blueoak
New member
- Thread Author
- #1
Hi all,
Today I was able to take delivery of both of my new Focal speakers. I got a pair of Focal Sopra 1s for my office and a pair of Focal Sopra 2s for my living room. My local dealer was great. :thumbsup: Placed the order and within 11 days received both pairs! My dealer even delivered them to me and installed them. :banana: It was amazing not having to worry about when is the truck coming, then having to take time off work, and wait around. Dealer handled it all perfectly. When I got home from work, he was already at my house waiting for me. Full white glove service.
I've recently invested a lot into my new McIntosh system, which has the following components:
McIntosh MC601 amps
McIntosh C1100 pre-amplifer
McIntosh D1100 DAC
McIntosh MCT450 SACD player
Aurender N10
I've now crowned the system with a brand new pair of Focal Sopra 2 speakers in walnut. I think they're absolutely gorgeous.
I've been a huge fan of Focal since I've learned about their vertical integration business plan where they make every single component in-house, including the drivers. Once I was able to listen to the Focal Sopra 2 at my local dealer's place, I knew it was an amazing sounding speaker. A huge upgrade to my old McIntosh XR100 speakers. I would estimate a solid 20% increase in overall sound quality.
The walnut finish is very beautiful and humble on the Focal Sopra 2.
Overall the Focal Sopra 2 speakers really flow with my system. I'm very, very happy with the cosmetics and of course the sound quality.
One of my favorite aspects of Focal is their beryllium tweeter which is so accurate and the life-like/meaty mid-range from their custom drivers.
My dealer and I spend considerable time listening to my room and taking into account the overall acoustics and size when deciding between the Focal Sopra 2 vs. Focal Sopra 3. Given the dimensions of my room, the Focal Sopra 2 speakers made more sense.
The Focal Sopra 3 speakers are a little larger and easily overpower smaller rooms. My room was the sweet spot for the Focal Sopra 2 and it sounds absolutely delightful. The bass is tight and no boom and it doesn't overpower the room at all. The bass drivers are beautiful.
The attention to detail was outstanding with the Focal Sopra 2 speakers. The build quality is extremely high. The speakers weight 121lbs each. The wood grain is very beautiful. The top and base are made out of glass. The lines and angles of the speaker are beautiful.
One of the first things the dealer and I did before listening to the speakers was to install the IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators which are rated up to 220lbs.
The IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators have great packaging. Very nice box, nicely packed, with all included accessories and sizes to fit your specific speakers. IsoAcoustics is actually a large distributor for Focal, so these isolators and speakers go hand-in-hand.
The IsoAcoustic GAIA I isolators punch way above their weight. I compared them directly to the Stillpoints Ultra SS and I could not hear a single difference between the two isolators. Do yourself a favorite and keep $1,000 savings in your pocket and go with IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators.
The build quality of the IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators is top-shelf. Very heavy and solid in the hand. These are the largest isolators made by IsoAcoustics. I believe it looks absolutely stunning paired with the Focal Sopra 2 speakers.
The Focal Sopra 2 speakers do not support bi-wiring and only have a pair of binding posts. I used my trusty BlueJeansCable Canare 4S11 speaker cable.
I spent about four hours this evening listening to various albums on the Aurender N10. I was able to melt away in my chair and enjoy the music. My local dealer did a great job adjusting the speakers to get the best imaging and sound stage. I previously had a setup problem with my McIntosh XR100 speakers imaging 18" to the right and wasn't centered. My local dealer was able to successfully and quickly setup the Focal Sopra 2 speakers and have the imaging perfectly centered. :tresbon:
The Focal Sopra 2 speakers run a little bright straight out of the box, but start to calm down even within the first few hours. The dealer said the same thing happened in his listening room with the Focal Sopra 2 speakers. He said after 10 hours they're pretty much broken in and after 100 hours they have reached their full potential.
One thing that struck me is that how well the McIntosh MC601 amps pair with the large Focal Sopra 2 speakers. The McIntosh MC601s didn't have any issue driving these speakers and the sound was full of life and "ommpf" straight out of the box. I can't wait to see what they sound like a few days from now. :music:
If you've been considering a speaker upgrade, I encourage you to take a look at Focal. It's a great company that works hard at research and development, and brings a lot of the innovation to life in the Focal Sopra series speakers. Focal makes all of their drivers in-house and is able to tune each driver to a specific product line to get the best performance. The design is absolutely beautiful and the sound is over the top good.
I also highly recommend taking a look at IsoAcoustics GAIA isolators. I've owned both Stillpoints Ultra SS and IsoAcoustics GAIA, and I can objectively say I couldn't tell a difference between the two products. Get a better looking product for half the price. :yes:
The Focal Sopra 2 and IsoAcoustics GAIA I combination is punching way above their weight. :music:
Today I was able to take delivery of both of my new Focal speakers. I got a pair of Focal Sopra 1s for my office and a pair of Focal Sopra 2s for my living room. My local dealer was great. :thumbsup: Placed the order and within 11 days received both pairs! My dealer even delivered them to me and installed them. :banana: It was amazing not having to worry about when is the truck coming, then having to take time off work, and wait around. Dealer handled it all perfectly. When I got home from work, he was already at my house waiting for me. Full white glove service.
I've recently invested a lot into my new McIntosh system, which has the following components:
McIntosh MC601 amps
McIntosh C1100 pre-amplifer
McIntosh D1100 DAC
McIntosh MCT450 SACD player
Aurender N10
I've now crowned the system with a brand new pair of Focal Sopra 2 speakers in walnut. I think they're absolutely gorgeous.
I've been a huge fan of Focal since I've learned about their vertical integration business plan where they make every single component in-house, including the drivers. Once I was able to listen to the Focal Sopra 2 at my local dealer's place, I knew it was an amazing sounding speaker. A huge upgrade to my old McIntosh XR100 speakers. I would estimate a solid 20% increase in overall sound quality.
The walnut finish is very beautiful and humble on the Focal Sopra 2.
Overall the Focal Sopra 2 speakers really flow with my system. I'm very, very happy with the cosmetics and of course the sound quality.
One of my favorite aspects of Focal is their beryllium tweeter which is so accurate and the life-like/meaty mid-range from their custom drivers.
My dealer and I spend considerable time listening to my room and taking into account the overall acoustics and size when deciding between the Focal Sopra 2 vs. Focal Sopra 3. Given the dimensions of my room, the Focal Sopra 2 speakers made more sense.
The Focal Sopra 3 speakers are a little larger and easily overpower smaller rooms. My room was the sweet spot for the Focal Sopra 2 and it sounds absolutely delightful. The bass is tight and no boom and it doesn't overpower the room at all. The bass drivers are beautiful.
The attention to detail was outstanding with the Focal Sopra 2 speakers. The build quality is extremely high. The speakers weight 121lbs each. The wood grain is very beautiful. The top and base are made out of glass. The lines and angles of the speaker are beautiful.
One of the first things the dealer and I did before listening to the speakers was to install the IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators which are rated up to 220lbs.
The IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators have great packaging. Very nice box, nicely packed, with all included accessories and sizes to fit your specific speakers. IsoAcoustics is actually a large distributor for Focal, so these isolators and speakers go hand-in-hand.
The IsoAcoustic GAIA I isolators punch way above their weight. I compared them directly to the Stillpoints Ultra SS and I could not hear a single difference between the two isolators. Do yourself a favorite and keep $1,000 savings in your pocket and go with IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators.
The build quality of the IsoAcoustics GAIA I isolators is top-shelf. Very heavy and solid in the hand. These are the largest isolators made by IsoAcoustics. I believe it looks absolutely stunning paired with the Focal Sopra 2 speakers.
The Focal Sopra 2 speakers do not support bi-wiring and only have a pair of binding posts. I used my trusty BlueJeansCable Canare 4S11 speaker cable.
I spent about four hours this evening listening to various albums on the Aurender N10. I was able to melt away in my chair and enjoy the music. My local dealer did a great job adjusting the speakers to get the best imaging and sound stage. I previously had a setup problem with my McIntosh XR100 speakers imaging 18" to the right and wasn't centered. My local dealer was able to successfully and quickly setup the Focal Sopra 2 speakers and have the imaging perfectly centered. :tresbon:
The Focal Sopra 2 speakers run a little bright straight out of the box, but start to calm down even within the first few hours. The dealer said the same thing happened in his listening room with the Focal Sopra 2 speakers. He said after 10 hours they're pretty much broken in and after 100 hours they have reached their full potential.
One thing that struck me is that how well the McIntosh MC601 amps pair with the large Focal Sopra 2 speakers. The McIntosh MC601s didn't have any issue driving these speakers and the sound was full of life and "ommpf" straight out of the box. I can't wait to see what they sound like a few days from now. :music:
If you've been considering a speaker upgrade, I encourage you to take a look at Focal. It's a great company that works hard at research and development, and brings a lot of the innovation to life in the Focal Sopra series speakers. Focal makes all of their drivers in-house and is able to tune each driver to a specific product line to get the best performance. The design is absolutely beautiful and the sound is over the top good.
I also highly recommend taking a look at IsoAcoustics GAIA isolators. I've owned both Stillpoints Ultra SS and IsoAcoustics GAIA, and I can objectively say I couldn't tell a difference between the two products. Get a better looking product for half the price. :yes:
The Focal Sopra 2 and IsoAcoustics GAIA I combination is punching way above their weight. :music:
