Sopra 2 and devialet

[LeeC]

I own a pair of Sopra 2's which I use with a D400.

The sound is utterly captivating.  The scale and effortlessness nature of the music, combined with the soundstage is particularly impressive, which often offers out-of-the box imagery.  Dynamically they are fantastic and when coupled with the Devialet amps the bass is extremely well controlled.  These speakers are very accurate and if you feed them with a harsh/bright recording, they may sound so at high listening levels.

All speakers are utterly room dependent.  I used to own a pair of 1028be's which I uses with a NAP 250 power amp and NAC 82 Pre.  Sounded really nice until I sold it to a friend who installed it in a room with a large glass bay window behind the listening position.  The sound went from being balanced to harsh and tiresome at anything approaching proper listening levels, such was the effect of the room; my friend has now relocated the system in his main lounge where he's commented that the sound has been transformed.

The Sopra 2's in my opinion produce a clear, dynamic and highly detailed (not bright) sound.

Hope that helps

don't do my mistake, don't listen to Diablo Utopias, please don't

I started my down the Focal rabbit hole randomly listening to Sopra 2's (and subsequently 1's) at my local dealer when they forst came out.  They were AWFUL.  Months later, they were AMAZING. Seems Focal across the board need time to break in.  Of course, the huge, glossy Utopia Scala V2 sitting in the corner of the demo room just had to be compared, and yes they where a whole lot better. Truly exceptional and a big step forward.  Not that the Sopra 1 or 2 were bad after they'd broken in.  The Scala just got it ALL right.  All these were driven by the Devialet D200.  Originally I had eyes for the Audio Research Ref75 SE amp w ARC front end too.  It was good but the Devialet was light years better. That's the whole point of listening yourself and not just going by the scores of online reviews!
When a local Devialet came up for sale I was even more stoked to discover the seller had a pair of Utopia 3 Diablo's for sale.

A match made in heaven.  Levels of transparency and resolution I'd only dreamed of, tonality and accuracy to die for with more musicality and presence than anything I've yet to hear.  It does benefit from a sub (or two) - a lot!  Sodownwn the rabbit-hole with the continuing cable odyssey.

In short - there's nothing bright about Focal, especially Sopra or Utopia.  If you're hearing something it may be the room but likely the equipment and setup.  With a system this resolving cables play a BIG role.