Upgrade from B&W 802D1 to Focal Utopia Scala Evo


If you had the chance to upgrade from  the B&W 802D1 to the  FOCAL UTOPIA SCALA EVO, which would you choose and why? 

onehorsepony

I have a pair of 802 Diamonds in my second home.  They do sound rather boring.  Personally, I find that to be a good thing.  I have been toying with adding a pair of RELs, which if set up correctly would spark things up a smidge without turning the system into something that would wear me out.  Boring is not bad, spectacular wears thin real quick.  Be careful what you wish for.  Of course your listening habits matter a lot too.  I listen to my system perhaps 7-8 hours per day.  I also listen at 75-80 dbA most of the time, rarely louder.  YRMV.

my dealer says i should really purchase the IsoAcoustics BAIA I Neo Isolation Feet for my speakers.... that the difference is very noticeable, any thoughts on this for the Focal scala evo speakers?

I have found that using the appropriate IsoAcoustics isolation feet improves every speaker in very noticable ways.  By all means follow your dealer's advice in this matter.

No amount of snake oil products will make either of those overly bright and harsh speakers sound listenable. Start over and consider Dynaudio, PSB, or even ATC passives.

When I bought my Sopra 3 a few months ago the dealer had the Scala in the sound room.   I wouldn’t describe either as bright . I’ve not experienced   Listener fatigue despite multiple 4 and 5hour listening sessions