Focal Aria

Had Aria 926s for 272/250DR, my music taste is rock/metal but appreciate all others, soundtracks, jazz, lighter stuff, but choral and world music not so much.

The Aria 926s are very accomplished, initially need good positioning but once run in really flower nicely. High/mids/low nicely balanced, they tend towards heavier playback and provide nice bass response, so albums by say NIN really shine.

If I was primarily looking for high frequency playback as my main listening I would perhaps look elsewhere but the Aria 926 for me performed brilliantly for both high frequency response and that deeper bass replay.

Try them and if you could SL2 or similar as these each represent the best playback, for me, of those two differing playback styles and would cover your choice for each quite well to decide off.

As always room caveats etc, I love them, but it is dependent, I feel, on your choice of playback music, choral lighter music is perhaps not its main strength (although still excellent) where other speakers do that type of music a little better. They do seem to prefer to be well driven and music such as RHCP does flow and breathe from these speakers, but with that lovely warm/rich bass.

Just my old 2 cents worth, good luck.

Also had the Aria 926, I would say they are quite a versatile speaker, not to dependant on positioning or even room size, I've heard them in both a large and small room, and been equally impressed , they also work well on the end of either a SN/cdx2 or 250/272 ...I don't think you would be disappointed with them, and of course they look very pleasing on the eye, especially with the grills off

I have Aria 926 on a SN2 and Hicap DR, can't say how happy I am with them.  My room is a little smaller than that but my dealer's was a similar size or slightly bigger.  I listened to virtually every speaker recommended on here up to the 20:23s and prefered these to them all.  Positioning is important, takes a little time to get them to your own taste but they have huge scale and soundstage, great frequency response with deep lows with no overhang and they work well with any type of music.  If you can audition them in your own home first.

I have Focal Aria 906's with dedicated stands, I know you're looking at floor standers but my room is a similar size to yours and I have problems with "booming" if I use floor standing speakers. The 906's have good controlled bass and a very big soundstage, the sound signature is similar across the range and I can't recommend them highly enough.

Nick

Hi all and thank you for the very useful inputs. Appreciated. None of you have mentioned the other models and I assume you think 926 will suit the room well?

It also seem like you experience them differently when it comes to my musical taste, DayJay's description makes me quite confident they will, scale esspecially favor classical music in my view. My former Ovator 400 made my stop listening to classical music.

As described above they will be placed about 1/3 in the room and that's why I consider the bigger models. No need for that either? If so, I think 926 will be added to my serious list.

Thanks, S

wenger2015 posted:

Also had the Aria 926, I would say they are quite a versatile speaker, not to dependant on positioning or even room size, I've heard them in both a large and small room, and been equally impressed , they also work well on the end of either a SN/cdx2 or 250/272 ...I don't think you would be disappointed with them, and of course they look very pleasing on the eye, especially with the grills off

Really? They look horrible to me, with all those drivers. It shows how subjective speakers are, in both sound and looks. 

Best to audition in your listening room rather then dealers if you can.

906, absolutly, they have been considered and not yet left alone. A bit afraid I will want some extra in the lower register. That said, Neat Iota do play in the room right now, with a sub, I will try without it for a period.

Iota are a small speaker and without the sub they struggle to fill the room. Also I miss some dynamics and scale which they deliver so beautifully in a smaller room.

I certainly didn't buy mine for their looks although they are tolerable but they do sound great.  My gurus where much nicer to look at.

Greetings Steinar,

I've been impressed at what I've heard from the little Sopra 1. I think they look pretty smart too.

John. 

I always remember a quote from a premier league football manager, who said' everybody thinks they have the prettiest wife' in other words , what one likes another doesn't, but I suppose that's the great thing with hi-fi, their is no right or wrong, we like what we like and that's great..

I like the look from 926, less drivers.

Well, I have auditioned Kudos Super20 and know their signature, I have owned Ovator S400, have any of you compared any of them?

Kudos S20 versus Sopra 1 would be very interesting Steinar. 

John. 

J.N. posted:

Greetings Steinar,

I've been impressed at what I've heard from the little Sopra 1. I think they look pretty smart too.

John. 

Hello John 

I have been at Sopra as well, but left them for now. As you know I have downgraded quite massively and going Sopra will lead me back to where I was in the start. That said, I will (try to) take the time needed, to find whats best for me and that will stop further up- or downgrades.

Next I have looked at Electra series, both floorstanders and other, but for the same reason left them until further. The small Iotas impresses me and I have been wondering if I need to spend so much on speakers.

Kudos S20 still on my list, together with Harbeths, C7es and M30.1

Steinar 

How do you think about the S20 John. I need to put them quite well from the back wall. Will the bass driver Heading towards the floor compensate the distance?

Thank you all for beeing that helpful. I will bring your comments with me during my speaker search.

Steinar

Stover posted:

How do you think about the S20 John. I need to put them quite well from the back wall. Will the bass driver Heading towards the floor compensate the distance?

Hi Steinar,

Well, I am biased of course and really like the S20. But .... though base-porting is less room-boundary problematic than rear-porting, they do ideally still need some back space to avoid a thick/congested sound signature. 

It's a weird paradox that so few boundary-placement loudspeakers are produced when it's the visually tidy solution which most people would prefer. 

I guess SBL's and SL2's are in short supply where you are?

Good luck. 

John. 

Steiner, do I understand correctly that you need to place the speakers well away from the back wall? If so, the S20 would seem a good option. I've heard the C20 and it is very nice, and of course the S20 is better still. If you go for the 272/250DR, which I'd (obviously) recommend, you have a big choice of speakers. I would expect the Sopra 1 to cost about the same as the S20, once exchange rates, discount and whatever are taken into account, but it may be different in Scandinavia. If you want an elegant speaker I don't think the Aria is it. The Kudos is just a boring box, but it's classic looking and won't date. 

On the other hand, if you could arrange things in order to place the speakers on the wall, Naim speakers become an option for you. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

If you want an elegant speaker I don't think the Aria is it.

Just goes to show how individual taste is. I do wonder if you've actually seen an Aria up close to make that judgement, but then you like the SL2's so clearly prefer a visually older style of speaker rather than something slim and elegant like the 926.

Elegant is not a description I would use for the SL2's either - 'visually domineering' seems to sum them up better. This is fine if you want to build your room around a loudspeaker, but I don't.

Please don't take offence - I just don't like them, having seen them loads of times. I just don't like all the drivers and shiny bits. The SL2 is certainly an acquired taste, but I like penguins and they work for me. Nobody who visits ever mentions them, they just sit by the wall out of the way - the speakers that is, not the visitors, they can sit on the sofa. 

 Sopra 1 are exactly double cost compared to S20.  Thanks for the input on Kudos, int he Focal thread.

PS! Speakers cannot be placed against the wall, no Naim speakers.

S

Crumbs, best forget them then!

Hungryhalibut posted:

Please don't take offence - I just don't like them, having seen them loads of times. I just don't like all the drivers and shiny bits. The SL2 is certainly an acquired taste, but I like penguins and they work for me. Nobody who visits ever mentions them, they just sit by the wall out of the way - the speakers that is, not the visitors, they can sit on the sofa. 

No offence taken, but you present your views with great certainty and I wanted to present an alternative view. Just to also note that I don't leave the grilles off my Aria's so the drivers are not visible. In this form they are just a slim, elegant rectangular high-gloss black column that fit well with my room décor. As I noted style is very much in the eye of the beholder (thankfully!)...

Penarth Blues posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

If you want an elegant speaker I don't think the Aria is it.

Just goes to show how individual taste is. I do wonder if you've actually seen an Aria up close to make that judgement, but then you like the SL2's so clearly prefer a visually older style of speaker rather than something slim and elegant like the 926.

Elegant is not a description I would use for the SL2's either - 'visually domineering' seems to sum them up better. This is fine if you want to build your room around a loudspeaker, but I don't.

Hi

over recent months and years I have auditioned many 'modern' speakers, inc Focals,...some very good....some not to my taste..

I currently have SL2's, (amongst others), and I do not find them 'visually domineering', in fact, quite the opposite....very elegant and understated.....and they (still) sound very good..

of course this is only my opinion.

Have a good weekend

Personal taste and all, but my eyes find SL2 visually stunning, and every Focal i have ever seen, like a cheap Japanese speaker from the 80's. The S20 are also lovely, especially in Rosewood, even though i'm less keen on their sound.