Focal Aria 936 vs 926 bass response

Is that the class D they're selling? 

As for subs.... Why?

What about the amp PM14SE premium Marantz

Any expierences ?

ok i shall listen to parasound, naim, int-60 Afraid i want the int-60 but budget wise it is over the top ;) 
THanks very much for feedback 

Advise for focal and sub ?? I've been advised REL Not sure for which i've to chose or if there are better alternatives

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. 

Pass Labs INT-60 should be enough for focal Aria 936 ? Or should i go higher up in the range Looks very very nice those amplifiers Strange i never heard about them and peachtree,parasound,cambridge is all over the net etc 
reading some very good reviews of this INT 60
Seems you have a good point !
Just hope its easy to find dealers in belgium which let met try this out at home

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. 

Thanks for feedback. Problem is in belgium peachtree isn't easy to demo in shops i know...  Ideally i should test demo this in my home right  in existing setup ... 

I was planning on sub in later stage. Concerning sub what would you advise for focal aria surround ? The sub from focal aria itself should be frequency wise a good idea ? i cannot find easily reviews of people who have experienced this sub... My favorite is a rel but i'm not sure which one to test demo

Kind regards

Use the Yamaha for now, and get a Peachtree nova 150 or 300 (depending on how loud you listen and how much bass content your average choice of music has) to run the front two in Home Theater Bypass mode.  That way you have a simple two channel dedicated rig (that sounds amazing and has more than enough grunt to power them), as well as an external amp for home theater that will relieve a lot of stress off the Yamaha during movie watching.

If you have a sub or subs, the external amp will likely have no effect during movie watching as long as you have all speakers crossed over to the sub as you should.  Unless you are in a large room and listen painfully loud.

thanks very much for your feedback

Still stuck how to drive them for just  for stereo which ampli to choose ... Can you also help me there ? Parasound,cambridge,peachtree,nad, etc All very good but expensive 

Between 926 and 906 for surrounds, I would go with 926.  I use PSB tower speakers for my surrounds and I love the full range sound that I get from them in movies.

The walls are to far away so that is not an option (60m2 total room)

So 926 or stands 906 ? advice is welcome

Can you also advice me which module of parasound i should go for ?

thanks

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. 

Thanks for the advice ! 

Just a thought ... I was thinking of going for surround with the focals 

If i buy a yamaha aventage and an parasound module just for stereo front speakers would it be a great combo...  

What are you're thoughts I try to keep budget not to high Buying a very good amplifier and a receiver is out of budget for me A little stuck now A dealer mentioned the dac of yamaha aventage is very good and can drive focal 936 as he does in his shop .... He also mentioned that if i want to use it just for stereo a stereo amplifier combo with yamaha would be great

What about the rears ? Should i go for the Focal 906 stand speakers ??
Since stands are expensive a good idea i go for the focal 926 floor speakers as rear ?? 

Any experiences with this ???

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. 

Hi
I'm new here and want some expert opinion on my future buy of focal aria
I listened to the focal aria 936 in a shop with premium marantz pm14se and sounded good but i was not impressed Since the marantz is 2500 euro's i'm looking for an amplifier to drive the focal aria 936 or 948
I've listening room of arround 30m2 (60m2 in total) and shop advised me the 948 which shall have more bass (play a lot of soundtracks). I very much like bass but which is the best speaker ? 936 or 948 ? I'm confused reading above feedbacks . I thought with the right gear as amplifier its should be great a 948 

So my question : 

Which aria to choose ? Planning on Rel sub for future to connect with aria
but not directly Shall it make much difference with the 948 since bass is allready so strong..

Which audition i should do of amplifier ?

Parasound (which one for the 936 and which for the 948 ?)
Musical fidelity
Peachtree nova 300 (for 936 and 948 ?)

I'm lost also at buying a streamer ... Some advice would be great as a combo with amplier and focal 

Thanks ahead !

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?

I have the 936's in a room that is 21 x 12 x 9.  Because of non-audio constraints, I have them on one of the long walls with my ears about 91 inches away from the tweeters.  Almost a near field setup.  The bass absolutely does not overwhelm the room.  BTW, I found I like them best farther apart from each other than from my seat and aimed at a point in front of me so that I can see a lot of the outside of the cabinets.

@cleeds 
Focal are voiced using big solid state Naim amps. They like big current delivery ability. That doesn't usually describe tubes. 

kosst_amojan

The 948's, with their hideous impedance low point of 2.5 ohm ...

I'm not sure why you call this is "hideous." Many competent amplifiers can drive such a load.

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? 

Both Revels and Focals can be found heavily discounted. I'm not a huge fan of either, but my opinion, having extensively auditioned both, was that the 936s were overpriced at their MSRP and belong in the $2.5K segment. In contrast, the Revel 208 was a bargain at its MSRP. 

The room had some issues for certain, but the setup was top notch. Other Focals—Kantas  and Sopras 1 and 3–sounded terrific with the same gear. I realize they are at a different price point but just to say that the 948s were a big disappointment. The amplification was Primaluna HP amp and Dialogue Preamp and source was EAT C-major TT .

I don’t recommend the 948 because they are extremely difficult to get to sound right.  You likely heard a bad setup, but I don’t blame them — they’re extremely hard to set up.

I think the 936 is an absolutely superior sounding speaker.

 I found the bass of the 948s to be muddy when I auditioned them recently at a local dealer. Not to my tastes at all, and I really appreciat a deep, articulate bass.

As far as Revel goes I would absolutely not agree with what you said and those have not been my findings at all.

As far as Aria updates, none in sight.  I was told that Focal supposedly has a real wood version of the Arias coming, which is why they are clearing out the Walnut.

Best deal ever.  Jump on it!

Every Focal distributor is blowing them out lately...That is the "walnut"(vinyl wrap) finish. The Black are at their regular price.
The 936/948's are hard to pass up.
My "buy now" finger is twitching.....
Nothing wrong with my current setup...I could use a little audio excitement.

I wonder if Focal has updated model in the works?

How does the Aria 936 compare to Revel F208s? The Revel appear to be highly praised everywhere, and can be often found heavily discounted 

Kosst.i am on a concrete slab . the devices worked great on a pair of electrostats. So i would still give them a try .

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. 

Any owners of Focal should try the Isoacoustics GAIA isolation feet . Giant improvement in imaging and bass . The demo at RMAF was impressive with 2 pair of 936's alternating back and forth with and without the GAIA .

I have been listening to the Aria 926 for about two years and have not auditioned the 936.  Originally the 926 speakers were driven by a NAD C356BEE integrated amp.  Very careful room placement per the manual gave false bass (boomy) and it got worse closer to a wall.  I used the Focal test tones and the 45 Hz limit is accurate.  I verified with a SPL meter.  For me, I solved everything with the addition of a Gallo TR2 sub with embedded 80Hz filter.  The tone sweep with sub in place is within 3 Db, down to 35 Hz.  Now, as to the amp, I got curious and replaced the NAD integrated with a preamp and Rotel RB1080, at 200 watts a channel.  That made a huge difference, more than expected.  With listening levels being equal the soundstage was broader, imaging much more precise, and I heard things I did not hear before, like people talking in the background during a Miles Davis recording.  I also heard what I would call a sympathetic vibration in bass drum and snare rattle on the drum skin, not just the hiss.  I bought the Rotel primarily to avoid clipping, but got a lot more out of the speakers even at reasonable listening levels.  I don't know how much of this is a better circuit or more juice.  But it's not placebo - I put the NAD back in then went back to the preamp/Rotel and the difference was clear.

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. 

kosst, Thanks for the advice/suggestions. Yes, the 936s sounded great with the M32. I know the speakers are really sensitive, and don't need much to drive them, but I've read that, while they drive easily, it take a lot of juice to get the BEST from them. True? As for unboxing, I'm mush too old and short to handle the 936s myself, so I've got a friend lined up to help. The set I listed to locally yesterday had only about 30 hours on them, and they sounded great. I've kept the boxes from my present two (bedroom and living room) speakers, and it does making moving easier (and safer). I'm looking forward to having them.

Speaking of "mush", did you hear about the dog sledder who got a speeding ticket, because he was going mush too fast. :-)

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. 

:-)

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 listened to the NAD M32/Focal Aria 936 combo at Upscale Audio in California and loved what I heard. I also listened to the M32/926 combo at Upscale and the Moon ACE and the 926s (not at Upscale). I really didn't like the ACE/926 combo (although I think the reason was a bad presentation - room, placement, cables, etc.). The 926 with the M32 were OK, but not amazing. Also, I just yesterday locally listened to the 936s with the Hegel Rost. Really liked the Rost/936 combo also, except, while you can stream Tidal, etc. with the  BubbleUPnP app, the Rost still won't do MQA (except one MQA unfolding using the Tidal desktop app with a direct computer/USB connection. You could add a Bluesound Node 2 to the Rost to do full MQA).

The 936s are REALLY great, made even better by the relatively low cost.

BiTW, my Upscale Audio experience was first rate. Got to meet Kevin "Mr. Tubes" Deal briefly, but Craig Hoffman, who is very knowledgeable (audio AND music) was GREAT. He spent a LOT of time with me (as he has done by e-mail for many weeks) and is very patient. I just made my 936 "color" decision (dark walnut), and I've just asked Craig at Upscale to send me an invoice, so, to answer the question, I haven't had them in home, yet, but I'm buying the NAD M32/Focal Aria 936 combo. I think you'd like them. GET GOOD CABLES! :-) I'll post when I've had some M32/936 in home listening. Hope this helps. If you get the M32/936 combo, post your thoughts on the combo.

Paul -- did you end up with the NAD32/936 combo?  That's what I'm thinking of, too and am curious how it is working out...
Thanks!

Good ideal. Thanks for the info.

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. 

Thanks, kosst. Placement will be a problem, but not much I can presently do.

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've pretty much settled on the NAD M32 integrated amp (150Wpc), but I'm trying to decide on paring it with the Focal Aria 926 or 936 speakers. As I said above, I don't like a ton of bass. I listened to the 936s with the M32 and liked them a lot (although a bit too much bass). I also listened to the 926s with the Moon ACE (50Wpc), and did not like that combo at all (not a big soundstage, nor great definition or placement). My room is about 12x10x8, with very little space behind and to the side of where the speakers must be placed. Any advice on the M32 paired with the 926s or the 936s?

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.

FWIW I prefer the 936 over the 948’s.  :)

Thanks. I'm not a big bass person, so I'll see what they sound like and come back to your advice, if needed. What I really need to know is whether the ACE will drive the 936s well and get the most out of the 936s that they're capable of. If anyone has experience with the ACE and the 936s, I'd really appreciate some feedback on this.

Trick is blending a tower with a good sub! I recommend JL subs (e series) and focal aria line is excellent! You want bass go to the 948's! Typically you roll off at  80 hz! Why above the low of your towers! The decision often settled by affordablity !

I'm looking at the Simaudio Moon ACE, and I'd like to know if this amp, which is 50wpc output power at 8 ohms and 22,100 ohms input impedance, will drive the 936s well and get the most out of the 936s that they're capable of.