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

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. 

yup... my room is not that large (salesperson said it was fine), they are more efficient than my 802Ds (88db?) and their impedance doesn't dip as low as the 802Ds. Ergo, I don't need my massive monoblocks for these speakers.

They don't image particularly well and don't throw as large of a soundstage either.

I have mine about 9’ apart and 9’ from my listening position. They are 3’ out from the rear wall. Imaging is fine and the sweet spot is large. I get good soundstage depth but it rarely extends outside the speakers. Many factors contribute to soundstage. I once heard The Ballad of Bill Hubbard from Roger Waters’ Amused to Death album on Wilson Sascha’s driven by d’Agostino amplification and it sounded like Bill was standing right next to me. It was extraordinary and I’ve never duplicated it. Unfortunately, the bass was too boomy for my taste and I passed over them.

all measurements are from the center of the woofer:

mine are 8' apart, each are 4' from the side walls, and 3' from the front wall. Room is 16 x 21 x 6 feet (finished basement, carpet on cement floor.

the 802D's soundstage was massive routinely extending past the sides of the speakers. Vocals were also more focused and defined. However, instruments are very loud and pronounced on the Focals