If you’re short on time and just want the highlights of this article, here it is:
After extensive research, I have concluded that the Focal Chora Two-Way Surround Speaker is a great choice for anyone looking for an immersive sound experience for movies and TV shows on a budget. It features a Slatefiber cone driver and 1″ TNF aluminum/magnesium tweeter that work together to provide a rich and dynamic sound. The cone provides plenty of bass and volume for larger rooms, while the tweeter provides clear high notes and a good amount of detail in the midrange frequencies. It also has a range of connection options, including RCA, 3.5mm, and USB C ports, so you can use it with a variety of devices. However, it might not be the best choice for audiophiles or those looking for clarity in the midrange frequencies.
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Now let’s get to its bolts and nuts.
Focal Chora Two Review: Sound quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
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The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.