I bought a slightly used pair, mint with only 20 hours on them. Got them at over 40% below retail. They arrived in mint condition and couldn't be happier. I have been watching the current one's on AG, he had to relist them after 30 days. He hasn't hit the right price yet I guess. Maybe all our praise on the speakers will push someone to pull the trigger. |
Hi Toneranger, I’ve done a lot of analysis on older Focal crossovers. They were "discerning" only due to a gimmicked crossover which reduced the minimum impedance by about 2 Ohms. I can’t tell if the Sopra is gimmicked the same way or not, but the impedance curve sure looks familiar. If it is, in the crossover you’ll find 2 large electrolytic caps, that go to 4 power resistors each in the bass. Remove the smaller of the two caps and they become very easy to drive, with almost no change to the frequency response or phase matching. |
Erik, I've searched extensively for info on Focal X-Over's with little success. Any info you've got would be appreciated before I discect my Sopras to see what's inside. I don't seem to have any difficulty with their impedance using my 700i amp. It barely gets warm driving them to 93db peaks in my room. Anyone with Sopra's remove the tweeter cover yet? I'm waiting until I get everything dialed in before I try removing them on my Sopra2's. |
Hi Stevizzy! I've not looked at the Sopra crossovers, but the curve looks familiar to me. Take a look at this analysis for the Focal Profile crossover. Scroll down to "Bogus Woofer Cap" and look at the schematic there. See if you have something similar. You may not! :) but if you find an array or two of power resistors, my guess is the same kind of trickery is going on. Best, Erik |
Erik, thanks for the info. It's interesting to say the least how part cost plays into the design of fairly expensive speakers. Although it's beyond my technical skills to attempt any modifications to my Sopra speaker crossover, it's good to know what's possible in the future for my speakers if the mods become available by professionals in the industry. PS:. Does Magico really use the best parts available as they love to advertise? |
