The Sound
Contents
One Tweeter to rule them all
Then about the sound. Yeah… what can we say here without falling into superlatives. Boy, is that tweeter good! We really like it better than the Beryllium in the Utopia. That one still wants to bite. Not this one… no not at all. The Kanta has become a little too warm and sweet for our taste. The measurements also showed that (quite a lot of roll-off). This one is really perfect for our taste.
In the more than four years that we now play with this speaker, we have noticed that a neutral back-end (amps, sources, cables…) works best. The more neutral, the better. Now that’s taste, of course. However, we are also of the opinion that the recording should be heard. And coloration in a system eventually makes everything sound the same: a warm system makes everything sound warm. A cool system… well, you get it.
The Focal makes every link heard mercilessly: from amplification to source to cables and filters. The reason we chose Grimm interlinks is that these TPMs are just not audible. The Audioquest power-cables bring a pleasant space. And the Titan behind the Bryston provides a deep (er) bass with more dynamics, both macro and micro.
A memorable moment was a few months back. After a large multitest we build up the referency system… but we did it quickly… You know: tired… we wanted to go home. The day after, your editor sat on the couch…. but it just wasn’t nice. Something wasn’t right. The sound image is a bit off. There was space, but it missed air. Maybe the system wasn’t warmed up properly?
A few days later we decide to disconnect everything and reconnect one by one. All power neatly in phase. And yes: everything is right again! There was just one mains cable out of phase…! That’s how transparent the Sopra is: that kind of thing can also be heard immediately.
On the growth
Then the reason it stays: the Sopra No1 grows effortlessly with the various components we review. We hear differences in dacs in the higher classes flawlessly. Think of the Moon 680D or dCS Bartok. Or what about the Pass Labs XP-12 or XP-22? That’s also very audible. In short: they are not a weak link. And that is of course crucial if they serve as a reference in the reviews. After all, in the end the Focals have to make the translation to our ears.
To be honest, we didn’t expect this when we started using them. We really expected a ceiling at some point. And I’m sure there will be; it’s not the ultimate reference, like a high-end Raidho or Wilson is. But they perform (well) above expectation in the reviews we’ve done so far.
Controllability
Of course, it’s not a speaker that matches perfectly with everything. There are combinations that are not nice to the ear. That’s why we also have other speakers. (Also for diversity in reviews). But what we do notice is that this Frenchman is quite accommodating. And that is of course a pleasant characteristic in our case.
Now it is true that a bit of power is good. Especially to let the bass come out nicely. If you miss low-end, it’s probably due to the fact that there just isn’t enough power available. In that case, it might sound like the Sopra’s are up front. However, it is a lack of bass. Our experience after many comparisons, is that the Sopra No1 is just not sharp. He is fairly soft and mild compared to many other speakers. Something not many enthusiasts will expect, we estimate so.
Neutral
A reference speaker should be very neutral. We have already taken regular measurements on the Sopra No1. And time after time we measure… the same thing. It’s just very neutral. And the distortion is low: that’s it… A confirmation for us, because that’s what it sounds like. These measurements are done in-room. By the way, they were done before the DAADs were placed. It’s a little more neutral in the bass now.
Concluding
Obviously we are very happy with the Focal Sopra No1. It is a very pleasant sounding speaker with a catching appearance. And we like that too. At the appointment of the Sopra we really did not expect that we would still be so impressed after four years of use. But he is still there. And the respect for this speaker has only grown. What an impressive piece of work the French have done. Hats off and a deep bow…
