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Focal Aria 936 / Elac Adante AF-61 / Von Schweikert VR-33 , impressions, thoughts?

Thinking of upgrading my speakers and in the past have just gone with what I thought was a great deal, sometimes that worked, more often it did not!

Have a shortlist right now of those 3 speakers.

Focal Aria 936
Elac Adante AF-61
Von Schweikert VR-33

Presently using Triangle Altea ESW speakers.

What am I lacking right now? Possibly some lower bass, the Triangles are superb in the mids and upper registers but you can definitely tell they are  a little limp below 40hz. And at the end of the day even though I consider them to be fantastic speakers, they were after all only 2k brand new so there are likely better options out there to consider.


So thoughts and impressions on those 3 speakers or any serious contenders in the same sort of price bracket, I am looking at used examples only so think 3k max.

Will be driving them with an Ayre AX-7E integrated which I will NOT be changing anytime soon (famous last words I know!)

Thank you
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mtrot
642 posts
 
@ uberwaltz
Yeah, that's my question as well.  Focal doesn't really rate the 946 that much deeper than the 936, and others have said the 936 is fine.  But I'm just a sucker for big floor standers.
uberwaltz's avatar
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uberwaltz OP
4,946 posts
 
I know with 8" woofers you would have thought a deeper quoted response than 37Hz.
But to put into perspective the low E string on bass guitar is 40hz approx so for rock music more than adequate.

Maybe not so much for classical or chamber music with deep pipe organs and the like.
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
There's practically no difference in bass between the 948 and 936, and I've listened to both for several hours. Their flat response is 37 and 39 Hz respectively and 31 and 32Hz -6dB. I defy anybody to hear the difference. The much bigger difference is where the tweeter and mid-range cross over. You may like the voicing of the 948 better. I will say listening to the 926 and 948 side by side, the 926 sounded better inside 12 feet. The 948 didn't really come together until you're more like 15 feet away from it. 
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uberwaltz OP
4,946 posts
 
That's useful as my listening position is approx 10ft from each speaker. So the 948 may not even work to its best in my room.
Agreed 37 and 39Hz is going to be near impossible to hear the difference, you may just get a "feel" for a little more depth to bass but that's about it.
mtrot
642 posts
 
Yes, I also sit ~10 feet from my speakers. From the Focal web site on the 936:
"Appropriate for rooms measuring from 270ft2 (25m2) and from a listening distance of 10-12ft (3m - 3.5m)."

For the 948:
"This is the ultimate loudspeaker of the range for rooms measuring from 320ft2 (30m2) and from a recommended listening distance of 12ft (3.5m)."
My family room measures about 270 square feet, but the ceiling steps and bevels up to 10 feet, and the room is open to the breakfast nook and kitchen. So, there is a lot of cubic feet that is open to the speakers.
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