That's largely reflected my experience with the 936's as far as bass. They certainly don't need any boundary reinforcement. Focal's placement guide wasn't the most useful for me either. 2 feet from the wall got the job done.
As for isolation as a must... Not so much. It really depends on the floor. I enjoy the luxury of a very solid slab. I suspect a giant resonant hotel room floor might make them more useful. |
The long wall should do well. I personally think having adequate distance from the wall is more critical that the listening distance. I think the reason they recommend 10+ feet is because the tweeter is so high and you've got to be that far out to be in it's sweet spot. I work around that by turning the rear spikes all the way down and turning out the fronts just enough to get through the carpet. I've got mine pulled out 23 inches and toes to see a shallow angle of the insides. I STRONGLY recommend a diffraction or absorbing solution for the wall they're facing, possibly both, with little or nothing behind them. That seems to yield the deepest, widest imaging.
I love these speakers. I think with proper placement, room treatment, and electronics these things are extremely hard to beat for the money. |
The 948's, with their hideous impedance low point of 2.5 ohm compounded by some phase angle, aren't easy to drive. The Kanta and all the Sopra's are easier to drive than the 948's. The thing I like about the 936's is they're not the most politely voiced speakers out there. They have a smooth, meaty, physicality to the sound from top to bottom that I think a lot of other speakers are voiced to avoid in the interest of sounding more polite. They attack from all angles when it's called for and they lay back and chill when it's not.
As far as an update to the 900 series, I'm not sure what they'd change. Maybe the TMD driver from the Kanta? |
I tried mine toed like that. It didn't work for me. I did go a bit wider than an equalateral triangle, but only toed 15 degrees or so. I'm about 11 feet from them. My room is effectively about 23x14 with a dining room jutting off to the right. What's the soundstage you're getting like? |
@cleeds
Focal are voiced using big solid state Naim amps. They like big current delivery ability. That doesn't usually describe tubes. |
The 936's don't require obscenely muscular amps to drive them, just an amp that can drive a low impedance load. I'm currently listening to my 936's powered with a Nelson Pass F5 clone biased up to around 36 watts RMS class A and it's driving them with muscular authority. Bassnectar? No problem with this amp! 936's have a nasty impedance dip in the upper bass combined with a strong negative phase angle a little further up. You don't so much need raw power as you need a solid amp that will really belt out the current at lower impedance. This F5, biased as it is, drives these Focals to screaming loud volumes with absolute easy. The nice thing about the 936's is that they'll really show off what an amp like that is really capable of. |
The 936’s need no subs to dig down to 32Hz quite flatly with some considered boundary reinforcement. They make just as much deep bass as the 948’s and are simply better suited for a smaller room.
The thing with the 936’s is that they will reveal the virtues and drawbacks of the best amps you put behind them. Mine are totally taking advantage of the virtues of a Pass class A amp and I rather doubt you’re going to find a better commercial integrated. I understand it’s not common to dump as much or more than the speakers are worth into amplification, but these speakers WILL take full advantage of the best power you can buy. I strongly recommend quality over quantity in so much as at least having to power to satisfy your volume demands. At a listening distance of 12 feet, 36 watts RMS is plenty for my listening tastes and is in fact more than enough to do hearing damage.
All that said HR at Stereophile reviewed them with a stack of Moon gear to good effect. He also used the Primary Luna tube integrated at 30 watts or so and was pleased as well. |
The 926 and 936 are very similar. Their placement demands will be similar. I definitely think 936's would overwhelm your room. The recommended listening distance Focal suggests are generally well advised, give or take a little. If one amp drive the 936's well, it'll be very similar with the 926's. I auditioned the 926 and 948 and bought the 936 sight unseen given the very similar sound of each.
I've got mine a good 2 feet from the wall. Any less and imaging suffers and bass gets boomy and muddled. They are speakers that want to be properly placed and toed. They will exploit the best amp you can buy too. I'm feeding mine power through a beefed up Pass F5 clone and they are simply amazing. Endlessly deep and wide, crisp, clear, and well focused. The depth ranges from faint and distant to attacking your face and wrapping around you. If you're not getting something like that from the 900 series they're either poorly placed or poorly matched to power. |
I'd seriously consider acoustically simulating that space with room treatment in that case. Walmart has urethane matress pads for like 10 bucks. Not pretty or ideal, but they're dirt cheap and will give you a good idea what treatment can do and where it would be most useful before you throw down real money. |
Unless you've got a really big room you don't need the 948's. They offer exactly 1Hz more bass extension over the 936's and will totally overwhelm a smaller room.
I power my 936's in an average sized room with a 32 wpc Pass F5. It does an excellent job. They reward having the best amplification you can find. |
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There are purpose built rears in the 900 series made to be hung on walls. I'd suggest those. They're cheaper than 926's.
As far as amplification, these are unique speakers in that they will reward using the best amplification possible, and I really can't emphasis that enough. I completely believe that these speakers are worthy of the Pass power behind mine. If you like how the Parasound works with them, go for it. |
I auditioned my 936's with a Cambridge amp. Not bad, but nothing like my F5. It simply didn't grip those speakers with the same authority. What's more, we're talking about speakers with a 2.8 oh low point right in the middle of the mid-bass. No AV receiver is going to drive them competently and many won't drive them for long. An option with considering would be Naim. I'm obviously a big fan of Pass though. |
The INT-60 would drive them well. I'm currently sitting in a vibrating chair compliments of a 32 watt F5, 936's, and some Bassnectar. I mentioned Naim because Focal owns them and uses their amps to voice their speakers.
Bottom line is these speakers are well known for letting the amp speak with it's own character. I built my amp and tweaked it to sound the way I want. You really should do some listening and see what you like best. |
Is that the class D they're selling?
As for subs.... Why? |
They really are great speakers for the price. I've tweaked out the F5 a bit and I'm getting some exceptional sound out of them. Mine sound better in my room than they did in the shop by a wide margin. It's rare to make an truly zero regret purchase in life and I have no regret at all with these speakers. |
I just looked up the M32. The specs look like a good match to the speakers. I sincerely doubt you'll ever use even half that power with the most aggressive material at crazy loud volume. My F5 is operating at 41wpc RMS in class A with no sign of clipping. Definitely play with the placement. Break in on them isn't significant and doesn't take much time. Unless you're comfortable hoisting a 60 pound cabinet out of the box you might want some help. The best way to install the plinth is just laying it on it's back. I kept the boxes which came in handy when I moved. The EU makes them put plugs in the posts for bananas. They pull right out. I never looked up inside them until I pulled the plinths off to move. Those are some real pretty drivers in there. |
It's that low impedance dip that punishes an amp. The 926's are actually worse in that regard. The nature of a push-pull class A amp is they start making excess heat when you drive them into class AB. 41 watts RMS drives them plenty loud with no sign of clipping. Bassnectar barely makes that amp break a sweat. I think you'll be very pleased what those speakers will do when you've got them tweaked in just right. |
