LS50 V Aria 906

[iceman16]

First.. I apologise for my English as its not my native laguage.

Well.. The Aria 906s arrived and managed to compare them side by side with the LS50.

Built:

LS50 - cabinet as "solid" as a rock when tapped( knuckled)...et al (as you know).

Aria 906 - surprisingly huge for standmounts or bookshelf. feel solid and nicely made leather fronts.

Sound:

This is very critical and much vary in listening rooms. The Arias 906 produced more depth and clarity in the highs. Bass is well pronounced and I was quite surprised they did'nt boom in the room. Mids are very good and no artificial colouration and less sibilant. I heard more clarity in symbals and other instrument in high freq. compared to the LS50s. Soundstage is excellent with separation of instrument have air and depth(more lively) but not as forward as the previous Focals I've heard and owned. The Arias..compared to their siblings are more forgiving and not as forward sounding . Compared to the LS50s .. The Kef sound more "mature" and more refined than the Arias.. In my listening room they both have excelent lows. The LS50s excell in instrument separation and naturalness but in the expense of bass depth.

Both speakers are excellent but "usually" differs from room acoustics.I have them both connected to my budget ArcamA29 and trusty 35i..

My conclusion is you cant go wrong with both. They have their strenght and weakneses

If you like "raw" and more transparent speakers go for the Focal Aria 906..If you like "well done" like steaks go for the LS50s

 

[CnoEvil]

Good review....and overall very fair.

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for sharing the info, Iceman. If the 906s are in the same mould as the older models, they will be easier to drive.

I know Arcam have changed slightly over the years, but their achilles heel, in the budget to midrange bracket, has always been they suffer from lack of low end punch by comparison... so I think it is more a synergy thing coming into play.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

 

[chebby]

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

 

[CnoEvil]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

We all have different ears....I could hardly sit in the room with Naim/Focal pairing.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

......prrrrft!

 

[Thompsonuxb]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

We all have different ears....I could hardly sit in the room with Naim/Focal pairing.

I can't believe that!

As a point of reference who's room did you like then?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

When i demoed the a19 and evo 50a, dealer used the 906 and to my ears they sounded very much like cm5 and therefore, needless, to say i was rather impressed. On a separate occaision, same dealer, when i demoed the mf3i LS50s were used and i wasn't quite as impressed. I found the r series ( 100/300 ) in comparison, much better sounding.

When i upgrade my speakers next i would like demo all 3 aforementioned brand.

 

[iceman16]

What can I say..I still own the Ls50s for over a year! Can they be beaten in the price range? absolutely!

 

[Andrewjvt]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

160 the 360 was not released then

 

[ID.]

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

What's in a Niam? A rose by any other Niam would smell as sweet.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

160 the 360 was not released then

Both were being demod last year at the show.......

One of the reasons I often question their specs - neither sounded particularly 'powerful' - the guy from Hegel actually said. '......only LS50's' in the demo which I found an amusing disclaimer.

Harberth lives upto it's hype though like NAIM...... :-D.

 

[Andrewjvt]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

160 the 360 was not released then

Both were being demod last year at the show.......

One of the reasons I often question their specs - neither sounded particularly 'powerful' - the guy from Hegel actually said. '......only LS50's' in the demo which I found an amusing disclaimer.

Harberth lives upto it's hype though like NAIM...... :-D.

I remeber the thread and you originally said 160 though not that it matters really. Smile

As a matter of interest the latest review on 360 i posted the measurement section actually pushed higher than spec power quoted

 

[Esra]

As good as the 906 are they are no contest for LS50 imo.Easy to compare if you drive both with a very good amp like a Devialet,the Ls50 will surpass where the 906 will reach its limits very soon.

 

[CnoEvil]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

We all have different ears....I could hardly sit in the room with Naim/Focal pairing.

I can't believe that!

As a point of reference who's room did you like then?

Rega and Audio Note.

 

[Paulq]

I tried the 906's with the UQ2/NAP 100 when I bought it and I hated them despite really wanting to like them. To me they were very cold and uninvolving but, as above, everyon'e lug 'oles are different *biggrin*

 

[Thompsonuxb]

It's been near 12month's now and the memory still lingers.....

LS50 with Hegel 360 Focal 906 with Niam. Niam/Focal owned Hegel/KEFs.......

Surprised by the comparison the 906's are in a different league......to my ears.

160 the 360 was not released then

Both were being demod last year at the show.......

One of the reasons I often question their specs - neither sounded particularly 'powerful' - the guy from Hegel actually said. '......only LS50's' in the demo which I found an amusing disclaimer.

Harberth lives upto it's hype though like NAIM...... :-D.

I remeber the thread and you originally said 160 though not that it matters really. Smile

As a matter of interest the latest review on 360 i posted the measurement section actually pushed higher than spec power quoted

Naaaah, Hegel were comparing the 'new' 360 to the 160.

Using the LS50's, in all honesty they should have used the Harberth baby monitors - now THEY were good.

Really impressive on the end of 100watt monoblocks - I forget the company - tiny little things they were too.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

I tried the 906's with the UQ2/NAP 100 when I bought it and I hated them despite really wanting to like them.  To me they were very cold and uninvolving but, as above, everyon'e lug 'oles are different *biggrin*

Nooooo, no, no, no.....

I'm sorry I don't often get controversial or argumentative on here but you guys must be deaf or something!

At last years show I gave the Naim/focal combo my best on display award.

Never noticed Focal before but the 906 is a stunning sounding speaker.

Filled the hotel room filled with people on the end of the Naim system. And it was a nice sound - not the dreaded wall of sound.

But..... I've not heard them under real world conditions nor the Hegel amps.....nor the LS50's.... So I'll reserve judgement... Eh....em....thankyou.

 

[Al ears]

I tried the 906's with the UQ2/NAP 100 when I bought it and I hated them despite really wanting to like them. To me they were very cold and uninvolving but, as above, everyon'e lug 'oles are different *biggrin*

Nooooo, no, no, no.....

I'm sorry I don't often get controversial or argumentative on here but you guys must be deaf or something!

At last years show I gave the Naim/focal combo my best on display award.

Never noticed Focal before but the 906 is a stunning sounding speaker.

Filled the hotel room filled with people on the end of the Naim system. And it was a nice sound - not the dreaded wall of sound.

But..... I've not heard them under real world conditions nor the Hegel amps.....nor the LS50's.... So I'll reserve judgement... Eh....em....thankyou.

This clearly demonstrates that Naim can be a bit marmite. 🙂

 

[Paulq]

I tried the 906's with the UQ2/NAP 100 when I bought it and I hated them despite really wanting to like them. To me they were very cold and uninvolving but, as above, everyon'e lug 'oles are different *biggrin*

Nooooo, no, no, no.....

I'm sorry I don't often get controversial or argumentative on here but you guys must be deaf or something!

At last years show I gave the Naim/focal combo my best on display award.

Never noticed Focal before but the 906 is a stunning sounding speaker.

Filled the hotel room filled with people on the end of the Naim system. And it was a nice sound - not the dreaded wall of sound.

But..... I've not heard them under real world conditions nor the Hegel amps.....nor the LS50's.... So I'll reserve judgement... Eh....em....thankyou.

I guess I had the luxury of hearing them alongside several others and wanted to give them a listen as I had heard so much about them. I was told by the dealer that the 906's can take a while to warm up and, to be honest, I was unsure that they ever did. I'm really up front about the fact that I do like a particular sound and also that I knew within 2 minutes that the Focals weren't gonna be the speakers to provide it.

I plumped for the Monitor Audio Silver 1's (and subsequently Silver 8's) and to me they were night and day. The MA's were everything the Focals were not. But as I said, I am fussy and there are a lot of people who love the 906's with Naim - fair enough.

 

[iceman16]

Naim + Monitor Audio...*dash1*