Question Advice needed: Focal 926 vs 948 in 26sqm

[Jerry]

Hello!

I need your advice. This might be very specific but I’ll give it a shot.

I am thinking of buying either a pair of Focal Aria 926 (€2000 offer brand new ) or 948 (€3800), but I don’t know which one will be best for our room.

The room is 26sqm with 3.2m height. Also, the room has no door and opens through a 2x3m doorway towards a 21sqm hall.

I’ve drawn two green dots for where they’ll be placed.

 

[bigboss]

Welcome to the forum! Can you not arrange a home demo of your options?

 

[plastic penguin]

Home demo is preferable.

Given the room has hard floors and looks fairly sparse, amplification is important with Focals.

I've heard one of these floorstanders with Arcam SA20 and Rega Elex-R and they seem to well.

 

[Jerry]

Welcome to the forum! Can you not arrange a home demo of your options?

Thank you!
Unfortunately there are no home demos where I live. I could only buy and return.. which I might end up doing.

 

[Jerry]

Home demo is preferable.

Given the room has hard floors and looks fairly sparse, amplification is important with Focals.

I've heard one of these floorstanders with Arcam SA20 and Rega Elex-R and they seem to well.

I have a Marantz 1711, which pulls out 90W per channel in 2.1 mode. Not too much, but I don’t intend going too much up with the volume.

Indeed a demo would be great, unfortunatelly it’s unavailable where I live.

 

[doifeellucky]

A bit of a mismatch with that 1711. The 1711 is very much a compromise option being a slim design AV, typically for those who lack space of a standard sized AV amp, for use in a small room. It will be good, but not great, for a 2 channel system with similarly priced speakers. The amp is probably equivalent to the 6007 which is not far off 1/10 the price of the 948.

You probably need to have a think about how that near €4000 could be spent to get a much better overall system.

Clearance - Focal Aria 948 Dark Ebony 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeakers

Peter Tyson is proud to be the only retailer offering the 'Dark Ebony' finish for the Aria 948 floor-standing loudspeakers. This pair of 3-way speakers provide intense bass, true acoustics and rich tones. Thanks to the host of technologies inside and out, the 948's deliver superior sound quality...

petertyson.co.uk

Currently £1999

 

[bigboss]

A bit of a mismatch with that 1711. The 1711 is very much a compromise option being a slim design AV, typically for those who lack space of a standard sized AV amp, for use in a small room. It will be good, but not great, for a 2 channel system with similarly priced speakers. The amp is probably equivalent to the 6007 which is not far off 1/10 the price of the 948.

You probably need to have a think about how that near €4000 could be spent to get a much better overall system.

Clearance - Focal Aria 948 Dark Ebony 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeakers

Peter Tyson is proud to be the only retailer offering the 'Dark Ebony' finish for the Aria 948 floor-standing loudspeakers. This pair of 3-way speakers provide intense bass, true acoustics and rich tones. Thanks to the host of technologies inside and out, the 948's deliver superior sound quality...

petertyson.co.uk

Currently £1999

I think the OP lives somewhere in Europe.

 

[bigboss]

I have a Marantz 1711, which pulls out 90W per channel in 2.1 mode. Not too much, but I don’t intend going too much up with the volume.

Indeed a demo would be great, unfortunatelly it’s unavailable where I live.

Agree with doifeellucky. I think you should consider upgrading the Marantz to a proper stereo amplifier and factor in the cost of the amplifier.

 

[RoA]

Nice room, nice floor!

I concur, if you have a budget of €4000 I'd upgrade the amplifier and speakers.

 

[Gray]

Given the room has hard floors and looks fairly sparse

...any sound will be compromised.
No doubt about it whatsoever.

It makes me smile when people put audio equipment in such rooms -then experiment with the 'sound' of cables 🙂

 

[plastic penguin]

...any sound will be compromised.
No doubt about it whatsoever.

It makes me smile when people put audio equipment in such rooms -then experiment with the 'sound' of cables 🙂

Yup. I've always chosen any system to best suit the room. As you know I'm big advocate of room acoustics but I refuse to waste money on acoustic panels.

Regardless, any hi-fi is a compromise to some degree. There's no such animal as a "perfect" sounding system.

 

[Gray]

Regardless, any hi-fi is a compromise

Sure is.
But the trend for bareness means that fewer people are hearing the full potential of what they own.

 

[plastic penguin]

I have a Marantz 1711, which pulls out 90W per channel in 2.1 mode. Not too much, but I don’t intend going too much up with the volume.

Indeed a demo would be great, unfortunatelly it’s unavailable where I live.

Appreciate it's difficult for you to home dem. But choosing a speaker that can be provoked is a huge gamble, based on others opinions - we all hear something different.

Can you shop demo these Focals with a similar AV amp?

 

[plastic penguin]

Sure is.
But the trend for bareness means that fewer people are hearing the full potential of what they own.

Minimal room dressing (sparse areas) seems to be the trend over the last 15-20 years -- style over substance, so it seems. And lumping random 5 star products together often trips people up.

But on a forum, we can only advise. The rest is down to the OP.

 

[Jerry]

Minimal room dressing (sparse areas) seems to be the trend over the last 15-20 years -- style over substance, so it seems. And lumping random 5 star products together often trips people up.

But on a forum, we can only advise. The rest is down to the OP.

We just moved in, we barely have some chairs, plants and a couch ) but we want to prioritize a good sound before diving into spending on furniture and declrations.

 

[Jerry]

Nice room, nice floor!

I concur, if you have a budget of €4000 I'd upgrade the amplifier and speakers.

Thank you so much! We just moved in.

For the speakers I’m thinking the 926 would fill the room enough. They say that the pair fits a room starting from 23sqm (ours is 26sqm).

I agree on the amp. What would you recommend?

 

[Jerry]

Sure is.
But the trend for bareness means that fewer people are hearing the full potential of what they own.

There will be more furniture, a carpet and decorations but we just moved in.

 

[plastic penguin]

We just moved in, we barely have some chairs, plants and a couch ) but we want to prioritize a good sound before diving into spending on furniture and declrations.

Fair enough. I would get the room sorted first as the tonal balance and soundstage will change once you get furniture. What might sound good now could sound disappointing when the room is sorted.