Focal Sopra n°2 speaker

[Venere]

A

[Iostream]

Well, preliminary crappy picture... The Sopras got here a couple of hours ago. Playing through things for break in. Even right out of the box they sound good.

[Etunes]

Originally Posted by Iostream

Well, preliminary crappy picture... The Sopras got here a couple of hours ago. Playing through things for break in. Even right out of the box they sound good.

Congrats!!

They and the system look great.

[FDPDK]

Congratulations with your new speakers , will be interesting to hear how they perform when you really get to listen and they have some hours on them.

[Iostream]

Okay, with over 48 hours on them, I am extremely pleased. Imaging is incredible, better than I remembered in the audition. Bass has tightened up a good bit, and treble is a great balance between detail and non fatiguing. The drivers are fast, I get the transients as they were intended. There is nothing about this setup that I don't love. Most importantly to me, flaws are still flaws. They don't cover up a bad mix, or areas that need to be fixed in mastering. As this setup must serve dual duty, listening for enjoyment, and a tool for mastering, I believe I have made the right choice. I will be mastering a couple of new tracks this weekend, and revisiting a couple of old tracks to see how things come out working with this setup, where I can directly compare with my previous results.
I did rewire the sub. It is doing dual duty for 2 channel with the Sopra and HT with the Martin Logans. I was originally running it as REL typically recommends, off of the speaker terminals. Now I am running it through the second set of outputs. I can turn the sub on and off as needed to check things. In the Martin Logan setup, it is connected through LFE with the receiver providing the crossover. So far, there are not too many times where it is needed with the Sopras, though it integrates well when required.
I don't regret choosing these over the B&W d3s at all. I will be keeping my older B&W around though, 805s on the mixing desk, and the others downstairs for TV/music and checking my work on a different system.
I do not hear the harshness that some hear on the Sopras, and the bass is tight and well integrated, not overpowering at all, but it should be noted that this room is well treated with panels, a cloud, and traps from GIK Acoustics. And while I do have some toe in, I don't have the almost 45 degree toe in that I had with B&W. I have the tweeters pointing a couple of feet behind my head, they seem to image a bit better this way for me.

[Jagman]

^ I agree regarding the toe in with Focals. I also toe my 1038Be's less than I have with other speakers. I have become an enormous Focal fan with my speakers and can only imagine how food the Sopras must sound. I have found there is so very little they do wrong and so so much they excel at; FAST, articulate, great tight bass, great slam, unworldly imaging, etc.
Keep us posted as you move through break in.

[joey_v]

Would love to hear your focals someday Jagman... Something that's been on my list

[Iostream]

One thing no one ever talks about with these speakers is their performance at low volume. As a B&W user for many years, I completely appreciate this about the Focals. B&W sounds great at reasonable volume, but loses composure at low volume in my experience. These Sopras are just as well balanced at low volume as they are at reasonable volume or even high volume.

[greekspec2]

here's a few pics of mine
Focal Sopra no2
Naim NAP 250DR
Naim NAC N272
Naim Super Lumina speaker cables

[Superfrg]

Nice setup Greekspec2.

Have you played around with toe-in angle?
I had mine like yours with quite a bit of toe-in for some time, but prefer them now in my room with alot less toe-in.
This is ofcourse room and personal preference.

Also, they seem to be quite close to the backwall, how is the low-end performing?
I have mine close to the backwall too, but 40 CM minimum from speaker to wall Works best in my room.