Focal Sopra 2

@ozzy 

Any tips on installing the footers/pucks?  Did you lay the speaker on its side or just tilt it?  Also on placement, one of my speakers is close to the wall on the side but I'm able to adjust distance of back of speaker to rear wall.  Where did you start with placement?  One thing that's pretty coo on the Utopia is the ability to adjust for bass/tweeter level via jumpers.  As for sound, so far I'm blown away compared to my sonus faber guarneris.  

redphu72,

If you are referring to installing the ISO Acoustics footers, I had someone (wife) tilt them to the side while I installed the footers and carpet spikes. I did have to loosen the base a bit to get the original spikes off.

I started with a placement that is pretty close to every speaker I have had in this room. That is, approximately 8 feet from the back wall and 11 feet apart and 4 feet from the sidewalls. And, I am sitting about 11 feet from the center of the speakers. I use very little toe in.

Are your speakers new? If so, give them a couple hundred hours to break in.

Merry Christmas!
ozzy

Ozzy,

Thanks for the info.  The speakers a new and I'm just trying to get them broken in playing them on the loud side with heavy bass tracks.  So far so good.  Soundstage is amazing, on some tracks, makes my room seem larger than it really is.  One comment is it does sound a little thin and not as musical but I guess that will change with over time.

redphu72,

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and the New Year will be great for you!

Don’t worry about the thinness you are hearing with the new speakers. That’s typical and the amount of time for break in will very by the speaker make. I will say this, the Focal Sopra 3 had the best overall sound I have ever heard, so I expect the Utopia’s will be much more. I am using the Cerious Matrix speaker cables. What are your speaker cables?

ozzy

@ozzy 

Happy holidays to you as well.  It's reassuring yet another account of how the Focals will smooth out over the course of the break in period.  And I'm enjoying the entire process as these speakers a truly amazing, so coherent, accurate, and fast.  Currently I'm using the Neotech NES 3001 occ (pure copper) speaker cables with furutech rhodium spades.