Focal Electra BE series

Kosst amojan, I'm just going by Focal website and fact their Utopia and Sopra use the W sandwich drivers and I believe same famed Beryllium tweeter in the BEs. Don't know Why tweeter in Kanta could be better, but anyhow I had auditioned Kanta and I did sound very good, great midrange but a little think in the bass region to my ears. As I've read in lots of professional reviews and posts here new is not always better. 
My question though wasn't to debate which is better, it was to ask how 1028be sounds and if a neutral response and sound like Revels. 

So the Kantas are better than Sopras and Utopias that both use W sandwich cone drivers and same tweeter as 1028be?
And I guess also flax drivers used in lower line speakers as in Kantas are better but not good enough for Utopias using W sandwich drivers hmmmm

This is what I hate about a lot of people on Audiogon and regret asking a simple question about a product. No one ever answers your question or positive response about the product you ask about, gotta start a debate and push a different product. I could care less about the Kantas, I've heard them. 
I asked about 1028be or 1038be and how they perform. Quite simple I thought, but apparently not. A waste of my time. I'll learn to stay away from Focal dealers I guess. 

First post on Audiogon. I was told last year by the distributor at a show introducing the Kanta 2’s that the move to the flax driver was because it was cheaper and easier to make than the W cone.

This idea that the Be tweeter is bright is massively outdated. This was a fair comment years ago but the current Be tweeters are absolutely wonderful (I own a pair of 1008 Be II’s). However, I made the decision to go to floorstanders 6 months ago and the Kanta 2’s were on the list.

I’ve heard the Kanta 2’s twice, once for an extended listening session at a dealer. I was disappointed. Driven by a Devialet integrated (plenty of power), I felt the sound was laid back and not particularly revealing. Imaging was just okay. Bass was just okay. The whole presentation lacked transparency. Listened to Sopra 2’s right after in the same setup. Let’s just say that the higher price for the Sopras was worth it and then some.

I ultimately purchased a used pair of Totem Element Metals which work very nicely in my setup and room. I wanted to love the Kantas because I am a Focal fan and I personally think they look gorgeous in walnut. But I guess I wanted the traditional Focal sound, which tends to be very revealing and detailed. The Kantas didn’t deliver.

Really my post was removed!!! ?Lame 

Wow,,,,,mofojo  that's almost hilarious! I liked your post. 

And I really wish someone would kindly reply in a positive review on the 1028be and comparisons to my Revel Performa F206 speakers, if they are comparable as far as neutrality and sound truthful to the music. 

Kosst is a tattle tale. 

Back to the topic. I demoed the 1028 extensively about 7 years ago. I liked them quite a bit. Good tonality pretty good and punchy bass, good midrange, a little bit of an enthusiastic top end.
 I've owned Revel F30s and have listened to the Salons. Although the Revels sounded great (well at least the Salons) I thought both were dry. Not heard the new F series. All Revels measure superbly and are likely the more neautral speakers. That said I liked the Focals more. 

Funny too how kosst hasn't even heard the 1000Be series but he has an opinion on how much better Kantas are, if you haven't heard either how can you make any comparison? I have at least heard to Focal Kantas with my own ears and in my original post said they sound very good. I also own Revels and they sound very very good and Stereophile pick and benchmark speaker in their price range. I have heard Dynaudio various lines, Paradigm all lines and Totem and Bowers & Wilkins and Kef Reference 5 which are stunning in sound. At least I will ONLY give advice on something I've actually heard with my own ears, not on reading a piece of paper and opinions. New designs do not make a better speaker, if you get magic in a bottle previously. 

Thank you mofojo for a very nice comparison. I had Paradigm Prestige 85 at same time in my current setup with Revels and I previously had Paradigm Monitor 11 not in same league although great for rock as they play loud with punch. Prestige 85 had great bass detail but too bright and forward and not as cohesive as the Revels to me hinge I kept the Revels. I'm Intrigued by the Foclas since I can play louder and may still be close , very close to the sound I like about the Revels. I have good room acoustic treatments which may tame the enthusiastic top end. I know they are great speakers,  boils down to personal preference,  what you listen to and room environment. 
Thanks for the positive feedback. I appreciate 

Two years ago, I drove four hours to Delaware to audition Focal Sopra 2’s.  Also at the time, I listened to Electra 1028 BE ’s and 1038 BE 2’s.  I took my own amps and cables.   First was the 1028’s.  To my ears they sounded very good at low levels but when pressed with complex orchestral pieces at higher volumes they lost some of their ability to reproduce the music accurately.  The Sopra 2’s were next and to my ears, from the first moment, I felt the mid range and upper end were too revealing.  For instance, I could hear more (too prominent) of the studio reverb effect on female voices during certain tracks which was a distraction to me.   I knew the tracks well and never hear this separation of voice/effect before.  Then I listened to the 1038 BE 2’s.  I liked them better than either of the previous two.  They had much more composure than the 1028 BE2’s at higher volume on the same orchestral tracks.  The mid and upper range was better balanced than the Sopra 2 to my ears.
 I went there hoping to buy the Sopra 2, but walked away with the 1038 BE2’s.  They are a wonderful sounding speaker and yes, they are a steal at the price they are selling for now.  I would advocate the OP try to listen to a pair, but doubt you would be disappointed if purchasing without a demo especially at new retail of $6,999.  I understand Focal needs to keep developing new products but the Electra is one of it’s success stories and for good reason.  The ‘W’ woofers and midrange are well implemented in this design and share the same frequency response as the Sopra 3 ( 33Hz - 40kHz )!  Too bad they apparently will eliminate these  from their lineup.  Regardless, I’m just glad I made the decision to purchase them.

@janmnov Consider that the Kanta 2’s are considered the replacement for the 1038’s and it reinforces how good value they are if in your opinion thet bested the Sopra 2’s. You can find great deals on new 1038’s as dealers clear out inventory.

Agreed.  It is a musically engaging speaker with excellent soundstaging capabilities and fantastic imaging.  Being sold now for a song.  An endangered species in the Focal line.  Going, going, gone.

Kosst,
Actually the beryllium tweeter is not the “oldest and brightest” they make for the current line of Electra 1028 and 1038’s. The 1028 and 1038 be 2 were given the larger, 1 1/16th” (27mm) ‘IAL’ second generation tweeter about 4 years ago.  The previous 1028 and 1038’s has the older, smaller tweeter.  Although implemented differently ‘IHL’ vs. ‘IAL’ it indeed is the same size tweeter as on the Sopra and yes, Utopia series (27mm).

From Focal’s press release 2009.  
(Okay it was more than 4 years ago).  
“Live from” Utopia 3
”Electra 1000 BE 2 adopts the same pure Beryllium 1 1/4 (27 mm)) dome (instead of 1” (25mm)) as Utopia 3, for a real improvement of efficiency and response around the cut-off frequency, which permits an easier cross-reference with the midrange speaker.  Of course the tweeter keeps the IAL type load initiated by Electra and also used for Utopia 3.”

@kosst,
I dont see where you said anything about hearing the 1000 series? Only that you knew a guy that had 1038s and he liked them and that you read some stuff? You did however say you have not heard Kantas multiple times but somehow you wholly know what speakers are superior to others. 

Mofojo, I'm at a loss why does my posts keep getting taken down by a mediator when I said nothing offensive my last 2 posts but someone else keeps making aggressive and offensive posts ?? I wish someone would just go away and stay off my post if all they want is to start trouble. 

Focal likes making speakers with a lull in impedance around 100 Hz.

They are more amp sensitive than a lot of other speakers for this reason.

If you want to keep your amp and are looking for something easier to drive, I don't think that's where you want to go.

I recently picked up a pair of the Focal Electra 1008 BE monitors for my computer room system and have been extremely happy with them.  Very detailed and easy to listen to.  I've had a few "I didn't hear that before" moments.

I'm driving them with an ARC Vsi55 50 WPC integrated.  Other speakers I have in this system recently are Canton Vento Reference 9 DC 7 and Klipsch Heresy I and these are my favorites by a decent margin.  I haven't heard the Revels so couldn't say how they compare.

Don’t know if the OP is still following this thread or not. I have heard the 1038be at a dealer demo a couple of years ago and they sounded excellent other than some bass bloat which was the room interaction and less than perfect placement. I was in the market for a large floorstander and ultimately bought a pair of Revel Studio 2s at a price I couldn’t resist, however the Focal stuff is very impressive and I think they produce world beating speakers at almost all price levels. One of the few real speaker makers who do it all (most?) in house work. They create their own drivers to suit their individual designs and have heard that they have over 600 unique drive elements available for their various lines. In short, if you get a chance to hear the Electra series and like them, buy with confidence, as others have stated, you are getting a bargain regardless of what Focal might be replacing them with. Cheers

other than some bass bloat which was the room interaction

Or... it was the amp not quite controlling the woofers. Just maybe.

Just to followup and thanks for all the responses!

I went with the Revel Performa F228be and I couldn't be happier! Love the open very smooth midrange, voices are liquid as heck. Treble extended and sweet and great bass, very resolving and articulate without being a hint of brightness. Highly recommend!

congrats, did you consider, compare the Kanta 2 at the same price before buying?

Yes. I heard Kanta 2 and a similar priced Dynaudio at a dealer. Liked to Dyns a little better than Focal but close. Dyns harder to push and lower power handling and the Revel F228be offered everything with exception of that Dynaudio soft dome tweeter is pretty special , a tad more natural but my Revels are still really good in that area. As I've read here I guess unless huge money hard to find absolutely perfect speaker. If Revel and Dynaudio had a baby it would be awesome Lol . 

One thing I love too about Revels is the flat, natural frequency response and I can push them to 95-100db if I want  with absolutely no breakup. 

Revel makes some great speakers no doubt

Ingrese su texto ...I have 1028be2 for 10 years and I know them perfectly, you will have to choose very well the cable with which you will connect them (I have Crystal Cable Mid-range), in addition the support bases are subject to relevant improvement, finally the location is (as in all) fundamental. To sum up: the weakness of the 1028 with complex orchestras can be corrected without problem by improving the support base

I have demo’d both in the same showroom along with the Sopras.  Hands down, soundstage on the Kanta’s is superior to the Electra’s. Detail is roughly the same but if you are looking for something that is deeply immersive, the Electra is not the best choice.  Soundstage on the Revels you have is better IMO.  They are also a bit more forward than your Revels

Revels are made in China. That's a BIG downside to me.

Tis a global economy. We'd all be walking around naked and shoeless if we didn't buy chinese.

If the Chinese get the money needed they  can build anything as well as anyone .
Their powers that be are bad but the Chinese people are very good .