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Focal Sopra 2

I just posted a review of the Focal Sopra 2 and my speaker journey.

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.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/my-speaker-journey-and-focal-sopra-2

ozzy
128x128ozzy
redphu72's avatar
redphu72
51 posts
 
Ozzy

Funny thing I’m sort of like you in that I bought my first pair of Sonus Fabers based on reviews and now buying a different model than the one auditioned.  Also I’ll be using my stereo for surround sound duties. What Center speaker are you using. 

As the the Utopias, I should have listened to my dealer when he first suggested the Focals at the time of my Sonus Faber. I was afraid the focals might be too bright and fatiguing especially for surround sound duties. I was so surprised how when I listened to the Sopras big sound stage, coherent sound with details and SPEED that my guarneris were lacking. The Utopias should be here in the next week or so. Hopefully the break in period won’t be too painful. Any tips on setup?  
ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
3,650 posts
 
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


redphu72's avatar
redphu72
51 posts
 
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.  
ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
3,650 posts
 
redphu72,

I did make a mistake, the Sopra’s came in a box that has a pull rod at the bottom to help pull them straight out of the box. Yours will probably the same I believe once out of the box then I had to tilt them to get the bottom packing off.


ozzy
redphu72's avatar
redphu72
51 posts
 
@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.  
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