Focal Aria 906

Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil

AK Member
Picked up a pair of these on the used market for well under their $1500/pr list price. I have a low powered (5 wpc) tube amp and was interested to see how they might pair up. The 906 is a pretty easy speaker to drive for a bookshelf, spec'ed at 89.5dB sensitivity and 8 ohms.

The 906 is part of the Focal Aria series which fits between their less expensive Chorus line and their Electra line. They developed a new midrange driver, which sandwiches flax, yes flax, between plastic layers. Have never seen this before. Visually it's very attractive.

I tested out that sensitivity and it seemed to hold out. I own two older speakers which were measured at 85dB. Set my preamp's volume control at the same spot, running into the same amp, and measured the volume levels at my listening position. The 906 measured out a consistent 5dB louder.

Paired with the lower powered tube amp, the 906 sounded pretty good but lacked the emotional impact which I desire from a monitor speaker. Nice midrange, delicate highs, warm'ish mid to lower bass but less definition on string bass. The soundstage was not as wide & depth as described in some of the professional reviews of this speaker.

Then I connected to my old trusty Cary SLA-30 amp, a 30 wpc EL84-based amp. And I was immediately blown away. To the point of having to switch the amps back and forth a couple more times to verify what I perceived was real. Big soundstage with great separation, and better yet, fabulous vocals. I ran through CDs from Holly Cole, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, and Steve Earle and it was a treat. So natural. Highs were nicely presented, good detail but not harsh. The midbass was smooth with better definition. Still a bit warm but a nice overall balance. I have big floorstanding speakers which are very neutral and go very deep, the 906's bass is much different but in a way which I appreciated from a smaller speaker. Deep notes just aren't there, but the bit of warmth makes for a very seductive sound (listening to Norah Jones as I write this, and it's nice!).

With the higher powered (but still a fairly low powered) amp the piano notes have more weight, as does the string bass. Vocals are lush with space around them.

I've listened to several more expensive Sonus Faber monitors over the years and have always loved their signature sound. The 906 takes me a good part of the way there. They draw you into the music.

I have no idea how they sound new out of the box or how long it takes to break them in, as these were purchased used. Not sure they would be my choice if rock or hip-hop were my primary music interests. They are okay on rock (don't have any hip-hop to test) but I might like something with a more aggressive mid-range and deeper bass. They certainly are very good on CSNY, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac and that genre.

Here are links to three reviews, all quite positive.

The Absolute Sound
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/focal-aria-906-compact-loudspeaker/?page=2

Soundstage
http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/768-focal-aria-906-loudspeakers

Quote from Soundstage:
"The Aria 906 is packed with Focal’s latest driver technology, and the results are fantastic. I was smitten by the Arias’ huge soundstage, neutral midrange, and beautifully rendered highs. This bookshelf punches above its weight, and compares favorably with other well-regarded speakers, even above its price range. But the Aria 906 is greater than the sum of its parts -- it was simply a wonderful speaker when I just wanted to relax and listen to some music."


AVforums
https://www.avforums.com/review/focal-aria-906-loudspeaker-review.9570

A quote from the AFforums review:
"The 906 also manages to distract from this because it does have a joy factor that I’ve not really experienced with a Focal speaker before. Beyond the accuracy and control, there is a sense of life and excitement to the performance that makes the 906 a very easy speaker to listen to long term.
...
What moves the 906 from worthy to genuinely covetable is the new found sense of excitement and joy it seems to have across a huge range of material. Unlike on previous occasions, I don’t simply admire the 906, I genuinely love it and for this reason, Focal’s latest speaker comes highly recommended."

Equipment used in my evaluation - my "second" system: Cary SLA-30 amp, Inspire SE EL84 amp, Dynaco PAS-4 (mid-90s 6DJ8-based preamp), Conrad Johnson PV10A preamp, Sony SACD player, Parasound D/AC-1100HD dac.
 
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Throw a higher powered / reputable amp at them and they will really open up. I am always amazed at what my older JM Labs (Focal) Tantal 509s sound like when dropped into my main rig.
 
Okay, you talked me into it. I switched over to a 125 wpc Parasound solid state amp. Same CD player & DAC on the front end, but switched out the tube preamp for a solid state preamp.

Interesting effect on the sound. Bass is definitely tighter, more defined, with a bit less emphasis through the mid-bass. Soundstage very good, highs well defined and detailed. Vocals are clean. Overall very good, but less magic on vocals. Doesn't draw me in quite as much, but I do like the cleanness. I prefer the lower bass better in this setup. I know my EL84 tube amp is a bit looser and warmer on lows. I could see someone really liking this.

I will need to swap in one, or both, of my tube preamps to see how those combinations work. I'm thinking it has the potential to be very good.

I also tried using my inexpensive Panasonic Blu Ray player as my source, as it was already connected. That didn't go as well. Noticeable siblance on vocals and harsher, less pleasant highs. Switching over to the Parasound D/AC-1100HD made quite a difference.

I'm finding that the Arias 906 is a fairly revealing speaker. Upstream changes have significant impact.

Fun exercise. I was quite disappointed in this speaker when driving it with the low powered amp, and then again when using the Panasonic player. It may be a keeper.
 
I've read several comments saying that the Focal 9xx line can sound a bit harsh or sibilant. I've now listened, at length, to the 906 using 3 different amplifiers (2 tube, 1 SS), and two preamps (1 tube, 1 SS) and haven't found this the case at all. On a poor, hashy recording this can be true. But I've listened to over 20 CDs through them now and would have to characterize the treble as being nicely detailed with good imaging and transparency, without any apparent overemphasis or harshness. I had a pair of Axiom bookshelf speakers a few years ago, I'd say that they had more high frequency energy than do these Focals.

When paired with my SVS subwoofer and with that sub's volume level being carefully matched, especially in the mid-bass region where the Focal is a little warm, the combination is quite good.
 
Tom Bombadil said:
Okay, you talked me into it. I switched over to a 125 wpc Parasound solid state amp. Same CD player & DAC on the front end, but switched out the tube preamp for a solid state preamp.

Interesting effect on the sound. Bass is definitely tighter, more defined, with a bit less emphasis through the mid-bass. Soundstage very good, highs well defined and detailed. Vocals are clean. Overall very good, but less magic on vocals. Doesn't draw me in quite as much, but I do like the cleanness. I prefer the lower bass better in this setup. I know my EL84 tube amp is a bit looser and warmer on lows. I could see someone really liking this.

I will need to swap in one, or both, of my tube preamps to see how those combinations work. I'm thinking it has the potential to be very good.

I also tried using my inexpensive Panasonic Blu Ray player as my source, as it was already connected. That didn't go as well. Noticeable siblance on vocals and harsher, less pleasant highs. Switching over to the Parasound D/AC-1100HD made quite a difference.

I'm finding that the Arias 906 is a fairly revealing speaker. Upstream changes have significant impact.

Fun exercise. I was quite disappointed in this speaker when driving it with the low powered amp, and then again when using the Panasonic player. It may be a keeper.
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This is why we like decent power tube amplifiers!
 
The 906 is an amazing speaker. It is very flexible, sounding great at very low or very high volumes. They're pretty neutral but always very sweet sounding and with great presence. If you set them up properly they image beautifully or you can throw them on a shelf and put them in your general direction and they will still sound great. They are great with all types of music, except if you are a fan of electronic music you'll want a subwoofer. They are very immersive and make you want to sit down and listen.

The Focal Arias get very little love online but you can put them up against the Kef LS50 or any of the other forum darlings and I doubt they can be beat in their price range.
 
I've been busy trying several combinations with my 906s.

1) Using the same low-powered (approx 5 wpc) single-ended tube as cited earlier, I hooked up a small subwoofer and routed all sub-100Hz output to it. This relieved the amp of all deep bass. This had a huge impact and I was able to drive the 906s to reasonably loud volumes. Surprising how loud and dynamic they could sound with just 5 watts.

2) Hooked them up to a 17 wpc single-ended KT88 tube amp. The 906s sound fabulous with this amp, in both full-range and when using a subwoofer to handle sub-80Hz. Vocals are stunning. Imaging is excellent. So listenable.

3) Have been switching to a 125 wpc SS amp for HT use. Quite good at this too. Very articulate.

Some might find them bright, but I feel they are detailed and accurate on highs. If anything upstream is harsh or bright, be that one of your components or the source, then it will come across as such. The Focal is unforgiving.
 
I heard them here in Portland on the Rogue Spinx and Marantz sa8005 I liked them they did have a pleasing warmth to them.... Definitely a different presentation than my Electra 906 I had... The only thing that kinda put me off on them was the timing and speed in the upper bass and midbass, the mid-range was pretty special sounding though....
 
I have a pair of the 936's and think they are the cat's meow. Tom Bombadil is really making me want to hear them with tubes.
 
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