Has anyone compared Dynaudio Sapphires with Focal Sopra 2's?. I own the Sapphires and love them but......... was VERY IMPRESSED with the Focal Sopra 2's. Not sure if they really are this impressive or am I just going through the change bug again $$$$. Any comments from those of you that have heard both are appreciated!
I've heard the Sapphire and thought they were okay... and while I have not heard the Focal's, they have the advantage over the Dyn's in being fairly efficient, making them suitable for use with moderate powered tube amps. The Sopra's do appear to be getting a lot of love over the internet, but they do have a modern look that may limit their appeal to the masses (as do the Sapphires). I'm old school and prefer the look and sound of my big box Harbeth M-40.1's.
I do not have any experience with these two speakers but wanted to say that the Sapphire uses my favorite tweeter, the Esotar. For my tastes, and provided that we are talking about similarly sized speakers, I would not change from a speaker that uses that tweeter (provided it is implemented well) to a speaker with a metal tweeter. However, in my speakers I upgraded the internal wiring (to Kimber TCX) and crossover components. I took my crossover outboard which permitted me to use much better capacitors (Duelund CAST-Cu) and inductors (Mundorf 10AWG ribbon). Upgrading the resistors makes a big difference too. Depending on where one is trying to take the speaker the Duelund CAST resistors can be used to good effect, as well as the Mundorf M-Resist resistors, which is what I ended up using in my crossover. If one wanted to keep the crossover internal there are other capacitor and inductor options available that would still make for a substantial improvement, in my opinion at least, over the stock crossover.
The other piece of the puzzle, and what I should have asked sooner, is what about the Sopra 2 speaker impressed you over the Sapphires? I've had friends ask for my help in upgrading their speaker components and the first question I ask is what are their goals for the project, so that's the question I would pose here.
But for me the Sapphires use my favorite drivers and a first order crossover - the perfect starting point for a nice crossover upgrade project.
I love the detail / imaging of the Focal Sopra 2's. I'm currently Swapping out my Sapphires with my older Dynaudio Contour 3.3's (love these!) in my system but got "The Itch" again and I was really impressed with the Focal's. Will sell at least 1 pr. of my 3 Dynaudio sets (also have Audience 82's in my Family room H/T) to help $$$ with this new purchase. You know how this hobby goes...always something!!!
I've heard the Sapphires twice at different times with different gear at a dealers showroom. While they were nice, but both times they failed to invoke an emotional connection. The associated gear was top notch I.E. Boulder, PS Audio, Clayton Audio ETC. Toe tapping was good but they just fell short of taking you "there". This is my personal experience and I'm sure yours will vary with room/equipment interfaces. I have not heard the Sopra's but as has been said they are currently getting a lot of love on the audio sites.
IME, Dynaudio is okay at best. Most models are over-priced compared to other speakers.
Having owned the Dyn C1 ,C4 and Utopias I disagree that dynaudio is "ok at best".IMO the confidence line is fantastic and can stand toe to toe in its price range especially when they were released, if they are just OK I have to hear what your listening to!.
Hi all, I just got the focals sopra 2's and breaking them in (just on a cheap stereo (FM station) recv'r in a remote room. I've heard break-in can be anywhere from 50 - 700 hrs!). Will let you know how they are once I put them in the main system.
Congrats on your purchase! I’ve had my Sopra No2’s since mid-September and absolutely love them. When I searched for a new pair of speakers, it came down to the Dynaudio C2 Platinums and the Focals.
I gently broke them in for at least 100 hours.
Just the other day I felt that they have mellowed a bit (a good thing).
When they are "dialed in" to the room, it sounds like the musicians are "right there" in the room with you. Take your time and play with their positioning, I have mine angled where the center of their projection would cross just in front of the listener...in my "man cave" they sound just awesome postioned that way.
This weekend the AXPONA show had 2 rooms with Sopra No. 2 speakers. Both sounded excellent. One had Pass Labs (Amps and Pre, very expensive) in the front and the other had a 100W Micromega 1Integrated retail $3500. Both rooms were getting a lot of attention and listeners were drooling over the Sopra's. I am ordering a pair tomorrow. Wait looks to be about a week for black ones. Demoed many others at the show at a similar price point, only other pair that compared well to the Sopra level was SF Olypica 3. I also spent a lot of time with Magico S3, retail 22.5K, I liked the Sopra's better. The Magico's had Devialet 900 in the front end. Just my honest opinion and many others I spoke to.
In the process of ordering the sopra2. istened to many speakers including Vienna Acoustics Beethoven, focal utopia Diablo, and B&w 802 diamond, and monitor audio pl 300. I could have spent alot more time hunting around to listen to other brands. But I stuck to brands that the local dealers have. I am replacing Wilson audio Sophia 1. These speakers are unbelievable and I still love them. I found the sopra 2not only being 12 years newer technology also to me they portrayed a better image, and more base.I would have given the new Wilson audio Sabrina look but the dealer was about 4 hours away. I thought the B&W were fabulous but they just lacked something when it came to the imaging. But they sure can move air,crazy base. Also they were about 10k more not that it was a factor but I found the sopra2 to give me more of what I liked for the amount money. I could not justify that the B&W 802D was that much better or if even better at all. All said and done I just have to decide which color to get by tomorrow. As that's when the actual order goes in. Any suggestions?
I just ordered a pair should have in a week, went with Black. Color is so subjective. Liked them all but Black and White were most available.
Spent a lot of time with the speakers at the AXPONA show and a 2 hour demo with my Hegel H300. I did demo the Sabrina's, very nice but didn't have the magic of the Sopra's according to my ears.
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