upgrade what

Hello, Focal owner here.  I totally agree with the guys that recommend treating the room first--no matter what equipment you have it will only sound as good as the room.  Take care of this first.  

My COVID project was to treat my room.  Because of the supply chain issues I got the various treatments in in batches over time.  It was very revealing when I got my bass traps and listened to them for a couple of weeks and then got the front wall diffuser later etc.  It gave me a real chance to hear what each different treatment was actually doing in my room.  At this point treating your room, even in stages, will be the best bang for your buck.

My Focal Sopra's require very little toe in.  I have found that more toe in moves the sound stage into the room and less toe in moves it more on the plane of the speakers.  Keep in mind that esp. with Focals speaker rake (tipped forward or back) greatly varies the intensity of the highest frequencies.  

Lastly, if your soundstage is unfocused you are likely fighting a reflection problem.  It won't matter what speakers are in the room, physics is physics.  If the front wall area behind and in between the speakers, is highly reflective (windows & TVs are the worst) you should soften it with something.  I use a diffuser that spans 2/3 of the wall behind my speakers and the result is excellent imaging.

Good luck and cheers. 

Oh, also, Focals sound better OFF axis.  If you have them pointing straight at your head, I encourage you to try reducing toe-in as well as lowering your listening angle. 

Keep those speakers! Just tame them.

My 1st thought is to alter the toe-in to slightly diminish the volume of the tweeter, as they are narrow sound waves. The horizontal dispersion is similar to the vertical dispersion diagram related to seated ear height.

That should solve ’too bright’.

your speaker’s manual

https://dam.focal-naim.com/m/2f3fa80d26dc9921/original/Notice_Aria900_Web-pdf.pdf

shows my preferred ’starting’ toe-in, tweeters aimed at listehing position

And, they talk about optimization and ’perfectionist’s 

Now, imaging? They should give you excellent imaging, perhaps others more familiar with Focals and your system equipment can offer some clues/ideas.

btw, too much low bass is not always best IME. I went for extended bass in my youth, no longer. I think my imaging is improved by the lack of extended mono bass and the multiple omni-directional reflections that occur.

If I had a larger space, things would be different.

My bass, especially overtones of the fundamentals become directional. The imaging, i.e. Bass Player’s location, the subtlety and decay is revealed.

The improved imaging is there for EVERYTHING I listen to (assuming the engineering is superior), much more enjoyable than the occasional cannon shot, helicopter fly over, or dinosaur stomp which I enjoy in my video system.

Vinyl: Cartridges and Phono Stages, i.e. source equipment, can make large differences in imaging. Stability can sharpen imaging.

Digital: IME It’s the speakers and the room, not the source equipment

i.e. which CD Player, which DAC, which tube, that is all related to ’preferences’, not Imaging.

I’ve owned various CD players, SS Preamps and Amps and Tube Preamps and Amps (and changed tube variations), 

I hear different characteristics, preferences, ... but not big differences in Imaging.

My speakers, adjusted, in my space, do what they do. My prior speakers, adjusted, in my space did what they did.

+1 @erik_squires 

Towing out needed with a lot of speakers, not just treatment at first reflection. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to stand any speakers I’ve had to be directly on axis, personally speaking.