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 don't think the tweeter will change much. It's also not really measurably bright but it is very fast and extremely detailed. You could probably deaden it with a warm preamp and tubes. EQ is also designed for this. There was also a few suggestions on placement and room configuration. I can't speak for cables or anything other gear.

the bottom line is in my room, with my electronics, my 802D sounded much nicer than the scala evos

Because of the investment, best to break-in a bit longer to 200-300hrs. By then if you still greatly dislike the sound it’ll probably be best to change than suffer further.

Nothing seems to work. Audioquest speaker cables makes some recordings focused and precise while others nails against a chalkboard.

Cardas speaker cables make some recordings warmer sounding yet others bloating the bass to extreme levels.

I own the Scala Utopias and love them. Like any speaker they need upstream components of commensurate quality. They are very sensitive (~92dB) so gain matching is important as is room matching. They benefit from a large room with plenty of space behind them.