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I've had the Kanta 2 in that colour scheme for 3 years now and I still smile at the sound they give me, it's great when you find & buy your soulmate in speaker terms.
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There are 2 huge advantages of Kanta, they sounds pretty good in a an average acoustically room, like in a typical livingroom. Second, after 1 year they still sound very pleasant, zero fatigue.
@@Givea_shit I don't see any changes in color in my Kanta. Both Kanta and Sopra are great speakers , it comes down to personal taste. Don't mention that you can always add subwoofer or 2.
Newbie here. Earlier this year started rebuilding a 2.0 system and decided on Focal Aria 926 speakers. WOW is all I can say and seeing your reviews and comments I would probably stay with Focal if I ever make a change. Thanks for the time and talent to put these reviews together.
I've installed Focals in two or three of my cars and have been very happy with them. Hopefully at some point in the future ill get to her their home stuff. Happy thanksgiving to you both.
I love that you include measurements (in-room) in your speaker reviews for while now! I also love your constant statement ..."in our room"! Excellent review again! Happy Holidays to you and Kristi!
Owning a set of focal aria 926's for a year now. Absolutely love them and their sound. Already a very expensive purchase for me at the time of moving into my first place. Can't help but dream about owning a set up worth a small car at some point in time :'). Focal has a new set coming out next year (Focal Vestia) which seem like the new version of the Arias. I'll be waiting for your review :).
Good evening guys, yet another high quality video out. I personally went for the focal 826's. I love the airy light sound with the sweet low undertones. I feel the 826's sound fenomenal. I do have a very tricky room to work with, and thats the biggest reason i went with them, pretty easy to place and tweak. I will go higher in the focal line later on, just because i love the sound overall. And yes, i have heard the more costly speakers. Even the ones that is out of my league. I love the fact that they can make this rich Nice sound without having People to break the budget by a large margin. Keep it up, high quality content is rare. Stay safe, and I will catch you guys on the next video🤗 THANK YOU!
I have the Kanta2 paired with the Hegel H590 and for me this combo is amazing, the H590 has amazing basscontrol with it's high dampingfactor, wich is very good with the Kanta's and produces very nice and tight bass. I also added recently a Rel S510 sub and it blends so well with the Kanta's.
First and foremost my sincere gratitude to you both. Your work ethic, high level of excellence, professionalism are truly the reference level standard for all youtube audio commentators/ reviewers to emulate. Thank you Kristi and Andrew. I'm quite familiar with Focal premier lines: Kanta, Sopra, Evo Utopia. All Kantas 1,2,3 are quite sensitive to placement, amp synergy, and gain level (at levels over 90 dbs they start to loose coherence and can become harsh). The Sopra no.2 are the best Focal all around speaker. The Stella Utopia Evo is the best Focal speaker, that includes the Grande Utopia Evo.
That's quite interesting since I've heard two other people with broad Focal experience say that they thought Kanta was easy to place and Sopra was more sensitive to proper placement. That's not to discredit your experiences, I just find it interesting that it's relatively common to hear quite different opinions on gear in hifi.
With my Powernode, the Kanta 1 quickly sound harsh. The Audiolab 6000A is better. With the NAD C298 I don't think I ever noticed harshness... (Kanta 2 and a different room though).
The subjective preferences in speakers has always fascinated me. I recently heard the Kanta No.2s and felt that they were the only Focals I have ever heard that really grabbed me. Yet you pointed out that the Kantas are not typical Focals. I much preferred the Kantas to the Bowers and Wilkins 801Ds, which sell for 5 times as much. The 801s were fatiguing to the point where I felt like leaving the room after 15 minutes. The Kantas also had much tighter bass. To answer your final questions, the Kantas are without a doubt my favorites in the Focal lineup.
First off Happy Thanksgiving! Secondly, the more I watch your videos the more I find myself eagerly waiting to hear what Kristi has to say. I like and enjoy her different view point on the speakers and often times, makes Andrew think about the speaker differently. Thank you for the great conent! I always look forward to your videos. Looking forward to another year!
My all time favourit stories are with the Focal Kanta was when a costumers came into my shop and ask "Did you got the new Focal Loudspeakers that looks like a Speckschwarte (Bacon Rind)?" After i came back under my table, because i was completely destroyed from my laughing, I had to say: "Sadly no, but my focal salesmen said in roughly one week, i will have a pair in my listening room/high end studio 1." We mad a appointment for 10 days later. After 5 Days THE PAIR of PAIRS from the Kanta No3 arrived and i knew i should have think twice when my salesmen said: "You can have them for free but you can´t choose the colour". And WTH did i got. One yellow Front with a wallnut body and a gloss baby blue front with a black body. I asked my salesmen if he hate me and his answer was : Not today but you got them for free. And yes this was the good part, for free, but they looked like a kick in the balls beside the Dali Epicon, Cabasse, T+A S2100 CTL. The strange part of this odysse was after a couple of months i sold nearly 12 pair with this odd couple of loudspeaker. But overall the Aria Productline from Focal is my Favourit because its a good looking, good sounding and a damn good affordable speaker.
You guys actually seem like you are a happy couple, and I do mean genuinely happy, not ‘Facebook post’ happy with all the fake stuff, but just the way that you interact with each other, and the looks that Andrew gives, you guys seem like you have both picked the right person to be with, and it’s nice to see.
Sounds like the Focal would pair well with a Hypex/Purifi type class D. Very detailed and transparent with good woofer control. Help it with it's "tube-like" characteristics Kristi mentioned. I'd take maybe the 805's or Elysians from what was reviewed that I can remember at the moment..but I'd settle for a pair of Polk R700's. "Who does number 2 work for?!" That's what I kept thinking everytime you mentioned the Focal #1.
I think Focal makes some nice speakers but the only one I liked over the Polk L600 towers cost $25K a pair. You can get R700's for $1650 a pair right now! I picked up the L600 towers for $3K. The L600 are basically R700s with a MUCH better finish and slightly better build quality. Polk hit a home run with the Legend and the Reserve line, assuming you can power them with a well built and powerful amp stable down to 4 ohms, because they are harder to drive than most speakers. I found pairing them with a slightly bright amp is perfection for the somewhat subdued yet airy and brilliant ring radiator tweeter. A more revealing amp will also help take their mid range and high end to another level putting them on par with MUCH bigger boys costing far more. The L600 are slightly harder to drive so I just upgraded my amp to more revealing and slightly more bright 2 ohm stable amp and the L600 have responded with unbelievable clarity at any volume/frequency and the ring radiator sounds even more fantastic yet still doesn't' fatigue. I'm super happy pairing these with the very high quality Anthem STR power amp and will go ahead and get the STR Pre-amp to properly bass manage and room correct them with dual stereo subs added into the mix. Even without subs and the matching preamp this pairing sounds amazing when listening to music. The R700 or L600 actually don't need subs to bring the house down. My walls are still shaking despite having these on isolation stands because of the air they move while still playing without distortion! When listening to well recorded drums it's almost like I'm behind the drum set it's so realistic and powerful. Never thought I would be using Polk speakers to power my dream setup, but after extensive testing of about 40 sets of towers, 3 way floor standers and a few good bookshelf speakers, here I am! I don't feel like I am settling much at all all in using the Polk. The L600 look great and compete on looks with stuff costing 20K+. They were giving 95% of the sound that those $25K Focal were. I took the savings and started upgrading my amp/pre amp along with further room treatments and they keep getting better and are now are basically perfect. I recommend the used market when powering either speaker if you are on a budget and want great sound. You would be shocked at how good some of the deals out there are ! Cheers.
In my humble opinion, the focal 806 is one of the best bookshelfs you can get for under 1000/pr.... with the sound that favors bigger softer bass, and slightly softer highs. But... if you know me from my other posts... I have 53 yr old ears that enjoy elevated mids and highs found in speakers like Quad S2 or Golden ear Aon or B&W 606.
Great review! Your reviews have always been very helpful. I owned the Kanata 1's for the last 2 years and have anjoyed them. I changed out amplifiers and started not liking them as much. (solid state mac to hybrid mac) I determined either the amp or the speakers have to go. I then saw your review for the Bowers and Wilkins 805D4's and thought they might be more what I am looiking for...and they were so I bought them. Everything you said about the 805D4's was spot on! They have such a deep and wide soundstage it blows me away everytime I hear them! As good as the Kanta's were, their soundstage was a bit more narrow for me and the bass did muddy the mids a bit. Up until now they were the first speaker that worked well in my room though. I have always been a "warmer speaker" guy but these 805D4's just speak to me. When paired with the Mcintosh MA352 the Kanta 1's are not the same beast as on a completely solid state amp. The 805D4's pair so well with either. The MAC just takes a little edge of the tweeter, but not too much. IMHO
I have the Kanta No. 2 which is obviously a larger speaker. My Kanta I find to be highly revealing and extremely fast. Despite the Kanta relative high sensitivity they have a challenging impedance curve and really do require a more powerful amplifier to get everything they can offer. I use a Mark Levinson 335 which has 250 watts and after a lot of experimentation with other amps the power is really necessary.
Great video, as always! Would be interesting to compare the BW 805 against the Focal Sopra 1 as well! They are equal in price and the direct competitor to the 805 I feel
Happy thanksgiving to everyone tuning in and to you guys. Thank you for your hard work bringing us great content and showing us the world of music doesn’t have to be stressful and argumentative. Visually I like the No1, sonically, haven’t heard them, but based on what you guys said so far it’s be the Diablo. But I’d still go with the 800 series B&W. Thanks for another great video!
I’m listening to Supertramp on the Choras and am not looking anymore for my family room . Absolutely over the moon . As for my bedroom I’m going to start looking at Decware amps and custom made Klipsch Forte IVs . Thank you for your reviews I enjoy buying what your ear says is good especially when they are a bargain .
A belated happy birthday Kristi wishing you all the very best. Please keep your viewpoints coming as they contribute positively and strongly to the discussions. I agree with you completely on the Grande Utopia speakers. They blew me away when I heard them. Disappointed that these are not up to parr as I really liked the Kanta no3 when I heard them with Naim electronics. Anyway both, please keep up the great reviews and may you soon reach the 300k.
For me I’m biased towards the aria 906 bookshelves (not the k2 versions) since they are my main speakers 😂. Hope you guys have a great holiday time this weekend.
That’s interesting about the product photography colouring being slightly misleading. I found that with the white on the focal chora 806s, but still love them! So many speakers are ugly af! Keep up the great work Andrew & Kristi :) happy thanksgiving
I have one of the more recent speakers of Focal - the Spectral 40th Anniversary Edition - it’s playing with a Musical Fidelity M6 500si and a Denafrips Terminator II 12th Anniversary Edition DAC. All together a sound like heaven. Love your channel, keep on rocking.❤️🎸
I have not heard all the current focal lines but I love my Chora 826-D with my PS Audio amp. Didn’t hook up the center and atmos speakers yet (and will need to upgrade the sub) but will be doing that soon. Love the large soundstage they present for 2-channel music. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving guys from across the pond! I have the Aria 926 towers with an Arcam sa30 driving them. Great combo in my opinion even though I haven’t yet applied the built-in Dirac capability of the amp. Very intelligible when watching tv( via eARC) and great detailed stereo sound with just a hint of warmth coming from the amp imo. Great video again guys and happy holidays!🎉😊
I really enjoy your reviews! You have a unique way to present and I really like that Kristi has her say as well! Now - I'm just curious whay you do not mention the Focal Sopra line when you compare their different speakers. You mention Chora, Kanta and Utopia, but really - Sopra no1 sit in between Kanta and Utopia. I would love to se your review of Focal Sopra #1 and possibly also #2 and #3.
I have the Kanta 2. These speakers go below 4ohms in the high bass region. Hence, with insufficient power, it might muddy the other frequencies. Most all reviews indicate they are fast and detailed. Something weird is going on in your space.
Really nice review! Bought a pair of Alto Utopia in 2009 after listening different Focal speakers, like the Diablo. Really love the Alto, but like many Focal speakers, they need good power. I’m using a MOON 700i, nice combination
Always cool to hear from you two. These types speakers go into the category of, maybe one day for me. Still content with what i have. Exercised some restraint on a potential purchase this year. Delayed gratification feels good sometimes
I listened to Focal Kanta 2 and Kanta 3 at the same time with an intergrated amp from Brinkmann . I loved 2 over 3 but possibly it was the case that 3's were not broken in (right word?) enough. Haven't had the chance to listen to Kanta 1. I own Focal's monitor speakers Shape Twins. Oh I love them a lot... :)
Same here, I loved the 2's over the 3's. The 3's are a great speaker, but I just felt the bass was a bit sluggish. It got low and loud, but it lacked speed and attack. The 2's on the other hand blew me away with speed and punch it could deliver. I went in planning to buy the 3s but walked away with a pair of 2s and couldn't be happier.
@@shawnmetts8010 hi, no at this moment, i was testing them with my old sub but it was not sufficent, Im satisfied with no sub cuz my audiolab is managing the lows very good, maybe in future gona thing about relT7x
I've had a set of Chorus 706's for years. I love the Focal sound and will be considering when I build my new audio system when our new house is finished.
Ty and felt you were both disappointed with the Kanta but that being said, I had my chora 926 is for about three weeks. Got an opportunity to buy the Kantas at a really really good price and swap them out without looking back and haven’t looked back. Just needed to say that . Lastly, in my set up with the unison, hybrid unicor 90 at about 100 W per channel it is glorious but I have a small room but yeah I think the bws are awesome 😎 a tossup.
The Kanta line is a real weird one by Focal. The 1 and 3 are very bass heavy, they are very warm sounding and have a big umph down low, but the 2 is VERY different. The top end is a bit less rolled off, still warm for a Focal Be Tweeter but it does have ample detail. The biggest difference with the 2s is the bass. It's extremely fast and extremely punchy. The 1 and 3 is a bit slower and fuller sounding in the bass, but the way the 2's deliver bass is a fast punch to the chest. I demoed all 3 side by side and I was floored by how special the 2's sounded. The speed and attack of them reminded me more of a Magico speaker.
@@csteebyify I’ve used a variety of systems with them. Currently I have them hooked up to a McIntosh c2700 + mc462 combo, which is an amazing pairing. I’ve also tried it with a c2700+mc275, c47+mc275, c47+ dual mc275s (mono), rotel RC-1572 + mc275, rotel ra-1592, c47+RB1582 mk2, and Michi x3. Personally, I didn’t care for them too much with a tube amp. They sounded great, but the low end was a bit muddy. They responded really well with SS, giving amazing punch and dynamics which was washed out with even mono block mc275s. The highs did sound amazing with the tube amp. I wished it had dual binding posts so I could bi amp them, but focal only does that on the higher end models. So I’ve settled on a tube front end and a SS amp. It’s an amazing combo. The tubes take off the edge on top, but with the GL 12AX7 & 12AT7 I’m still getting great detail and dynamics. Then the SS drives the drivers with excellent authority. I did recently try using the Michi as a preamp for the mc462. It also sounded amazing. The Michi already was powerful enough, but the mc462 just allowed for faster dynamics. They are a very revealing but yet very forgiving speaker. The Focal 900 series is a bit less forgiving.
I really love the looks of the Kanta 1 over their more expensive brothers. In my humble opinion I think the Aria range and Kanta range look the best and I would love to see Focal make a speaker range that sounded like their more expensive ranges, with the looks of their less expensive ranges. I know that probably sounds cooky but that's me. On another note, I would probably have to buy both the B&W and Kanta 1's to satisfy me, as I love the looks of both and probably different sound signatures in each. I know I'm awkward. 🤣🤣🤣
I agree with a lot of comments here - these speakers need lots of power to really shine. I have the Kanta 3s. Auditioned with many amps. I auditioned against 4-5 McIntosh amps and a lot of the less powerful amps made them sound muddy. The MA12000 made them come alive. That's 350wpc. I ended up buying the musical fidelity m8-500s. So 500wpc - boy does this make them sing - I actually chose the Kanta over the sopra line after hearing them side by side with these amps. Breath taking stuff.
Kristi, I think that you and I have the same ear. I would love to know what YOUR favorite speakers are, under $1500. Articulate and revealing highs, and tight bass, ,without being bloated or heavy. Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!
I actually have older Focal Chorus series speakers ( circa 2008 vintage ), in a Audio Visual set up . 3 way 726, for fronts, and of cause corresponding 7 series Center, and bookshelf speakers complete the speaker set up. Although not really set up ideally, I really enjoy them.
ANDREW YOU HAVE A CONUNDRUM, IMHHO, I THINK THE LIVING ROOM LOOKS 🤩🤩 AWESOME AND THE FOCAL’s BLEND BEAUTIFULLY WITH IT, but the compromise in sound preference is the rub here I HOPE YOU REACH THE SUBS TODAY, AND KRISTI CAN GET HER WISH 🤗💚💚💚
Chora ✅ Aria ✅ Kanta ✅ Sopra❓ Diablo Utopia ✅ I would love to see a Sopra review, any chance? 🙃And you can be Focal ambassadors, I'm a Focal fan. Now I have an Aria 906, love them, I dream of a Sopra No1 someday, but there is lack of comparison on UA-cam, except Thomas & Stereo channel, but your video format is my favorite. Waiting Home Audio Products of the Year video like a child, 300k subscribers this year guaranteed. Finally, and the Kanta video!
Regarding the hideous brownish cream/walnut looking ones you see on their website labled ivory/matte, that's not a white balance issue, that color exists and its the pair I personally own (unfortunately) I reached out to Focal NA's product expert and after exchanging around 8 emails about the color and asking specifically if a white front baffle like the one you have exists or not he just kept telling me thats what I have despite mine clearly being the more cream brownish color the website shows. At some point I just gave up as I felt they were dodging the question. They told me I own the Ivory/Walnut but my baffles are more brown, I don't think anyone will ever know the truth. Congrats on 300k BTW!
The Kanta 1 is the heart and soul of the Focal sonic signature. Very articulate, incredible holographic and deep sound stage, clarity, tighter and faster bass. Maybe your pair wasn’t fully broken in.
I remember when the Sopra 2's were $14k/pr, by the time I could afford to drop that much on a pair they are now $21k. At $14k they are a no brainer, at $21k it's just a bit hard to justify spending $10k on them over the Kanta 2s.
Happy Thanksgiving, Andrew and Kristi and to all other Americans on here today. We Canadians already had our Thanksgiving in October. We're sneaky that way. :)
Happy Thanksgiving! I would have drooled over this episode had the Aria 906’s been included - but all good, I sold them a while ago. LoL. I have KEF R3 now feeding off a Rega Aethos amp…love the commentary on the Dynaudio as they’re next on my list if I want to try something else. Keep up the great work and Happy Birthday Kristi!
I bought the Chora 806 a while back, was very disappointed in the build quality at it's pricepoint, wound up returning them and going with Wharfedale Dentons.
Hi Joseph, I would agree the Denton speakers have a nicer look/build as they should at their price. For anyone curious, you can check the Dentons out here bit.ly/denton85. The Choras are deeply discounted now bit.ly/3GH34gs and for someone might be a good fit. Thanks for joining us today.
The Dentons 80th and 85th have nothing on the Chora sonically unless you like a warmer sound. Wharfedales are great in their cabs, very solid and inert but wharfedales sound like 480p speakers conpared to focals.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Sound quality is subjective, the Chora are Bright and Wharfedale Warm... On a build quality and value for money, the Chora is built like a $200 pair of speakers.... The Denton 80's are built every bit of $1K
@@AbsoluteFidelity At their starting price point... Vinyl wrap isn't good enough, $800-$1K speakers should either be Gloss or Wood Veneer, also the Chora are a bit lightweight for their size....
Owner of the 806, 826, 906 and 948. Also ex owner of the R200, R700, 12.2 and 12.4. No comparison at all, the Focals shat on the other speakers in terms of clarity, transparency, detail retrieval and soundstage width. The only thing the R200/700 have over the Focal is the bass, nothing else. Detail in the highs, mids and bass is nowhere near any other speaker that have been in my room. And objectively measure great too, unlike the B&W. I like how the Chora sound more than the Aria (806 vs 906). My 2 cents.
I just sold my Focal Aria's, I was not happy with its bass performance, it lacked a foundation, heft and presence in general. I switched to the css audio criton 1tdx and I am happy how they sound with my Audiolab 6000 play.
Happy Turkey Day Andrew and Kristi! Kristi I hope you had the best of all possible birthdays!🎊🎂🎁 I have a set of the Focal Chora 806’s that I use for the rear channel in a 4 channel system. I run them with a Musical Fidelity integrated amp. My front channel is 2 vintage very large JBL’s with15 inch woofers and EV horns (they are very much like the Klipsh Cornwall’s) run by a McIntosh C162 power amp with the McIntosh C39 pre amp/Audio video control center. I am very happy with what they bring to this system in this room! Not a bad seat in the house! I like them enough to be considering Focal Chora 826 Towers for mains in a 2 channel system for another room of course I’ll be running them with a sub. I’m just torn at the moment between them and the Polk Reserve 700’s just can’t quite make up my mind.🤔Thank you both for all the wonderful reviews! They’ve been something I look forward to for the past several years!
It’s actually Focal’s new “Vestia” series I’m most excited about! Those large towers are no joke. Saw them in person in Cedia and loved them. I don’t like the Kanta’s, but instead like the Sopras instead. Never heard the diablos
I've owned the K1s for a year now, and if you are careful with placement and they are definitely not heavy on bass (it is surely a personal thing). I paired them with McIntosh MA5300 after having used a Rotel 14 series. The McIntosh is a great match to the K1s. Also, my setup includes the Node. a SACD player and a record player. On all sources, the set performs very well. Thanks for the great comparisons. it is very insightful
"Apples to Apples comparison" It's always surprising to see how expensive Focal is outside of Europe. A set of kanta 1's is 6000€ here, a pair of B&W 805 D4's is nearly 9000€ I bought 2x focal aria 948's, 2x906's and the cc900 center for under 3000€ total, while the smaller aria 936 k2 here is 3300€ a piece. I feel like their price class in the US makes reviews do somewhat unreal comparison's to much more expensive speakers. I believe if you live in the EU, focal is probably the best brand to invest in, given it's value and much lower price. But honestly, as much as I love my speakers, they aren't worth 10 grand, which is close to what you pay in the US.
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Andrew please tell me if I should return my x4700H denon for the cinema 50. I’m getting vibes I made the wrong decision?
I've had the Kanta 2 in that colour scheme for 3 years now and I still smile at the sound they give me, it's great when you find & buy your soulmate in speaker terms.
*Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that you all have a day filled with family and friends. Thank you again for joining us and if you haven't yet, please subscribe! We are around 200 subs away from reach 300,000!!!*
Back at cha . . . Happy 🦃 day.
Happy Thanksgiving guys!
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to the both of you
Congratulations!
There are 2 huge advantages of Kanta, they sounds pretty good in a an average acoustically room, like in a typical livingroom. Second, after 1 year they still sound very pleasant, zero fatigue.
But d quality not so gud
The woofer will turn color after sometimes
Better get used Sopra
@@Givea_shit I don't see any changes in color in my Kanta. Both Kanta and Sopra are great speakers , it comes down to personal taste. Don't mention that you can always add subwoofer or 2.
@@gottrekk5798 same here. Focal quality is fine in my experience.
Newbie here. Earlier this year started rebuilding a 2.0 system and decided on Focal Aria 926 speakers. WOW is all I can say and seeing your reviews and comments I would probably stay with Focal if I ever make a change.
Thanks for the time and talent to put these reviews together.
I use to run those focal flax speakers in my car. Was a great setup. The focal utopia in car audio is legendary.
I've installed Focals in two or three of my cars and have been very happy with them. Hopefully at some point in the future ill get to her their home stuff. Happy thanksgiving to you both.
You guys tend to give more real and actionable info in your reviews than most others. Great review.
I love that you include measurements (in-room) in your speaker reviews for while now! I also love your constant statement ..."in our room"! Excellent review again! Happy Holidays to you and Kristi!
Owning a set of focal aria 926's for a year now. Absolutely love them and their sound. Already a very expensive purchase for me at the time of moving into my first place. Can't help but dream about owning a set up worth a small car at some point in time :').
Focal has a new set coming out next year (Focal Vestia) which seem like the new version of the Arias. I'll be waiting for your review :).
That particular version of the Focal Kanta No 1 looks like Focal designed precisely to live in your room.
Good evening guys, yet another high quality video out. I personally went for the focal 826's. I love the airy light sound with the sweet low undertones. I feel the 826's sound fenomenal. I do have a very tricky room to work with, and thats the biggest reason i went with them, pretty easy to place and tweak. I will go higher in the focal line later on, just because i love the sound overall. And yes, i have heard the more costly speakers. Even the ones that is out of my league. I love the fact that they can make this rich Nice sound without having People to break the budget by a large margin. Keep it up, high quality content is rare. Stay safe, and I will catch you guys on the next video🤗 THANK YOU!
They are beautiful to look at. Maybe one day.......
Great review as always guys
I have the Kanta2 paired with the Hegel H590 and for me this combo is amazing, the H590 has amazing basscontrol with it's high dampingfactor, wich is very good with the Kanta's and produces very nice and tight bass. I also added recently a Rel S510 sub and it blends so well with the Kanta's.
First and foremost my sincere gratitude to you both. Your work ethic, high level of excellence, professionalism are truly the reference level standard for all youtube audio commentators/ reviewers to emulate. Thank you Kristi and Andrew.
I'm quite familiar with Focal premier lines: Kanta, Sopra, Evo Utopia.
All Kantas 1,2,3 are quite sensitive to placement, amp synergy, and gain level (at levels over 90 dbs they start to loose coherence and can become harsh).
The Sopra no.2 are the best Focal all around speaker. The Stella Utopia Evo is the best Focal speaker, that includes the Grande Utopia Evo.
Thanks for weighing in with your experience.
That's quite interesting since I've heard two other people with broad Focal experience say that they thought Kanta was easy to place and Sopra was more sensitive to proper placement. That's not to discredit your experiences, I just find it interesting that it's relatively common to hear quite different opinions on gear in hifi.
With my Powernode, the Kanta 1 quickly sound harsh. The Audiolab 6000A is better. With the NAD C298 I don't think I ever noticed harshness... (Kanta 2 and a different room though).
The subjective preferences in speakers has always fascinated me. I recently heard the Kanta No.2s and felt that they were the only Focals I have ever heard that really grabbed me. Yet you pointed out that the Kantas are not typical Focals. I much preferred the Kantas to the Bowers and Wilkins 801Ds, which sell for 5 times as much. The 801s were fatiguing to the point where I felt like leaving the room after 15 minutes. The Kantas also had much tighter bass. To answer your final questions, the Kantas are without a doubt my favorites in the Focal lineup.
I used to own a set of twin 6 with the sub. Absolutely amazing. These are looking mighty fine.
First off Happy Thanksgiving!
Secondly, the more I watch your videos the more I find myself eagerly waiting to hear what Kristi has to say. I like and enjoy her different view point on the speakers and often times, makes Andrew think about the speaker differently. Thank you for the great conent! I always look forward to your videos. Looking forward to another year!
My all time favourit stories are with the Focal Kanta was when a costumers came into my shop and ask "Did you got the new Focal Loudspeakers that looks like a Speckschwarte (Bacon Rind)?" After i came back under my table, because i was completely destroyed from my laughing, I had to say: "Sadly no, but my focal salesmen said in roughly one week, i will have a pair in my listening room/high end studio 1." We mad a appointment for 10 days later. After 5 Days THE PAIR of PAIRS from the Kanta No3 arrived and i knew i should have think twice when my salesmen said: "You can have them for free but you can´t choose the colour". And WTH did i got. One yellow Front with a wallnut body and a gloss baby blue front with a black body. I asked my salesmen if he hate me and his answer was : Not today but you got them for free. And yes this was the good part, for free, but they looked like a kick in the balls beside the Dali Epicon, Cabasse, T+A S2100 CTL. The strange part of this odysse was after a couple of months i sold nearly 12 pair with this odd couple of loudspeaker.
But overall the Aria Productline from Focal is my Favourit because its a good looking, good sounding and a damn good affordable speaker.
You guys actually seem like you are a happy couple, and I do mean genuinely happy, not ‘Facebook post’ happy with all the fake stuff, but just the way that you interact with each other, and the looks that Andrew gives, you guys seem like you have both picked the right person to be with, and it’s nice to see.
Thank you! I happen to agree :).
I love focal I built a new box for a set of these drastically improved the detail in the midrange and low-end detail
Sounds like the Focal would pair well with a Hypex/Purifi type class D. Very detailed and transparent with good woofer control. Help it with it's "tube-like" characteristics Kristi mentioned. I'd take maybe the 805's or Elysians from what was reviewed that I can remember at the moment..but I'd settle for a pair of Polk R700's. "Who does number 2 work for?!" That's what I kept thinking everytime you mentioned the Focal #1.
With a UcD they don't pair well. Purifi is a different story. I wonder if the HypeX is closer to UcD or Purifi...
I think Focal makes some nice speakers but the only one I liked over the Polk L600 towers cost $25K a pair. You can get R700's for $1650 a pair right now! I picked up the L600 towers for $3K. The L600 are basically R700s with a MUCH better finish and slightly better build quality.
Polk hit a home run with the Legend and the Reserve line, assuming you can power them with a well built and powerful amp stable down to 4 ohms, because they are harder to drive than most speakers. I found pairing them with a slightly bright amp is perfection for the somewhat subdued yet airy and brilliant ring radiator tweeter. A more revealing amp will also help take their mid range and high end to another level putting them on par with MUCH bigger boys costing far more.
The L600 are slightly harder to drive so I just upgraded my amp to more revealing and slightly more bright 2 ohm stable amp and the L600 have responded with unbelievable clarity at any volume/frequency and the ring radiator sounds even more fantastic yet still doesn't' fatigue. I'm super happy pairing these with the very high quality Anthem STR power amp and will go ahead and get the STR Pre-amp to properly bass manage and room correct them with dual stereo subs added into the mix. Even without subs and the matching preamp this pairing sounds amazing when listening to music. The R700 or L600 actually don't need subs to bring the house down. My walls are still shaking despite having these on isolation stands because of the air they move while still playing without distortion! When listening to well recorded drums it's almost like I'm behind the drum set it's so realistic and powerful.
Never thought I would be using Polk speakers to power my dream setup, but after extensive testing of about 40 sets of towers, 3 way floor standers and a few good bookshelf speakers, here I am! I don't feel like I am settling much at all all in using the Polk. The L600 look great and compete on looks with stuff costing 20K+. They were giving 95% of the sound that those $25K Focal were. I took the savings and started upgrading my amp/pre amp along with further room treatments and they keep getting better and are now are basically perfect. I recommend the used market when powering either speaker if you are on a budget and want great sound. You would be shocked at how good some of the deals out there are ! Cheers.
In my humble opinion, the focal 806 is one of the best bookshelfs you can get for under 1000/pr.... with the sound that favors bigger softer bass, and slightly softer highs. But... if you know me from my other posts... I have 53 yr old ears that enjoy elevated mids and highs found in speakers like Quad S2 or Golden ear Aon or B&W 606.
The 806s are an embarrassment of riches and now that they're on sale for 40% off (bit.ly/2VabVOQ ) they're a no brainer.
Great review! Your reviews have always been very helpful. I owned the Kanata 1's for the last 2 years and have anjoyed them. I changed out amplifiers and started not liking them as much. (solid state mac to hybrid mac) I determined either the amp or the speakers have to go. I then saw your review for the Bowers and Wilkins 805D4's and thought they might be more what I am looiking for...and they were so I bought them. Everything you said about the 805D4's was spot on! They have such a deep and wide soundstage it blows me away everytime I hear them! As good as the Kanta's were, their soundstage was a bit more narrow for me and the bass did muddy the mids a bit. Up until now they were the first speaker that worked well in my room though. I have always been a "warmer speaker" guy but these 805D4's just speak to me. When paired with the Mcintosh MA352 the Kanta 1's are not the same beast as on a completely solid state amp. The 805D4's pair so well with either. The MAC just takes a little edge of the tweeter, but not too much. IMHO
I have the Kanta No. 2 which is obviously a larger speaker. My Kanta I find to be highly revealing and extremely fast. Despite the Kanta relative high sensitivity they have a challenging impedance curve and really do require a more powerful amplifier to get everything they can offer. I use a Mark Levinson 335 which has 250 watts and after a lot of experimentation with other amps the power is really necessary.
Great video, as always! Would be interesting to compare the BW 805 against the Focal Sopra 1 as well! They are equal in price and the direct competitor to the 805 I feel
"Oh, maybe I can buy dis!"...checks price...Looks nice though!
The Focal you may want to consider if you're on a budget is this bit.ly/2VabVOQ
yeah, i think ill stick with my tenth of the price polk r700s, and hell ill even give focal the benefit of doubt with 80% of the sound...
@@jedknutson8373 If you have the R700s you're going to be fine! Enjoy and thanks for tuning in!
Happy thanksgiving to everyone tuning in and to you guys. Thank you for your hard work bringing us great content and showing us the world of music doesn’t have to be stressful and argumentative.
Visually I like the No1, sonically, haven’t heard them, but based on what you guys said so far it’s be the Diablo. But I’d still go with the 800 series B&W. Thanks for another great video!
Hope you and your family are well and safe.
Happy Thanksgiving Vadym! Hope you have a great day!
@@KristiWright thank you ma’am! Everything is well! Happy thanksgiving, and happy late birthday!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews you too Sir!
I’m listening to Supertramp on the Choras and am not looking anymore for my family room . Absolutely over the moon . As for my bedroom I’m going to start looking at Decware amps and custom made Klipsch Forte IVs . Thank you for your reviews I enjoy buying what your ear says is good especially when they are a bargain .
A belated happy birthday Kristi wishing you all the very best. Please keep your viewpoints coming as they contribute positively and strongly to the discussions. I agree with you completely on the Grande Utopia speakers. They blew me away when I heard them. Disappointed that these are not up to parr as I really liked the Kanta no3 when I heard them with Naim electronics. Anyway both, please keep up the great reviews and may you soon reach the 300k.
For me I’m biased towards the aria 906 bookshelves (not the k2 versions) since they are my main speakers 😂. Hope you guys have a great holiday time this weekend.
Happy belated Birthday🎉🎂
I really appreciate your candor when you do your reviews.
I appreciate that!
These speakers are freaking beautiful!
This speaker is one that I Kanta 'fford.
Haha, yes and there are many more that cost much more which boggles my mind for bookshelf size. The tad for example.
That’s interesting about the product photography colouring being slightly misleading. I found that with the white on the focal chora 806s, but still love them! So many speakers are ugly af! Keep up the great work Andrew & Kristi :) happy thanksgiving
Right on. Thanksgiving video. And i have my coffee. Must be fate. Cheers!
Thanks for joining us!
Always!!
I have one of the more recent speakers of Focal - the Spectral 40th Anniversary Edition - it’s playing with a Musical Fidelity M6 500si and a Denafrips Terminator II 12th Anniversary Edition DAC. All together a sound like heaven. Love your channel, keep on rocking.❤️🎸
I have not heard all the current focal lines but I love my Chora 826-D with my PS Audio amp. Didn’t hook up the center and atmos speakers yet (and will need to upgrade the sub) but will be doing that soon. Love the large soundstage they present for 2-channel music.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving guys from across the pond!
I have the Aria 926 towers with an Arcam sa30 driving them. Great combo in my opinion even though I haven’t yet applied the built-in Dirac capability of the amp. Very intelligible when watching tv( via eARC) and great detailed stereo sound with just a hint of warmth coming from the amp imo.
Great video again guys and happy holidays!🎉😊
I have the Aria 926's as well with my McIntosh MC152 amp. I just love the flax drivers and sound they provide.
I wish I can subscribe 1000 times more, you just deserve 1million subs upwards.
I really enjoy your reviews! You have a unique way to present and I really like that Kristi has her say as well! Now - I'm just curious whay you do not mention the Focal Sopra line when you compare their different speakers. You mention Chora, Kanta and Utopia, but really - Sopra no1 sit in between Kanta and Utopia. I would love to se your review of Focal Sopra #1 and possibly also #2 and #3.
I have these paired with the Technics SU-G700 and the HiFi Rose RS250. Couldn't be happier.
I have the Kanta 2. These speakers go below 4ohms in the high bass region. Hence, with insufficient power, it might muddy the other frequencies. Most all reviews indicate they are fast and detailed. Something weird is going on in your space.
Happy Thanksgiving! Really appreciate the content today. Something to watch this morning while the parade rolls on. Really good looking speakers.
Thank you for hanging out with us this morning.
Happy Belated B-day! We’ll add you to the calendar.
Really nice review!
Bought a pair of Alto Utopia in 2009 after listening different Focal speakers, like the Diablo.
Really love the Alto, but like many Focal speakers, they need good power. I’m using a MOON 700i, nice combination
Always cool to hear from you two. These types speakers go into the category of, maybe one day for me. Still content with what i have. Exercised some restraint on a potential purchase this year. Delayed gratification feels good sometimes
The grass isn't always greener, sometimes not making a move can pay off in the end. Thanks for watching!
I listened to Focal Kanta 2 and Kanta 3 at the same time with an intergrated amp from Brinkmann . I loved 2 over 3 but possibly it was the case that 3's were not broken in (right word?) enough. Haven't had the chance to listen to Kanta 1. I own Focal's monitor speakers Shape Twins. Oh I love them a lot... :)
Same here, I loved the 2's over the 3's. The 3's are a great speaker, but I just felt the bass was a bit sluggish. It got low and loud, but it lacked speed and attack. The 2's on the other hand blew me away with speed and punch it could deliver. I went in planning to buy the 3s but walked away with a pair of 2s and couldn't be happier.
I'm still in love with my Chora 826, hope don't need any upgrade in near future,
I just picked up the 826. Are you running a sub? If so, which one?
@@shawnmetts8010 hi, no at this moment, i was testing them with my old sub but it was not sufficent, Im satisfied with no sub cuz my audiolab is managing the lows very good, maybe in future gona thing about relT7x
I've had a set of Chorus 706's for years. I love the Focal sound and will be considering when I build my new audio system when our new house is finished.
They do make a great speaker! Thanks for tuning in!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews , This channel just gets better and better, always a joy to watch.
Ty and felt you were both disappointed with the Kanta but that being said, I had my chora 926 is for about three weeks. Got an opportunity to buy the Kantas at a really really good price and swap them out without looking back and haven’t looked back. Just needed to say that . Lastly, in my set up with the unison, hybrid unicor 90 at about 100 W per channel it is glorious but I have a small room but yeah I think the bws are awesome 😎 a tossup.
The Kanta line is a real weird one by Focal. The 1 and 3 are very bass heavy, they are very warm sounding and have a big umph down low, but the 2 is VERY different. The top end is a bit less rolled off, still warm for a Focal Be Tweeter but it does have ample detail. The biggest difference with the 2s is the bass. It's extremely fast and extremely punchy. The 1 and 3 is a bit slower and fuller sounding in the bass, but the way the 2's deliver bass is a fast punch to the chest. I demoed all 3 side by side and I was floored by how special the 2's sounded. The speed and attack of them reminded me more of a Magico speaker.
Hi Chris,
may I ask what amplifier was used for Kanta 2?
BR
@@csteebyify I’ve used a variety of systems with them. Currently I have them hooked up to a McIntosh c2700 + mc462 combo, which is an amazing pairing. I’ve also tried it with a c2700+mc275, c47+mc275, c47+ dual mc275s (mono), rotel RC-1572 + mc275, rotel ra-1592, c47+RB1582 mk2, and Michi x3.
Personally, I didn’t care for them too much with a tube amp. They sounded great, but the low end was a bit muddy. They responded really well with SS, giving amazing punch and dynamics which was washed out with even mono block mc275s. The highs did sound amazing with the tube amp. I wished it had dual binding posts so I could bi amp them, but focal only does that on the higher end models.
So I’ve settled on a tube front end and a SS amp. It’s an amazing combo. The tubes take off the edge on top, but with the GL 12AX7 & 12AT7 I’m still getting great detail and dynamics. Then the SS drives the drivers with excellent authority.
I did recently try using the Michi as a preamp for the mc462. It also sounded amazing. The Michi already was powerful enough, but the mc462 just allowed for faster dynamics.
They are a very revealing but yet very forgiving speaker. The Focal 900 series is a bit less forgiving.
@@Jundaku thank you for your answer.
Not all that familiar with the spealers from Focal but my gawd the Clear headphones are out of this world good! Happy Belated Birthday Kristi! XXX
Congratulations on 300k Subs!🎉
May I know what the speaker stands are? I see you use them for many bookshelf speaker. They look very good.
This video looks extra crispy! Happy thanksgiving everyone!
I was eyeing these but now I'm intrigued by the Fritz which I haven't heard yet.
I really love the looks of the Kanta 1 over their more expensive brothers. In my humble opinion I think the Aria range and Kanta range look the best and I would love to see Focal make a speaker range that sounded like their more expensive ranges, with the looks of their less expensive ranges. I know that probably sounds cooky but that's me. On another note, I would probably have to buy both the B&W and Kanta 1's to satisfy me, as I love the looks of both and probably different sound signatures in each. I know I'm awkward. 🤣🤣🤣
Wow I think they are one of the more ugly and cheesy speaker designs.
Excellent as always👍👍
Great video like always, but thats a really pitty that Focal Aria 906 bookshelves speaker is missing here 😢
The all new Grandinote Mach 18R Monitors are out now...the monitors that rule them all🤫
I agree with a lot of comments here - these speakers need lots of power to really shine.
I have the Kanta 3s. Auditioned with many amps. I auditioned against 4-5 McIntosh amps and a lot of the less powerful amps made them sound muddy. The MA12000 made them come alive. That's 350wpc.
I ended up buying the musical fidelity m8-500s. So 500wpc - boy does this make them sing - I actually chose the Kanta over the sopra line after hearing them side by side with these amps. Breath taking stuff.
Odd question - Interested in which you would pick and why? Wharfedale Linton Heritage or Focal 826. Great video by the way. As usual.
🔊 I am thankful for your great channel! 🔊🔊🎶🎶👍👍
My favorite are Focal Dôme (10 of them) in combo with Denon 7.4.4 Dolby Atmos Setup.
Kristi, I think that you and I have the same ear. I would love to know what YOUR favorite speakers are, under $1500. Articulate and revealing highs, and tight bass, ,without being bloated or heavy. Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!
It's a nice looking speaker I have to admit
Happy belated bday Mrs Robinson 🎂👍
Congratulations on 300k 🎉🍾
I actually have older Focal Chorus series speakers ( circa 2008 vintage ), in a Audio Visual set up . 3 way 726, for fronts, and of cause corresponding 7 series Center, and bookshelf speakers complete the speaker set up. Although not really set up ideally, I really enjoy them.
ANDREW YOU HAVE A CONUNDRUM, IMHHO, I THINK THE LIVING ROOM LOOKS 🤩🤩 AWESOME AND THE FOCAL’s BLEND BEAUTIFULLY WITH IT, but the compromise in sound preference is the rub here
I HOPE YOU REACH THE SUBS TODAY, AND KRISTI CAN GET HER WISH 🤗💚💚💚
Another great review.
Glad you enjoyed it
Chora ✅
Aria ✅
Kanta ✅
Sopra❓
Diablo Utopia ✅
I would love to see a Sopra review, any chance? 🙃And you can be Focal ambassadors, I'm a Focal fan. Now I have an Aria 906, love them, I dream of a Sopra No1 someday, but there is lack of comparison on UA-cam, except Thomas & Stereo channel, but your video format is my favorite. Waiting Home Audio Products of the Year video like a child, 300k subscribers this year guaranteed. Finally, and the Kanta video!
Regarding the hideous brownish cream/walnut looking ones you see on their website labled ivory/matte, that's not a white balance issue, that color exists and its the pair I personally own (unfortunately) I reached out to Focal NA's product expert and after exchanging around 8 emails about the color and asking specifically if a white front baffle like the one you have exists or not he just kept telling me thats what I have despite mine clearly being the more cream brownish color the website shows. At some point I just gave up as I felt they were dodging the question. They told me I own the Ivory/Walnut but my baffles are more brown, I don't think anyone will ever know the truth. Congrats on 300k BTW!
The Kanta 1 is the heart and soul of the Focal sonic signature. Very articulate, incredible holographic and deep sound stage, clarity, tighter and faster bass. Maybe your pair wasn’t fully broken in.
In theory I like the Sopra line. It seems like the almost-Utopia, but at a vaguely more sane price.
I have the Sopra 1's and love em. They pair well with McIntosh C47 pre and MC252 amp. Cardas cabling also adds to the synergistic magic.
I remember when the Sopra 2's were $14k/pr, by the time I could afford to drop that much on a pair they are now $21k. At $14k they are a no brainer, at $21k it's just a bit hard to justify spending $10k on them over the Kanta 2s.
Happy Thanksgiving, Andrew and Kristi and to all other Americans on here today. We Canadians already had our Thanksgiving in October. We're sneaky that way. :)
Always good to see you. Thanks for watching!
I like Aria line most. Sometimes Arias 948 can be bought in France for 1500 USD on Black Friday
Thanks for watching. For those curious about the Aria line, you can check them out here bit.ly/39V4kLG.
Sounds like a good deal!
Happy Thanksgiving guys... Thx, Luv ur reviews
Same to you!
Happy Thanksgiving! I would have drooled over this episode had the Aria 906’s been included - but all good, I sold them a while ago. LoL. I have KEF R3 now feeding off a Rega Aethos amp…love the commentary on the Dynaudio as they’re next on my list if I want to try something else. Keep up the great work and Happy Birthday Kristi!
Thanks, Sal!
I bought the Chora 806 a while back, was very disappointed in the build quality at it's pricepoint, wound up returning them and going with Wharfedale Dentons.
Hi Joseph, I would agree the Denton speakers have a nicer look/build as they should at their price. For anyone curious, you can check the Dentons out here bit.ly/denton85. The Choras are deeply discounted now bit.ly/3GH34gs and for someone might be a good fit. Thanks for joining us today.
The Dentons 80th and 85th have nothing on the Chora sonically unless you like a warmer sound. Wharfedales are great in their cabs, very solid and inert but wharfedales sound like 480p speakers conpared to focals.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Sound quality is subjective, the Chora are Bright and Wharfedale Warm... On a build quality and value for money, the Chora is built like a $200 pair of speakers.... The Denton 80's are built every bit of $1K
@@thomasward00 how are the choras built like a 200 dollar speaker again? They are not the best but stating that its a 200 dollar speaker type cabinet?
@@AbsoluteFidelity At their starting price point... Vinyl wrap isn't good enough, $800-$1K speakers should either be Gloss or Wood Veneer, also the Chora are a bit lightweight for their size....
Thanks for showing us, but test the Nubert Nevero 60, a german company. Than you now what punchi and low bass is.
Happy Thanksgiving! Nice surprise drop!
Same to you and we debated whether or not to post, but thought, why not 🤷♂️
Happy belated birthday, Kristi. Hope you had a good day. 🎉 Happy American Thanksgiving to y’all.
Great stuff, as always!
Thank you! Cheers!
Owner of the 806, 826, 906 and 948. Also ex owner of the R200, R700, 12.2 and 12.4. No comparison at all, the Focals shat on the other speakers in terms of clarity, transparency, detail retrieval and soundstage width. The only thing the R200/700 have over the Focal is the bass, nothing else. Detail in the highs, mids and bass is nowhere near any other speaker that have been in my room. And objectively measure great too, unlike the B&W. I like how the Chora sound more than the Aria (806 vs 906). My 2 cents.
Appreciate you sharing!
I have Chora 806s. Listened to the Aria 906s with intent to buy. Compared them and just couldn’t do the $2k difference.
That Chora line is legit!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews and going away?
Not to my knowledge. Just deeply on sale bit.ly/3xTll4a
@@andrewrobinsonreviews yeah a picked up a center channel a couple of weeks ago. 40% off was nice.
I just sold my Focal Aria's, I was not happy with its bass performance, it lacked a foundation, heft and presence in general. I switched to the css audio criton 1tdx and I am happy how they sound with my Audiolab 6000 play.
I much more Prefer my Focal 1008 be speakers over the Kanta #1 Both are hard to find tho on the used market....
Thanks!
Much appreciated, Mr j!
Happy Turkey Day Andrew and Kristi! Kristi I hope you had the best of all possible birthdays!🎊🎂🎁 I have a set of the Focal Chora 806’s that I use for the rear channel in a 4 channel system. I run them with a Musical Fidelity integrated amp. My front channel is 2 vintage very large JBL’s with15 inch woofers and EV horns (they are very much like the Klipsh Cornwall’s) run by a McIntosh C162 power amp with the McIntosh C39 pre amp/Audio video control center. I am very happy with what they bring to this system in this room! Not a bad seat in the house! I like them enough to be considering Focal Chora 826 Towers for mains in a 2 channel system for another room of course I’ll be running them with a sub. I’m just torn at the moment between them and the Polk Reserve 700’s just can’t quite make up my mind.🤔Thank you both for all the wonderful reviews! They’ve been something I look forward to for the past several years!
I bought my Kanta n.1 here in Italy in may 2022 for 3500 euro (couple), so the comparison with 805 d4 is totally in favour of Focal for me.
Would it be possible to buy your recommendation? I’d love to explain my setup and see what you recommend, speaker wise, for my specific situation.
The Chora for the money is my favorite .
It’s actually Focal’s new “Vestia” series I’m most excited about! Those large towers are no joke. Saw them in person in Cedia and loved them. I don’t like the Kanta’s, but instead like the Sopras instead. Never heard the diablos
which speaker cables are you using in the Focal review? (Does anyone else know what speaker cables Andrew is using? They look really nice 😊)
Focal has really upped there ante compared to the old day's.
I've owned the K1s for a year now, and if you are careful with placement and they are definitely not heavy on bass (it is surely a personal thing). I paired them with McIntosh MA5300 after having used a Rotel 14 series. The McIntosh is a great match to the K1s. Also, my setup includes the Node. a SACD player and a record player. On all sources, the set performs very well. Thanks for the great comparisons. it is very insightful
Would these be a worthy upgrade from Kef R3 meta?
"Apples to Apples comparison"
It's always surprising to see how expensive Focal is outside of Europe.
A set of kanta 1's is 6000€ here, a pair of B&W 805 D4's is nearly 9000€
I bought 2x focal aria 948's, 2x906's and the cc900 center for under 3000€ total, while the smaller aria 936 k2 here is 3300€ a piece.
I feel like their price class in the US makes reviews do somewhat unreal comparison's to much more expensive speakers.
I believe if you live in the EU, focal is probably the best brand to invest in, given it's value and much lower price.
But honestly, as much as I love my speakers, they aren't worth 10 grand, which is close to what you pay in the US.
My time with Focal includes their flagship and it was impressive, but at 100k+/pair a bit out of my reach. lol
Out of ours as well :)
Kanta 1, Kanta 2, Kanta 3, Sopra 1, or Sopra 2… too many choices. B&W is nice too.