Focal Chora 826 or Aria 926/936?

[Raghni]

Hi All,

As you may know,
Background :
Focal consists of various ranges of speakers ranging from Chorus<Aria<Kanta etc listed in the ascending order of cost range and features. Under each range, there are multiple models of speakers. Recently they launched a range called Chora in 2020 replacing the earlier Chorus series. In Chora range, I’m specifically looking at Chora 826. In Aria range, there are no recent launches but I’m specially comparing the Chora speakers with Aria 926 and 936.

Question: As of today, which is a better buy? Chora 826 or Aria 926?
Note: Chora 826 is priced higher than Aria 926 and hence the confusion.

A friend is relocating from a Paris - Hence he’ll be getting the same to India. As relocation is taken care by his company, I will not require to pay any additional duty charges. Kindly let me know your thoughts.

 

[oldmonk]

What will these be paired with and what's your room dimensions ?

What's your source?

Budget is important and I assume both speakers are in your budget range.

 

[arj]

Hi All,

As you may know,
Background :
Focal consists of various ranges of speakers ranging from Chorus<Aria<Kanta etc listed in the ascending order of cost range and features. Under each range, there are multiple models of speakers. Recently they launched a range called Chora in 2020 replacing the earlier Chorus series. In Chora range, I’m specifically looking at Chora 826. In Aria range, there are no recent launches but I’m specially comparing the Chora speakers with Aria 926 and 936.

Question: As of today, which is a better buy? Chora 826 or Aria 926?
Note: Chora 826 is priced higher than Aria 926 and hence the confusion.

A friend is relocating from a Paris - Hence he’ll be getting the same to India. As relocation is taken care by his company, I will not require to pay any additional duty charges. Kindly let me know your thoughts.

Hi Do check on the line in bold above. During relocation they do ask for the invoice of the purchase and more than 2 years is when Customs is exempt. At least this was the rule 15 years back when I relocated but not sure if things have changed now


ON the speaker choice the Amp and room size would be thr driving factors but if you have not decided all of that, at the risk of a sweeping generalisation, I would prefer buying the lower end model of the more premium series as long as they do not have any quirks on placement and drivability.

 

[raghupb]

@Raghni
What @arj stated is true. Customs may and will be levied depending on the assessing officer.
I have procured items using this route. There was a levy in one case and none in the other.
In both cases, yes the company that my friend/cousin worked for took care of it as part of relocation.

Recently FM @fLUX got Focal Aria floorstander. He is also from Bangalore.
You may want to check with him if a listen in is possible before deciding on Focal speakers.

If you are getting stuff from EU, why limit to Focal
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[alphacentury100]

I think the Aria series is one step higher to the cora series so in theory the aria should sound better.

 

[fLUX]

I have heard the Focal Chorus 726 not the Chora 826, did not quiet like the presentation but it just may have been the setup.

I noticed similar issues with Focal Aria 926 when running on my AVR non calibrated with previous speaker calibration settings but things improved drastically post recalibration. As mentioned Aria is a step higher and would most certainly be better than Chora 826.

Other options to demo at a similar/higher budget would include Revel F35/F36 , XTZ 99.54 , Polk Legend L800, Focal Aria 936( supposed to have much better lower end) & KEF R5.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Also consider the new ls50 meta. That seems to be an improvement over the current LS50. The orginal ls50 was less revealing to my ears.

 

[raghupb]

Also consider the new ls50 meta. That seems to be an improvement over the current LS50. The orginal ls50 was less revealing to my ears.

Whoa!! This is the first time I've heard someone say this
Most folks who have experienced the LS50 (incl me) say it is a bit too transparent.
Things need to be perfect from content/source/amplification to make them sing.
They do actually trash bad content/recordings though.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[anilpatel]

Also consider Focal Electra speakers if you can find it in France. Electra would be better than above two.

 

[fLUX]

There is an Electra demo piece (dont remember exact model if its 1018 or 1038) for sale at DNI Marutahalli. Quoted price was 2.8 but might reduce further, soundstage was huge when i demoed the same but did not have the budget or the space to accomodate such a huge FS.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Whoa!! This is the first time I've heard someone say this
Most folks who have experienced the LS50 (incl me) say it is a bit too transparent.
Things need to be perfect from content/source/amplification to make them sing.
They do actually trash bad content/recordings though.

Cheers,
Raghu

I heard r3 and ls50 in A/B. LS50 is midforward and relatively slower. There is no siliblance on both, but the R3 has better upper mid detail and even tonality.ls 50 is relatively easy to listen as its more forgiving as its more smooth and rolled off on top. The old ls50 in Europe is now a super steal for those interested. 598€ is quite a good price in any case!!

 

[anilpatel]

There is an Electra demo piece (dont remember exact model if its 1018 or 1038) for sale at DNI Marutahalli. Quoted price was 2.8 but might reduce further, soundstage was huge when i demoed the same but did not have the budget or the space to accomodate such a huge FS.

I am iterested in buying focal electra speaker.

 

[anilpatel]

Can you give me contact number?

 

[Rajeshh]

I heard the Chora recently, during an audition of the Naim Uniti amps, i didnt like its presentation. It was sharp sounding and not very coherent with fast paced rock.
On the other hand, the Aria 936 is a great speaker, that plays well with all kinds of music, a friend had these with a Peachree Nova300

 

[fLUX]

I heard the Chora recently, during an audition of the Naim Uniti amps, i didnt like its presentation. It was sharp sounding and not very coherent with fast paced rock.
On the other hand, the Aria 936 is a great speaker, that plays well with all kinds of music, a friend had these with a Peachree Nova300

I had a similar feeling with Focal Chorus 726 , the music felt totally out of place (listened to Sultans of Swing & Jiya Jale) and very bright. I was not sure if it was the AVR settings or the speaker which caused but it based on your feedback it seems to be something inherent in Chora 826 as well.

 

[Rajeshh]

@fLUX i would assume that too. With the Chora paired with the Naim Atom & the Star, the music fell apart - unless you sit right on the sweetspot. Only the Naim Nova managed to hold it a bit better.
That being said, the audition was in a dealer' small room - so i cant really tell if the problem lies with the speaker or the acoustics.

 

[oldmonk]

Focal and Naim are strangely inter-twined in the sense that many Naim owners dont like Focal and a few who do - love the pairing.

 

[fLUX]

@fLUX i would assume that too. With the Chora paired with the Naim Atom & the Star, the music fell apart - unless you sit right on the sweetspot. Only the Naim Nova managed to hold it a bit better.
That being said, the audition was in a dealer' small room - so i cant really tell if the problem lies with the speaker or the acoustics.

The room i auditioned was fairly large (I would say it was atleast 22*20) and treated as well. So its either the chain or the speaker for sure. They had a 3050i playing interchangeably and I had to ask them which speaker was playing as I felt the 3050i were much better in comparison during the playback

 

[nn_in]

I have heard the Focal Chorus 726 not the Chora 826, did not quiet like the presentation but it just may have been the setup.

I noticed similar issues with Focal Aria 926 when running on my AVR non calibrated with previous speaker calibration settings but things improved drastically post recalibration. As mentioned Aria is a step higher and would most certainly be better than Chora 826.

Other options to demo at a similar/higher budget would include Revel F35/F36 , XTZ 99.54 , Polk Legend L800, Focal Aria 936( supposed to have much better lower end) & KEF R5.

Hi.Between Focal and Monitor audio FS models is there a way you can describe the difference. Since both have 89db + sensitivity iam evaluating them for low level listening

 

[fLUX]

Sensitivity wise they are quiet similar, however I found the below observations specific to the Gold 300 model
i) Low end compared to Aria 926 is much better , more in quantity and digs deeper too. Aria lower end seemed to shine with specific amps only , the Gold 300 is much more forgiving and you get a decent quantity of bass even with lower power.
ii) Highs on MA Gold are more energetic than the Focal Aria 926 , however this becomes a big plus when paired with the right amplifier. Both my present DIY amps do proper justice to the MA.
iii) Soundstage and detailing is way better than the Focal Aria 926 , this is what I fell in love with when I had auditioned these. Everything can be pinpointed easily and imaging is spot on.
iv) Mids are also good , although I wont rate it as its strongest suite. For 70s/80s bollywood, frank sinatra sort of music these are good but there is a scope to improve on the timbre.

For low volume listening the MA are better than Focal but again they are meant to be driven slightly loud as they are very engaging in nature. The Sonus Faber is what I go to when I want to listen to music while doing my own thing.