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Focal Aria 948 Floor-standing speaker (High-Gloss Black)

Item # 091A948BPL

Meet the 948 — the flagship floor-standing speaker in Focal's super-impressive Aria series.

Meet the 948 — the flagship floor-standing speaker in Focal's super-impressive Aria series.

5 questions - 6 answers

Item # 091A948BPL

Shop all Focal Floor-standing Speakers

About the Focal Aria 948

Steve Kindig

A great reason to revisit your music collection

Meet the 948 — the flagship floor-standing speaker in Focal's super-impressive Aria series. If you're looking for abundant sonic detail, and a soundstage that allows a deep dive into your favorite music, read on. Focal's Aria series features advanced technologies originally developed for the company's acclaimed Utopia models, providing expressive, audiophile sound quality. 

A great reason to revisit your music collection

Meet the 948 — the flagship floor-standing speaker in Focal's super-impressive Aria series. If you're looking for abundant sonic detail, and a soundstage that allows a deep dive into your favorite music, read on. Focal's Aria series features advanced technologies originally developed for the company's acclaimed Utopia models, providing expressive, audiophile sound quality. 

Flax/fiberglass sandwich woofer

The midrange and woofer cones are made of a composite of flax and fiberglass.

Cone material combines old and new

Speaker makers continuously search for new and better materials for drivers. An ideal driver material has three qualities:

  • lightweight, so it can accelerate quickly
  • rigid, so that it moves like a piston, without bending
  • well-damped, so that unwanted vibrations don't color the sound

In their pursuit of sonic excellence, Focal made a surprising discovery — right in their own backyard. Woven flax can form the core of a very rigid yet lightweight speaker cone. Some of the world's finest flax grows in fields near Focal's headquarters.

Focal creates this advanced cone by sandwiching a layer of hollow flax fibers between two thin layers of fiberglass. In the Aria 948, the 6-1/2" midrange and both 8-1/4" woofers are made of this composite. Those dual woofers combine to produce taut, tuneful bass to anchor your music and movies.

Inverted dome tweeter looks different, sounds terrific

The Aria series also features Focal's 1" aluminum/magnesium inverted dome tweeter. Inverting the dome brings more of its surface area closer to the voice coil. That means the voice coil can be smaller and lower in mass. Focal has found that this reduced mass allows the dome to move faster than a conventional dome, for better high-frequency response.

And the tweeter's lightweight Poron "memory foam" suspension improves damping, which reduces distortion in the critical 2-3kHz range by a factor of three, compared to a typical suspension.

The inverted dome's spatial characteristics and wide dispersion are further enhanced by the waveguide plate it's mounted on. In the horizontal plane, the tweeter's frequency response varies by only ±0.5dB. The result is an incredibly stable soundstage, even for listeners not seated in the central sweet spot.

Stylish, vibration-resistant cabinet

All Aria speakers feature ultra-rigid MDF cabinets with sturdy internal bracing and non-parallel sides. Focal takes these steps to eliminate the unwanted vibrations that lead to "boxy" colorations in the sound. The handsome cabinets have a traditional look, but with a few unexpected touches — a leatherette finish on the front, and a glass top surface.

Build a complete Focal Aria system

If you're interested in a voice-matched surround sound system, check out these other Focal models:
Center channel: Aria CC 900
Surround speaker: Aria SR 900
Powered subwoofer: Sub 300 P

Built in-house for better quality and value

The speaker drivers in every Aria speaker are built in-house at Focal's facilities in Saint-Etienne, France. Why is that important? Because it gives Focal complete control over every aspect of design, manufacture, and quality control, resulting in a consistently superior, high-value speaker.

Got wire?

Most speakers don't include any. Read our article about choosing and installing speaker wire.
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Product highlights:

  • 3-way design
    • 1" TNF aluminum/magnesium inverted dome tweeter with waveguide
    • 6-1/2" midrange with flax/fiberglass sandwich cone
    • dual 8-1/4" woofers with flax/fiberglass sandwich cones
  • frequency response: 37-28,000 Hz (±3dB)
  • recommended amplifier power: 50-350 watts
  • sensitivity: 92.5 dB
  • impedance: 8 ohms
  • Multiple-Port Powerflow System bass-reflex design with both front-firing and down-firing ports for deeper bass response with more impact and less distortion
  • aluminum alloy base with integrated adjustable spikes for carpeted floors, and rubber feet or plastic protectors for placement on hard surfaces
  • binding posts accept pins, spade lugs, banana connectors, or bare wire
  • removable magnetic cloth grille
  • designed and built in France
  • 14-5/8"W x 45-1/4"H x 16-9/16"D
  • weight: 77 lbs.
  • warranty: 5 years
  • MFR # JMLARIA948-BPL

What's in the box:

  • Floorstanding loudspeaker
  • Grille
  • Base
  • 4 Spike feet (pre-installed in base)
  • 4 Plastic feet
  • 4 Screws
  • Allen-key
  • Hex-tool
  • User Manual

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More details on the Focal Aria 948

Stacey B.

Features & specs

General
Enclosure Ported
Finish MDF/Glass/Leather
Color Gloss Black
Tweeter Inverted Hard Dome
Tweeter Size (inches) 1
Midrange Size (inches) 6.5
Woofer Size (inches) 8.25
Woofer Composition Flax
Woofer Surround Rubber
Built-in Powered Sub No
Dolby Atmos Drivers No
Connector Type Binding post
Bi-amp Inputs No
Parts Warranty 5 Years
Labor Warranty 5 Years
Specifications
Power Range 50-350
Frequency Response 37-28k Hz
Sensitivity 92.5 dB
Impedance (Ohms) 8
Subwoofer Amp Power ---
Height (inches) 45-1/4
Width (inches) 14-5/8
Depth (inches) 16-9/16
Weight 77 lbs

Product Research

Features

Three-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker: The Aria 948 is a three-way Floorstanding loudspeaker that utilizes Focal's TNF inverted dome tweeter, a Flax cone midrange driver, and two Flax cone woofers for a smooth, natural sound with no coloration. You'll hear highs that are detailed and delicate, midrange that is rich and articulate, and bass that is deep and accurate. The Focal Aria 948 Floorstanding loudspeaker is designed to faithfully reproduce music and movie soundtracks in a dedicated stereo configuration or home theater application.

TNF Inverted Dome Tweeter: The Aria 948 houses one TNF aluminum/magnesium inverted dome 1" tweeter with a Poron suspension and Urethane waveguide for smoother sound. The tweeter developed for the Aria 900 series uses Focal exclusive inverted dome technology, for optimal energy transfer and limited directivity. The dome's aluminum/ magnesium alloy guarantees outstanding stiffness and damping.

  • Poron Suspension: The suspension between the dome and its bracket uses Poron, a material with shape memory. This suspension method is directly derived from the famous Utopia Beryllium tweeter, making it possible to reduce distortion by a factor of three in the 2-3kHz range, where the human ear has very great sensitivity. The mechanical properties of the new suspension system using Poron, an open cell polyurethane microcellular foam, provides numerous benefits - including excellent dimensional stability and no degradation over time. The advantages of the use of Poron in this tweeter are obvious in terms of linearity and distortion reduction. This leads to a silkier, more precise sound with greater harmonic richness.
  • Urethane Waveguide: The tweeter mounting has an integral waveguide which maximizes horizontal directivity and minimizes diffraction. The Urethane waveguide improves horizontal directivity and provides a more precise sound image with an incredibly stable sound stage, making the listening position much less critical.
Note: The TNF tweeter uses a relatively flexible aluminum/magnesium alloy, with a "shape memory" enabling it to withstand the majority of small impacts in the home. Nevertheless, Focal recommends leaving the included grilles in place to protect the dome. If the dome surface is marked this could have an impact on the tweeter.

Flax Cone Midrange & Woofers: The Aria 900 series benefits from Focal's Flax sandwich driver cones with injected Zamak baskets, making voices more intelligible with more depth. Flax is an eco-textile with astounding structural properties - it is light, stiff, and well damped for greater neutrality of timbres and better definition. The Aria 948 is composed of one 6.5" midrange driver and two 8.25" woofers with Flax sandwich cones that provide natural midrange, rich bass, and high definition sound. This sandwich cone is made of high quality flax fiber enclosed by two thin layers of glass fiber. The lightness of the fiber satisfies the criteria of high internal damping, high velocity, and high flexural rigidity. Flax is twice as light as fiberglass, because the fiber is hollow. It also has very low elasticity which makes it ideal to increase the flexural rigidity of a sandwich structure.

Ultra-Rigid MDF Enclosures: The speaker cabinet features ultra-rigid MDF construction, internal bracing, non-parallel side panels, and an aluminum alloy base for a neutral sound with very little vibration or distortion. The cabinet highlights a glass top-surface for added strength and a leather-finished front panel for its absorbent and acoustic diffraction qualities. The cabinet has no visible fixings; only a solid brushed metal ring surrounding the cone drivers and a matte-black urethane waveguide around the tweeter. The included fabric grille attaches magnetically. This carefully designed cabinet exudes style and quality, blending in perfectly with traditional or more contemporary interiors.

Multiple-Port Powerflow System: The Aria 948 Floorstanding speaker utilizes Focal's Multiple-Port Powerflow System with a front-firing and down-firing aerodynamic port for greater efficiency and bigger, deeper bass performance with more impact and less distortion.

Binding Post Speaker Terminals: The Focal Aria 948 Floorstanding speaker is equipped with a set of heavy-duty binding post terminals that will accept bare wire (up to 10AWG), pin-connectors, spade-lugs, and banana plugs (single only). Two plastic inserts will need to be removed to use banana plugs.

Aluminum Alloy Base (w/ Rubber, Spike, & Plastic Feet): The Focal Aria 948 floorstanding loudspeaker features an aluminum alloy base for excellent stability and aids in the speaker's overall performance. The aluminum alloy base will need to be installed; it screws into the bottom of the speaker cabinet using the included four hex-head screws. The base has four integrated rubber feet for hardwood, tile, vinyl, and laminate flooring (if you choose to use the integrated rubber feet, completely unscrew the pre-installed spike feet from the base). If you have carpeted floors, four spike feet are pre-installed in the base. The spike feet are adjustable for leveling up the speaker on uneven floors. If you prefer to use the spike feet, but have hardwood or tile flooring, you can use the included plastic feet that fit over the spike feet to protect your floors.

  • Dimensions with Rubber Feet: 14.625" (w) x 45.25" (h) x 16.5625" (d)
  • Dimensions with Spike Feet: 14.625" (w) x 46.25" (h) x 16.5625" (d)
  • Dimension with Plastic Feet: 14.625" (w) x 46.375" (h) x 16.5625" (d)
Note: Due to the down-firing port and for proper stability, the floorstanding loudspeaker is not to be used without the aluminum alloy base installed.

Placement Options: Follow these simple placement guidelines to optimize the Aria 948 floorstanding loudspeaker's performance and to guarantee good tonal balance and a realistic sound stage.

  • The loudspeakers should be positioned symmetrically, facing the listening area, ideally forming an equilateral triangle with it. It is, however, possible to vary these distances to arrive at the ideal compromise for any particular conditions.
  • Do not position your loudspeakers too close to a corner of the room and do not place them too close to a wall. If they are positioned close to a wall or a corner this has the effect of exciting certain resonances within the room and artificially increasing the bass. Conversely, if the bass level is judged to be insufficient, you could try moving the loudspeakers nearer a wall to re-balance the bass level.
Note: The Aria 948 Floorstanding loudspeaker is recommended for rooms measuring from 215ft2 and from a listening distance of 10ft.

Aria 900 Series: Focal's Aria series consists of three pair of floorstanding loudspeakers (926/936/948), a pair of bookshelf loudspeakers (906), a center channel speaker (CC900), and a pair of bipolar surround speakers (SR900) - all sold separately. The Aria series delivers Focal's classic sound with a modern design.

Made In France: The Aria 900 series of loudspeakers are developed and manufactured in France by Focal.

Break-In Period: The Aria 900 loudspeakers are complex mechanical assemblies which need a period of adaptation ("break-in") to operate at their best and to become acclimated to the temperature and humidity conditions of your environment. This break-in period varies depending on the conditions in question and may last for some weeks. To facilitate break-in, Focal recommends operating their speakers for approximately twenty hours consecutively. Once the loudspeakers' characteristics totally stabilize, you will be able to enjoy the Aria 900's performance to the fullest.

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Customer Q&A

5 questions already asked

Q
Would these speakers overpower a 12x15' room with an open ended back wall?
dana  Jul 26, 2022
1 answer
A
Greetings Dana, and thank you for your question. Those Focal Aria speakers are amazing. They are big and have a great full range. Overpowering? No. Put a nice clean high powered amplifier on them, and you would not have to listen to them at high volume. You will get the finest detail at low volume with a quality amplifier Of course they can overpower just about any room with a lot of power going to them if ever needed.
hogan  Jul 27, 2022 (Staff)
Q
Deciding on which speaker to go with . The focal Aria 948 vs the 702 signature series?I listen to everything from prog rock, prog metal, techno, jazz fusion. I want a speaker that can handle the double bass of Dream Theater and Fear Factory but can also impress me with Di Meola , Rush,Yes, Chick Corea, Darude.
richard  Jul 17, 2022
1 answer
A
This is a tough choice, Richard! The good news is that this is fine company to be in, both speakers will be able to replicate Mike Mangini slamming on the Iron Cobra. The Focal's dip lower, but I would consider the Bowers a slight bit more "boomy" speaker due to the fact it's got three woofers working in unison for the sub frequencies. What is your placement like physically in your setup? If you need to be close to a wall or corner the Aria's are the call because of the front firing port. You also can't argue with handmade French quality! If you have unlimited space and placement, the Bowers are a solid call. You really can't go wrong here, I know I'm not helping much! Personally I lean to the Focal here, these are some of the best sounding speakers I've heard in a 2 channel setup.
bo  Jul 17, 2022 (Staff)
Q
Hello, I am thinking about these speakers with a Chord Toby 100 w amp. Is that enough power to properly drive these speakers? Many thanks.
fifthsphere  Aug 20, 2021
1 answer
A
Thanks for your question. For information on selecting the best amp for your speakers I would recommend reaching out to an Advisor by phone (1-800-324-9695) or online chat. They will be able to help determine the differences between the amp models and help you make the best choice for your system.
kenneth  Aug 21, 2021 (Staff)
Q
Hello - What are the dimensions of the speaker cabinet? I understand that the published dimensions are with the included base.
kaushik  Jun 18, 2020
2 answers
A
I have a pair of the 948s and here are the cabinet dimensions: 11 inches wide 14.75 inches deep 42.75 inches high As stated in the first answer, the included base must be used due to the downward firing port. These are fantastic speakers!
david  Apr 11, 2022
A
Hi Kaushik, Due to the down-firing port and for proper stability, the Focal Aria 948 is not to be used without the aluminum alloy base installed. The measurements of the base are as follows, 14.625" wide, and 16.5625" deep. Depending on the foot attachments you use for the base, will determine the height of the speaker.
jessica  Jul 03, 2020 (Staff)
Q
Is the Focal 948 better than, the same, or worse than Klipsch Forte 4 for listening exclusively to classical music?
julian  Nov 02, 2022
1 answer
A
I think this is a fantastic question Julian, and certainly some external variables that could affect the speaker choice here. If you are planning on running amplifier power 100 watts or under the Klipsch are the best choice, especially if you are playing Wagner or other brass heavy composers. If you consider using power units around the 250-300 watt mark the Focal would be a great call! There is of course personal preference at play here too, and personally I have to admit I am a huge Klipsch fan. That being said, when I heard these Aria 948's I was hearing things I had never heard before in music I had listened to for years. The Focal's truly are something special in my opinion, and I truly believe it has to do with not only the technology in the speaker but the natural flax material in the cones. These are extremely warm and life-like while also providing a rich sound field. I would probably have to classify these speakers as both even on the playing field (no better OR worse) but delivering the goods in two totally different ways. I hope this helps Julian!
bo  Nov 02, 2022 (Staff)
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