When I first encountered Focal's new Aria Evo X No.2 speakers, I was stepping into uncharted territory. Despite Focal's renowned status in the audio world since 1979, I had never truly experienced their products firsthand. What had always caught my eye about this French company was their distinctive design: a unique curved baffle and an inverted dome tweeter present across their entire range. These elements give Focal speakers an unmistakable look, setting them apart in an industry often hesitant to make bold aesthetic statements.
Upon listening to the Aria Evo X No.2 with its matching center channel, I was immediately struck by the exceptional detail retrieval and precise soundstage. The nuance these $4800-a-pair speakers unveiled was simply astounding. To me, they epitomized the concept of a "window into the music," offering a level of clarity and immediacy that belied their price point.
Focal's approach to both aesthetics and tonality is refreshing in a world where many speaker designers seem reluctant to challenge conventions. The Aria Evo X No.2 not only looks unique but also delivers a sonic experience that stands out from the crowd, making it a true breath of fresh air in the high-end audio landscape.
Being the smaller floor-standing speakers in the lineup at only 40 ¾” tall, 11 ⅝” wide, and 14 ⅝” deep, the Focal Aria Evo X No.2 was very easy to live with. They did not demand very much space in the room and were easy to move and adjust due to being only 55 lbs each. Sporting two 6.5” flax cone bass drivers, it is to be expected that they will not have the bass output or extension of the larger speakers in the line such as the no.4 with two 8” bass drivers, however, the front and bottom ports help the speaker extend down to 45hz with composure and ease. The Tweeter is the real highlight of this speaker, with the inverted Magnesium/Aluminum "M" profile dome tweeter dome tweeter and the built-in waveguide, the clarity and imaging this speaker produces in its high frequencies is world-class, extending to 30khz without issue. The Flax midrange and bass drivers kept the speaker very consistent in tone from the neutral midrange to the tight and articulate bass notes. An important thing to keep in mind with this speaker is that it will require a very capable amplifier, with a minimum impedance of 2.9 ohms, though at 91Db sensitivity, it becomes more about the quality of the power, than the quantity. When using my Mcintosh MC462 during regular listening from 60-80db, I rarely eclipsed 45 watts on even some quite dynamic tracks with deeper bass. I would recommend looking into a quality amplifier with around 75-100 watts of power that is competent down to 2 ohms to get the best possible performance out of this speaker.
The quality of the packaging for the Focal’s was pretty standard for speakers in this price range, with a reinforced cardboard box and foam around the top and bottom, however, the setup instructions being printed on the box is a very much appreciated touch. Unpacking and setup was a breeze, with all of the accessories being in their own separate box, keeping everything easy to organize and set up. Setting up the stands on their respective plinths was quite straightforward with the included allen screws. One particular piece I appreciate about the speakers is the very reasonable weight and size. Being the smaller tower speakers in the Aria Evo X line, the speakers did not demand large amounts of space or need to be pulled far into the room to get the best sound possible. Connecting it to the amplifier was very straightforward, with easy-to-use binding posts that accept banana plugs, spades, and bare wire easily.
What really stood out to me about the Focal's was the impressive build quality and design at this price point. It's incredibly impressive that Focal offers speakers at this price point that are made in France, and well made at that. For many other manufacturers, to have anything made in their country of origin, you are often looking at speakers starting around the seven to ten thousand dollar range at a minimum. The Focal's also had an incredibly well-made plinth and an immaculate finish. I was skeptical at first about having a speaker with green accents, but the gloss finish is very outstanding, and there is very little resonance from the speaker cabinet itself, being quite well-braced. The magnetic grilles are well made and are good for home theater applications, however, I feel that this speaker really has such a good design that it would be a shame to hide it behind a magnetic grille. The plinth itself makes positioning very easy and comes with spikes for height adjustability and coupling into carpets for better bass response. I would easily classify this as one of the best-built speakers at this price range from any manufacturer.
The Focal Aria Evo X No.2 was quite an eye-opening speaker in terms of just how unique it sounded compared to so many other well-known brands from the UK, US, and Italy. It did not disappoint as my first proper experience with a French speaker brand. The best way this speaker can be described is incredibly neutral. I never noticed any coloration of the sound throughout multiple different genres such as jazz, EDM, alternative rock, or pop. The vocals sounded very natural and the kick drums and guitars were outstanding in their depth and precision. If I had to sum up this speaker in one word, it would be precision. The soundstage this speaker could cast was incredibly impressive in depth and the instruments felt grounded in space down to the millimeter. While many speakers can cast a very wide soundstage and give that impression of a live concert feel, the Focals give you a laser-focused image of the instruments to the point that you can listen to some acoustic tracks with guitars and pianos, you can hear exactly where in the room the instrument was and even at what height it was played at.
When I listened to Preacherman by Melody Gardot off of her Currency of Man album, her vocals came out with outstanding clarity, and every instrument was clearly separated in the room. The drums in particular were very quick with exceptional snap and decay. The 6.5” bass drivers were lightning fast and had some of the most articulate bass I have heard in quite a while. When listening to a speaker, almost every time I tell people, that having tight fast bass is always preferable to outright output, since output can be added with a good subwoofer, but you cannot make up for sloppy or slow bass that muddies vocals.
I find the Focal's to be voiced consistently from the midrange to the bass, with a slight emphasis in the highs, coming off as bright and detailed. Toe-ing the speakers off-axis from the listening position helps bring the highs in line with the rest of the speaker for a fuller, more air sound with a wider sound stage. Bright speakers, in general, will always be a trade-off of good clarity at low listening levels with exceptional detail retrieval but can be sibilant with poorer recordings and at higher volumes. The Focal's did become less composed when pushed to very high volumes exceeding 95db but played very well with some older recordings like Men at Work’s Overkill that still gave a very lively feeling to the male voices and didn’t lose any nuance with older music. When I added my SVS 3000 micro subwoofer to fill in the low end, I felt it enhanced the speaker's performance significantly when blended correctly to give it some more emphasis in the sub 60hz bass region. These speakers perform best when a good amplifier and subwoofer are attached, but offer a very easy listening experience for all genres of music and have a very nice life and air to them, not sounding dampened and dead like some more neutral-leaning speakers most certainly do.
The Focal Aria Evo X No.2 is in very tough competition at this price point, going up against some staples of the audio world such as the KEF R7 Metas and The Bowers and Wilkins 703 S3. The Focal’s do have a definite advantage on price, with them being only $4,800 a pair compared to the B&W’s $6,000 a pair and the Kef’s at $5,000 a pair. Overall, I find that against the Bowers 703 S3, I find that the Bowers have a richer midrange and more warmth in the male vocal region, but lack the clarity and imaging precision of the Focal while having a similar bass performance in terms of tightness and output. The Focal's being so similar in performance to the Bowers in terms of clarity and having equally demanding power needs, I find the Focal outperforms dollar for dollar any day for $1200 less. The KEF R7 is a much more difficult contender however, the KEFs have an incredibly wide dispersion with much smoother highs and a much wider soundstage that can handle more volume than the Focal's. While the Focal's have the edge in clarity and imaging, the KEFs are an equally good choice with a very different tonality. Despite both being labeled as neutral speakers, the KEF leans more towards the warm side with more depth in the mids and lows, while the Focal's will perform better in nuance and soundstage depth than the KEFs. Build quality-wise, this isn’t a fair comparison, while the KEF and Bowers are not poorly made speakers whatsoever, they can’t compete with the Focal when it comes to craftsmanship. The Bowers and KEF are both designed in England and made in China. On the other hand, Focal builds the Aria Evo X’s in France and to an exceptionally high standard in terms of both the in-house drivers and the beautifully finished cabinet with the high gloss green finish.
I would recommend these speakers without hesitation to the listener who wants to extract every last detail of their favorite songs and wants to have that experience of being in the studio while the band is playing. The exceptional imaging and immense clarity from the highs to the lows is quite a feat for this price point and the neutrality makes these compatible with almost any genre of music from any time period. I found myself continually impressed with the build quality and the obvious care that went into making these speakers, as well as the fact that in a world where most companies choose to outsource manufacturing overseas, Focal prides itself in producing the Aria Evo X line in France with in-house drivers renowned for their quality.
I loved how room-friendly it was, even in my 12x12 smaller listening room, it never felt overwhelming or demanding of space and was very even sonically whether on-axis or off-axis. The only small nitpicks I could have of this speaker is that it requires a very capable amplifier to perform its best due to its low minimum impedance, requiring an additional investment in quality electronics. Overall, I found the Focal Aria Evo X No.2 to be one of the most transparent and precise speakers on the market with exceptional build quality showing France’s and Focal’s commitment to keeping a heritage of craftsmanship in HiFi for years to come.
Learn more here - Aria Evo X N°2 - 3-way floor-standing speaker | Focal
