Sopra 1 and 2 new/recent purchases, are we mad?

Are we mad? Anyone who spends £10k on hifi, let alone speakers is clearly a little mad in the eyes of ordinary people

As for the view of this forum, I prefer to think of us as the "New Guard" the Trend Setters, challenging the perceived wisdom of source first.

Seriously though I think the DR amps and pre amps such as the 272 shake things up considerably and the focals sound great with my 272/250dr. For me what you get for the money and for my taste is a speaker without compromise. I listened to S400s (great vocals but for me lacking in soundstage and detail), PMC Fact.8 fantastic detail and vocals but lacking in punch and not warm enough for me and the Sopras (all of the good bits of the PMCs with more body and warmth.

I am lucky...money is not a major concern (especially having no kids ) so cost was not a defining factor.

Also I am at the start of my journey (started with SU and PMC 40.24s about a year ago) and am still not 100% sure what I want out of the rest of my system (looking into streaming via Hugo and Mac Mini at the moment for example which may lead me to move to 282 as a pre. However I am pretty sure the speakers can stay with me for a long while whatever I end up with in the rest of the system.

I currently have the dealers demos until mine arrive but gave the SL speaker cables back yesterday. All I can say is I miss them like crazy so dont wait too long before adding them to your system Dan

Its a fair chunk of upfront cost, but like you I'm looking at long ownership. I found the S400s ultimately a bit boring, and yes the vocals did soar, but I required a little more bass and overall feel for my tastes.

SL2 for example sound brilliant for those choral type works and higher end Jazz playback, but lacked a coherent bass replay for me. Very capable but just not right for me.

Yes the SL cables are addictive, I tried some on my older system, so avoiding for now as I'll be committed to buying once tasted.

My 926s are now sold and gone so using the DB1i for now until Sopra 2 arrive. I agree also that the 250DR will drive these speakers very well, can't wait.

Who did you buy from if you don't mind me asking. It was the Audio t sale that tipped me over the edge!  What colour did you go for and how long till you get them? I chickened out and went for black in the end, after flirting with the idea of orange! Should be about a week until they arrive for me.

Mes Sopra 1s arrivent la semaine prochaine.

Well, Dan, I suspect you can guess my response to your original question.  I think you've just ordered a pair of the best speakers I've ever heard. 'nuf said, really.

Looking forward to pics and write-up, though.

Mike

I had a little bit of a speaker journey over the course of last year, had Aria 926's...traded in for focal electra 1028be, which were a good step up, went to my dealer to listen to an xps and ended up demoing the electra 1038's, the kef blades, and then finally the Sopra'2s, as soon as I heard them I finally had my wow moment ... followed by an offer from the dealer that was way to good to turn down. (The dealer was wanting to bring in an orange pair) I loved the black, I may be biased but they look extremely sexy, no apologies for using that description. 

I was told it's about 180 hrs to run them in, which is not important really because every time I'm in the listening room I smile even before switching on....

I had a little bit of a speaker journey over the course of last year, had Aria 926's...traded in for focal electra 1028be, which were a good step up, went to my dealer to listen to an xps and ended up demoing the electra 1038's, the kef blades, and then finally the Sopra'2s, as soon as I heard them I finally had my wow moment ... followed by an offer from the dealer that was way to good to turn down. (The dealer was wanting to bring in an orange pair) I loved the black, I may be biased but they look extremely sexy, no apologies for using that description. 

I was told it's about 180 hrs to run them in, which is not important really because every time I'm in the listening room I smile even before switching on....

The speakers are so good, I've somehow posted the same comments twice...sorry guys!!!

Ryder35 I went for black lacquer in the end also, dealer has done me a good deal too so happy there.

MDS I am really looking forward to the home listen, can't beat sitting at home in your own space and time, I cannot imagine (or indeed comprehend due to cost) they tank in my room, too much drive, staging, joined up to be anything but brilliant, BUT until they sit here you just don't know.

Is theatrics a word you could use for speakers, not sure, but these are audio theatre for me, but a full write up once they land as I don't want to overly pre-sell & judge them before they arrive, but jeepers looking forward to it, but with a level head/ears of course.

wenger2015 posted:

I had a little bit of a speaker journey over the course of last year, had Aria 926's...traded in for focal electra 1028be, which were a good step up, went to my dealer to listen to an xps and ended up demoing the electra 1038's, the kef blades, and then finally the Sopra'2s, as soon as I heard them I finally had my wow moment ... followed by an offer from the dealer that was way to good to turn down. (The dealer was wanting to bring in an orange pair) I loved the black, I may be biased but they look extremely sexy, no apologies for using that description. 

 

That would very much be my choice, too. Haven't seen a black pair in the flesh but from the pictures on Focal's website they look gorgeous.   I'm envious.

Mike 

180 hours to run in Wenger2015, phew. Out the box it appears they were stellar, and running in brings more joy. 

For you how have they been out the box do you think, apart from brining a smile to your face each day...

EDIT : S400s took a while too :-)

I passed a very pleasant afternoon with Dan last week, drinking coffee, eating cake and listening to a wide range of music. I love what my SL2s can do, and I couldn't afford the Sopra 2 in any event, but they didn't give Dan what he is looking for - we are all different and look for different things. Let's assume that if they were still made, the SL2 would be in the Sopra 2 price range: using them with a 'mere' 272/250DR should be something of a mullet, yet somehow, it's not. The 272 and 250DR are just so good that it seems ok to pair them with speakers in the SL2 or Sopra 2 class. And once you've added the XPS2 and SL cables, the performance of the boxes is raised so much that very good speakers are entirely sensible. 

Dan43 posted:

Ryder35 I went for black lacquer in the end also, dealer has done me a good deal too so happy there.

MDS I am really looking forward to the home listen, can't beat sitting at home in your own space and time, I cannot imagine (or indeed comprehend due to cost) they tank in my room, too much drive, staging, joined up to be anything but brilliant, BUT until they sit here you just don't know.

Is theatrics a word you could use for speakers, not sure, but these are audio theatre for me, but a full write up once they land as I don't want to overly pre-sell & judge them before they arrive, but jeepers looking forward to it, but with a level head/ears of course.

I very much hope they work for you, Dan.  I always fancied a pair of 1028be's to replace by 816SWEs but knew they weren't easy to accommodate, and from the advice on Focal's website about positioning I didn't think they would work in my listening room.  But my brilliant dealer suggested we give it a try. He spend a while tweaking their position and to my delight they worked brilliantly. Indeed  my dealer says they perform better in my listening room than he managed to achieve in his demo room.  So sometimes things that shouldn't work do. So I'll keep my fingers-crossed for you on the Sopras.

Oh, and if (when) they do you can invite HH back to your place and show him what some speakers with some proper bass sound like   

Mike  

HH played back some wondrous music (and provided the most relaxed atmosphere and nice strong coffee) that I wouldn't normally listen too and opened up my hearing/appreciation to that style, which was a brilliant surprise, which I have now bought 24bit versions of.

Some of the music replay was of the finest I have heard for that style of music, the SL2 have such high frequency clarity on some playback as to almost be made for certain tracks it seems.

That aside, as HH mentioned, it just wasn't for me, and that is the beauty of the hearing of differing set ups.

I can't wait to listen to those tracks HH on the Sopra 2, plus some of my heavy rock with all that luxurious chocolatey, velvety bass :-)

Dan 43, when I first heard these speakers at the dealers, he unpacked the boxes in front of me (and son in law, he's my voice of reason), connected up with tellurium ultra blacks speaker cables and switched on, the depth and richness of sound was immediate, the detail that was present I've not heard before ( I've not heard the SL2's so not able to compare HH, but would like to have the opportunity one day ), the natural bass, drive, soundstage, all present in abundance, it was like the musicians were in the room, and all straight out of the box.....to think they will just get better and better...I've never had or wanted a mistress, I've got one now!!!!

Wenger2015, in relation to good hifi it sounds a real moment in time, wonderful and addictive when those moments happen like that, lyrical in some respects, you can buy that initial experience and take it home, which must be brilliant to experience. 

Not long I'll be there. 

I can absolutely assure you, you will not be disappointed....when the boxes arrive you must let us know your thoughts 

Dan43 posted:

I have finally relented and decided to purchase a set of Focal Sopra 2 speakers. Previous speakers included Ovator S400, PMC DB1i, Focal Aria 926. Thanks to HH I have also had a very good listed to SL2.

Before the speakers land on my doorstep and before the Mrs finds out the real cost, I'm interested to note the ownership experience from other users and mention how my own will progress.

Front end is 272/250DR, NACA5 from S400s, Synology running Minimserver off a single 2TB SSD, custom Cat6e from a previous supplier their home brew version for HiFi.

Options to come include Super Lumina speaker cable and interconnect, Melco for delivery, XPS-DR or similar (555DR or TP etc) and a two tier platform/rack of any description that works well.

Thoughts on these speakers appreciated from others and as I also grow and live with them, plus those little tweaks anyone finds to sweeten an already expected tasty pill of playback excellence. (and a future reference for others who may go this route of course)

Nice - super looking speakers. Enjoy 

Absolutley will. The 926s are gone and using DB1i now until the Sopra arrive, so good to cleanse the ears, listen to the playback on the DB1i (very good BTW for such a small speaker) and re-engage the Sopra 2 on arrival. Missing the bass already ;[)

james n posted:

Nice - super looking speakers. Enjoy 

Thanks James, itching to get them in now of course, patience will win out though....

Hungryhalibut posted:

 Let's assume that if they were still made, the SL2 would be in the Sopra 2 price range: 

Then they would be a very poor value if that were the case in my opinion, especially after listening to them side by side. Like I said in a previous thread the Sopra 2's spank the SL2's to death! It's really not fair to compare a modern day speaker with up to the minute technology to a fourteen year old design.

If Naim still made the SL2's, those speakers, to be competitive in todays market, they would have to be in the Proac D20 price range, about half of what Sopra 2's retail for. That would be a much more fair comparison. So in reality the 272-250-2 pairing with SL 2 speakers is not a mullet system at all and is probably why it's such a good match.

I remember when the dealer pulled the black covers off and revealed those gorgeous curves. Stunning speakers. And they sounded awesome fresh out the box! 

badlands posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

 Let's assume that if they were still made, the SL2 would be in the Sopra 2 price range: 

Then they would be a very poor value if that were the case in my opinion, especially after listening to them side by side. Like I said in a previous thread the Sopra 2's spank the SL2's to death! It's really not fair to compare a modern day speaker with up to the minute technology to a fourteen year old design.

If Naim still made the SL2's, those speakers, to be competitive in todays market, they would have to be in the Proac D20 price range, about half of what Sopra 2's retail for. That would be a much more fair comparison. So in reality the 272-250-2 pairing with SL 2 speakers is not a mullet system at all and is probably why it's such a good match.

I suspect for some the attraction of the SL2 is its old but classic design.  To draw a parallel, I have an eighteen year-old Mercedes SL in my garage which only comes out on sunny days (a folly I yearned for for many a year).  I know the current Mercedes SL is technically better in every way: better brakes, faster, better steering & handling, more economical etc etc.  But I wouldn't swop, even if I could afford one,  because the shape, style and character of my old R129 classic just pleases me.   Anyway, talk of cars is for the padded cell.  Back to hi-fi.......

Yes, Finkfan, happy memories, The Sopra'2s moment!!!  I remember getting very excited and I don't normally get..... excited, happy days

The attraction of the SL2 for me was that I could get hold of a great pair of speakers that will sit hard against the wall in my modest room, and they were affordable at £2,200 when I bought them last September. I'm sure the Sopras are super - they may even be better - but they are big and expensive, and too modern looking for my taste, though I do like the look of the orange ones. If buying the Sopra gives people what they want, that's wonderful, and once Dan's arrive I'm hoping for a return visit. I might even take all my Smiths albums.