Hi Guys,
Does anyone here have experience of B&W speakers, specifically the 706 S3 model? Just thinking about trading in my beloved Focal Aria 906s and they’re at the top of my list (auditioning next week). If not, any other suggestions for standmounters for about £1,500? Thanks in advance. A.
Kit: Naim Nait 5Si, Naim CD 5Si, Bluesdound Node 2.
For a small to medium room I can wholeheartedly recommend the Dali Menuet SE
What are you looking music wise for that the focals don’t give you if i may ask?
A bit more sparkle and zing at the top end. Also they sound a bit confused in big orchestral pieces at decent volume.
I’ve had a number of B&W speakers over the years. Last pair was the CM7s. In short, I’ve been consistently unimpressed.
That said, I think I’ve not paired them with the right electronics. I think they might need more power than advertised to come alive.
If I had a 5Si, I would avoid those.
Maybe the Q Acoustics 5020?
I’d normally go with the KEF LS50 Metas at that price point, but they’re right at that power number. I’d audition whatever speakers you’re thinking about if you can.
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually auditioned the LS50s when I bought the Focals, so they wouldn’t feel like a step forward for me, to be honest.
A wise man one said that it’s not knowing what you want, but what you don’t want.
So you can scratch those off your list 
Be aware that if you listen to 706’s in a large room with sufficient distance to the rear walls, they likely sound very good. If your room is a smaller room though and the 706 speakers need to be closer to the wall they will sound ‘thick’, ‘fat’, ‘congested’.
I’ve listened to various Focals many times at my dealer and I see them as B&W’s without the downside of that (for me) too warm sound.
Personally I would listen to the larger Focal Arias since they can produce more scale with orchestral music.
B&W are good speakers, but they need power to come alive as Maury told you and they are a bit analitycal.
It’s very personal, so you’ll have to decide for yourself. I’ve been very happy with 702s2 with my Star in the past. I’ve also had Focal’s. The 726v’s, but with NAD amplification, but at least I can tell you that the sonic signatures aren’t polar opposites.
If you want an alternative recommendation in your price range, that’s known to work well with Naim, I would look at the Revel M105.
I had the B&W CM 10 ( the line that was replaced by the 700 series). And while I understand from reviews that the current 700 series is better then the old CM series the main signature is still the same. And that they had great oomph ( used to power them with a Hegel 160) they where also a bit fresh in the top. Maybe the change of the material used for the tweeter in the 700 series make them a little less sharp now. In the end that sharpness ( and the change from Hegel to my current a D class amplifier) made me really want to change them out. Which I did 3 yrs ago.
I also did a direct comparison (10 yrs ago) to the Focal Aria 906, B&W CM5 and a similar Kef speaker for my second studyroom system. I picked the Focal 906. They had a bit more wider soundstage wil also feeling a bit more “ Active”. Even when I was inclined to go CM5 for “ family reasons” with the then owned CM10’s.
Now in 2025 both CM5 and the Aria 906 had their upgrades. I think both will have an upgrade feeling towards your current 906. Which is the best and if the “ extra” better is enough to warrent the expenditure is up to you.
The Aria 906 is a very good speaker, I use it now for my Nova. It improved even more since i bought the Naim AC5 cable.
To add, I powered the CM7s with an NAD C375BEE. Wasn’t nearly enough in terms of dynamics or engagement. Again, I attribute that lacklustre performance to the NAD and not the B&Ws. But you need good clean power to make them sing. Similar to the KEFs.
That said, I’ve toyed with the idea of buying a SH pair of CM8/CM10s to see if I’d like them better on the end of my 155 or 200.
The LS50s on the end of the 172/155 combo are almost perfect (to my ears in my room)
What’s your listening room like, any acoustic treatments? (as the room may be impacting this)
Just in general, B&W’s are typically pretty transparent/revealing of what’s upstream & believe they like some good power to be driven properly. Maybe the 700 series is less demanding but I’d be wondering if the 5Si is enough amp for them?
I think the 700 series is the successor of the old CM series. I had no issues driving CM5’s with a humble original Nait 5 which had 30 watts only.
The higher 800 series needed more amplification I believe especially with the diamond tweeters. I still want some 805’s !
In my humble observation Focal and B&W share a lot especially in the low / mid market speakers. I like to describe Focals like B&W’s without the bass boom …
@andrew1j Hi Andrew, I had the Focal Aria 906 with my Nova. They were really good but I was looking for an improvement but also something less forward, that fitted into a lounge setting. I auditioned the 706 S3 and also the KEF LS50, Proac Tablette 10 Sig, ATC SCM11, Neat Iota Alpha. The winner by quite a margin for me, were the Neats. The B&Ws just didn’t have the cohesion, musicality and joy that the Neats brought.
However, I do note you are looking for something that gives you “a bit more sparkle and zing at the top end”. The B&Ws may well give you that but the overall sound may not suit.
May I suggest that investing more at the source end could help you here? An NDX5XS2?
A happy Nova & Focal Aria 906 used here: I agree with your remark about Focal being a bit forward. I picked them for that reason to have a “spicy” alternative hifi set next to my way more laid back main system.
I found that using the Naim A5 cable did a great job in improving the sound further.
Although now I feel that looking at the Nova and the cables the Focals are a bit the weak link ( from a € pov)
Understand where you are coming from. I’ve taken a similar approach but the other way round: I have Focal Kanta 2 in my main system (for the spice!) and Neats in the second system, for the more laidback approach.
I think the Kanta 1 would keep the spice you like already but elevate the sound. Also, I’ve tried the NACA5 and prefer my other two options (Witchhat Phantom and Tchernov Classic).
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