Why no love for Sopra 1?

Don't be swayed by a pretty face, close your eyes and let your ears decide!!!

Pics are always nice too.

spurrier sucks posted:

Pics are always nice too.

You will have to wait until tomorrow for pics john,I never have any luck posting them here,so you will have to look on the Dynaudio forum for that.

BADLANDS

Funny you say to close my eyes and listen...Had all the lights off in my listening room last night,just the Sopras playing,while watching the hockey game (muted)...they sounded wonderful!

One of the things I love about the Electras is that they are as engaging at low volumes as at high, sounds like the Sopras build on that. Looking forward to your fuller views in due course, and the switch in speaker. No wrong answers, just what works best for you in your system.

Out of interest, how far do you have them from the rear walls?

M

Mr Underhill posted:

One of the things I love about the Electras is that they are as engaging at low volumes as at high, sounds like the Sopras build on that. Looking forward to your fuller views in due course, and the switch in speaker. No wrong answers, just what works best for you in your system.

Out of interest, how far do you have them from the rear walls?

M

The front of the speaker measures 48 inches from the wall behind it,and I have Viscoustics panels behind each speaker,also have them on the side walls at first reflection points.The tweeter measures exactly 7 feet apart from the other tweeter,so there is plenty of air around the speakers.

Sounds like you have a well setup room.

Today I had a chance to turn up the volume,to see what the Sopra1s can really do.I could comfortably play Orbitals green album at 60 on the dial of the 272.Bass was very good,nice and tight,maybe not as full sounding as floorstanders,but more than enough for apartment living.For a minute or so,I even turned it to 70,they even handled that,but the building manager would be knocking on my door if I left it there for long.If anyone wants to see photos of them in my room,and next to the special 40s,go to (Dynaudio owners thread)...go to the last page,I posted them today,same name (no quarter).It is so easy to post photos there,drag and drop from your computers dektop,no Flickr or imugr needed.

Took a look at the photos over on the Dynoaudio thread an you certainly have a nice room for your gear.

Can honestly say the look of the Sopra 1 speakers do not appeal to me but all that matters are if you like the looks and they have the sound your after. 

Since no-one came pounding on your door when you cranked the volume you must have tolerant neighbors or all of them were at work!  Good luck with the rest of your speaker demonstrations and your final decision.

SEAKAYAKER

Thanks for the kind words,this room is the sum of two rooms in the house I used to live in.When I was there,the TV,and all the gear under it,along with a complete set of Dynaudio front and rear surrounds were all in a dedicated home theatre room.My 2 channel listening (Naim stack) was done separately upstairs,in the living room.The neighbor across the hall moved out,so it is vacant,daytime listening is tolerated more I think in apartment buildings,but I do NOT listen that loud regularly.

I have heard the expression of the S1's through a carefully setup NDS/Statement and in my humble opinion they were able to express an aura of 'realism' that was spell bindingly and captivatingly immersive for their modest proportions. There was clarity and detail combined with clout and authority. They were able to 'fill' the air to the extent that there were no obviously apparent 'hollow' spots. These small gems knew how to boogie and the beryllium tweeters were 'soft' and articulate without showing traces of 'brightness'. I would personally consider the S1's to be speakers that deserve another look, especially if accommodation/noise levels/neighbours are factors that restrict choice.  

Minh Nguyen posted:

..... and the beryllium tweeters were 'soft' and articulate without showing traces of 'brightness'.

Hi Minh,

That is the sound I associate with well set up Focals. Brightness only intrudes when something is off.

NQ,

How is the imaging? I find that on the right tracks it can be almost holographic.
Are you going to slip the sub into the system?

What sort of music are you listening to?

M

Mr Underhill posted:

Minh Nguyen posted:

..... and the beryllium tweeters were 'soft' and articulate without showing traces of 'brightness'.

Hi Minh,

That is the sound I associate with well set up Focals. Brightness only intrudes when something is off.

M

That's my experience too. The beryllium tweeter is very revealing, and will show weaknesses, but when things gel it is lovely. 

Mr Underhill posted:

Minh Nguyen posted:

..... and the beryllium tweeters were 'soft' and articulate without showing traces of 'brightness'.

Hi Minh,

That is the sound I associate with well set up Focals. Brightness only intrudes when something is off.

NQ,

How is the imaging? I find that on the right tracks it can be almost holographic.
Are you going to slip the sub into the system?

What sort of music are you listening to?

M

I think I might of got lucky with my initial location of the speakers,they image like champs,I may play around a bit more with position in the coming days though.As you said,very holographic,might be because I have them at least 3 feet from any boundary/wall.I may pull the subs out of the closet next week,I just want to absorb what the speakers can do on their own for now,and I do not feel like I am missing anything..As far as what I am listening to,right now it is Naim Radio,which I listen to most of the time,either that or radio paradise,when just casually listening.I have tried an assortment of music off my Core,trying to cover all genres ,and I must say,they seems to excel a bit more with jazz type of music,which is fine by me.Here are a few examples of what I have played...Orbital(green album)....Alice in Chains(unplugged)....T-Rex (The slider)....Jazz at 5he pawnshop....Branford Marsalis(Trio Jeepy)...Sonny Rollins(Saxaphone Colossus)...Cowboy Junkies(Trinity sessions)...Phantom Limb(all 3 albums) and lots of Antonio Forcioni.There are plenty more,but those are a few examples of music I know well,and have sat through the entire albums.

MINH

I only wish I could afford that setup in the photo,thanks for your thoughts,and nice to know the Sopras are at home with MUCH better gear than I use currently.

Hi NQ,

Superb, this for me is the point, a system through which you can listen to a wide variety of music that allows the quality to come to the fore, even with poorer files/LPs.

The effect I got by having my Focals a touch too close to the rear was edge/sibilance, as the mids were partially poisoned; with your room you have no space issues - and the sound you are getting indicates that they are doing a good job.

If you do get the Gaias connected my experience is that the imaging will be cleaner and tighter and the bass quality improve.

A few of your albums I haven't heard so I'll head over to Qobuz now.

M

MR U

The GAIAs definitely help,but unfortunately the thread size on the Sopra stand is much bigger than any of the included adapters that came with my GAIA 111s.If the Sopras end up staying,I would probably just order another set of GAIA 11s,which would be within the weight limit,and I would request the proper thread size,which you can do.Nice thing is,the company is right here in Canada.MINH has me thinking already about upgrades,which is silly really,I am hoping to get the Chord Dave here before I have to decide on keeping them or not.My dealer said once his Qutest arrives,I can take his Dave to try.

No quarter posted:

MINH has me thinking already about upgrades,which is silly really,I am hoping to get the Chord Dave here before I have to decide on keeping them or not.My dealer said once his Qutest arrives,I can take his Dave to try.

Only you know what's right for you. I had previously considered delaying NDS/552/500 until such and such circumstances were right but I may have waited forever. They say that the best time to plant a tree is now.

....or, you could take a walk on the wild side and try an Audio Note, SW1X or Border Patrol R2R NOS dac.

After a few days of listening to the Sopras,a few times I have experienced that fingernails on a chalkboard feeling,so not really knowing if it was the speakers,or the recording,I brought the special 40s back into my listening room.I set them up right next to the Sopras,I am not going to interchange them on the same stand/location...too much work.Anyway,so I played the same track that irritated me with the Sopras,and it did the same with the Dyns,so it really seems to be the recording,not the speakers.I am not sure if this is a good way to compare speakers,but I decided to play a track with the Sopras,swap the speaker cables to the Dyns,play the same track again.Right away,the Dyns seemed a little flat,with less sparkle in the highs,but after maybe 30 seconds,you don’t notice it as much.Another thing that is apparent right away,the Sopras are more efficient,or play louder,at the same volume.The Sopras seem to have a fuller presence,making the Dyns seem a little 2 dimensional.I don’t think I will continue swapping back and forth,it was just a little experiment,to see if those certain songs are grating,with both speakers,they are,more to come...

No quarter posted:

After a few days of listening to the Sopras,a few times I have experienced that fingernails on a chalkboard feeling,so not really knowing if it was the speakers,or the recording,I brought the special 40s back into my listening room.I set them up right next to the Sopras,I am not going to interchange them on the same stand/location...too much work.Anyway,so I played the same track that irritated me with the Sopras,and it did the same with the Dyns,so it really seems to be the recording,not the speakers.I am not sure if this is a good way to compare speakers,but I decided to play a track with the Sopras,swap the speaker cables to the Dyns,play the same track again.Right away,the Dyns seemed a little flat,with less sparkle in the highs,but after maybe 30 seconds,you don’t notice it as much.Another thing that is apparent right away,the Sopras are more efficient,or play louder,at the same volume.The Sopras seem to have a fuller presence,making the Dyns seem a little 2 dimensional.I don’t think I will continue swapping back and forth,it was just a little experiment,to see if those certain songs are grating,with both speakers,they are,more to come...

 

 

 

What was the track you were listening too?

Rattle that lock,David gilmour...when all the background singers join in,it was a little too congested.Had  a similar experience with my David Bowie Ziggy Stardust disc,on DSD.Seems like these speakers show EVERYTHING,warts and all!

No quarter posted:

Rattle that lock,David gilmour...when all the background singers join in,it was a little too congested.Had  a similar experience with my David Bowie Ziggy Stardust disc,on DSD.Seems like these speakers show EVERYTHING,warts and all!

Will have a listen.....

The Sopra’s generally require a considerable break in period, do you know how many hours the speakers have been running?

Not exactly,but he had them at his home for at least 6 months,so I would imagine they are fully broken in,and he is well aware of speaker break in.They May of been sitting,not being used for a month though,he swapped in a pair of Dyn C20s 3 or 4 weeks ago.

Holy crap!

Today I have been playing around with the positioning of the Sopras in my room.The room is 13.5 feet wide by 15.5 feet deep.I do not have any kids, or pets,so no problem with the speakers being out away from walls...just me here.The Sopras are now 5 feet to the tweeter from the front wall,7.5 feet apart,tweeter to tweeter,which leaves 3 feet to each side wall from the tweeter.My head sits about 3 feet from the wall behind me when listening.Suddenly,I feel like I am part of the gig,I am there with the band,radio paradise has no right to sound this good.It really does feel like a box upgrade,and now I am truly hearing what these speakers can do,It is hard to describe,but I feel like I can sense the interaction of the musicians with each other,and can just pick one musician in the mix,listen to him/her for a while ,then move on to someone else,and focus on them for a while.Meanwhile I still hear the entire band playing,quite incredible,by just hitting the sweet spot as far as positioning goes,can transform what you hear,the depth of soundstage now sounds like i now have an open window behind the musicians...really cool.

Great to hear just how much you are enjoying the Sopra’s, once you find that sweet spot, they really do shine 

Hi NQ,

Over a year later I am still getting teh best from my Electras, although I think I have now completed that course; and, you still have Gaias and a sub or two to go!

........I know, I'm nagging .

Great to hear the updates, please include what you are listening to as I am loading up the albums too.

M