an amp like the one you mentioned so much better than the Parasound A23 I have now? I'm just trying to understand what components I need to consider that make a significant difference.
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).
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@suboost I think what @mceljo and I are saying is you'd be better off with an upgrade of some other components with Aria vs. going Kanta and staying with what you have. Looking at your room Kanta will be huge and stick out a bunch, definitely not WAF friendly if that's an issue. I think you answered my specific question but let me share where I was headed. You have "everything into the Marantz" so I'm deducing that's an AVR and the Parasound is simply a power amp. Ideally what @mceljo and are saying is dedicated integrated amp will have a much better preamp section (make your source material sound better). And it's easlly assembled via the HT bypass function he referenced. Again without knowing all other components my gut says Aria + some other tweaks are likely to yield a better overall result. |
@mtbiker29 Ok I think I understand. I'll probably stick with the Aria in that case. So does the dedicated integrated amp replace the Marantz or Parasound or both? Thanks for all the help with this stuff. |
@suboost - I think @mtbiker29 and I are thinking along similar lines. My thought process was that if you think the Focal 936 is a significant upgrade over your current speakers and you're setup for both stereo and home theater that the Kanta's would be a mismatch with your current setup. I've heard my 836v speakers connected to everything from an Onkyo receiver all the way up to Krell monoblocks that were intended for the Grande Utopia speakers. I'd have no issue with upgrading my integrated amplifier knowing that my speakers still have more to give. I do generally subscribe to the theory of buying the best speakers you can afford assuming that you love their sound. You can then upgrade your equipment to maximize that sound. A caveat to this theory is that it's a waste of money to have speakers that are far superior to the rest of your system unless you have a plan to align things over time. My current system is approaching the limit for the amount of money that I'm willing to invest in this hobby and my setup limitations wouldn't allow me to truly benefit from significantly better equipment.
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