Focal Chora 806 Bookshelf Speaker - Dark Wood

Gear: SMSL SU8 RCA ->SMSL DA-9 (50 watt a channel Infinium with sub output) -> Focal Chora 806 in 2-3 foot nearfield at desk. Angled inward 20 degrees and 6 feet apart from each other.Sensitivity: These are easy to drive. I'd go for some headroom but you don't need more than 40 watts a channel to comfortably drive these without any distortion. I went with the DA9 because the power is very clean and well controlled with a good implementation of a sub out. The power draw is a bit spiky so I'd avoid amps that can't take some voltage spikes or older receivers as you could damage the speakers.Treble: Really great treble extension and detail. Cymbal splashes have great attack and speedy decay. Plenty of air without too much elevation at 4-8k.Mids: Somewhat forward in the lower midrange and very forward in both male and female vocals. It reminds me a lot of the hd 650 effect on vocal isolation. These are really good at pulling vocals forward. The detail retrieval is decent in the mids but not as good as in the treble.Bass: These are fairly flat and controlled in the bass. Extension is flat until around 95-100hz with a good 8 db dropoff to the spec 58hz. This makes these speakers a really good candidate for 2.1 setup with a larger subwoofer. I'm personally using a 12 inch Klipsch and it does a great job. Crossover at 90 and fairly low gain. Helps a lot with metal, rock, and EDM.EQ: These by no mean 'need' EQ but they area bit bright leaning for metal in particular. The detail and texture is suitable but I used the following filters to warm things up just a tad and it works great without any bloat or loss of detail in nearfield:70hz: 1.28 gain at .3 Q130hz: 1.28 gain at .7 QSoundstage: Super wide with decent verticality. Passable depth with some smearing past 8 feet.Imaging: Strong in nearfield, kind of off in my home theatre as the soundstage is actually really wide. The woofer dispersion is wild. Reminds me of how the hd 800s exaggerates it's soundstage to the point that imaging within a game or movie becomes inaccurate. In music this is fine but can be somewhat disorienting in games or movies. It feels more realistic in nearfield.Overall: I would avoid these for home theatre setups but the texture and detail and nearfield is excellent. These keep up with some of my 3-4k headphones in terms of detail and texture. The extension is poor with fallout around 100hz so a decent sub is pretty much a must. Luckily that falloff makes the cross over prettier simple and leads to lower distortion.These are too pricey for most home theatre setups and are a bit bright for movies. The detail and texture is incredible for games and music. I think they are better in nearfield because that plays to their strengths. I think there are much better options for home theatre or even general use at greater than 8 feet. They are easy to drive but benefit from some headroom as their power draw is a bit spiky.

I wanted to leave a one-word review: Incredible. Would that be helpful enough? I chose these speakers based on these criteria:A. Room Placement: These are bookshelf speakers, they will be close to the wall (7" away) so front ported is a better option over rear portedB. Size & Weight: These fit on top of the built-in shelves of my home nicely and are not "too big" for the room, but still have a good measurements for woofer size and overall specs.C. Cost: They were at the top end of my budget. There is another model higher but I could not justify the cost for an unknown amount of "better".D. Looks: They are beautifulE. Reputation: Focal makes incredible speakers and drivers. I was aware of them from my recording studio days.F. Ohms: This caused me concern. If your amp cannot drive 4-Ohm speakers then these will not be for you. You really need the ohms to match between your amp and speakers. I have a amp that can drive 4-ohm speakers without issue, so I checked the box that they would be ok in the area.They arrived packed extremely well, finish was impeccable. The are beefy, as in do-not-feel-cheap. I used 10AWG speaker wire and all I can say is WOW. rock, pop, classical, jazz. Everything sounds incredible. I even popped in a little ReadDeadRedemption on the Playstation (just in stereo) and my wife walked passed, stopped and said "Wow, that sounds super immersive." and that was just stereo. The imaging is excellent. Great bass response. Will fill a large living room without a problem. I've got 120watts @4 Ohm over 10AWG.I love them and look forward to many years of listening enjoyment.

Color of them is true to tone, and sound quality is fantastic

These are to serve at the end of a modest audio system - - - Pro-ject Debut turntable, modified Pioneer CD player & Cambridge Audio AXR85 receiver. It will tak at least two weeks to evaluate these speakers. My initial impression, however, is favorable

The high end detail is alluring. It sounds so amazing words can't do it justice. Vocals are magical. The only thing that doesn't stun me is pianos. They sound a bit mushy but still have texture. Very in love with these speakers. I got them for $500 (blue ones only) and I see they are $400 now. In my opinion that's the deal of a lifetime. The white ones were and still are $900 which is totally worth it still.

These are great speakers at this price point. No harshness to the highs. Puts out great bass for a front ported speaker. Thought these were better than the SVS Ultras for both music and home theater. Wide sound stage.

Soundstage and center image is wonderful. Get a pair of subwoofers and enjoy Audiophile experience.

Great sounding speaker even at low volumes. As with almost all bookshelves, sub needed to fill that bottom end .

Au top de top super content de mon achat, vendeur sérieux..... professionnel quoi que du bonheur un grand merci illel

Sono soddisfatto di queste diffusori Focal chora 806 , hanno un suono limpido e dettagliato, i bassi sono corposi e reali, sono eccezionali, le piloto con valvolare da 21watt per canale , il venditore professionale consegnate prima del previsto , sono eleganti e si pilotano molto bene anche con amplificatori di pochi watt. Soddisfattissimo dell’acquisto , le consiglio.

Suono limpido soprattutto nei medio / alti . Ben definito . Per me quello che cercavo.