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Would you Upgrade?

Hi everyone, i'd like to get everyone's opinion on upgrading my set of loudspeakers.

I would be going from a pair of B&W 802D (the first of the diamond models, around 2010) to a pair of Focal Sopra 3's.

Is there much of an upgrade making this change?

I heard the Sopra's at an upscale dealer with a close to perfect setup: speakers about 15 feet from the front wall and about 10 feet from the side walls. Electronics were all Esoteric, including their $44,000 Grandiosa M1 monoblocks, preamp, cd player, power regenerator and $3,800 Cardas clear stereo speaker cables.

I'm not sure if these speakers would sound much different from my current 802D and my humble Classe CAM 100 monoblocks.

Also, how many years do speakers last before they degrade (speaker, crossovers, etc...)

thanks to everyone in advance.
onehorsepony

Showing 3 responses by onehorsepony

onehorsepony OP
30 posts
 
Overall, I thought after 11 years with the same speakers it be nice to change things up a bit.

Trouble is, about 15 years ago I changed things up by purchasing a pair of Thiel 3.7’s and they never worked out for me.

If I were to ask myself what I don’t like about my current 802D’s I would say issues with the soundstage and imaging. Vocals tend to wander from center to left to right within the same recording. Soundstage does not seem spacious and as open as I’d like.
onehorsepony OP
30 posts
 
I agree, that a home demo would be the best approach. Unfortunately, the dealer is about 100 miles from my home, and the speakers weigh about 150 lbs a piece. They would have to be delivered and returned. Also, they only have their floor models.

As far as my equipment being a good match, the dealer on one hand says that my equipment (CAM-200) would sound similar. Then on the other hand, he is telling me that i could start upgrading my electronics afterwards.
onehorsepony OP
30 posts
 
I appreciate everyone's input, but if we could just focus on my original post.

In my selection, I also need a speaker that will make poor recordings and older recordings sound musical.

I had found that my Thiel 3.7's made anything but good records sound intolerable. I personally, don't think this is a sign of a good speaker. Yes, it is a very revealing speaker, but my 802d's make older and poor recordings sound, well poor, but yet they are listenable.

I go to audition speakers, Focal, B&W, and the first thing the salesperson does is remove my cd and proceed to play some perfectly recorded upright bass jazz piece which sounds amazing.

I'm running into this issue of listening to the speaker vs listening to the music.

Your thought
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