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I am about to embark on my next upgrade journey

Hey Audiogon Community-

The basics of what I have now:

12x15 room with cathedral ceilings.

2x Schiit Aegirs in mono

Gustard R26 Pro

2x REL T/5X (next for an upgrage)

MAC Mini M1 with Audirvana Studio

Various cable upgrades and power conditioning

Back wall is treated.

What I want to upgrade are the B&W 705 S2 speakers on 30” stands.

I have enjoyed the B&Ws but I feel I am missing some general musicality, presence and depth.

As the impedance curve heads down to 4ohms on the B&Ws, the Aegir’s seemed to run our of steam.  Otherwise, the amps sound quite amassing for what they are.

I have limited options for brick-and-mortar retailers to do in person listening.   The closest oner to me made me feel like I was buying a used car.  They immediately started discussing a $20K before even qualifying what I currently have, or about ny tastes or listening room.

I need a stand mount that is a stable or as stable as possible @ 8ohms and 89db efficient.

I have narrowed my choice to the Sopra N°1and would appreciate some feedback.  Open to other options as well.

 

Thank you!!

upward_bound
james633
914 posts
 

I am not a big fan of the B&W 705 S2. They have poor dynamics and so so highs. The Sopra should be a big upgrade in all areas. The the down side of focal in the US is price, there are a lot of things just as good but cheaper. If you like/want the focal and don’t mind paying an up charge for the name/looks they are one of my favorite stand mounts. 
 

The Revel 226be is worth looking at. It would actually take up less floor space as they are very narrow. They can be had for about 1/2 the price of the Sopra 1 if you shop around. Here is a video demo of the two, of course take YouTube videos with a gain of salt. 
 

 

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,824 posts
 

I'd second the Fritz recommendation. The Carbon 7's have a hold on folks, for good reason. See, e.g. this and this.

artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,914 posts
 

I have heard the Watkins Gen 4 and they are very impressive. He demos them w/o a subwoofer in a room about 15 x 20" with 10 ft ceilings. It doesn’t lack bass in that big of a room which is ssurprising. Its not tipped up on any frequency but very balance and fills the room. Its easy to see why Absolute Sound gave them the accolades they did. I considered them but my room is too big They do have a 30 day $$ back also.

Shop | Watkins Stereo & Loudspeakers, Kingsport, TN (watkinsaudio.com)

benanders's avatar
benanders
224 posts
 

@upward_bound REL’s designer advocates a relatively low crossover point for their subs, correct?

This might be relevant to the bookshelf model you select, if you are determined to pair them with a specific model of subwoofer. From your OP I can’t quite tell which will be the cart and which will be the horse in your case, but it might be advisable to put the two in the correct order from the get-go, if not choosing/getting both (monitor + sub) models at the same time.

jastralfu's avatar
jastralfu
218 posts
 

When I read this post and saw the Sopra 1 mentioned I thought of recommending the Fritz speakers.  So a third recommendation for them.  I recently listened to the Sopra 1 and it has nothing on the Fritz Rev 7 SEs I have.  The Sopra is certainly a bit brighter and does not go as deep as the Fritz.  I haven’t heard the Carrera BE or the Carbon but I think it would be worth listening to especially at less than half the price.  The Fritz has all the attributes you mentioned that you feel are missing from your current speakers.

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