Goldenear Reference Vs. Focal Sopra #2.....pocket the $5k difference and don't look back?

I would like to throw this in there too- over the summer I got a pair of Revel Gems and M20s for quite a bargain- I'd never heard anything from Revel prior but did a bunch of reading before plunking down the cash. You will find that many reviews have stated that they will take the punishment of high volume rock and still sound great for more detailed stuff. The ones I have are little but I would agree that. I had a bout 3 months solid with them running daily at work. I've never heard bigger Revels but if I had a reasonably large budget (Focals) I would definitely consider them for the mix

I'm fortunate to have an office above my BBQ joint where I can fit whatever I want- Even my wife has Zero say in what I have. I've heard the Focals but not the GE's- The Focals are very nice but I tend to agree that they are not where its at for rock. Personally, I have different stuff for different material. I listen to everything from Yo Yo Ma to the blues to Black Sabbath and Pantera. If you have the space, I would score the GE's and put the $$$ saved into smaller/stand mounted for the mellower stuff. I have a bunch of JBL for when it's time to wail- L'7s , L100T3s and 4312's. If I blow them up, well, they didn't cost 10k so it wouldn't ruin me. On the other hand I have B&W CDM'9s that were my regular everyday speakers but I just scored a pair of little Sonus Faber Auditors on stands that are just out of this world. I got them for a grand. I think pursuing something like that would give you the best of both worlds and save you some loot at the same time. Just a thought.