Focal Chora 826 or Q Acoustics 3050i with Powernode 2i?

ignaciotero

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Hey! New here and complete newbie in the hifi world. Purchased a Powernode 2i (was between sonos amp or Powernode) functionality and ease of use was a must for the family.

I’m now looking for speakers. Got a sweet deal for a pair of Focal Chora 826, and another good deal on Q Acoustics 3050i.

Out of my own ignorance, while I know it isn’t the best amp for the speakers, is it a stupidity to pair these speakers to a Powernode?

Thanks!
 
Hey! New here and complete newbie in the hifi world. Purchased a Powernode 2i (was between sonos amp or Powernode) functionality and ease of use was a must for the family.

I’m now looking for speakers. Got a sweet deal for a pair of Focal Chora 826, and another good deal on Q Acoustics 3050i.

Out of my own ignorance, while I know it isn’t the best amp for the speakers, is it a stupidity to pair these speakers to a Powernode?

Thanks!
It would probably be worth mentioning what your budget is and what your room size is like.
Out of the two you might be better off with the Focal.
 
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ignaciotero

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Thanks for the answers. Room is 20ft by 16ft and my budget for the speakers is €800. Here in Europe prices are considerably higher than US for used equipment
 

ignaciotero

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Hey guys!! An update on my setup.

After a lot of scouting I found a new pair of Chora 826s at €860. As you know these are my first hifi speakers, as you can imagine I'm blown away! My replaced a Sonos Arc soundbar that was VERY underwhelming and ended up returning. My use is I'd say 50% TV, 40% "ambient" music and 10% dedicated music listening.

Comparing this setup to the Arc soundbar is almost silly, but they are around the same price point. And needless to say soundbar doesn't come even close in any area. Dialog is muuuuch clearer over the Arc, despite it being a 2.0 setup it is way more envolving giving a much better surround experience than the Atmos enabled Arc, with a waaaay bigger soundstage and stereo separation that you don't get with an Arc.

Powernode has been good, but compared to the seemless Sonos experience it is still far off. Sound wise don't have much to compare it to but sounds amazing to me.

My only complain so far is that bass feels extremely thin. Again, have nothing to compare it to, but, compared to say a Bose SoundDock 10 there is a huuuge bass punch difference.(I hope I don't get slaughtered for using it as comparison).

My question is, could this be due to the Powernode @ 60W not being powerful enough for the speakers?

I'll probably order a Sonos Amp to try it out and test out the differences.

But overall really happy about the setup and I'm pretty sure that these "just add speakers" amps will become very very popular as it is a very practical solution for those of us that, despite not being audiphiles, appreciate sound quality.
 
My only complain so far is that bass feels extremely thin. Again, have nothing to compare it to, but, compared to say a Bose SoundDock 10 there is a huuuge bass punch difference.(I hope I don't get slaughtered for using it as comparison).

My question is, could this be due to the Powernode @ 60W not being powerful enough for the speakers?
Bose, and similar docks and bars, have artificially boosted bass. However, check your new speakers are wired in phase.

If that’s not the issue, can you photograph the setup and post it here? The Focal might sound a bit bright at first, but should mellow within a day or two. What speaker cable are you using?
 
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twinkletoes

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The power node has many strengths but is a little thin sounding which can be mitigated by positioning speakers closer to the wall. And there will be an element of getting used to a different sound, for all the weaknesses of sound bars they do sound rather punchy and thick (chesty) hi fi can sometimes sound thin in that regard but listen for a bit longer, it will start to sound right, that's assuming you haven't crossed your + and - over at either end of the speaker cable as mentioned above. So neg to neg and vis versa, that can have a drastic effect.

But i suspect this is a placement issue, it could be that you're sitting in a room mode and if you can't move the room around a little (many can't) then there will be no getting around the problem. For example perhaps you have your sofa in the middle of the room that's pretty much the worst place for the sofa in regard to sound.


Do not spend any more money till you have sorted the basics out buying another amp will NOT sort out fundamental position problems in the room
 
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ignaciotero

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Bose, and similar docks and bars, have artificially boosted bass. However, check your new speakers are wired in phase.

If that’s not the issue, can you photograph the setup and post it here? The Focal might sound a bit bright at first, but should mellow within a day or two. What speaker cable are you using?
They did sound a bit bright the first time I fired them up. But indeed they have mellowed down, and it seems like theres a little more bass the more I play them.

Not phased. Doubled checked just to be sure.

I'm using 2.5mm2 Dynavox cables.

WhatsApp Image 2023-05-19 at 10.45.10 (1).jpg
WhatsApp Image 2023-05-19 at 10.45.10.jpg

The power node has many strengths but is a little thin sounding which can be mitigated by positioning speakers closer to the wall. And there will be an element of getting used to a different sound, for all the weaknesses of sound bars they do sound rather punchy and thick (chesty) hi fi can sometimes sound thin in that regard but listen for a bit longer, it will start to sound right, that's assuming you haven't crossed your + and - over at either end of the speaker cable as mentioned above. So neg to neg and vis versa, that can have a drastic effect.

But i suspect this is a placement issue, it could be that you're sitting in a room mode and if you can't move the room around a little (many can't) then there will be no getting around the problem. For example perhaps you have your sofa in the middle of the room that's pretty much the worst place for the sofa in regard to sound.


Do not spend any more money till you have sorted the basics out buying another amp will NOT sort out fundamental position problems in the room
This could definetely be my issue, the sofa does sit right in the middle of the room with no chance of it moving anywhere. I have played a bit by moving the speakers around, and they do have a little more punch when they are against the wall.

The more I listen to them, the more I think it is me not being used to hifi and they do seem to be getting better and better as they run. You can definetely hear the bass clearly in a very controlled way, it is just not as chesty as I would have thought. And probably also my expectations of getting sub like bass with them.
 
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twinkletoes

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They did sound a bit bright the first time I fired them up. But indeed they have mellowed down, and it seems like theres a little more bass the more I play them.

Not phased. Doubled checked just to be sure.

I'm using 2.5mm2 Dynavox cables.

View attachment 4721
View attachment 4722


This could definetely be my issue, the sofa does sit right in the middle of the room with no chance of it moving anywhere. I have played a bit by moving the speakers around, and they do have a little more punch when they are against the wall.

The more I listen to them, the more I think it is me not being used to hifi and they do seem to be getting better and better as they run. You can definetely hear the bass clearly in a very controlled way, it is just not as chesty as I would have thought. And probably also my expectations of getting sub like bass with them.
Lovely looking room!

I bet if you stand at the back of the room where your dinner table is i bet they sound fuller, don't they?

You're in a room mode I'm afraid it worst place for a sofa to be and it will require a level of patients to get a balance that your are happy with. It could be you only have to move the sofa 5cm back and forth and then you have it. It might be you never get it I'm sorry to say.

I'd start with the speakers as close to the wall as you can get them and then slowly start pulling forward till everything starts to sound weak again, then move them back slightly, in theory, that should be their balanced happy place then adjust to taste. Move back for more bass move forward for less.

Id also try and separate them up just a touch more the closer to the corners the more reinforcement you will get and it will change the room mode areas.

Just patience and time I'm afraid. as i say don't buy another amp it won't solve your problem, that is unless you just want the features of the sonos then that's a different story. But it won't change the sound the way you're thinking.
 
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Good reply above, and pictures extremely helpful. Hard flooring and a wall of glass means lots of reflections for high frequencies. What a lovely space though!

Glad you’re hearing them mellow, though I don’t want to over-emphasise that, but it is a thing with some speakers. Pointing speakers straight ahead may sound less brilliant, as would putting curtains or blinds along the window.
 
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ignaciotero

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Lovely looking room!

I bet if you stand at the back of the room where your dinner table is i bet they sound fuller, don't they?

You're in a room mode I'm afraid it worst place for a sofa to be and it will require a level of patients to get a balance that your are happy with. It could be you only have to move the sofa 5cm back and forth and then you have it. It might be you never get it I'm sorry to say.

I'd start with the speakers as close to the wall as you can get them and then slowly start pulling forward till everything starts to sound weak again, then move them back slightly, in theory, that should be their balanced happy place then adjust to taste. Move back for more bass move forward for less.

Id also try and separate them up just a touch more the closer to the corners the more reinforcement you will get and it will change the room mode areas.

Just patience and time I'm afraid. as i say don't buy another amp it won't solve your problem, that is unless you just want the features of the sonos then that's a different story. But it won't change the sound the way you're thinking.

Thank you!! I will play around with placement over the weekend to see what works best. And thanks for the advice over the amp, I'll stick with the Powernode for now.

Good reply above, and pictures extremely helpful. Hard flooring and a wall of glass means lots of reflections for high frequencies. What a lovely space though!

Glad you’re hearing them mellow, though I don’t want to over-emphasise that, but it is a thing with some speakers. Pointing speakers straight ahead may sound less brilliant, as would putting curtains or blinds along the window.

Thanks!! I was a bit concerned about reverb but unexpectedly it has been been much lower than I thought. I measured it with an app and it's about 0.5s on all frequencies. I also lowered the treble a bit on the app's basic eq at first but as they mellowed down I've popped it back up to 0 and loving it. Even with me being not a fan of brightish sound.
 
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