Focal Sopra 2 vs Sopra 3?

Just FYI.....

I spoke with a Tech Support person from Focal and asked which speaker (Sopra 2 or 3) he would suggest for my 18' x 12' Basement room. He said definitely the Sopra 2. The 3's would almost certainly produce bass problems in that size room. I'm very happy since I already own the 2's and LOVE THEM! Now I'm not thinking "What if?" 

Haven’t hear 2’s, but I heard the Sopra 3’s at my dealer’s in a medium-sized room (maybe around 16’x20’ with high ceilings) and was fairly well impressed, and I’m a die-hard Tannoy guy who didn’t like the bigger Utopias. The Sopra 3’s sounded awesome! And apparently their sales are brisk. Hell, I almost considered it before I stuck with Tannoy and went for the Canterbury GR.

Sopra 3's sounded well balanced and musical, with great technicalities, and worked well with the room. To be fair, the hardware behind them was rather pricey -- current model VAC separates (phono/pre/power), Critical Mass Systems rack/filters, Clearaudio Master Innovation table, Shelter Harmony cartridge, AQ cabling. But these days, you need that kind of gear to fully tap into a great speaker’s potential.

This is a great thread with a lot of good construction opinions!  I have a question on the Sopra 2:  I went to hear them at a dealer where they were set up 3+ feet from the front wall, driving by McIntosh electronics. I loved the soundstage, the sense of height, but the bass (in a certain range) was boomy sounding.  I understand that Focal supplies a plug to tailor the low end response.  Does anyone have comments on my observations?  In my room they could be 3 ft from the front wall.

3 feet is pretty close. 

Either way, bass trapping isn’t an option, it’s a necessity for every single setup if you want maximum performance in the bass region.  Important to note that bass trapping is NOT doing the same thing that equalizing or room correcting the bass does.

Well put, @contuzzi. Equalization will not correct room modes and overly long bass decay..