TLDR indeed.
How to make the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers sing?
Hi!
My first post here and I would like to hear your thoughts and tips for "warming up" my Focal Kanta 2 speakers.
TLDR
The sound from my Focal Kanta 2 speakers in my room is a bit shouty, bright and thin sounding, clearly lacking level and emotion in the lower mid range. Bass is good, quick and quite deep though.
Any tips for getting more "vocal warmth" into the system? Tube preamp, Dirac, ...? I see that many use old school power hungry amps that can heat your house during winter to drive Focal speakers. Is that really needed or can I get away with a modern amp that doesn’t cost a fortune.
More in depth information
In my living room (5.3 x 4.1 x 2.4m) I have a setup with both 2 channel and a multi channel setup. They share the same front speakers and front speaker amp.
2 channel setup:
- EverSolo DMP-A6 streamer/DAC/Preamp. Playing qobuz, Spotify, and local WAV/FLAC/DSD files. Connected via XLR to:
- AUDIOPHONICS LPA-S400ET class D amp, connected via 4 mm2 speaker cable to:
- Focal Kanta 2 speakers with ISO ACOUSTICS GAIA II isolation feet.
5.2 channel setup:
- Yamaha RXA-2080 AVR connected to:
- Front speakers via pre out on Yamaha to same LPA -S400ET amp (flipped to RCA input instead of XLR) and Kanta 2 speakers
- Center: Focal Aria CC 900
- Surround speakers: Focal Aria SR 900
- Subwoofers: 2 x XTZ 10.17 Edge
I focus mainly on the two channel setup here. Multichannel is used quite much also for streaming movies, but is ok.
So the main issue for me is that the sound in in the two channel setup is thin sounding with mids clearly lacking in the lower end. It can be fatiguing to listen for a few hours. Bass though is enjoyable, fast and fairly deep.
Earlier I had the Focal Aria 936 speakers as front speakers in the same room (connected to the Yamaha AVR at that time). I liked them but wanted to upgrade to the next level after a few years 😄 The Arias were more forgiving than the Kantas, had more enjoyable warmth in the mids and were a bit rolled off in the top compared to the Kantas. Not fatiguing at all. But everything else the Kantas do better.
I have also had some other speakers, up to half Kanta price range, in the same room where all have had fuller mids and a more forgiving sound: Dynaudio, Totem and Triangle floor standers as well as Buchardt and my really old B&W 602s3 (super full mids but super rolled off in the top) stand speakers. The Kantas are different animals to all these and seem to require the a more delicate and correct chain of components to perform.
I have messed around with speaker positioning quite a lot. It’s mainly the bass region that is affected. Mids not very much.
Options I’m considering:
- Upgrading the Yamaha AVR to a Marantz Cinema 50 for example to get Dirac room tuning, and run the 2 channel system through this also. The quality of the Marantz might not be the best here to use as a 2 channel pre amp/processor.
- Use a dedicated pre amp for the 2 channel system. Budget up to 2000€. Not sure what to look for? Used equipment is fine.
- Tubes? Never really listened to tubes but from what I understand you generally get a more warm sound from them. Tube preamp? Not very modern but might do the trick. Schiit Freya + seems to be within the budget range for example.
- Other 2 channel amplifier. As mentioned I have tried to avoid the nuclear power plants of amps. I see people recommending amps from manufacturers like Musical Fidelity, Sim Audio, McIntosh, Accuphase etc. But these are really costly and I feel they generally belong in an older age that we are moving away from. But it might be what is needed, I don’t know, haven’t really heard them play.
- Treat the room more. I have a big sofa, a really big carpet and a few acoustic panels in the room (no real science behind them now). The room in itself is a bit "bright" so here I can make a better effort of course, regardless of other taken measures.
- Get other speakers. I can also just face it that the Kantas are what they are, sounding thin in the midrange and lacking emotion in voices. Getting other speakers might be the easiest upgrade. But it’s not that easy to find and test speakers in your room either...
Long story. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
- ...
- 108 posts total
First, thanks for all the good info — most helpful and appreciated as most people asking for advice here don’t provide nearly enough to go on (dig ur handle here BTW)! Agree with treating the room no matter what else you decide to do. IMHO you have a bit of a mismatch with the EverSolo as a pre and Audiophonics class D driving the Kantas and not surprised at all that you’re hearing what you do, so I’d either change the speakers or the electronics. The simplest solution might be a hybrid integrated amp from the likes of Unison Research Unico, Pathos, etc., which at your budget is what I’d do if you don’t want to change the speakers. That way you stop using the streamer as a pre and get the benefits of tubes in the preamp stage that don’t require much maintenance and give you the flexibility to “tune” your system by swapping tubes. Or, as you mention, you could just add a tube preamp and also get much better results. I’d also upgrade to a better standalone DAC when budget allows. BTW, I forbid you from inserting an AVR into your 2-channel signal path so please just take that option off the table. If you’re open to changing speakers Joseph Audio, ProAc, and Usher are a few I’d recommend hearing as they have great detail but they don’t deliver it as starkly as the Kantas and likely have some more warmth in the mids as well. Ok, just throwing’ some stuff out there FWIW and hope it’s somewhat useful. Best of luck in getting the sound more to your liking however you decide to get there. |
Thanks for the welcoming tone and also your suggestions here! I will look them all up and see what they are about. The room serves as a family living room and not a man cave, sadly. So the acoustic treatment can't be too obtrusive. I only have absorbing panels on the front wall behind the speakers ATM. But I will walk further down this path. I've thought about contacting GIK acoustics and hear what they recommend through their "free acoustic advice", with the risk of getting just generic tips. Perhaps there are other goto providers that aren't too fancy/pricey but do the job? I live in Sweden/Europe BTW. I also believe as you point out, soix, that a middle priced AVR probably is not really the way to go for a 2 channel system. The sound characteristics of the Kantas when using the Yamaha AVR as amp is quite the same compared to the Purifi Class D amp and also a cheaper XTZ Class D amp I borrowed from a friend for a period. When using the Yamaha AVR asm amp the differences were more lower base (too much), less mid range (too weak) and a bit harsher sound overall. So I mean something more drastic has to be done. Roxy, I'll try to remember to write a shorter TLDR section for you next time. |
Good grief dude, it looks like you are about to go down some major rabbit holes and continue resurfacing with disgruntlement and vexation of spirit, simply because you haven't explored what you already have in its entirety. Fortunately, you have a nice piece of Yamaha gear that could deliver you and provide salvation in these times of darkness.
If it is still shouty, pull the 8k band a bit lower with low Q's still....You see this type of utility? Sky is the limit on how you change the sound of a speaker with full featured PEQ and examining the sound you like.
When you go into purist gear, you will lose all such flexibility and just keep diving from rabbit hole to rabbit hole like most dudes around here...unless you've fully experimented with what type of sound signature you really like and become surgical with the type of purist gear you get.
|
- 108 posts total