I have the Kanta No. 2s. I listened to the 936.s before I bought the Kantas and can state they certainly are a step up from the 936s. I also agree with other posters that 1) they don’t require a lot of "toe-in" and 2) if you have patience you can pick them up for 1/2 price. I bought mine last year for $5K used, 1 year old. As far as the brightness of the Be tweeter goes I find it is more due to the recording and other gear you pair with the Kantas than the speaker itself, The last thing I will mention is, and this is likely the most important part, make sure your amp is comfortable with 2-3 ohm loads as both the 936 and the Kanta both hit less than 3 ohms in the 100Hz range and stay below 4 ohms up to around 500Hz. Mine are hooked to the 4ohm taps on a pair of Rogue M-180 monoblocks. The video below is an example of how they will sound on the lower registers. And I don’t find a lot of "brightness" in this recording. Obviously the room set up was not great when I recorded this but it has changed a lot since and sounds even better now. I would use this recording to audition any speaker when wanting to test its ability to reproduce lower frequencies. Another is Temple Caves from Micky Hart’s Planet Drum album. You should feel the floor rumble with either of these. If not then your amp is not up to the task.
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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@cd84 nailed it in the first response. @suboost you can buy just a pre but what i've seen is for basically the same money you can acquire a high quality integrated instead. Parasound, Anthem, NAD or even Marantz the possibilities are endless. If you are a car guy at all you know you can't just drop a giant turbo into a car without changing the fuel system, tune, exhaust etc. What many of us are suggesting is the Kanta by itself would be the equivalent behavior. Good luck, it's fun and you have me rethinking doing some listening sessions at my dealers in area this fall. |
I owned the Aria 936's for about 9 months and never warned up to them. I always felt the tweeter was disconnected from the rest of the drivers and they didn't disperse evenly and together. I moved up to the Electra 1028 and absolutely loved them. I considered the Kanta but got a better deal on the Electras. I would go back to the Electras in a heartbeat much better speaker. The prices for the 936 are getting out of hand. I got a deal on the 936 brand new for under $3k just two years ago. You might find better value elsewhere. |
I bought a pair of used Aria 936’s and run them with a PrimaLuna HP integrated and am consistently thrilled with their SQ. The PL has no issue with impedance load in Ultralinear (70w) or triode (40w as I recall). If they are within your budget I think you will be quite happy for many years as you continue to upgrade your system. Unless the additional cost of the Kantas are of no consequence, I think the Aria’s will be hard to beat. Financial strain is no fun these days. Choose wisely. |
I would not buy the Kanta without listening to them first. I love my Focal 1007 Be standmount speakers, so much so that I bought them back from the friend I sold them to. I have listened to the Kanta 2 with ARC (Audio Research) gear, and was underwhelmed. Maybe it was the ARC gear that was too solid state or cold sounding to me, but I remember wondering where the bass was at. Quite anemic in this regard. You would likely want to buy 2 subs. Sopras are amazing, would likely be an end game speaker for me. I think used Focal 1028 Be would be a great buy, and something that would show improvement with nicer electronics down the road if you choose to upgrade. My 2 cents |
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