Focal Chora 5.1.2 Speaker Package Review & Comments

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.
 
Out of interest and couldn't find it stated in the review, if you were using the Lyngdorf MP60 were these tested with RoomPerfect setup for them or without?
 
Out of interest and couldn't find it stated in the review, if you were using the Lyngdorf MP60 were these tested with RoomPerfect setup for them or without?
I turned RoomPerfect off for most of the testing, but did use it a bit towards the end.
 
Don't suppose you've ever heard the Focal 7 series? Would be interested in a direct comparison.

I'm not sure they're would be enough in it for the change to be a proper upgrade (I don't do side-steps!).
 
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.
Agreed - was definitely one of, or even perhaps the show highlight for me - was very impressive Atmos performance (especially for front firing speakers).
 
I've been looking for a set of speakers with Atmos upfirers built in for a while. They're a surprising rare thing. Then I checked the price on these. £2900. If these are Chora's affordable speakers, I guess they're not really targeting regular people!
 
I've been looking for a set of speakers with Atmos upfirers built in for a while. They're a surprising rare thing. Then I checked the price on these. £2900. If these are Chora's affordable speakers, I guess they're not really targeting regular people!
When I checked on google, they appear to be £1699 for a pair?
 
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I've been looking for a set of speakers with Atmos upfirers built in for a while. They're a surprising rare thing. Then I checked the price on these. £2900. If these are Chora's affordable speakers, I guess they're not really targeting regular people!
I agree - I was looking around myself last year, & one of the few "affordable" setups I found was the Focal Sib Evo range.
 
Thanks for the review @Steve Withers, how does it compare to your dedicated home cinema with Ken Kriesel and JBL Control 1s?
I normally use MK Sound monitors with JBL Control Ones on the ceiling, but that's not really a like-for-like comparison with the Focal system which includes floor standers and upward-firing drivers. My system sounds better overall, but it costs more, uses two subs and has actual speakers on the ceiling, so I would expect it to be superior.
 
@Steve Withers

Great review Steve, as they normally are :smashin:

I’ve been contemplating the standard Focal 826 or even the 926/936. Do you think they would struggle if I had them a little close to the wall behind and to the side ?
The wall behind them would be approx 24” from the front baffle and the side wall approx 18” from the centre of the drivers.

Cheers
 
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If you're looking for a genuinely affordable immersive audio speaker package, the Focal Sib Evo is hands-down the best option available.
Steve how do you think these NHT speakers would compare with the Focal Sib Evo set up for mostly music? Also how do you think the Paradigm Millenia Ones would compare?


 
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Steve how do you think these NHT speakers would compare with the Focal Sib Evo set up for mostly music? Also how do you think the Paradigm Millenia Ones would compare?


I don't know, I haven't heard either of these speaker packages.
 
@Steve Withers

Great review Steve, as they normally are :smashin:

I’ve been contemplating the standard Focal 826 or even the 926/936. Do you think they would struggle if I had them a little close to the wall behind and to the side ?
The wall behind them would be approx 24” from the front baffle and the side wall approx 18” from the centre of the drivers.

Cheers
No, I think you'd be fine there. In fact I had the 826Ds in a similar position in my room, and they seem fairly flexible in terms of placement.
 
No, I think you'd be fine there. In fact I had the 826Ds in a similar position in my room, and they seem fairly flexible in terms of placement.

Fantastic, thanks.

Have you heard either the 926 or 936 ?

If you have, what are your thoughts on those please ?
 
Been looking at these for a few weeks now, so I'm really glad to hear the AVF review.

Am looking at a complete AV solution (5.1.2) using Chora 806 as surrounds and will need an AV receiver to compliment. Can anyone recommend a good fit for these? I'm looking at the Marantz 6015 (low end), Yamaha 3080 (mid-range) and NAD T788 (high end). Would the 6015 get enough out of these or should I really go for the top end?
 
Been looking at these for a few weeks now, so I'm really glad to hear the AVF review.

Am looking at a complete AV solution (5.1.2) using Chora 806 as surrounds and will need an AV receiver to compliment. Can anyone recommend a good fit for these? I'm looking at the Marantz 6015 (low end), Yamaha 3080 (mid-range) and NAD T788 (high end). Would the 6015 get enough out of these or should I really go for the top end?
It's a matter of budget of course, but if it was me I'd go for the NAD. The T788 is in another class, and has the power to really make these speakers sing. The SR6015 can certainly handle the Focals, but might lack the necessary headroom, and while the 3080 has plenty of power, it lacks Dirac (I don't rate Yamaha's YPAO room correction).
 
Fantastic, thanks.

Have you heard either the 926 or 936 ?

If you have, what are your thoughts on those please ?
I haven't heard the 926 or 936, but based on their specs and the performance of the 826, I suspect they would sound awesome. I guess it depends on your budget, but the law of diminishing returns might mean the 826 will deliver what you need.
 
I haven't heard the 926 or 936, but based on their specs and the performance of the 826, I suspect they would sound awesome. I guess it depends on your budget, but the law of diminishing returns might mean the 826 will deliver what you need.

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.
 
Be fine with 18" clearance. My 726 (pretty much identical stat/size wise) can be a bit boomy but thats largely down to the suspended floor.

With room correction you'll have zero issue.

The bass seems weak to start with, but improves with time. The quoted bass figure of 48hz @3db is a little misleading. Bass is present, smooth and well controlled.

Mind compared to your large subs you might have different thoughts!
 
Be fine with 18" clearance. My 726 (pretty much identical stat/size wise) can be a bit boomy but thats largely down to the suspended floor.

With room correction you'll have zero issue.

The bass seems weak to start with, but improves with time. The quoted bass figure of 48hz @3db is a little misleading. Bass is present, smooth and well controlled.

Mind compared to your large subs you might have different thoughts!

The 18" clearance at the side is measured from the centre of the drivers/cabinet to the side wall. Then just about 24" from the front of the cabinet to the wall behind.

I'm not actually too bothered if there isn't quite as much bass as some might produce. The positioning may help a little with that anyway.
 
Been looking at these for a few weeks now, so I'm really glad to hear the AVF review.

Am looking at a complete AV solution (5.1.2) using Chora 806 as surrounds and will need an AV receiver to compliment. Can anyone recommend a good fit for these? I'm looking at the Marantz 6015 (low end), Yamaha 3080 (mid-range) and NAD T788 (high end). Would the 6015 get enough out of these or should I really go for the top end?

Looking the measured data Marantz has cleaner amps. NAD T778 can put out little bit more if there is no distortion limit (180w vs. 220w for 1%THD with 4ohm load for 2ch), otherwise Marantz has slight edge 156w vs 120w for 4ohm 2channels. Both machines puts out ~250w peak power for 2ch 4ohm so for short bursts the class-d doesn´t show any benefits. For 5channels driven continuosly 8ohm load with high 1% THD Nad is slightly better due to class-d amplification, so roughly 100w for Marantz (using Denon X3700H data which should be identical to SR6015) and 116w for T778. This is very small difference, you can always add poweramp to get more noticeable amount of headroom. 16w really isn´t anything to talk about and every channel isn`t loaded constantly in real world movie scenario either with subwoofer taking big load off. If the NAD is free from the clicks/bugs reported by owners and you want Dirac Live then it`s good option but yeah the product isn`t cheap.
 

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