I've owned a pair of 926 speakers for about five years. All sorts of music played, from Reich, Bach, Stravinsky, Keith Jarrett, AC/DC, Crue, Wutang, about anything except gospel, country, or big band. At the pricepoint, they are among the most well rounded. I owned Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers before the Arias, then BW 804s before that, then inherited Empire Royal Grenadier 9000s before that. I've auditioned Magnepans, Tritons, and PSB speakers in the same price range, and have not been inclined to change.
Now, here's the gripe on the 926 speakers. The bass is really bloomy and it colors the lower midrange. You think the bass is prodigious, but it's not as clean as it could be, and the lower midrange gets muddy at higher listening levels. I know this due to hooking up a Gallo TR3 subwoofer with a filter that limits frequency going to speakers. Very audible difference, and my wife, who knows nothing about speakers was able to clearly identify the difference w/o any pre coaching or explanation why I'm asking her to listen to something twice. At 80 Hz and up the Focals are superb. The Gallo handles everything below and the crossover frequency is tunable.
That said, I'm strongly considering selling the Focals and buying a pair of Cornwall IVs, or Tekton double impact speakers. I think that will be the end of the line for me.
Now, here's the gripe on the 926 speakers. The bass is really bloomy and it colors the lower midrange. You think the bass is prodigious, but it's not as clean as it could be, and the lower midrange gets muddy at higher listening levels. I know this due to hooking up a Gallo TR3 subwoofer with a filter that limits frequency going to speakers. Very audible difference, and my wife, who knows nothing about speakers was able to clearly identify the difference w/o any pre coaching or explanation why I'm asking her to listen to something twice. At 80 Hz and up the Focals are superb. The Gallo handles everything below and the crossover frequency is tunable.
That said, I'm strongly considering selling the Focals and buying a pair of Cornwall IVs, or Tekton double impact speakers. I think that will be the end of the line for me.