Focal Aria K2 Series – Performance and style for stereo and home cinema

The new Focal Aria K2 Series is said to be a product line that combines outstanding performance and style. The Focal Aria K2 936, Focal Aria K2 906 and Focal Aria K2 Center solutions are designed for both stereo and home cinema applications.

Focal Aria K2 936, Focal Aria K2 906 and Focal Aria K2 Center, this is the lineup of the new Focal Aria K2 Series, which the speaker specialist Focal JMlab is now presenting and which is once again supposed to combine outstanding performance with the very special style that the French have been offering with their products for years.

With a floorstanding and a bookshelf speaker system plus a designated center speaker, the new Focal Aria K2 Series is aimed equally at hi-fi and home theater enthusiasts.

Strictly speaking, the product line is not entirely new, because the stand speaker system Focal Aria K2 936 was already presented last year. However, this is now expanded by the two models Focal Aria K2 906 as a shelf speaker system and the center speaker Focal Aira K2 Center, so that you can now really talk about a speaker series with three models.

Focal Aria K2 Series – Building on the Focal Aria 900.

The new Aria K2 Series is a product line that builds on the Focal Aria 900, which Focal JMlab introduced in 2013, the company said. The Focal Aria K2 906 and Focal Aria K2 Centre, along with the Focal Aria K2 936, offer an exceptional listening experience made possible by a number of innovations, most notably the next-generation Focal K2 drivers, it said.

Manufactured in France at Focal’s JMlab headquarters, the aramid fiber cone drivers are an evolution of the legendary Polykevlar cone used, the company says, in the classic JMLab loudspeakers of the 1980s. The original was designed to improve the balance between weight, stiffness and damping, with the goal of guaranteeing high-quality audio performance for any genre of music. These principles naturally apply to the latest generation, with numerous improvements and optimizations made over the years, and a wealth of experience that has grown yet again, as well as state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing, he said.

Newest technologies

The completely new Focal K2 chassis uses said technologies and techniques to offer the user an even better music and movie experience, according to the manufacturer’s promise.

The chassis relies on a diaphragm made of a very light foam layer sandwiched between a layer of aramid fibers and a fiberglass layer, ensuring a clear and precise sound without any coloration. Perfectly complementing these drivers are Focal TNF tweeters made of aluminum-magnesium with Poron suspension, which should provide an even smoother sound.

Noble in appearance

Like the Focal Aria K2 936, the new Focal Aria K2 906 and Focal Aria K2 Centre speaker systems feature ultra-stable cabinet construction with non-parallel elements, all in the service of reduced vibration and outstanding neutrality.

All speaker cabinets are available in an Ash Grey finish exclusive to Focal. This premium finish, also found on the company’s Focal Utopia flagships, adds elegance when combined with a leather-look front panel.

The drivers of the woofer and midrange drivers, which stand out with a yellow diaphragm, are a real eye-catcher, as long as you don’t use the respective included speaker grill.

Optimally tuned sound within the product series

Focal Aria K2 Series speaker systems work together in perfect aesthetic and sonic harmony, according to the manufacturer’s promise. Therefore, Focal Aria K2 936 or Focal Aria K2 906 can be installed individually or optimally combined with Focal Aria K2 Centre in a home theater system. Focal JMlab also recommends combining them with the Focal Sub 1000 F subwoofer to create a cohesive, powerful home theater installation with a deep and powerful bass boost.

Focal Aria K2 936

The Focal Aria K2 936 is a floorstanding speaker system that presents itself as a three-way bass reflex system. Three 6.5-inch Focal K2 woofers are used for the bass range in combination with another 6.5-inch Focal K2 woofer for the midrange. The tweeter is a 25 mm aluminum-magnesium TNF inverted dome tweeter.

The bass reflex system acts on the one hand via two openings on the baffle as well as via a bass reflex opening acting downwards, where a stand ensures the corresponding defined distance. The manufacturer refers to this as a multiple-port powerflow system for a particularly powerful image free of compression effects and the best possible radiation into the room.

From a purely technical point of view, this is a loudspeaker system with an impedance of 8 ohms and an efficiency of 92 dB, designed for amplifiers with a power of between 50 and 300 watts and capable of reproducing a frequency range between 39 Hz and 28 kHz. The crossover acts here at 260 Hz and 3.1 kHz, respectively.

With dimensions of 1,150 x 294 x 371 mm, the Focal Aria K2 936 still weighs an impressive 29 kg.

Focal Aria K2 906

The Focal Aria K2 906 bookshelf speaker system is much more compact, measuring 225 x 280 x 390 mm and yet weighing in at 8.5 kg.

This is a two-way bass reflex system in which the developers combine a 6.5-inch Focal K2 chassis as a low-midrange driver with a 25 mm aluminum magnesium TNF inverted dome tweeter. Again, the bass reflex system relies on an aperture that extends forward over the baffle for wide dispersion into the room as well as a non-critical placement of the speaker system itself.

With an impedance of 8 ohms, a sensitivity of 89.5 dB and a frequency response of 55 Hz to 28 kHz, the Focal Aria K2 906 is suitable for amplifier systems with a power between 30 and 120 watts. It should be mentioned that here the crossover starts at 2.8 kHz.

Focal Aria K2 Center

Quite similarly equipped presents the center speaker of the Focal Aria K2 Series, the Focal Aria K2 906. Here, too, the developers rely on the 25 mm aluminum magnesium TNF inverted dome tweeter in combination with Focal K2 chassis as a low-midrange driver, but of the latter two are used, which flank the tweeter left and right.

Interesting detail, the tweeter here is slightly offset upwards to guarantee a harmonious radiation over the entire frequency spectrum and allow for optimal timing.

Speaking of frequency, the Focal Aria K2 Center is capable of reproducing a frequency range between 57 Hz and 28 kHz, with the crossover starting at 2.8 kHz. Incidentally, downward reproduction is also supported here by a bass reflex system, which is, however, routed out to the rear.

With an impedance of 8 ohms and a sensitivity of 91 dB, the manufacturer recommends amplifiers with an output of between 40 and 200 watts for the Focal Aria K2 center speaker.

This center speaker definitely requires some space under the TV, as it measures 533 x 245 x 200 mm and weighs in at 10.5 kg.

Of course, each speaker system comes with a matching speaker grill, and these are always held in place by magnets. So no drilling disturbs the impeccable image of the baffle if you do without it.

The new models of the Focal Aria K2 Series are available in stores these days. For the Focal Aria K2 906 one must estimate a pair price of € 1,498, -, the Focal Aria K2 936 is available at the pair price of € 3,998. The center speaker Focal Aria K2 Center will be available at a unit price of € 799, – in specialized stores.

Getting to the point

With the new models Focal Aria K2 906 as well as Focal Aria K2 Center, the Focal Aria K2 Series now really becomes a speaker series. This means that, in addition to the already available Focal K2 936 floorstanding speaker system, a new bookshelf speaker system and a likewise new center speaker are now available. Thus, the product series is now not only suitable for stereo, but also for home cinema.