Focal Sopra 2’s vs. Legacy Focus SE’s

@bobbyloans I like and have owned Elac speakers in the past, but I’m certain even the 409 won’t be on the same level of performance as the other two you are considering. To start, the tweeters on both the Legacy and Focal will be much more resolving, involving, and refined. 

I have heard both and previously owned the Legacy Focus SE speakers. The two are very different sonically. Legacy is a more musical speaker with an overall lower tonal balance, but it is just a little harder (not impossible) to get endgame separation and imaging from them. Focal are more “hifi” sounding and need very good electronics for them to sound their best. Their tweeter can be very resolving and fatiguing without quality electronics, and it is easy for Focal to sound “tipped up” if they are not paired with proper electronics or set up properly.

I’m surprised about your comments on the Legacy Signature SE. How big is your room, and what amp do you plan to pair your speakers with?

@bobbyloans That is not a very big room, and I would worry about the Focus SE in that space. Where did you listen to both the Focus SE and Signature SE? What was the size of the space and the electronics used?

The Signature SE easily fills a room that size and can be placed closer to walls due to its sealed design. The Focal will work better at least 3’ away from walls. Also, your electronics are considerably neutral, with the Gustard being a bit more analytical. I would be concerned with pairing this stack with Focal.

My bet would be on the Signature SE. You can even inquire with Legacy to build them with the upgraded drivers found in the Signature XD. Your electronics should be able to control them well, and they fit the space nicely. There are plenty of other speakers on the market as well. I’ve learned that bigger is not usually better, and matching the speaker to the room is most important. I learned the hard way when I went from the Focus SE to the Aeris in my 19x23x18 showroom. I now have a pair of custom Signature SE on the way for the floor, but since the Aeris I scaled my speaker size down to Borresen Z3 Cryo, which only have two 8” woofers. Heck, even the small floorstanding Scansonic MB-2.5B can fill my room largely without subs. 

@bobbyloans I actually know someone here who had the PBN Montana EPS-2 a few years ago. I think he was able to get them for $2400 or so. I have a lot of respect for PBN, especially with their new amplifiers, but I was not at all a fan of that speaker. That friend sold them and upgraded to speaker from T+A, purchased from me. I would still push for Legacy for the combination of musicality, coherence, and resolution over that of the PBN, which I found to be more shrill in comparison.

Yes I am certain. He was very proud of finding $10K speakers for that price. They were very big, almost the same size as Legacy Focus SE. Legacy have more body in their sound signature. I ended up buying the Focus SE when he had the PBN. I no longer use Legacy, but I still have a lot of respect for them.