New (to me) Speakers

kevhed72
kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
in Speakers
On the way are a minty pair of Focal Chorus 706 monitors. These were not my initial choice when I decided to swap out the Totems but oh well. I have been speaker less down here in my office for over a week and starting to hear things. I cannot wait until these arrive and post some impressions vs my previous speakers....stay tuned!
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,601
    kevhed72 wrote: »
    I have been speaker less down here in my office for over a week and starting to hear things.

    The voices just aren't entertaining enough eh?
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    I cant take it anymore!!! I never heard a pair of Focals before so this should be very cool...
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,949
    Play that jazz SACD on them first to try them out!
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    I used to own a set of JM labs cobalt 815. Fast, clean tight punch to them.
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  • ZLTFUL
    ZLTFUL Posts: 5,652
    I am a fan of Focals. Congrats on the purchase, Kev!
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  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    I had a pair of those for a brief time. They were not working properly (used) so they went back. Sharp looking speakers for sure.
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,680
    edited May 2020
    I have 806V’s that I love.

    I’ve found most Focal speakers to have a fairly different sound from most Totem speakers. I typically find Focal to be “accurate”, fast and great imaging.

    Totem I find more warm, musical, also with great imaging. The only exception from this profile I’ve heard form them is the Element series, much more like Focal IMO.

    In general I think Totem is more forgiving of recordings and equipment, while Focal is simply not interested in polishing a **** (starts with a “T” ends with “urd”).
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  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,124
    Besides my SDA's there are only 2 other Speakers I would like to own and those would be Focals, or Salks. Enjoy cant wait to hear your impressions.
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Play that jazz SACD on them first to try them out!

    That is a great idea!
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    Time for some initial impressions on the new speakers, a pair of Focal-JM Lab 706 S. I came across these via online auction and won with the minimum bid price. Initially I was shopping for a pair of Totem Sky or Silverline Grand Minuet monitors but didn't want to blow my entire PP balance since our first goes away to UK in the fall. All of my impressions are related to my previous monitors...a used pair of Totem Rainmakers. More to come but first some pics. These are definitely a beautiful pair of monitors and my 24" Monoprice lead/sand filled stands are a perfect match size wise.
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    I will skip listing all the associated gear, as you can probably figure it out from the pictures. I have been running a Cary tubed pre with a beautiful sounding Belles SS amp for awhile now. At some point Ill swap in some different tubes but Im sticking with 4 Landsdale Jan 1955 tubes I purchased from our very own Brock (Heiney9) and have been very happy with. Lets cut to the chase....these speakers are very neutral sounding to me vs. the Totems. Both speakers image very well, but the Focals are a cleaner imaging, as in certain frequencies or tones are not quite as "colored" as the Totems. Also, the imaging in the Focals seems more continuous from left to right, and forward and back. For vocal clarity and detail, the Focals win hands down. Also, for jazz and Talking Heads-esque types of music, the Focals do a better job of separating different instruments, whereas the Totems would sound 'condensed'. I have only auditioned redbook CDs and decent quality streaming so far, and have yet to spin some vinyl. Also, I have to go back to Drew's SACD karma of jazz and give that another listen, now that I have settled in on quite a different speaker sound. Much more listening to do....so more to come!
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,949
    They certainly look nice and appear to be in mint condition, nice score!
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