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Focal Sopra 2's vs Titron GoldenEar Reference speakers

Hello there, After a long and drawn out process, I’m finally down to a couple of choices for my New Speakers. The two speakers are the Focal Sopra 2 and the Golden ear Triton Reference Speakers/ I’ll either buy the golden ears new or buy second hand sopra’s 2’s only used for 2 months. The price is the same either way. I have heard both speakers in perfectly attuned rooms that were tweaked out. The last set of speakers I purchased sounded very different in my NON dedicated listening room than they did in the store. After this speaker purchase " which is a big one for me at these prices" I don’t want to even think of buying new loud speakers for years. I’m not one to change his gear often. Though I do change my underwear everyday. That was a very poor attempt at humor. If any of you reading this have heard both of these speakers, I would love to hear your thoughts on them good, bad or indifferent. My non dedicated listening room DIMENSIONS are 8 FEET HIGH,20 FEET LONG and 14 FEET WIDE. I will be using Mcintosh solid state preamp and power amp for the new speakers. After the speaker purchase, future purchases and time spent reading about hi-fi will be dedicated to room improvements. I like to listen to music loud, very rarely do I listen at low volumes. I’m 50 percent split on the music of my youth, Metal and punk. The other 50 percent Diana Krall, Duke Ellington
and more audiophile like music. It seems to me at the 11 Canadian price point it’s hard to find a speaker that does it all well. I have to admit I’m a huge mark for the look of the sopra 2 loudspeaker. Of course the Golden ear reference come with built in woofers which is a plus. I’m not a big bass head though. If any of you fine people could offer me your opinions or some insight to either speaker, It would be greatly appreciated. I;m a bit antsy as this is a big purchases for me and I don’t want to mess it up. A huge thank you for taking the time to read this long winded post. Would love to hear some strong opinions. Enjoy the music.

Mikey

riverboat

Showing 4 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,592 posts
 
Regardless of who makes what parts, I encourage everyone to listen for themselves, and when comparing these two speakers, listen at your desired volume, and keep my points in mind.


At the end of the day, I won't be happy or unhappy either way, since the money isn't coming out of my wallet. :)


Best,

Erik
erik_squires
16,592 posts
 
Erik, hard to believe that is what you heard, most Heil AMT drivers are distinctly less bright then metal dome tweeters,

@audiotroy - I listen to AMT's from Mundorf every day, which are as expensive or more than a lot of top end Be tweets. They are in my main system. I adore them. The GE sounded nothing like them. In fact, when I looked at online reviews, the frequency response was distinctly ragged and not like AMTs.


Like with any other tech, the devil is in the implementation.
erik_squires
16,592 posts
 
One thing is certain ,the Xover parts and drivers In the Sopra are quality custom built in their factory, and Xover has name brand parts


Having a Focal brand on the caps doesn’t make them in house. Last time I looked, Focal used Axon/SCR/Solen caps, rebranded.  If you have a source, with pics of new parts, let me know.
erik_squires
16,592 posts
 
I have never heard a Golden Ear speaker whose treble I did not find harsh and fatiguing, especially at high volumes.


The Focal treble isn't perfect either, but to my ears was a lot easier to listen to for extended periods.


Focals also are often "discerning of amplifiers." That is, "hard to drive." Make sure you have tried it with an amp similar to yours or you'll get tubby, or weak bass at home.
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