Uniti and focal 926 K2 Help Needed

[JamesBKK]

Hi @TomW , some questions I think haven’t been dealt with above:

1. do you have a photo from your listening position? There could be reflections and bass issues going on.
2. how far from the speakers are you? Focal recommend 3m.
3. Is the tweeter bang on ear-level?
4. What are you using on the base of the speakers, the aluminium base with spikes?

And some comments from my experience with the Focal Aria (albeit 906s): the Arias can go closer to the wall than 0.5m. I found 0.35 was optimal with my 906s in my room and it smoothed them out a bit. They didn’t need much toe-in at all (and depending on your room and listening position, you may choose no toe-in which could help with the perceived harshness as they won’t be firing directly at your ears). Do let your cable, Nova and speakers run in.

Do you need your Atom? If you are only going to have one system, if the above suggestions don’t work for you, I’d sell the Atom and , put it towards some Neats, PMCs or Harbeths. I know people often recommend the speakers they have, but the Neat Iota Alpha sound great with the Nova.

[Ardbeg10y]

I’d not give up on the Focals yet. I’ve never found them bright even driven with an atom. Actually, my dealer does organise demo days and I find myself in the focal room often. One year I preferred the simple xs3 into Arias over Active Kudos 808.

@JamesBKK is bang on regarding positioning and preferably a photo.

[sonwleo]

I own focal speakers, and the match is difficult to make, but when the match is good they produce an interesting and addictive sound. But the room also has always something to say on the final result.

When they work, the sound and setup the cables tune the setup a little more, when the system match do not work is better to ditch the problematic component, as much as we like them because we start to struggle to get it right and spending money to resolve an issue that could never be resolved.

Currently I am not familiar with other speakers than focal, my last speakers have gone sometime ago, I Am sure there are many users here that know great speaker combinations that can match better on your setup.

Initially I struggled a little with my setup, but in the end, and with some changes, things are working great for my taste and music.

One thing I also do not like is fatiguing highs, highs could be extended without fatigue or be in a way that after sometimes you start to lower the volume.

If you can, listen to other speaker pairings, just try if possible.

[TomW]

Thanks for the advice guys. I’ll post some pictures of the room configuration soon. I’ve tried so many different setups here but non are really working. Some sound significantly worse than the first payout attempted.

The speakers are on their bases with the spikes fully extended to reach the floor base through the carpet and underlay.

The Nova and the Atom are both a year old so should be run in. The Nac A5 is also second hand but is in good condition. I removed 10cm off each end and re-terminated as previously described.

To be honest the current sound is so bad that I’m wondering if the speakers are even working as they should. The sound is just not right at all. Still massively fatiguing. I have another week or so with them. So I’ll keep trying.

I’ve been leaving the stereo on all the time when I’m not in close proximity or at night to try and get as much burn in as possible. It’s not helping yet but it’s still early days.

I’ve tried numerous listening positions all over 3 meters always and lots of different toe angles.

I’m planning to get into a local dealer soon. Hopefully on the weekend where I will try some alternatives. The PMC prodigy 5 may sneak into budget if I can find anywhere that has some to demo. I’ll try as many combinations as I can whilst I’m in store.

I’m starting to tire of the focals fast though. As the previous guy said. If they are that wrong then how much effort and resources do you through at a problem to attempt to make it right.

[dmu]

As someone with the 906’s (the bookshelf aria’s) it sounds like these definitely aren’t the speakers for you. In my room the 906’s have never sounded fatiguing. I will admit to occasional harshness and sometimes I think it overdoes crescendos, which is why I’m trying alternatives. I hope you find a sound to suit you and your room soon.

[TomW]

[TomW]

Tried them in lots of configurations within this space. Too many pictures required to show them all.

Right back to the wall definitely doesn’t work. Instant headache.

[Ardbeg10y]

At the risk of mentioning something stupid: are the loudspeakers wired in phase?

[TomW]

I wish it was something that simple. But I have checked and double checked numerous times.

[mikebu]

Difficult one with the room layout but my gut feel is you need to get more width between the speakers somehow. Maybe put the single chair between the speakers to get them further apart as a trial?..

[glasnaim]

I agree you need more distance between the speakers, try moving the single armchair behind the couch as an experiment and move the right hand speaker across. If it makes things better you can try relocating the armchair elsewhere.

[JamesBKK]

Thanks for this. There is limited space available due to the “fitted” nature of your TV cabinet, which is preventing any floorstanding speakers from being placed a decent distance apart and given appropriate space. It is a shame because this wall would otherwise be a good spot for the speakers as they would be firing down the room (but then you’d have an issue as to where to put the TV).

I would probably experiment with the left hand corner (of the first photo) and see if I could set the speakers up 1.5 - 2m apart with the Nova in the middle which would mean moving the 3 seater sofa up a bit and having the speakers fire diagonally. Also, small points but I’d plug the Nova directly into the wall without an adapter and some members will be tutting at the loop in your speaker cable…

[MatthewC]

If it is any help, I have my 926s 53 cm from the back (front?) wall. They are slightly toed in (a couple of degrees or so).

By bringing them further out I found the sharpness drop significantly and have found the sound much more pleasant over longer listening sessions.

I have a particularly difficult room as everything is hard and sharp. Armoured concrete walls, tiled floor, and directly behind the listening position a 3m wide metal storm/security shutter. See system pics thread for an idea. The left speaker is in a corner, but brought out far enough so that the side wall doesn’t reflect too badly from the bottom port. I found it tightened up the bass too.

Oh, one last thing before I forget, the speakers were on granite slabs with the spikes fully in. I’ve removed the slabs and properly levelled the speakers with the spikes fairly long sitting in their plastic boots (see manual).

Anyways, the sound is much more balanced than when I had the speakers a little closer to the wall and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

HTH.

MC.

[TomW]

Hi Matthew

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed response.

I really have tried everything suggested and every position within the room.

I finally admitted defeat and will be returning the focals. They have actually left a constant ringing in my right ear. I’m hoping it will clear.

Today I went out to two dealers and demoed a variety of speakers. I didn’t warm to the Kefs, sonus, or B&W. The feyns were not too bad.

I tried the PMC prodigy 5’s which sounded nice. But the moment they plugged in the twenty5 21i the hairs on my arms stood on end.

I’m sat at home now listening to a ex demo pair I picked up at an affordable (just ) price. They sound so much better than focals. I just don’t think they are my cup of tea. Interestingly, and without prompting, both dealer’s recommended against pairing focals with my naim gear. They said they hear to many customer complaints to recommend that as a solution. This was prior to me telling them the issue I’d had. Obviously everyone has their own taste and I just don’t think focals are for me. Shame as they sound great to my ears in the muso 2 package.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. It’s been very helpful and enlightening.

Tom

[TomW]

Ok. Me again.

So as you may have read above I spent the whole day Friday demoing various speakers at various dealers. I took both my nova and atom and all my own cables. Used nothing but my own gear at the front end upto the speakers themselves.

Whilst in the first demo room they only really wanted me to play stuff via their tidal system. Fair enough. They want to be sure the tracks being played are of a decent quality. I did however get a chance to push some streams direct from my you tube app on my phone. They sounded fine. (A lot of my music is sourced via you tube music as I like stuff that is hard if not impossible to find on all the main streaming music services).

I listened to the PMC twenty5 21i at both dealers. The ex demo set I brought at the second dealers which I have setup behind me now.

In the second demo room I only streamed stuff from my phone via you tube music or direct from my music on the phone.

Why all this detail…… because something still is not right. At least not at home. I’m going fairly insane here so some trouble shooting ideas would be most appreciated.

I know the system can sound good. I heard it in both demo rooms. Neither of these rooms was anything special. No treatments of any kind and bare rooms with only a sofa. But it does not sound good now.

What have I tried.

Sorting my music onto a usb drive and plugging it directly into the nova removing internet streamed sources. Playing hq Flac files and low quality 128k mp3s going all the way back to when my digital music collection started in 1998. The mp3s are pretty much completely unlistenable. They crackle and hiss and just sound absolutely awful. They don’t sound bad when played through my expensive head unit in the car. The flacs are significantly better but it’s all still so bright and there’s some distortion on occasion at the top end.

I’ve tried streaming to the TV which then feeds back over the hdmi. This makes things slightly more manageable. God knows why.
I’ve tried Bluetooth. No real change that’s noticeable.
Internet radio HQ streams, These are a little better.

I tried removing the network power line devices in the house that were fitted to my pc on the other side of the room and in a separate room. No improvement.

I’ve tried different rooms in the house. No change.

So. What do I try next. Like I said I spent a whole afternoon in the second dealers listening to the exact setup I have now without any fatigue whatsoever. It was very enjoyable. After putting the hours in today (was busy over the weekend after I initially got them home and setup) I am bleeding from my ears again. Bass is all good. Very refined. But the top end is quickly unbearable. Similar experience to the focals but not quite as shrill.

There must be something I’m missing here and I’m really at the point of just packing it all up and sticking it on eBay. It’s sucked all the enjoyment out of the music. It’s saying something when I’m retreating back upstairs to listen to the muso for some rest bite from what should be leagues ahead downstairs.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. There must be something within this house causing an issue but I’m all out of ideas.

Many thanks

Tom

[TomW]

I should have taken the opportunity to try the focal 926 at the dealers for a proper comparison. That may have raised some red flags immediately if they had sounded good.

[frenchrooster]

You have to ask a dealer to come at your place. I don’t see any other option.
Or maybe someone will have an idea.

[HungryHalibut]

Hmm. I have a Nova and PMC twenty5.21i and it sounds lovely. My speakers point almost straight ahead; if they point at your head then treble will be much more beamy. I think you said you’d checked how it sounds with standard CD rips, as stuff on You Tube is unlikely to sound great. The Nova/PMC is much more revealing than a Muso, which is maybe why it sounds better on the latter.

If you can’t get it sounding good with CD rips, and it sounded good at the dealer’s then I’d agree with FR, ask the dealer to come round and take a listen.

[JamesBKK]

@TomW , the issues you are hearing are with the Nova and the Atom? Just want to make sure as perhaps there is a fault with one of them. Also, I note you re-terminated your NACA5 - did you solder them, what connectors are you using etc?

[Damien0]

Do you like the sound of Naim equipment?