2. speakers
  3. 168038-163433

Sopra 2 Bass

New member, first post, and newbie in terms of diving into the world of nice things. This world is insane! I've already been spiraling for a few months researching what to buy, AB'ing countless speakers and amps. I now own a McIntosh MA9000 that's driving my new Focal Sopra N2s via Kimber 12VS. My "dilemma" is with the lack of BASS. I demoed the N2s, so I know it's possible, but absent in my home. I have to use the tone controls (this is where you tear me apart) to bump the low end. I do not know if it's my room, lack of bass traps, or equipment, but I'm failing to get down a little lower without tone adjustments. I stream Tidal Masters to my wired Bluesound NODE 2i (optical to the MA9000 dac). My room is 11'x20.5' with a low, 7.5' ceiling. I have tried as many speaker positions as possible with little change. I already know I need to eliminate room echo in the center of the room and have been researching various acoustic treatments. I feel like I'm off to a good start, but now stuck, not totally satisfied. Yes, it's the best I've ever owned and mind-blowing amazing, emotional, etc, but just short of perfect for me. In tracks where I expect a punch, I get an unmoving transition... Can I get "there" with different wire? Should I consider a sub? Why do folks on this site use two subs? Do I need to hire someone to properly sound-treat the room? Is my room a lost cause for what I own? Reaching out because I'm stuck, afraid to waste money chasing dead ends. My budget is thin after the McIntosh and Focals. Any help would be so appreciated! I hope to learn, grow and pay it forward some day. Thank you.
izjjzi

Showing 3 responses by ozzy

ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,574 posts
 
Wooden floors will give the impression of more bass than a concrete floor.

ozzy
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,574 posts
 
The OP comments about the Sopra 2’s bass amazes me. I own now for a few years the Sopra 2’s and I am very satisfied with them. Yes, I have 4 subwoofers (JL F-113) that come in around 40hz. but even without the subs the Sopra’s have very tuneful bass.

I would say the biggest impact on speakers bass performance is the speaker to amp relationship and of course speaker placement.

BTW, what type of floor is under your Sopra’s? Concrete?
And what type of flooring is under your home theater equipment? Wood?

And for what it is worth, I have found that the Townshend #3 platforms increased the bass tonality on the Sopra 2's


ozzy
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,574 posts
 
izjjzi,
I own the Sopra 2’s. They don’t have subwoofer type bass but they do bass pretty well.
It may be true about the low impedance that was mentioned, but I don’t think it is much different than most other speakers.

Placing the speakers closer to the back wall will increase the bass but it will be lousy sounding bass.

Try to bring the front panel of the speaker 1/3 out into the room. (about 7’ based on your measurements). And sit another 7 feet back from the speakers, which leaves approx. 7’ behind you.

Then try moving the speakers from the side walls inward to see if you can lock in the bass.

Again, you should get very satisfying bass this way but if you want more or deeper bass, subs may be the way to go. 2 subs are generally better than one because it moves the bass more evenly throughout the room.

ozzy
More to discover