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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
uberwaltz
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
I think unequal distances from the corners of the walls will help. There's a formula in the manual that's supposedly ideal, but I never had much luck with it. My right speaker has no corner and the left is about 3.5' from the side wall. The left wall is also consumed by a gigantic patio door with vertical "S" curve blinds. They look tight, but they also make for a good surface for sound to be diffused from. For a long time I had mine 9+ feet apart. 7' is much better in my space. I get wider imaging and better center fill. 

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
4,946 posts
 
Well one change would kill two birds there then.
If i pull them more intogether say 7.5 to 8 feet apart that would give and unequal corner distance, easy change to try.
Tbh in my room I have not had ANY speakers in tighter together that the present 10ft, maybe I have been missing setup altogether for a while!
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
You were probably trying to get the best possible bass response from speakers with weaker bass up to now, but these aren't those speakers. I've gotten the best results by keeping an open mind to placement and trying things that shouldn't really work but do. Like there's no great reason to think having them closer together would make for a wider, more spacious sound, but that's what's worked for me. Shuffling them around is cheap! 
chasda's avatar
chasda
12 posts
 
Has anyone heard the Yamaha NSF901 in comparison to the Focal 936?
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
The total lack of any review AND the fact they're Yamaha would nix them from my consideration before I bothered to go on the fool's errand of tracking a dealer down. Besides, those are priced along the lines of the 726 which kinda tells you what they think the sound is worth in the marketplace. 
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