berman002 wrote:

Hi All, here is my situation, I own KEF R900 for a while and I love it, but recently I bought a much cheaper pair of Focal 762 1/3 of the R900 price.
and both speaker paired with M-Dac and Rotel RB1552. room size is 7x8m.
the point is I love the Focal more than the R900.
The R900 sounds Thicker, fuller, soundstage bigger, but compare to Focal, clarity just not there, feels like you listening to the speaker behind a curtain.
with the Focal, it is a lot more clear, the high is better and more detail.
is it something wrong with my setup or my taste is different than most other people. or the KEF just overpriced?

this is the problem i am facing, i think it could be a good discussion topic?
Thanks

First, let me say that Focal has never made a model 762 speaker that I can find in their archives; you may have the Chorus 726, perhaps??

The KEF R900 has more bass extension, and it sounds as if you are having a problem with the interaction between the speaker's bass and the room.

I am sure that you will find that the sound of these speakers will change dramatically as you reposition them to various locations. The distance from the speaker to the wall behind is critcal, and may need to be as much as 40 inches, or as little as 25 inches. One or two inches can make all the difference in the world, and only tedious tweaking of the speakers' position will yield the best resunts. It is quite tiresome, but unavoidable.

You also do not mention the type of flooring, carpeting etc., which are important.

Having said all of that, I love Focal speakers and I don't think those KEF speakers will ever sound as good. You might need to add a subwoofer to them for deep bass however.

berman002 wrote:

Thanks commsysman
I am not a fan of huge bass, most of my listening is jazz.
the floor is hardwood, that could be an issue too.
I did move the speaker for and back but still similar, the high and mid is just not there compared to the focal 726.
very disappointing......
maybe I should move the KEF even further away from the wall. currently, it's around 30cm away from the wall.
or just sell it and get a focal n2, lol.

Hardwood floors are a real problem for bass.

Consider getting couple of rugs, around 1 m x 2 m and put the speakers on them, with most of each rug out in front of the speakers.

30 cm (12 inches) is too close; 60 cm would be the minimum I would use.
My Vandersteens needed around 90 cm or so.

berman002 wrote:

I have moved the speaker away from the wall, it has improved a lot, but I still like the focal 726 in the same room, paired with the same setup. KEF is very neutral, balanced and warm. but Focal is more fun to listen to. The treble is clear with excellent sound positioning, the clarity and dynamic just so much better. the downside is it's thin, it sounds like from my surround class D amp. I am expecting a lot more for Focal's higher-end model......

The Focals don't have much bass, and you really need a subwoofer with them, or they will sound "thin".

I suggest the Klipsch R12SW, which is $349 on Amazon.