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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@mceljo So if I stick with the Arias should I still consider upgrading the amp(s)? Will I hear a difference? I mostly want to upgrade the speakers, because they sound better overall and the Klipsch speakers are very fatiguing. The Arias I auditioned were so smooth and not fatiguing at all.

@suboost - My setup uses a home theater receiver in parallel with my pathos integrated.  Both amplifiers are connected to my speakers through a custom switch to make it as convenient as possible.

A better setup would be to have an integrated amplifier with a home theater bypass feature that allowed it to act as the power amplifier for the home theater receiver while also being totally independent for stereo listening.

Before I got the Pathos, I tried to go this route with a Cambridge Audio 840A.  It didn't work will with my receiver and I didn't like it's sound.  After getting the Pathos, I tried again with a Krell S-300i, but after rolling Mullard tubes the Pathos was clearly superior to my ear so I sold the Krell.  I'm at the point where I'd have to spend more than I'm willing to spend to get a better sounding integrated amplifier with home theater bypass.  At some point I may consider getting some small front channel speakers to allow me to complete separate things, but that's a clunky solution with low WAF.

@suboost - I think you should get the Arias and try to just enjoy them with the rest of your setup.  I would expect them to benefit from better amplification, but I'm a huge fan of maximizing your enjoyment by listening to them with your current systems and only considering an upgrade if and when you feel that there's a flaw.  There's always going to be something better, so that shouldn't really be a factor.  Focus on your enjoyment.

I don't know anyone personally that has a system that I like better than mine, so as long as I don't visit the local shops I can stay content with my system.  I've already exceed where I ever expected to be with audio equipment, so just try to focus on the listening part of the hobby.

@suboost Go for the Kantas you wont regret it but you might if you go with the 936,s . I was able to listen to both and really liked the overall sound of the Kantas. People are always talking about the be tweeter being too bright or fatiguing  , I listen for probably three hours a day or better 5days a week and have never felt that way at all. It is truly a full range speaker I stopped using my sub all together it’s just not necessary for me  you can see my system on my profile its pretty similar to what you’ve got the breakfast nook/ kitchen is behind in the pic so the room depths are about the same, best !

 

My mistake -- thanks for the correction. The 936 is not a Be tweeter, it's a  Al/Mg TNF inverted dome tweeter. It's bright in my space, as the Be tweeters are. That's why I conflated them. Ribbon tweeters work better for me, but YMMV.