Focal Aria 906's with stands

dragon1952

Mint condition Focal Aria 906's in the Noyer walnut finish with the matching Focal 900 stands. I'm the original owner and these were purchased from an authorized dealer on 7/27/22.
The custom Focal 900 stands were an additional $589 and the speakers bolt to the bases providing a superior coupling of speaker and stand.
Comes in original factory packaging. Will ship in four boxes.
Awesome speakers as per the reviews. I am currently trying to decide between these and BMR Philharmonic monitors but will see if I get any bites on these as I would prefer the 3-ways. But they both sound great and somewhat similar overall. Unused grilles are included.
Trades for similarly valued audio items may be considered.
$1599 shipped or offer.

maxward

Bump for a local Polkie. I was treated to an audition of these and was mightily impressed. Somebody should jump on these. Note that shipping is included, which is not chump change these days.

dragon1952

Thanks Mike! It was fun having you over. I've got things set up much better now I think. I moved my listening chair about 3 ft forward after reading an article about stereo set up which suggested having your listening position a distance of 38% into the length of the room and it was pretty amazing what that did. I was too far away from the speakers before.
And yes, it'll likely cost close to $200 for me to ship these :^ /

dragon1952

Stands have been sold separately. Speakers now priced at $1299 shipped/Paypal's. Polkie price reflects $100 off of my pricing at other sites.

dragon1952

$1150 plus exact shipping. Shipping is likely to be over $100 but I will cap it at $100 or exact whichever is lower.

dragon1952

$1150 shipped.

dragon1952

No longer for sale.

Nightfall

If you ever get the Philharmonitors give us a review always been very curious about those & Salk bookies with RAAL.

dragon1952

Funny (and kind of long) story......This whole thing started when I decided to replace my ML Electromotion ESL's. So the first speakers I got were the Focal 906's. After listening for about a week I decided they weren't exactly what I was looking for. I thought they sounded too 2 dimensional and not involving or full enough. Then I got the BMR Philharmonics which I was so sure I'd like way better that I put the Focals up for sale before I even got them.
So listening to the BMR's I thought 'this is exactly what I'm looking for'. Very full sounding, like a floor stander, big sound stage with a huge depth which made them seem almost holographic. Imaging was a little diffuse but overall very involving, almost intoxicating.
So here's the rub. The BMR's are very wide directivity and I have a pretty narrow room...not quite 10 ft wide but 17' long. So I started reading about wide vs narrow directivity and wondered what a narrower directivity speaker would be like in my room. So I bought a pair of KEF R3's from Crutchfield knowing that I could return them.
Well after a few swaps in and out of the system comparing them to the BMR's I decided they couldn't compete so I sent for a return authorization. Well after a few days I decided to put them back in and holy crap! I don't know what happened other than I added a ton of weight to the stands but all of a sudden very holographic like the BMR's, way better vocals and drums, more controlled bass, and way better/more precise imaging. The only thing they lacked was the really wide sound stage. I decided I preferred the more precise imaging over the super wide sound stage so I sold the BMR's (it took 1 day whereas the Focals have been out there for 35 days already).
So the Focals have just been there sitting on the floor and the other night I decided what the hell and swapped them back in. And holy crap! It's like they sat there and absorbed the best qualities of the KEF's and BMR's. I was literally shocked. They have a huge sound stage, more precise imaging than the KEF's with equal vocals (which are to die for on both the KEF's and the Focals), better/more realistic bass and drums. The only thing they lack is the super deep sound stage but for whatever reason they no longer sounded 2 dimensional either.
So long story long, I'm returning the KEF's and keeping the Focals. Go figure :^ /

dragon1952

I just wrote a freakin' book in response and for some reason after an edit it all disappeared :^ / Short version
1) I bought the Focal 906's and didn't think they were what I was looking for so put them up for sale. I thought they were too 2-dimensional and not 'full' sounding enough
2) I bought the BMR's and thought, 'this is exactly what I'm looking for'. Full with a huge, deep sound stage almost holographic but the imaging was a little diffused.
3) Wanted to try a narrow directivity speaker in my narrow room to see if I could get better imaging so bought the KEF R3's from Crutchfield. After a few swaps in and out I decided the BMR's wiped them pretty good. Later put them back in and I don't know what changed. I did add a ton of weight to the stands but all of a sudden they had everything the BMR's had (except the super-wide sound stage) but better. Sold the BMR's.
4) Just for **** and grins the other night I decided to put the Focals back in and holy crap! Everything the KEF's had but with better bass and drums, way better sound stage and imaging. The only thing they lacked was the super deep, holographic sound stage but they no longer sounded 2-dimensional either and all of a sudden sounded fuller than before. It was like they sat there and absorbed the best qualities of the BMR's and KEF's.
Anyway, I'm returning the KEF's and keeping the Focals after all this. Bizarro.

So here is how I rate all 3
Sound stage width/height - BMR and Focal tie
Soundstage depth - BMR and KEF tie
Imaging - Focal, then KEF, then BMR
Vocals - Focal and KEF tie
Drums - Focal, then KEF, Then BMR. They were almost too pronounced on the KEF's with a lot of music.
Bass - the BMR's probably have more but it can get a little loose. The Focals and KEF's feel tighter. Probably room dependent.
Overall realism of instruments - Focal, then KEF, then BMR
Toe tapping/engaging ability - probably a 3-way tie. They are all very good at that.

It's likely very subjective according to your tastes which you might prefer, your room, your placement and toe-in or lack thereof (very important), and your amplification and source all playing a big part.
It amazes me how many reviews you read on forums and it turns out they're using a moderately powered AVR and a DVD/Blu-ray player as a source and have the speakers on a shelf.

dromunds

Your last sentence is spot on and never ceases to amaze me.

tophatjohnny

dromunds wrote: »

Your last sentence is spot on and never ceases to amaze me.

Doesn’t amaze me but it does tend to have the amusement element 😉

VR3

I believe in the words of Danny Ritchie

Those reviewers are not ready

dragon1952

Well I guess my original post reappeared :^ /

Clipdat

Now that you have decided on the Arias, time to upgrade the crossovers to see what they can really do!

erniejade

" I don't know what happened other than I added a ton of weight to the stands " The stands can make a huge difference. Sometimes people do not get that the stand is part of the system when you are talking about bookies. The filling inside on down to the spikes or floor disks are all part of the sound. I have witnessed more than once where changing the stand has changed the sound of the speaker outside of the normal tow in and placement.

dragon1952

Clipdat wrote: »

Now that you have decided on the Arias, time to upgrade the crossovers to see what they can really do!

Is there a specific upgrade for these?

dragon1952

erniejade wrote: »

" I don't know what happened other than I added a ton of weight to the stands " The stands can make a huge difference. Sometimes people do not get that the stand is part of the system when you are talking about bookies. The filling inside on down to the spikes or floor disks are all part of the sound. I have witnessed more than once where changing the stand has changed the sound of the speaker outside of the normal tow in and placement.

Ha ha...well I'll tell you what I did. I had bought 18" stands for the BMR's but they are too short for the Focals so I placed four 10 lb weight plates from my barbell set on top of each stand. This was temporary but may become permanent. I just have to come up with something to cover them up with

Clipdat

dragon1952 wrote: »

Clipdat wrote: »

Now that you have decided on the Arias, time to upgrade the crossovers to see what they can really do!

Is there a specific upgrade for these?

Not that I know if, it would have to be a custom job. @VR3

marvda1

Danny Richie will make it better for you

Clipdat

Doubt it.

erniejade

@dragon1952 At skips last year, he was setting up new Roso bookies and could not get them to sound right. He changed everything from the amp, cables, streamer, power and still was not sounding right. Changed stands that had a different platform on them and boom, everything sounded awesome. Didn't even sound like the same system. Everything that I didn't like about the speaker was gone. This was one of the times I witnessed how a stand can make or break a speaker. From the platform of the stand on down to the filling. I am glad you got it working for you no matter what you are using. Heck spray paint it to match for color who cares as long as you have it sounding the way you want.

maxward

Good point! I met Skip at the Pacific Audio Fest for the first time. He wasn’t a real happy camper much of the first day, also showing Rosso standmounts. I came back later and it was a Wow! moment. He asked if I could hear the difference (of course). Unfortunately, I don’t remember what he changed or even if he told me.

treitz3

erniejade wrote: »

" I don't know what happened other than I added a ton of weight to the stands " The stands can make a huge difference. Sometimes people do not get that the stand is part of the system when you are talking about bookies. The filling inside on down to the spikes or floor disks are all part of the sound. I have witnessed more than once where changing the stand has changed the sound of the speaker outside of the normal tow in and placement.

Back when I had bookies, I would put a big jar on top of each speaker, filled to the brim with coins. The added weight changed the sound of the speakers for the better, so they stayed.

Tom