Revel Studio 2 vs Focal Sopra 2

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pcarnut

Audiophyte
Hi all, new to the forum, getting ready to pull the trigger on one of these two and would appreciate some feedback.

Some basic info:

Room size is 14 x 20, open at the back, ceiling is a cathedral style, 8' on the front wall rising to 13 feet midpoint. MLP will be about 12 front the front wall so this should give me a fairly nice equilateral triangle with the speakers about 2 feet out from the wall, I really can't come out much further.

Amp is a Parasound A21+ with their P6 pre-amp, streamer will be main music source, a Cambridge CXN v2.

Here's where I need some help please. I'm 67 and have tinnitus, so I don't want (or need) speakers that will wake up the neighbors, prefer to protect what hearing I've got left by playing at low to moderate levels only. I like both these speakers, would maybe lean very, very slightly towards to Focals but could happily go either way.

So, in light of the above, I have three questions:

1. The Revels have a sensitivity rating of 87.7 db and the Focals are 91 db (per manufacturers), are the Focals, being more sensitive, more likely give me a fuller sound at lower SPLs?

2. Does one of these have a wider soundstage or sweet spot?

3. Is one of these going to be easier to get dialed in to my room (i.e. less finicky wrt position) since I can't pull these out from the wall any more than about 2 feet, will one work better nearer a boundary wall? In favor of the Revels might be that I can fine tune them a little with their boundary switch, and they have a down firing port for the woofer.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
I have plenty of experience with both Revel and Focal Sopra, although not the exact models you mentioned. To answer your questions in order:
1: The sensitivity will not affect the sound at lower volumes. It just means you won't have quite as much headroom with the same amp. Since you are not playing these loudly, that isn't a concern.

2: The "sweet spot" for both is going to be about the same. They are both wide dispersion speakers. You need to be sitting at a point of equal distance from each speaker if you want a good soundstage.

3: 2 feet should be good for either speaker. My guess is that the Revels are going to play a little bit deeper. That isn't going to be very significant if you are using these for replaying acoustic recordings. I believe the Focals include port plugs if you think boundary gain is making them too boomy.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
The Revel Studio 2 appears to be out of production. B-stock examples are still available, like from Music Direct:


And they're probably okay being only two feet out from the front wall. There are other Revel models that are probably just as good, but the Revel supply chain is apparently backed up right now, and availability is spotty. I've heard the Studio 2 on a couple of occasions, and in a room of your size I think you'd be very happy with them.

I've never heard the Focals so I don't have an opinion.

For the sort of money you're contemplating, your placement constraints, and the room size, I'd give some consideration to the Dutch & Dutch 8Cs:


About $13K with stands, but they're powered and you won't need the Parasound equipment, as you can stream directly to the speakers.

Here's a review with measurements of them:

 
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pcarnut

Audiophyte
Great info, thank you!

Is one of these less finicky WRT dialing them in to the room?

I've heard good things about the D & D speakers, but having just bought the Parasound, I'm somewhat reluctant to start over again, and they are getting above my budget by a bit.

Since the Studio 2 has been out a while, is there perhaps an updated version in the pipeline?
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
Great info, thank you!

Is one of these less finicky WRT dialing them in to the room?

I've heard good things about the D & D speakers, but having just bought the Parasound, I'm somewhat reluctant to start over again, and they are getting above my budget by a bit.

Since the Studio 2 has been out a while, is there perhaps an updated version in the pipeline?
Since the Studio 2 and Salon 2 were introduced in 2007, people have been speculating about a 3-series for years, and nothing gets announced. The D&Ds are probably the easiest to place.

I find it difficult to believe you would be unhappy with any of these three choices. Nonetheless, the Studio 2 does indeed appear to be out of production.
 
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TankTop5

Audioholic General
If you’re leaning toward the Revelthe Salon2 is indistinguishable from the new Revel PerformaBe 328be sonically according to ASR. Revel was interviewed recently and politically danced around which is better finally stating the Solon2 is but without substantive explanation as to why. There’s over ten years of engineering, research and trickle down technology there’s no reason you can’t get the same audio quality for less money. Anyway you slice it you’re comparing super cars and it’s going to come down to preference as I don’t think you can definitively say any including the Sopra’s is better than another.
 
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pcarnut

Audiophyte
^^ Actually, the Salon 2 is not an option for me due to cost and size. I was very slightly leaning towards the Sopra 2. I've been sort of assuming the Studio 2 is basically a Salon 2 "lite". :) I originally was aiming for an F228Be but raised my budget a little and have been focusing on the Studio instead.
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Focal Sopra and Revel PerformaBe are both outstanding lines. Some other good ones in this range are RBH SVTRS and Monitor Audio Platinum. If your listening only happens at one location in room, look at the Polk Legend L800s. Something else in this range that looks really intriguing is the Perlisten S7ts, although I have not had a chance to listen to them yet. That is going to change soon, fortunately.
 

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