Hurricane, earthquakes, flooding, mud slides, and now rattlesnakes getting into the flooding! Never a storm like this in 84 years in this area!
Just because I ordered new speakers?
I do hope everyone stays safe.
ozzy
Focal Sopra 2
I just posted a review of the Focal Sopra 2 and my speaker journey.
A little sample.
ozzy
A little sample.
"First listen and I was smiling. The same beautiful sound that I heard in the large showroom was present in my home! And I only had to turn the preamp volume half as high as I had to with the Bob Carver Amazing Line Source speakers. The sound quality was there from the lowest bass to the upper treble. Nothing stood out, or faltered, the sound just blended together as one cohesive sound that is so easy to listen to for hours and hours. Also, I think the speaker style is cool and the speakers finish is impeccable."
Full review below is in the Audiogon Member Review section.
ozzy
80 responses Add your response
@ozzy good luck and as is case quite often this may be a bit overblown (Hillary). Could be worse they could be stuck in a Yellow Freight Terminal (YRC). Hoping for the best. |
Yes, I am still using tube amps. I don’t know about the speakers I am getting; they must be jinxed. The reviewer I am getting them from is shipping them from California, they are on a truck at the terminal in Fontana. At this moment, there is an 85-year storm event going on at about the same location where the shipping terminal is located. So, I am reluctant to say what brand it is. But, if I turn on the news and I see an image of the flooding in California and I see some speakers floating... ozzy |
@ozzy For?? Still using tube amplification? I just traded in my long loved Sopra 2's I hope I don't regret it. |
Needs help 1 Accuphase E-650 Integrated Amplifier |
winsome993, I have not tried tilting the speaker upward but, with the Iso Acoustic Gaii 1 footers they do raise the speaker a little higher than the included footers. samzx12, Perhaps the lower or older model Focal’s could be considered brighter sounding, but I would definitely not describe the Sopra 2’s that way, and I am using pure solid silver speaker wire. ozzy |
Hello I had my Sopra 2 for about three months and after several attempts in placement I am finally able to snap everything in focus with great imaging and tonal balance. They are 3.5 ft from rear wall and toe in to cross over approx 3-4 feet behind the listening area. I am using Gryphon Diablo 300 with Voodoo Definition spk cable. I am very happy with the result however as you all know the height of the tweeter is measure at approx 35 inches from the floor, with my listening distance at 11 feet away they are not exactly ear level. **Any of you tilt the speaker upward a bit to compensate for this issue? Leaving them as it is I am more than happy but just thinking if a little fine tuning will further improve the already great sound. BTW anyone commented that the Sopra being bright or harsh it is very likely because of the placement, they are quite sensitive in this aspect but once it is in place the soundstage will open up and speakers will disappear. Winsome |
I think so, 30" from the side walls would seem to be ok. My room is 17 x 25 and I have mine about 40" from the sides and about 8 feet out into the room. You may have to play around with the toe in a bit. But not a big deal. Perhaps you could also try them on the long wall? I prefer the short wall. Don't forget the Iso-acoustics Gaia 1 footers. ozzy |
Hello folks, i just returned my recently purchased Focal Aria 936s and went straight to the Sopra 2s in the dogato walnut finish. Up until a few weeks ago, I had dismissed the Sopras as unobtainium. And here we are and it’s a little bit unreal. The sopras are hooked up to a PrimaLuna EVO 400 integrated with Triode Wire Lab American speaker cables. My local dealer Houston Audio (awesome by the way) reckons they have around 20 hours on them. I’ve read about the long break-in process but wanted to find out if we are talking several hundreds of hours here. |
smodtactile, The Sopras have the port in the front bottom of the cabinet so it would probably be fine for your size room. audiosgp, If you are like me sooner or later you will get the upgrade bug and end up getting the Matrix cables anyway. So, to save money overall you would be better off just buying the Matrix cables now. There really is a big difference between the Matrix and the original. ozzy |
Just to add my input on this one. I am currently running Sopra 2 with PassLab INT-250. Fantastic sound! About to upgrade interconnects with Cerious Graphene Extreme between NDX2 and INT-250. Still undecided for Speaker cable upgrade. Cerious Matrix or Extreme tempting but will probably consider trying some Mogami 3104 to start with. Read good reviews. Curious to see how those "entry price" cables perform..... |
Winoguy, I have the Sopra 2’s paired with Simaudio 700i integrated. I have tried speaker cables at varying price points and have settled on which ones sound best with my system, this will vary based on components. The best overall sounding cables for me are the Blue Jean 10G, with locking connectors, a pair cost 80 bucks. The Sim with the Sopra tweeter can get a little bright based on my room acoustics. The Blue Jean SC matched best with my components as the 10G settled the tweeter just enough, without impairing dispersion or clarity. A perfect match. I was honestly surprised since I was focusing in on more expensive SC’s. Are these better than $1000 cables, they are with my system, and I tested many before settling on the Blue Jeans. Good luck on your search. |
gmercer, The minimum impedance is important but I like I stated earlier 3 ohm is really not that low. Now to me, SS power seems to have more guts to handle those issues. Tubes can be iffy. Although, I love the sound of tube amps. I am using Bob Carver Raven 350 mono block amps. They are rated for 350 wpc but I really don't know how many watts I am actually using, far less I'm sure. You can never have too much power, especially for dynamic swings and deep bass. If the Sopra 2's are nearby, perhaps you can take your amp to the audition? ozzy. |
@ozzy Happy holidays to you as well. It's reassuring yet another account of how the Focals will smooth out over the course of the break in period. And I'm enjoying the entire process as these speakers a truly amazing, so coherent, accurate, and fast. Currently I'm using the Neotech NES 3001 occ (pure copper) speaker cables with furutech rhodium spades. |
redphu72, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and the New Year will be great for you! Don’t worry about the thinness you are hearing with the new speakers. That’s typical and the amount of time for break in will very by the speaker make. I will say this, the Focal Sopra 3 had the best overall sound I have ever heard, so I expect the Utopia’s will be much more. I am using the Cerious Matrix speaker cables. What are your speaker cables? ozzy |
Ozzy, Thanks for the info. The speakers a new and I'm just trying to get them broken in playing them on the loud side with heavy bass tracks. So far so good. Soundstage is amazing, on some tracks, makes my room seem larger than it really is. One comment is it does sound a little thin and not as musical but I guess that will change with over time. |
redphu72, If you are referring to installing the ISO Acoustics footers, I had someone (wife) tilt them to the side while I installed the footers and carpet spikes. I did have to loosen the base a bit to get the original spikes off. I started with a placement that is pretty close to every speaker I have had in this room. That is, approximately 8 feet from the back wall and 11 feet apart and 4 feet from the sidewalls. And, I am sitting about 11 feet from the center of the speakers. I use very little toe in. Are your speakers new? If so, give them a couple hundred hours to break in. Merry Christmas! ozzy |
@ozzy Any tips on installing the footers/pucks? Did you lay the speaker on its side or just tilt it? Also on placement, one of my speakers is close to the wall on the side but I'm able to adjust distance of back of speaker to rear wall. Where did you start with placement? One thing that's pretty coo on the Utopia is the ability to adjust for bass/tweeter level via jumpers. As for sound, so far I'm blown away compared to my sonus faber guarneris. |
Admire the DIY skills for sure. I wouldn’t even know where to start with enclosure design and resonance and baffles, etc. Will try your method for setup. I really like the recommended starting placement as suggested by Wilson Audio. I’ll check to see if Focal has a similar set up guide. Ill keep you posted. |
redphu72, My center speaker is a DIY as are my side and rear speakers. To me, they sound pretty good. As to set up for your Utopia's. Pull them out of the box on their sides, stand them up and then walk them into place. Sounds easy? But it probably won't. Make sure you have a strong helper. I removed the Focal footers and installed the ISO Acoustics GAIA 1's in their place. I would be interested in your opinion once you have them set up. ozzy |
