Looking for Advice on Focal Speakers

@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. 

As stated before, I would suggest 2 different systems— Marantz for HT/TV, and then a 2 channel system. Your wife can watch Bob’s Burgers til the cows come home. 

@dcevans But if I get an integrated with HT bypass, when I’m using all of the speakers for a movie or whatever the integrated will still drive the front 2 speakers right? I know when I bypass it will only drive the front 2, but a little clear on what happens when I’m not using bypass.

Also, what do you think about a good integrated like Moon with a built in DAC vs getting something like the Marantz Model 30 and a separate DAC like the Chord Qutest? I’ve been reading that the integrated DACs can be good but never as good as a dedicated. Thanks for all the help.

I gave advice based largely on your original post, as a fan of Focal speakers. There are many separate threads on this forum dealing with your subsequent questions with advice from others wiser than I. Most on this site would tell you to keep the integrated and DAC separate, mostly for the reason that DACs are likely to get better over time — but also because you are out of commission if one of the parts go bad (most likely the DAC). I think most would agree that a solid state integrated likely has a shorter lifespan than a corollary separates system, given the impact of heat on the circuitry. Cool running Class D integrateds however would be an exception I think. I would not pair Class D with Focal speakers IMHO. I think most would tell you that the sound of separates (amp + preamp) exceeds that of an integrated, but the margin here has gotten smaller over time, and really high end integrated amps are perhaps equal to or better than separates (the argument being there are shorter signal paths with no need for interconnects that can color the sound). Robert Harley gave a highly favorable review >5 years ago on the Moon 600i integrated, stating it gave separates a serious run for the money. This is likely outside of your budget. As an aside, I am also a fan of Moon and believe that integrated with Sopra 2s would be a giant killer, and compete with systems twice its price. There are threads on the issue of HT bypass. I am in the camp of keeping 2 channel and HT systems separate. Hope this helps — but again, I am one person giving you his opinion so keep that in mind. Best advice perhaps is to use this forum to do your research, narrow down your choices, and then let your ears decide.