Beast_of_burden
Active Member
Extended listening Focal Aria 906 with Coincident Frankenstein 300B monoblocks.
This is a very different kind of speaker, it does not sound like anything I have owned until now. I am quite surprised and amazed even. It sounds extremely luxurious, the closest I have heard to these are B&O speakers. The sound these speakers make is as luxurious as their looks. The sound has a level of sophistication that I have rarely experienced. The casual unsuspecting visitor will be immediately taken in by their uber sophistication. Heavily voiced to sound a certain way, it has me wondering how they are doing so much processing in analog. No particular frequency stands out but upon closer inspection nothing is missing either. All players in the orchestra are audible and visible but the lead is not given too much prominence. The backing vocalists and accompanying band share the stage with the lead. Bass guitar, snare drum, voices, guitars, flute all have excellent texture. You can hear the cymbals but the resonant energy i.e the shimmer and decay are entirely muted or missing in my system with the 300B amps. This is the one sore point I have with these speakers. Same is true of trumpets, they totally lack bite and are instead presented in a rounded manner. Trumpets sound much nicer in real than on many speakers, many speakers tend to overdo it and sound quite harsh. But on these they sound sumptuous but nothing like the real thing.
If you are reading the above thinking I am being critical, you would be mistaken. Taken as a whole these are rather special. These speakers seem to be projecting sound rearward than forward, as a result it feels like listening to a band playing unplugged. Blues guitar sounds absolutely languid. These speakers are creating an effect that is remarkably pleasant to listen to . Even if you listen critically you will be amazed and before long find yourself grooving to the tune. These things can groove. For casual listening they are stunning mainly because just about everything sounds great and the high groove factor. I don't think they are optimal for the nearfield as they need space to sound their best but they sound excellent at low volume . I am super chuffed that I got these, they are a totally different take on speaker design. An altogether different experience. The 300Bs are doing great with these speakers.
This is a very different kind of speaker, it does not sound like anything I have owned until now. I am quite surprised and amazed even. It sounds extremely luxurious, the closest I have heard to these are B&O speakers. The sound these speakers make is as luxurious as their looks. The sound has a level of sophistication that I have rarely experienced. The casual unsuspecting visitor will be immediately taken in by their uber sophistication. Heavily voiced to sound a certain way, it has me wondering how they are doing so much processing in analog. No particular frequency stands out but upon closer inspection nothing is missing either. All players in the orchestra are audible and visible but the lead is not given too much prominence. The backing vocalists and accompanying band share the stage with the lead. Bass guitar, snare drum, voices, guitars, flute all have excellent texture. You can hear the cymbals but the resonant energy i.e the shimmer and decay are entirely muted or missing in my system with the 300B amps. This is the one sore point I have with these speakers. Same is true of trumpets, they totally lack bite and are instead presented in a rounded manner. Trumpets sound much nicer in real than on many speakers, many speakers tend to overdo it and sound quite harsh. But on these they sound sumptuous but nothing like the real thing.
If you are reading the above thinking I am being critical, you would be mistaken. Taken as a whole these are rather special. These speakers seem to be projecting sound rearward than forward, as a result it feels like listening to a band playing unplugged. Blues guitar sounds absolutely languid. These speakers are creating an effect that is remarkably pleasant to listen to . Even if you listen critically you will be amazed and before long find yourself grooving to the tune. These things can groove. For casual listening they are stunning mainly because just about everything sounds great and the high groove factor. I don't think they are optimal for the nearfield as they need space to sound their best but they sound excellent at low volume . I am super chuffed that I got these, they are a totally different take on speaker design. An altogether different experience. The 300Bs are doing great with these speakers.