Focal Aria 926 vs MK 150 for a 7.2.4 system? (1 Viewer)

[siddhartha.saive]

Hi guys
I've been looking for a 7.2.4 system for a dedicated home theater room in a new house. The room size is 22' x 14' (is 7.2.2 enough? Two rows of seats probably.. 3+4)
This will be for movies, music and gaming. Good bass is a priority.

AVR - Anthem MRX 1120
Projector - Epson or JVC 4K (simulated 4k)

I've demoed all the brands I could get my hands on locally.
B&W 983 and CM9, Focal Aria 926, Monitor audio silver 8, MK 950 and 300(out of my budget), Kef R700 and Polkaudio LSIM707

My favourites so far
Focal aria 926 vs MK Sound 150

Focal aria 926 was amazing. Great overall.. very good detail and bass response and imaging. Loved how they sounded. Liked them better than MK especially for 2.1 Stereo for music (not fair for mk as they aren't intended for this )
The MK was exceptional too. Liked both the 950 and 300 that i listened to. Highly detailed and great sound imaging like the online reviews say. But I'm not sure i want my speakers hidden(performance is more important to me though) and wasn't really satisfied with the bass.
Will take a demo of the MK 150 to decide.

Thinking of buying two SVS SB13 ultra subwoofers to go with the speakers. Are they good enough? These subs have amazing reviews online. I really want the gut wrenching or heart thumping bass feel.. and good quality bass ofc

Or should I go for just one of the new SVS SB16 ultra or SVS PB16 ultra?

Have another option left to demo. Golden ear Triton 2. How good are they vs focal and mk sound?

Any opinions on Focal 926 vs MK 150 ? Performance vs value ?

Thank you

 

[Dave Upton]

Hi Siddhartha,

I would suggest going with the SB16 Ultra over the 13, as it's a new and improved design.

Do you have a budget in mind for the whole system?

 

[siddhartha.saive]

Hi Siddhartha,

I would suggest going with the SB16 Ultra over the 13, as it's a new and improved design.

Do you have a budget in mind for the whole system?

Hey Dave. You are right... and I love the specs on the ultra 16s. The sb go down to 16hz and the pb to 14hz!!! Sounds like they would definitely satisfy my bass cravings [emoji1]

My budget for the entire home theater setup is around 25000$

I wanted to go with two subs for better equalisation and bass management. Can i go with two sb16s for my room? Will it be too overpowering for a 22 x 14 room? Or.. will a single sb16 or a single pb16 be enough for a good home theater experience?

 

[Dave Upton]

2 subs is definitely the way to go, and they won't overpower you once calibrated. Dual subs results in a smoother frequency response, which yields better impact and deeper extension (a very good thing).

Speaker wise, the Focal's you are look ing at are nice speakers, but I'd definitely give Paradigm's Prestige line a look. Golden Ear's are nice - but to me, not as good as the marketing cracks them up to be. Legacy Audio builds a fantastic speaker, and anything in their lineup would be amazing (that's what I use at home).

Other speakers to consider:

• SVS Ultra line - https://www.svsound.com/pages/speakers#ultra-series
• Axiom Audio - http://www.axiomaudio.com/home-theaters
• XTZ Cinema Series http://www.xtzsound.us/shop/us/speakers/cinema-series
• Revel Performa Series - http://revelspeakers.com/productlist-rev/revel-list-products/rev-products/series/performa3.html

You will also want to invest in some acoustic treatments if you are serious about bass. I highly recommend DIY if you have the time/skillset, or if you want to buy, take a look at GIK Acoustics.

Feel free to ask any questions here - i'm more than happy to help.

 

[siddhartha.saive]

So i demoed the focal aria 926 and the mk 150 again. I have decided to go with the focals!
The focal aria 926 sounded better to me and easily beat the mks in music playback. I was quite satisfied and wanted to stay longer and listen more! I like the bass response with the focal better too. The mk sounded a little lack lustre to me.. too neutral.

So my choice for the setup so far.. 7.2.4
Focal aria 926 speakers
Anthem MRX 1120 AVR

Epson or jvc simulated 4K projector?

Subwoofers- two SVS ultra sb16???

 

[siddhartha.saive]

2 subs is definitely the way to go, and they won't overpower you once calibrated. Dual subs results in a smoother frequency response, which yields better impact and deeper extension (a very good thing).

Speaker wise, the Focal's you are look ing at are nice speakers, but I'd definitely give Paradigm's Prestige line a look. Golden Ear's are nice - but to me, not as good as the marketing cracks them up to be. Legacy Audio builds a fantastic speaker, and anything in their lineup would be amazing (that's what I use at home).

Other speakers to consider:

• SVS Ultra line - https://www.svsound.com/pages/speakers#ultra-series
• Axiom Audio - http://www.axiomaudio.com/home-theaters
• XTZ Cinema Series http://www.xtzsound.us/shop/us/speakers/cinema-series
• Revel Performa Series - http://revelspeakers.com/productlist-rev/revel-list-products/rev-products/series/performa3.html

You will also want to invest in some acoustic treatments if you are serious about bass. I highly recommend DIY if you have the time/skillset, or if you want to buy, take a look at GIK Acoustics.

Feel free to ask any questions here - i'm more than happy to help.

Thank you Dave [emoji4]
I'm sold [emoji1] I'll go for two sb16 ultras if I can fit them into my budget.

Those speakers aren't available locally and I'm time constrained now to travel for demos. I'm gonna stick with the focals [emoji28]