- Jul 3, 2025
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Hi, I'm quite new to this hobby, so I'm starting to build my first system ( By first, I mean every piece of equipment is chosen by me).
I started with a hand-down system, which had a Kenwood AV receiver (It wasn't even a theatre setup) with old floor speakers, which were made in Latvia.
After hearing a system which you could consider HiFi, I started to take an interest, so in the first week I bought a Cambridge AXR100. So for a few years, my setup was these old Radiotehnika speakers with the AXR100. But on Facebook Marketplace, I found a guy who imported used speakers from Norway to Latvia. I went to his shop and found wrapped Focal speakers. I didn't know the model, but they looked good, and in the shop, they sounded very good, so I got them for 225 euros for the pair, because the seller also didn't know what they were. After coming back home, I found that they are JMLabs-Focal cobalt 806s. I think they were released in 2003, so the information on the internet that I could find was very sparse, so I'm asking for help.
Focal cobalt 806s specs:
My room is 17 m2, somewhere around 3x6m, the speakers will be positioned against the longest wall, so my listening position will be 2.5 meters away. Also, I would like to have a streamer.
Back to the question-
I want to upgrade my amplifier, because I think that these speakers can pull it off. Max price 1500eur. Amps I have tried:
Primare I15 MK2 prisma - 1450eur on sale - I was very impressed, Primare convinced me that in my current setup, my amplifier is the bottleneck and that 806s have the resolution to play better. Drums on recordings felt very impactful and even faster, but still lacking in low end (I very well understand that these are paper woofer bookshelf speakers), sound stage improved a lot, especially in depth. Details were clearer and not mushed together.
Audiolab 6000a - 700eur - I don't think the jump is worth it, there were small differences between the AXR100, but not enough.
I will list the amps I'm considering.
Cambridge MXW70 with MXN10 - 1000eur - I'm considering these, because of the Hypex D class amp in MXW70, because I liked it with the Primare. I also like the modularity, that I could tweak and buy everything separately for future upgrades.
Roksan Attesa with streamer - 1200eur
Primare 15I prisma - 1450eur
Do you think these speakers deserve a better amp?
What other pairing should I consider?
Thank you for answering!
I started with a hand-down system, which had a Kenwood AV receiver (It wasn't even a theatre setup) with old floor speakers, which were made in Latvia.
After hearing a system which you could consider HiFi, I started to take an interest, so in the first week I bought a Cambridge AXR100. So for a few years, my setup was these old Radiotehnika speakers with the AXR100. But on Facebook Marketplace, I found a guy who imported used speakers from Norway to Latvia. I went to his shop and found wrapped Focal speakers. I didn't know the model, but they looked good, and in the shop, they sounded very good, so I got them for 225 euros for the pair, because the seller also didn't know what they were. After coming back home, I found that they are JMLabs-Focal cobalt 806s. I think they were released in 2003, so the information on the internet that I could find was very sparse, so I'm asking for help.
Focal cobalt 806s specs:
- 6-1/2" W cone mid-bass with 1" coil
- 1" Tioxid 5 inverted dome tweeter with 3/4" coil
- Frequency Response 50 Hz - 22 kHz
- Efficiency 90 dB
- Recommended max power: 75 watts
My room is 17 m2, somewhere around 3x6m, the speakers will be positioned against the longest wall, so my listening position will be 2.5 meters away. Also, I would like to have a streamer.
Back to the question-
I want to upgrade my amplifier, because I think that these speakers can pull it off. Max price 1500eur. Amps I have tried:
Primare I15 MK2 prisma - 1450eur on sale - I was very impressed, Primare convinced me that in my current setup, my amplifier is the bottleneck and that 806s have the resolution to play better. Drums on recordings felt very impactful and even faster, but still lacking in low end (I very well understand that these are paper woofer bookshelf speakers), sound stage improved a lot, especially in depth. Details were clearer and not mushed together.
Audiolab 6000a - 700eur - I don't think the jump is worth it, there were small differences between the AXR100, but not enough.
I will list the amps I'm considering.
Cambridge MXW70 with MXN10 - 1000eur - I'm considering these, because of the Hypex D class amp in MXW70, because I liked it with the Primare. I also like the modularity, that I could tweak and buy everything separately for future upgrades.
Roksan Attesa with streamer - 1200eur
Primare 15I prisma - 1450eur
Do you think these speakers deserve a better amp?
What other pairing should I consider?
Thank you for answering!
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