I’m reluctantly making this post, but which speaker should I buy

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Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
True. I did feel that way with the PB 16s. Those were a nightmare to unbox.
Man I can relate. My PB 4000's in my old house a one story house just going straight into the living room just about broke me. The second house the room is upstairs and bringing 2 Rythmik FV 18 up those stairs? I still go to therapy for the trauma
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
Man I can relate. My PB 4000's in my old house a one story house just going straight into the living room just about broke me. The second house the room is upstairs and bringing 2 Rythmik FV 18 up those stairs? I still go to therapy for the trauma
I guess lucky for me, mine went downstairs.
 
Matthew J Poes

Matthew J Poes

Audioholic Chief
Staff member
Could the sopras work either the 2 or the 3 versions in his room or rooms of that size if crossed over to a sub. He has 2 SVS PB 16's. With the subs carrying the low end could those speakers pull they're weight without the tweeter giving out?
Yes as I noted, his room isn't too large for those speakers. I was specifically noting the problems with Focals claim of working in a 750 to 860 square foot room. When you specify speakers, we don't typically go by just length and width. The CEA and CEDIA standards for output and room sizing are mostly around primary seating distance and room volume. In my experience, most of the time when someone has a listening room that is as large as 750 square feet, it also often has taller ceilings. That is a HUGE room. Even if it had 8' ceilings the volume would equal THX Dominus size. 6000 cubic feet. 7500 with a 10' ceiling. Obviously more for that larger 850 square foot suggestion for the Sopra 2.

Basically, those speakers would work great in a room that is 350 square feet or less (to use their numbers). That would keep the listening distance under 12' typically and the volume manageable. Those larger rooms that Focal claims the Sopra 2 and 3 would work in are a bit unrealistic. The speakers max SPL in a large room with a 17' listening distance was something like 85dB for the tweeter at the listening position. Not really enough in my opinion (and obviously well below reference movie levels).

Focal's speakers are good for what they are, I've heard very good sound from them before. However I've never found them to be a speaker capable of playing loud. When I saw those room area recommendations I was a little shocked because they are not a little off. They are bonkers.

Here are some other Focal speakers that show less than stellar max SPL performance.

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This is sold as a home cinema speaker for large home cinema's, but as you can see, by 102dB at 1 meter (96dB at 2 meters and 89dB at 17' in a large room) and it already has -1.5dB in the treble and exceeds 3dB in the bass (its actually problematic by 150hz so bass management isn't a fix). This speaker couldn't hit cinema reference levels in even a medium sized room, let alone a large room. Even if you added their bass modules, it would still only work in a medium sized room. The tweeter runs out of steam.

Here is the Perlisten S4B, a small bookshelf, by comparison:
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Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
I guess lucky for me, mine went downstairs.
Back on the topic I would go with the sopra 3's since the extra price isn't a stretch for you. I LOVE towers though so take my suggestion knowing that I am biased towards towers.
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
...
Here is the Perlisten S4B, a small bookshelf, by comparison:
...
Is it a fair comparison to show the difference between a bookshelf vs an in wall speaker? Not being ostentatious, generally curious if the different type of speaker should be taken into consideration. I would think the in wall would have a ton of variance depending on what's behind the wall, because doesn't it basically become the speakers cabinet?
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
Back on the topic I would go with the sopra 3's since the extra price isn't a stretch for you. I LOVE towers though so take my suggestion knowing that I am biased towards towers.
Yeah I love tower speakers also. Aesthetics are very important to me. Sound #1 and looks #2, but if I find the looks ugly, the sound is irrelevant. As I mentioned before, I primarily use the room for TV and movies. But I don't want to drop another 6-7k on a used pair of No 1's, when I can spend 3k more on a pair of 2's, or maybe another 2k on top for a pair of 3's. Either of the towers will enhance my stereo listening, amognst other things
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
So just wanted to post an update, picked up a pair of No2’s today. Good thing I didn’t wait around for a pair of 3’s in my price range, because the 2’s in the boxes barely fit in my SUV. Damn these are large boxes.

Now I just need some help carrying these things downstairs. Anyone want to come help? Listening session included ;)
 
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Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
So just wanted to post an update, picked up a pair of No2’s today. Good thing I didn’t wait around for a pair of 3’s in my price range, because the 2’s in the boxes barely fit in my SUV. Damn these are large boxes.

Now I just need some help carrying these things downstairs. Anyone want to come help? Listening session included ;)
Whereabouts you live? :D A listening session and food that's all my friends have to do to get me to come help with there setups
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
Whereabouts you live? :D A listening session and food that's all my friends have to do to get me to come help with there setups
I’m in CT, but was just joking around. I have a friend coming out today to help, which works out for him too as I gifted him a receiver I didn’t need, but sone of the accessories never made it so he can grab those, plus maybe an extra subwoofer that may or may not work…
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Now I just need some help carrying these things downstairs.
You may have thought I was joking when I mentioned needing an "audiophile-grade forklift" to move those Focal Sopras. Now you know better ;).

Once you have enough time listening to them, please tell us what you think. It would be interesting to know how well you think the Sopra 2s work in your room.

Photos too, please.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
If your friend can't make it, you might rent an appliance hand truck from a local UHaul shop. I used something like this to move an upright freezer up a flight of stairs.
1677522086473.png
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
You may have thought I was joking when I mentioned needing an "audiophile-grade forklift" to move those Focal Sopras. Now you know better ;).

Once you have enough time listening to them, please tell us what you think. It would be interesting to know how well you think the Sopra 2s work in your room.

Photos too, please.
Here are my impressions and how I perceive them in my room.

Disclaimer: I love the Focal house sound, so YMMV.

I love the utopia headphones I have. To me they tend to be on the bright side of neutral, but I prefer that sound, V shaped signature. I feel the Sopra line sounds the same, maybe slightly lacking in the lower end, but the clarity is out of this world. I wouldn’t describe the Sopra as anything other than accurate. They are precise and replay what I feel you would expect to hear in person. Many times people describe an “airiness” to speaker sound. I’ve seen some demos on YT of various speakers and you can distinctly hear a more open and airy sound. I personally do not like that signature and am happy that to my ears these do not exhibit that sound. They sound snappy and in control. When I say snappy I mean I feel like the notes are played quickly without a lot of resonance. Think of yelling in a large room with wood walls vs thick foam on all the walls. Airiness to me sounds echoey.

My number one improvement that I notice, is how much more integrated they are when paired with my large subs. I felt before when I cranked up some music, the No1 had trouble keeping up with the subs. Now my issue is that the center doesn’t keep up with the No2s. I haven’t ran ARC Genesis yet, which will smooth these levels out more and produce a more equal level from everything. I don’t think these are too large for my 360ish sqft room. I’ve only taken these are far as -25db on my AVM70 and it’s very loud (subs on -6db :p )

The overall listening experience is exactly what I was looking for though. Reading reviews on these, many people say they are too bright and they pair with specific amps, or tube amps to mellow the highs out, and I can see that as a realistic criticism. A few times I found myself thinking something in a particular song is overly bright sounding, and the V shape is what suits my ears.

I’m thrilled to be likely near the end of my speaker journey, as these were at the top of my budget (if the wife knew how much they were, or any of my gear for that matter, I’d probably be single). I only need to replace my rear surrounds at some point. And I may decide to play with the subs and towers swapping positions. I’ve had them both ways but can’t decide which I prefer.

Photos coming next
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Here are my impressions and how I perceive them in my room.

Disclaimer: I love the Focal house sound, so YMMV.

I love the utopia headphones I have. To me they tend to be on the bright side of neutral, but I prefer that sound, V shaped signature. I feel the Sopra line sounds the same, maybe slightly lacking in the lower end, but the clarity is out of this world. I wouldn’t describe the Sopra as anything other than accurate. They are precise and replay what I feel you would expect to hear in person.
Continue to enjoy your audio adventure
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
Sorry for the sideways photos below, can’t get it to update to upright.
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