FOCAL Sopra N°2

MJ30.08.2016

Floorstanding loudspeakers

The story goes that Focal used Naim’s NAP amplifiers to voice the Sopra range which – according to my experience with Naim – is not a good endorsement. Fortunately the sound of Sopra N°2 is very well balanced as if Focal tried to bridge euphonic seduction of their Aria range and perhaps too neutral sound of the Utopia. The result is one of the finest speakers Focal has ever built.

Function and form

86%
Ease of use
70%
Sound
94%
Appearance

The Sopra N°2 is a three-way floor standing loudspeaker that fills the gap between the flagship Focal Utopias and long-selling Electras. The MDF cabinet is divided into separate compartments that host Focal’s proprietary drivers. Two 7” (18cm) woofers take care of the bass part (the cones are from “W” material that is a sandwich of a sheet of foam covered in glass fiber). The bass is supported by down-firing port – the gap between the speaker and the floor is ensured by spiked legs that are attached to a glass plinth (it is a French speaker so it needs to be chic). The midrange driver is of a similar construction plus it introduces what Focal calls Tuned Mass Damper, a surround ring that stabilizes the cone.
Upper and lower compartments are attached to each other by means of a wedge that hosts an inverted dome beryllium tweeter. The Sopra N°2’s cabinets are concave to put a listener in the focus of virtual beams from all drivers. Focal’s engineers have come up with an idea of the rear of the tweeter loaded by a tapered horn (that is the horn opens from the tweeter to the rear of the cabinet where the metallic perforated grille is fixed). The horn is damped by foam inside so that the rear firing energy is absorbed. Unlike the magnetically attached grilles of the woofers and the midrange the front grille of the Be tweeter is permanent. The Sopra N°2 is not bi-wireable. Dimensions (HxWxD) are 1190 x 358 x 540mm, 55kg. See attached images for colour finish options.

Bass management

Weight
91
Slam
75
Articulation
77

Focal defines the Sopra N°2’s frequency response as 34Hz/- 3dB (with quite high sensitivity of 91dB and traditional wild impedance that dances between 3 and 8 ohms) which corresponds to what I heard. However, because the bass sounds are usually centered much higher than 34Hz and the N°2s are a bit tilted in the bass region, I perceived the bass as rich and weighty. Actually Sopra N°2 went ‘deeper’ than most other speakers of its size. The down-firing bass reflex port solves the dilemma of placing the speaker too close to the front wall so positioning of Sopras is not difficult.
What I have found is that Sopra extremely benefits from replacing its feet: when I substituted the factory spikes with a set of Stillpoints the bass went from good to great and its articulation had become tighter and bass transients better defined.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail
94
Air
92
Transparency
85

Some reviewers comment on overall brightness of the tweeter which is a correct observation when listening to a new pair. The Focal’s inverted dome Be tweeters require proper burn-in of minimum 150 hours according to my experience – then they reward you with exceptional clarity, resolution and detail.
I have commented a bit ‘hot’ bottom end and I have to admit that highs are a bot hot too, but in connection with the purity of the tweeter they never sounded harsh, forward or detached from the midrange. In turn the midrange is neutral and informative, similar to what I am used to hear from Utopia Be speakers.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre
78
Dynamics
78
Temporal resolution
71

I would say that the Sopra N°2 produces more attractive sound than the Scala Utopia. The voices, like Norah Jones on her new Day Breaks album, were simply amazing with impressive microdynamics and detail. Don’t get me wrong – Scala Utopia provides more mature sound with better scale, yet the Sopra N°2s can be more involving speakers that provide more joy.

Spatial resolution

Holography
70
Soundstage width
62
Soundstage depth
66

The imaging of the Sopra N°2 is dictated by its tweeter. Its ultra-precision locks the sounds with great accuracy and the speaker’s transparency lets sonic images breathe in space. The depth of the soundstage benefits – as usual – from the rear boundary distance: the Sopras need space around and minimum of 1m of free space behind the cabinets. Push them into corners and they start sounding boomy and fuzzy.
I loved one thing: as good as the Utopias are they disappoint in their lateral presentation as they limit the width to the distance between the cabinets. This is not the case with Sopra N°2 which were more holographic to my ears.

Price as reviewed:339 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

SK: Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078

CZ: Excelia HiFi, Chrudim, tel. +420 724 00 77 44

Associated components

  • Sources: AVM Evolution CD5.2
  • Amplifiers: Octave HP 700 tube preamp and Octave RE 320 stereo power amplifier
  • Interconnects and speaker cables: Nordost Valhalla V2
  • Power conditioning: Furutech Daytona on CD player only, Furutech Powerflux on all components

Gallery

ACOUSTIQUE QUALITY AQ Passion

Acoustique Quality has been around since early 90’s. The company’s loudspeakers were always close to what can be characterized a good value for money, with a bit of pre-2000 vibe. Speaker by speaker the guys in Acoustique Quality ...

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Sound
80%

ANTE Supersonic One

The Supersonics were visually inspired by Lamborghini Countach racer. The functional elegance of the Lamborghini does not come at budget costs and neither the Ante does. The price tag of €160,000 keeps the Supersonics in the company ...

Recommended resellers

Media Control, Bratislava, SK, +421 905 613 928

Sound
84%

AQ Canto 5

An experience that moves your soul. This is how Czech loudspeaker manufacturer presents the brand-new Canto range. For the company, the Canto is a milestone, so important that they decided to dedicate a special website to it. The ...

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Sound
54%

AUDIO PHYSIC Avantera

The Audio Physic’s HHCM midrange drivers are fantastic. The realism of both male and female vocals through the Avanteras is nothing short of magic. The Avanteras skillfully blend a cocktail full of colors, sonority, textures, ...

Recommended resellers

CZ: High-End Audio Studio, Praha, tel. +420 224 256 844

SK: Platan Audio, Hlohovec / Bratislava, tel. +421 905 409 802

Sound
64%

AUDIO PHYSIC Cardeas Plus+

Audio Physic's original Cardeas was like an album of a respected band that was recorded just because  it had to be recorded due to a contract. Not like the album that was recorded because the band wanted to. I sighed with relief that ...

Recommended resellers

CZ: High-End Audio Studio, Praha, tel. +420 224 256 844

SK: Platan Audio, Hlohovec / Bratislava, tel. +421 905 409 802

Sound
81%

AURUM CANTUS V6F

The Aurum Cantus V6Fs have the ability to dissapear from your ear-view - they move an orchestra to your living room instead and let you bathe in an expanding and transparent soundstage. After listening to the V6Fs you'll find ...

Recommended resellers

Hifi studio MeLissa, Brno, tel. +420 777 04 1313

Sound
55%

AVANTGARDE ACOUSTIC Uno Fino

Should your priority is to blend the speakers with your interior and make them visually disappear, the Avantgarde Acoustic Uno Fino is not for you. I am not in favor of color lacquers on speakers and prefer natural veneers where ...

Recommended resellers

HI-FI studio TYKON, Ostrava, tel. +420 723 449 894

Sound
60%
Back to category