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Am I the only one to opt-out on the Sopra 2's?

I home auditioned a pair of broken-in Sopra 2's for over a week (Clayton M 100's and Naim 272 pre).  I began by loving them but then gradually found them fatiguing.  Then I noticed that I'd been making excuses for them when high notes became painful and the sound stage seemed blurred.   So I tried Dynaudio C1's, also broken in,  and everything was suddenly better.  I ended up with C2's  and could tell a difference even when they were not broken in. All of these speakers were auditioned with a REL subwoofer.  In the end, I not only disliked the Sopra's, I disliked them a lot.  All the Sopra reviews seem to be generally favorable.  I know I'm probably in a minority, but in my system, the Sopra's were a failure.  Its been suggested that my reaction was because I was  used to the Dynaudio tweeters in my Merlin VSM's, but I think it was more than that.  Anyone else have a similar experience?
hinde
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,721 posts
 
These speakers, Focal/JM Labs, can be bright if not gear-matched properly.  I have auditioned several older models of each brand. I have not had an opportunity to demo the Sopra models.
zavato's avatar
zavato
1,403 posts
 
I listened to the Sopra 2's last fall. I expected from all I read to be blown away.  Didn't care for them one bit. Utterly disappointed. I liked the Sopra 1's, Wilson Sabrina, and Revel Studio 2's. 

Bought the Revels. I could have been happy with the Sopra 1's and Sabrina's too.
extravaganza
373 posts
 
I think it is important in which sequence you are listening speakers.People who listen first dynaudio then sopra,might be impressed by sopras clear sound and disapointed by dynaudio bland sound:)
And people who auditioned a lot of speakers and got tired of sounds can find dynaudio sound relaxing.
In the end you can keep both speakers for diffrent situation and mood swings
In my case , sometimes after listening dyn c1 or s1.4 switched to harbeth SHL5 and found that scale of music was bigger and sound was cleaner .Other way round switching I found that harbeth does not have punch and nice sweet rythmic highs of dyns
 
ejr1953
915 posts
 
I am one of the people who has been smitten with their Sopra No2's.  I auditioned a lot of excellent speakers before selecting them, nothing "wrong" with the other's, just not my preference.

When I first auditioned the Sopra's, it was in a smallish room, driven by a "bright" sounding amplifier; the salesman let me know that you needed a much "smoother" sounding amp to match well with that tweeter.

The other brands I reviewed were the Wilson's, Harbeth's, Magico's, Sonus Faber's, ATC's, Raidho's, Devore's, B&W's and Dynaudio's, all great speakers in their own right, but for my tastes and hearing, once I got the Sopra's "dialed in" to my "man cave", they put a smile on my face.

Good luck to everyone and enjoy whatever speakers you find most pleasing!
toneranger58
134 posts
 

Speakers, what an interesting learning process. I currently have 3 sets, DALI Ikon 2, Mark 2, Joseph Audio RM25XL Mark 2, and the Sopra No.2.

Have tried each speaker set up with Hegel H300 or Hegel H160, in 3 different rooms in my home.

The Sopra's are best in the big Family room, I enjoy them less in the smaller listening room, but still sound very good.  Sound great with either Hegel.

The JA's sound best in my smaller private listening room (10X12) with the H160, less push than the H300, they prefer handling less power and sound best to me with the H160. Also the room just seems to be the right size for the speakers.

Surprising the DALI stand mounts sound best in a room size between the Family room and the small private listening room. Sounds great with either Hegel.

I have each system dialed in now based on the room and electronics. my point is it all makes a difference and each system sounds (Amp and Speakers) best in different settings.

At the end of the day some may just not like the Sopra sound. Each system I have sounds great to me now and they all do sound different as one would expect. Kind of like blondes (I prefer), brunettes and redheads. All very pleasing. The best system from many listeners opinions is the H300 with the Sopra's. As many have said after a few select tracks, just like being there.

As ejr1953 stated, find what sounds best to you and enjoy.

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