Focal Kanta No 2

Should absolutely be a big upgrade and they are sexy speakers for sure. I would be worried about powering them with that integrated. Focals like power they may sound overly bright with tubes and the slam they are capable of. 

“Focals like power they may sound overly bright with tubes and the slam they are capable of.”

+1

I didn’t realize how efficient the Kanta’s are compared to previous focals.

I think the Kantas are gorgeous!  I’d say wait until you can find a preowned pair. It might take a month or two, or three, but I’d bet you can save a couple grand...

  

Why would tubes make a Beryllium driver sound brighter. I thought tubes would be beneficial in taming a brighter speaker?

BTW - I have seen some recent ads for a new Kanta 2 for $6K from dealers.

@mofojo  I spoke to a dealer who thought the EL34's could power them with no problem. Do you think the amp is lacking enough power completely or should I be looking to roll tubes up to kt88/120s

Also, overly bright with tubes? Is that because of speaker design or more so being underpowered that causes the beryllium to sound bright?

@yyzsantabarbara now those are the prices I'm talking about! I was quoted 15% off retail, but I'd take them now for $6k. 

Tubes can sound bright if powering speakers with an unflat impedance curve meaning the resistance or ohms changes a lot over the frequencies. May be just fine, I would just keep my ear out for it. 

@mofojo that's what I noticed. Ohms run from 8 nominal, but drop to 3.1. Why would a speaker manufacturer have a design with such big ohm movements? Also, would these be run on a 4 ohm tap instead of the 8 ohm since they speakers get down to 3.1? 

You would just try them both ways and see which one you prefer. 

When I auditioned the Kanta 2 ( I was comparing them to the Magico A3 ) I thought it had a beautiful sound and appearance. But when I asked the salesman to crank them up while playing some CCR music the bass sounded over taxed, flat, and boomy.
So, I guess it depends on the music you enjoy and the volume you prefer.
BTW, I ended up buying Sopra 2’s.

ozzy

Or the room you are in .

Hey @ozzy. I'd have to take out a mortgage to afford those sopra 2's!  Do you know the pre/amp that was running the Kanta 2's? I can image what you mean about cranking music, but even so, I'd imagine it would be a massive improvement coming from a $1,700 pair of Kef's to the Kanta 2's. I'm sure I'd be able to find some flaws, but the massive improvements I'm sure would be there.  And cranked music, that's how I listen. 

I have a pair of Kanta No. 2s, and really like them. I drive them with a Levinson 585 and find them to be a pretty neutral speaker. Neither bright nor overly warm. They are revealing - the difference between and good recording and a bad one is quite obvious. But unlike some speakers I have heard, you can still listen to poor recordings and enjoy them, which was a pretty important criteria to me. As for the bass, I also have a pair of REL S5/SHO subs, so I can’t really say how the low end sounds with just the Kantas.

That Levinson 585 is awesome and there is one available at The Music Room for $6K. I heard it with Magico A3's, which I think are also Beryllium.

Let me see if I can find the email or whatever I got recently for the $6K new Kanata 2.

@mikemeeks this is what I was hoping for. I'm honestly looking for something very neutral. I listen to some music genres that tend to have poorer recordings so that fact that I'd still be able to enjoy is awesome. 

@yyzsantabarbara thanks! Definitely interested in what you find. GF is not going to be happy, but I will. 

Unfortunately, I could not find the reference to the $6k Kanta 2 sale. This was actually the second time I had seen such a sale in the past 12 months. It looks like they have a 15% off sale now. It also looks like Focal has periodic sales, like Paradigm.

Just, saw on TMRAudio.com, new Kanta 2’s for 5600.00

@theo holy dang! On the website now. This is the combo I was looking at. Thanks for much! Really considering pulling the trigger now.....

J-wall, let us know how you like them. I heard them the year they were introduced at RMAF then the 3’s. I really wanted the Sopra 2’s and was ready to buy when they bumped them $4K and I need center and rears so about $6k for the package, and back to ground zero. I do plan to go hear Kanta 2 again at a store. Unfortunately The Music Room doesn’t offer any opportunity to hear before you buy. So I need to find time to go listen at another dealer.  Let us know once you get them broken in what your thoughts are. 

@theo I definitely will. The Kanta 2's are in a major league ahead of my Kef's so I'm also interested in how they will compare. If I pull the trigger I will definitely give some thoughts on them. I just purchased my PL Evo 400 integrated a few weeks ago and the GF is just starting to talk to me again so I'll be leaning on the forum for moral support. 

We are here for ya, j-wall. At my age I have come to realize GF’s just don’t get happiness. Especially their own🤔

I have the PL HP, and have heard it with the Kanta 2's many times.

They will be a significant upgrade to your $1500 Kef's. Enough to be  done with speakers for awhile.

The Evo 400 will handle them with no problem. Take the time to optimize their positioning in the room-get them out in the room away from the walls, along with room treatment to really appreciate hear how good they are.

I just looked and they are still on sale for the Taupe color at $5,600.00 on TMR.You better snatch them up before someone else here on Agon does, (hint, hint).

https://tmraudio.com/shop-new/speakers/full-range-floorstanding/focal-kanta-n-2-floorstanding-speakers-warm-taupe-pair-new-full-warranty-closeout/

@alucard19 please by my guest. I discussed with my better half and she has chosen to ignore me when discussing the warm taupe color and our wall color to see if it will work together. I may be missing the deal of the century for my side of the bed. Hah!

Upscale Audio has them listed at 4995.00

Those are each. TMR audio has them as a pair. 

J-wall, I agree with your girlfriend.  These are your dream speakers right now, hold out for a color that you love.  Don’t buy speakers that you love the looks of and then compromise on the looks.

If it takes a few months to find the color you want and at a fair price, wait.  Make a list of your favorite colors. Decide what you are willing to pay and be ready to jump on the deal the second you see it.  Waiting for a few months if need be gives your girlfriend time to settle into it as well. 
Let her be a part of the process too and ask her what her favorite color choices are.  

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649582503-focal-sopra-2-in-red/images/2537489/

https://m.ebay.com/itm/Focal-Kanta-No2-Loudspeakers-Walnut-Gauloise-Blue-Finish-With-Original-Boxes/...

“HiFi Shark” is your friend!

2 good reviews to watch!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U-2usWLIrhs

Subscribing to Thomas’s you tube channel will help him and he is a great reviewer!  I like him quite a bit 😀

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NRJWvPYUG9g

@b_limo that's exactly where I'm at. My only pause is to hold off to see the darker charcoal/slate color is person. I've honestly gone through a major expansion in the past year going from a AT LP60 and a sound bar to a Rega P2, Rega Elex-R and the Kef's. I now own a Clearaudio Concept Wood with the Carbon Fiber Tonearm and Hana EH cartridge, Musical Surroundings Nova III and my PL Evo 400 integrated. All three have been purchased within the last 6 months. I've been excited to continue moving forward, but I might need to stop and smell the roses and enjoy where I'm at rather than constantly looking forward for more. It's not unreasonable to be looking for more, it's just exciting. This all started a few weeks ago looking to upgrade to a separate linear power supply for my Nova III phonostage. 

I also received the email about the Kanta # 2's at TMR Audio for $5600. I auditioned them and they look even better in person!

You should jump all over that deal and quick!!

Hey hey guys!  The deal of a lifetime only comes along once
a week. If $5,600 is the new retail and yes I saw the same ad,
then my target purchase price would be $3,000. Too low you 
say, not in 6-12 months. 

These are very sexy looking, revealing sounding speakers.
Two friends own them. I like them best with the Hegel 590.

My only criticism of them is a slightly disjointed sound I experience.
Like each driver is a separate speaker. Hard for me to put into words.

Of course no speaker is perfect. Just the pleasure of looking at them is enough to justify a purchase.

“The deal of a lifetime only comes along once
a week”...lol, so true and so hard for an excited buyer to understand.

I do think things go through waves though.  10 years ago there were so many more good deals on audio equipment than right now.

The Kantas are new so deals should be around for awhile.  $3,000 is probably a pipe dream though...

Buy the TMR ones, even if it is not the perfect color for you. Use the savings and party somewhere fun with your girlfriend. It is only speakers.

It will be for sure a great update. As a previous owner of couple of Focal speakers, including Mezzo Utopia, I would say you should consider Naim amplification to get the best out of these nice speakers.

IMO  Not enough power. Those speakers will not do justice to the EVO .. Vice a versa

@J-Wall - Just my two cents but I've owned the Kanta 2's for about a year and absolutely love them.  I'll tell you I did originally pair them with a Sigma 2200i which sounded great but the Sigma had electronic issues within the first month.  As the Sigma is no longer manufactured, I decided to go to a MA5300 (I had physical space constraints so couldn't do the 7200 without fears of overheating) and was really disappointed by the lack of headroom.  Upgraded to the Hegel 590 and have been happy as hell.  I can appreciate this might be a big jump cost but would say I personally noticed a big difference with more power.

How long have the Kantas been out?

@curlyhifi
@craigjacoby 
 Do you think it will be an issue or will I be severely underpowering them? I asked a dealer the same question and he mentioned the EL34'S have enough output and he didn't think I needed to move up to KT88 or even KT150'S unless I wanted to. I do have some pause as recommend amp power ranges from 40-300 watts on Focal's website (I'm assuming per speaker). The Evo 400 integrated is only putting out 70 watts or channel, so i can assume some sort of headroom issue and if it can be solved moving up to bigger tubes.

I talked to Frank Van Alstine a bit back , he said . " In the 50 years I have been selling amps nobody has ever complained they had too much power".

@schubert I guess Monoblocks may be in the near future now....*sighs happily*

If $5,600 is the new retail and yes I saw the same ad,
then my target purchase price would be $3,000. Too low you
say, not in 6-12 months "


The Kantas retail is still $10,000. The ones you are seeing on line for less are for discontinued colors. Once those are gone they are gone.

J-wall, you're finding out that one significant upgrade tends to lead to yet another upgrade. It's an expensive hobby, but well worth it.

The Kanta 2's have only been out for two years; so, it seems a little early for a redo. However, discounting the slowest selling color combos does make a lot of sense.  Best of luck!

This was the color my wife liked best for our living room and got the okay so I picked up a pair. Got lucky that this actually goes best with the colors in the room. I auditioned them about 3 months ago at a local shop. Was impressed but then Covid hit and put it on the back burner. But at this price and being told to “just buy them” after looking at the website for the last couple of weeks I said what the hell.

@j-wall I actually held out for the slate/gray as well and I think their one of the best looking speakers in this price point. On the EVO400, I would honestly call up Upscale Audio and get their two cents. This is where I bought my Kantas and based on the email I got from them this past weekend around their push of the PrimaLuna product line, I think they could really speak to your concerns to make sure you aren’t going to have an underpowered configuration. Good luck!

@craigjacoby I actually communicated with upscale on Saturday. I was told there was no need to even upgrade tubes to run my Kanta's. Inwas told EL34's can run them no problem and I will only need to upgrade to kt88, 120, 150's if I desired. But some of these comments are giving me pause as to power requirements. The Evo 400 will most certainly work with the Kanta's, but is there enough power to get the full experience with headroom? This is my new concern and can't thank the posts calling this out.