Focal Electra BE series

@mofojo 
Quite right on the Kanta front. I haven't heard them. But having listened to F cones and W cones in the same room I can understand how the Kanta would be better. So far as I can tell the 1000 series bests the 900 series primarily because the cabs are much more robust and the better tweeter crosses over 1200 Hz lower. Not sure the 1000 wins out in warmth though. Nearly identical W cones in the 836W don't out-perform 936's. The comparison between those two is largely up to taste. The ONLY point I was trying to make is that the F cone shouldn't just be dismissed as inferior and that there are factors beyond the cone material at work here. 

Here's the Focal white paper:
https://www.focal.com/sites/www.focal.fr/files/shared/catalog/document/focal-flax_sandwich-whitepape...
The F cone is clearly superior in some ways, inferior in others, and equal in one characteristic. Initm, you stated Focal said the W cone was just better. There's the white paper. I'm not seeing clearly better there. I'm seeing competitive to say the least, but more accurately, just different. It's very reasonable to conclude an F cone with a better motor and better surround will sound and perform better than a W cone with a lesser motor and lesser surround, which is pretty much what we're talking about here. I honestly didn't intend to make this such a bitter discussion, but presuming the W cone to just be better while ignoring all other considerations is just plain wrong. I'm pretty sure Focal demonstrated flax could be the equal of the W cone in the 836W and 936. 

Mofojo, I'm at a loss why does my posts keep getting taken down by a mediator when I said nothing offensive my last 2 posts but someone else keeps making aggressive and offensive posts ?? I wish someone would just go away and stay off my post if all they want is to start trouble. 

@kosst,
I dont see where you said anything about hearing the 1000 series? Only that you knew a guy that had 1038s and he liked them and that you read some stuff? You did however say you have not heard Kantas multiple times but somehow you wholly know what speakers are superior to others. 

From Focal’s press release 2009.  
(Okay it was more than 4 years ago).  
“Live from” Utopia 3
”Electra 1000 BE 2 adopts the same pure Beryllium 1 1/4 (27 mm)) dome (instead of 1” (25mm)) as Utopia 3, for a real improvement of efficiency and response around the cut-off frequency, which permits an easier cross-reference with the midrange speaker.  Of course the tweeter keeps the IAL type load initiated by Electra and also used for Utopia 3.”

Kosst,
Actually the beryllium tweeter is not the “oldest and brightest” they make for the current line of Electra 1028 and 1038’s. The 1028 and 1038 be 2 were given the larger, 1 1/16th” (27mm) ‘IAL’ second generation tweeter about 4 years ago.  The previous 1028 and 1038’s has the older, smaller tweeter.  Although implemented differently ‘IHL’ vs. ‘IAL’ it indeed is the same size tweeter as on the Sopra and yes, Utopia series (27mm).

Agreed.  It is a musically engaging speaker with excellent soundstaging capabilities and fantastic imaging.  Being sold now for a song.  An endangered species in the Focal line.  Going, going, gone.

@janmnov Consider that the Kanta 2’s are considered the replacement for the 1038’s and it reinforces how good value they are if in your opinion thet bested the Sopra 2’s. You can find great deals on new 1038’s as dealers clear out inventory.

Two years ago, I drove four hours to Delaware to audition Focal Sopra 2’s.  Also at the time, I listened to Electra 1028 BE ’s and 1038 BE 2’s.  I took my own amps and cables.   First was the 1028’s.  To my ears they sounded very good at low levels but when pressed with complex orchestral pieces at higher volumes they lost some of their ability to reproduce the music accurately.  The Sopra 2’s were next and to my ears, from the first moment, I felt the mid range and upper end were too revealing.  For instance, I could hear more (too prominent) of the studio reverb effect on female voices during certain tracks which was a distraction to me.   I knew the tracks well and never hear this separation of voice/effect before.  Then I listened to the 1038 BE 2’s.  I liked them better than either of the previous two.  They had much more composure than the 1028 BE2’s at higher volume on the same orchestral tracks.  The mid and upper range was better balanced than the Sopra 2 to my ears.
 I went there hoping to buy the Sopra 2, but walked away with the 1038 BE2’s.  They are a wonderful sounding speaker and yes, they are a steal at the price they are selling for now.  I would advocate the OP try to listen to a pair, but doubt you would be disappointed if purchasing without a demo especially at new retail of $6,999.  I understand Focal needs to keep developing new products but the Electra is one of it’s success stories and for good reason.  The ‘W’ woofers and midrange are well implemented in this design and share the same frequency response as the Sopra 3 ( 33Hz - 40kHz )!  Too bad they apparently will eliminate these  from their lineup.  Regardless, I’m just glad I made the decision to purchase them.

Thank you mofojo for a very nice comparison. I had Paradigm Prestige 85 at same time in my current setup with Revels and I previously had Paradigm Monitor 11 not in same league although great for rock as they play loud with punch. Prestige 85 had great bass detail but too bright and forward and not as cohesive as the Revels to me hinge I kept the Revels. I'm Intrigued by the Foclas since I can play louder and may still be close , very close to the sound I like about the Revels. I have good room acoustic treatments which may tame the enthusiastic top end. I know they are great speakers,  boils down to personal preference,  what you listen to and room environment. 
Thanks for the positive feedback. I appreciate 

Funny too how kosst hasn't even heard the 1000Be series but he has an opinion on how much better Kantas are, if you haven't heard either how can you make any comparison? I have at least heard to Focal Kantas with my own ears and in my original post said they sound very good. I also own Revels and they sound very very good and Stereophile pick and benchmark speaker in their price range. I have heard Dynaudio various lines, Paradigm all lines and Totem and Bowers & Wilkins and Kef Reference 5 which are stunning in sound. At least I will ONLY give advice on something I've actually heard with my own ears, not on reading a piece of paper and opinions. New designs do not make a better speaker, if you get magic in a bottle previously. 

Back to the topic. I demoed the 1028 extensively about 7 years ago. I liked them quite a bit. Good tonality pretty good and punchy bass, good midrange, a little bit of an enthusiastic top end.
 I've owned Revel F30s and have listened to the Salons. Although the Revels sounded great (well at least the Salons) I thought both were dry. Not heard the new F series. All Revels measure superbly and are likely the more neautral speakers. That said I liked the Focals more. 

Kosst is a tattle tale. 

After 2 consecutive rants rife with malformed opinions and wrong information you want somebody's opinion? You've already got more opinions than facts. Ain't no mystery to my why nobody has chimed in. 

Wow,,,,,mofojo  that's almost hilarious! I liked your post. 

And I really wish someone would kindly reply in a positive review on the 1028be and comparisons to my Revel Performa F206 speakers, if they are comparable as far as neutrality and sound truthful to the music. 

Really my post was removed!!! ?Lame 

First post on Audiogon. I was told last year by the distributor at a show introducing the Kanta 2’s that the move to the flax driver was because it was cheaper and easier to make than the W cone.

This idea that the Be tweeter is bright is massively outdated. This was a fair comment years ago but the current Be tweeters are absolutely wonderful (I own a pair of 1008 Be II’s). However, I made the decision to go to floorstanders 6 months ago and the Kanta 2’s were on the list.

I’ve heard the Kanta 2’s twice, once for an extended listening session at a dealer. I was disappointed. Driven by a Devialet integrated (plenty of power), I felt the sound was laid back and not particularly revealing. Imaging was just okay. Bass was just okay. The whole presentation lacked transparency. Listened to Sopra 2’s right after in the same setup. Let’s just say that the higher price for the Sopras was worth it and then some.

I ultimately purchased a used pair of Totem Element Metals which work very nicely in my setup and room. I wanted to love the Kantas because I am a Focal fan and I personally think they look gorgeous in walnut. But I guess I wanted the traditional Focal sound, which tends to be very revealing and detailed. The Kantas didn’t deliver.

Ok...

The drivers in the Electra’s are NOT even close to the ones used in the Sopra or Utopia. The Electra share NONE of the same parts except for maybe the beryllium diaphragm and some nuts and bolts. The voice coils are different. The baskets are different. The cones are different. The surrounds are different. The spiders are different. Focal optimizes every driver for every application. The 6.5" mid-range in the Sopra has nothing in common with the 6.5" mid-range in the Electra. They don’t even use the same mid-range in the Sopra 2 and 3 The Be tweeters in the Electra, Sopra, Kanta, and Utopia aren’t the same parts and they’re not interchangeable. The mid-range and woofers in the Electra are more like the bare-bones W cones they were dopping in the 800W series. No NIC. No Power Flower magnets. No TMD. THEY AREN’T THE SAME DRIVERS. Just like the drivers in the Kanta aren’t the same drivers as my 936’s. You give way too much credit to the cone material. Go read Focal’s white paper on the F cone. It right there in black and white that the F cone has some clear advantages over the W cone, and some disadvantages. Which is better depends on how it’s built.

I honestly don’t care what speaker you buy. I know a guy with 1038’s and he loves them. I wouldn’t turn down a pair! I like the W cone sound. All that said, the Electra Be tweeter is the oldest and brightest Be tweeter they make. Very similar W cones in the 836W aren’t as warm and detailed as the F cones in the 936. The better Electra cabs will make them sound better though.

I apologise for trying to provide information. I didn’t realize that it would be so upsetting.

So the Kantas are better than Sopras and Utopias that both use W sandwich cone drivers and same tweeter as 1028be?
And I guess also flax drivers used in lower line speakers as in Kantas are better but not good enough for Utopias using W sandwich drivers hmmmm

This is what I hate about a lot of people on Audiogon and regret asking a simple question about a product. No one ever answers your question or positive response about the product you ask about, gotta start a debate and push a different product. I could care less about the Kantas, I've heard them. 
I asked about 1028be or 1038be and how they perform. Quite simple I thought, but apparently not. A waste of my time. I'll learn to stay away from Focal dealers I guess. 

Everything I've ever read suggests that the 1000 series is a more analytical speaker.
As statements of fact, no, the Kanta doesn't use the same tweeter as the Electra. It's a completely different unit. The W cone drivers in the Electra don't have the tuned mass dampers or neutral inductance circuits the Kanta F cones have. All the drivers in the Kanta are newer, better drivers than those in the Electra line. 

Kosst amojan, I'm just going by Focal website and fact their Utopia and Sopra use the W sandwich drivers and I believe same famed Beryllium tweeter in the BEs. Don't know Why tweeter in Kanta could be better, but anyhow I had auditioned Kanta and I did sound very good, great midrange but a little think in the bass region to my ears. As I've read in lots of professional reviews and posts here new is not always better. 
My question though wasn't to debate which is better, it was to ask how 1028be sounds and if a neutral response and sound like Revels. 

I'm not sure I'd call the 1000Be2 series a step up. The tweeter is definitely inferior to that of the Kanta. I'm hard pressed to say that flax is inferior to a W cone given that it does have some superior characteristics. Beyond that, the Kanta has better motors and surrounds than the 1000Be2 series. Also, Focal has suggested there will be new announcements soon and I fully expect those to be in the form of a Kanta No.1 and No 3. I'd wait to see what those announcements are. I don't expect the 1000Be2 series to be long for this world. The Kanta line is clearly intended to replace them.