Focal Chora 5.1.2 Speaker Package Review & Comments

I've had the 826-Ds and centre in the light wood finish for several months now and love them. I am driving them with a Denon X2400 that I've had for a couple of years or so. They do work well together though they do sound best at higher volumes which ties in with your point Steve.
I have been wondering about upgrading the receiver but how much would I have to spend to hear a significant improvement? I do like the Denons but am not totally biased towards them. If I got either an X3700 or X4700 I would get more headroom but would I hear any other significant improvements? I like the reviews the NAD T778 has been getting but not sure I can afford £2500 right now.
What do you suggest?
 
I've had the 826-Ds and centre in the light wood finish for several months now and love them. I am driving them with a Denon X2400 that I've had for a couple of years or so. They do work well together though they do sound best at higher volumes which ties in with your point Steve.
I have been wondering about upgrading the receiver but how much would I have to spend to hear a significant improvement? I do like the Denons but am not totally biased towards them. If I got either an X3700 or X4700 I would get more headroom but would I hear any other significant improvements? I like the reviews the NAD T778 has been getting but not sure I can afford £2500 right now.
What do you suggest?

If you lean toward latest D&M products wait until next year January at least so the prices will start to drop. No reason buy latest model now as the prices are highest ever. For example X3600H came with 999£ price and in January dropped to ~699£, X4500H dropped under 1k£ fast too. Also there will be new models introduced from Yamaha, Onkyo and Pioneer early next year if not further delays. The two latter mentioned should get Dirac Live also, probably the flagship models. Yamaha Aventage models also having completely new design this time.

Marantz SR8012 for 1900£ is decent deal for older model although i would try to haggle it down little bit as PT sold it for 1800£. It may run hotter due to being 11.2 model, but this has bit more "juice" than Denon 6000 serie and is made in Japan!
 
Yeah there is that. I do prefer the look of the 900 Series though. I seen one review saying that they were bass light and even bright sounding so a partnering amp on the warmer side would help.

Loving my 926 here. It really depends on song(s) where the bass is light. For the most part, the bass is adequate. If you want more bass, go with 936 like most folks do. But then adding a subwoofer will mostly take care of all that. I have mine with the Denon x3700h and love it! For HT duty, i also have 4 Focal ICW6 in-ceiling (for some folks it might be overkill going with Focal for Atmos) and 2 non-focal surrounds. Experiencing Atmos from Oblivion, Lucy and most recently Bloodshot r well worth the $ for me!!!
 
Loving my 926 here. It really depends on song(s) where the bass is light. For the most part, the bass is adequate. If you want more bass, go with 936 like most folks do. But then adding a subwoofer will mostly take care of all that. I have mine with the Denon x3700h and love it! For HT duty, i also have 4 Focal ICW6 in-ceiling (for some folks it might be overkill going with Focal for Atmos) and 2 non-focal surrounds. Experiencing Atmos from Oblivion, Lucy and most recently Bloodshot r well worth the $ for me!!!

That’s good to hear. I am torn between the 926 and the 936 but will most likely opt for the 936.
I hadn’t even thought about the In-Ceiling, now you’ve got me looking at those :D
 
If you lean toward latest D&M products wait until next year January at least so the prices will start to drop. No reason buy latest model now as the prices are highest ever. For example X3600H came with 999£ price and in January dropped to ~699£, X4500H dropped under 1k£ fast too. Also there will be new models introduced from Yamaha, Onkyo and Pioneer early next year if not further delays. The two latter mentioned should get Dirac Live also, probably the flagship models. Yamaha Aventage models also having completely new design this time.

Marantz SR8012 for 1900£ is decent deal for older model although i would try to haggle it down little bit as PT sold it for 1800£. It may run hotter due to being 11.2 model, but this has bit more "juice" than Denon 6000 serie and is made in Japan!
I hear what you're saying and you are right but I still don't know, whichever product I go for, other than gaining a bit more power if I'll hear any significant improvement in how my speakers are driven.
I appreciate this is very subjective and down to personal taste but in order to be able to say "wow that sounds so much better! " do I have to bite the bullet and spend my money on something like the NAD unit or will I get that from one of the Denon or Marantz receivers?
 
I heard these at the Bristol HiFi show earlier this year. Came in straight from the KEF showroom and their ~30K+ system and was pleasantly surprised at how good the Focal system was.

I won't dramatise things and say it was just as good, but it was certainly very close, for a lot less money.

I was going to say the same, I did exactly the same journey and was very impressed with them. The demo with the start of Mad Max was very impressive!
 
I was going to say the same, I did exactly the same journey and was very impressed with them. The demo with the start of Mad Max was very impressive!
Ditto! That was the first time I had heard these speakers.
 
I hear what you're saying and you are right but I still don't know, whichever product I go for, other than gaining a bit more power if I'll hear any significant improvement in how my speakers are driven.
I appreciate this is very subjective and down to personal taste but in order to be able to say "wow that sounds so much better! " do I have to bite the bullet and spend my money on something like the NAD unit or will I get that from one of the Denon or Marantz receivers?

Well lot of people have heard the difference on XT vs XT32 as the filter resolution and where the correction is done is vastly different, example jumping from 2000 serie to 4000 range. What is popular in US is to pick example 3000 range Denon and then add 3x200w poweramp to power the LCR. So you get kinda best from both worlds without breaking bank! Then use the Audussey app to take midrange comp Off and limit the correction ~500hz. If full correction is needed then Dirac Live should have edge, but i assume you have to pay to get the full version in Nad. Anthem with ARC Genesis coming january-february too, example the MRX 740 should be something to consider if you going to spend more! You could make thread on Receiver section, but as always there is fans of each camps so at the end of day you need to hear them to see which you prefer in your room.
 

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