@erik_squires Yeah I looked at those along with so many others. They look awesome, but might be a little pricey for me. But I'll keep looking for used ones.
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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@boostedis Well my goal is to get as good of sound quality as possible with my setup. I can certainly space the speakers slightly wider, although they were pretty similar distance when I auditioned them. I can't really sit any closer than 12ft with the 77" TV and we also want to have floor space of course for kids, etc. At the end of the day I'm just trying to optimize as best as possible in this space. I know it will always sound better in a dedicated room, but I also know I won't go to that room nearly as often as I am already on the couch and just want to listen to some music for 20 minutes or while cooking, etc. |
If it were me, I would buy a solid state integrated amp or a tube preamp to pair with the Parasound amp. I would keep the Marantz receiver for home theater. Might not be true for all of the Focal speakers, but in general you will need more tube watts than is offered in most tube integrated amps to drive Focals properly, due to their impedance curve. At a minimum, I think you would want the 120 watts of a Rogue Cronus Magnum — but I know Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio sells a LOT of Prima Luna integrated amps paired with Focal speakers, and would strongly argue otherwise. As mentioned above, Prima Luna have HT bypass.
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@dcevans Yea I'll probably stick with the solid state because it'll get used a lot by the girlfriend and it'll drive me nuts thinking of the tube life going down every time she watches bob's burgers, ha. So you think a pre amp might be better than going with an integrated? Just trying to decide which is the better option for me. I'm open to both options. |
Depends on what you are looking for and your budget. If you want HT bypass, get a preamp. If a 3D soundstage is really critical for your listening enjoyment, get a tube preamp. A Prima Luna Evo 200 preamp will give you both but set you back $3400. A Schitt Freya+ tube preamp is very high value at around $900 I think, but doesn’t have HT bypass. Plus you will need to invest in interconnect cable. If space and/or budget is at a premium or if your wife is pushing for less boxes, get an integrated. I personally like the flexibility of separates in terms of experimentation and tailoring the sound to my liking. You already have the amp. I have not heard the A23, but know the A21 was designed by John Curl and gets very high marks. Supposedly has a warmer, less resolute but more engaging sound. Should pair nicely with the Focal Aria I think. |
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