Goldenear Reference Vs. Focal Sopra #2.....pocket the $5k difference and don't look back?

To all the Golden Ear naysayers about the the parts quality, China, Sandy and what have you I’ve personally listened to an in home audition of a $200K of Alta Statement towers and I’m rather content in knowing how much of a better value (price/sound/quality ratio) my Golden Ears are. And when I check into some of the speakers mentioned on this site throughout the years, I find it interesting how much of the "best" qualities of those other speakers are actually found in the Golden Ears. These qualities include high efficiency, large voice coil, ability of voice coil to handle high temperature (play loud), d’appolito driver array, built in sub woofer amp, anechoic chamber used in its design/voicing, fully balanced crossover, high-velocity folded ribbon tweeter, mix of lamb’s wool and Dacron for effective internal damping, 3/32˝-thick steel plate for stability, the list goes on.

It doesn’t matter (to me) whatever you write to disparage them or compare them to in a negative light because it will not change the enjoyment I receive on a daily basis as I listen to them. And I’ve heard a handful (20?) of rather high end systems and don’t believe I’m missing anything.

Ignorance is bliss.  Truly.

I think it comes down to personal preference. I got a chance to listen to Goldenear (not sure about the model) at Audio Concepts in 2014, and it left me unimpressed. Surprised by @jnc's comment that they were "in your face" when he listened to them. On the contrary, they sounded muffled and the upper frequencies seemed missing. Now the Focal 1000 series and Sopra series sounded pretty nice when I got to demo them. The Focal 1000 series has a slight hot treble. But the Sopras sounded balanced in a system that had Simaudio/Moon amplification and CDP.

FWIW I think golden ear speakers are great. I respect them a lot. I just don’t think they’re giant killers, or necessarily punch substantially above their weight (price) at all (very few speakers actually do).

Mr. Focal schill chiming in....
If you're determined to stick with the Mc, I wouldn't suggest giving the Focals any more thought. I don't think Focals pair well with transformers, especially the Be tweeters. 

That said, I auditioned my 936's with Tool and they definitely get the job done right. I'm certain Sopra No. 2's would get the job done all the better. The Kanta No. 2 has given me pause to lust for Sopra though. 

I don't think the GE stuff is bad, but....
I think they're cooler and more clinical than Focal. The AMT's are directional and forward sounding and you inevitably end up deciding if you want depth or width with them. And I think they're politely on the bright side. I might have bought some Triton 1's or 2's had I not heard the 936's. Imaging is what ultimately won the day for me. The imaging of the Focals was better and more integrated. Plus, I'm using Pass designed power, not transformers.