B&W.....Focal.....or Focal


I am currently in the market to replace the speakers in my 2 channel setup. I currently have a pair of N803’s that I have had for about 7 yrs. front end consists of a Classe CA 2300, Classe CP 800, and a Cary DMS 500. My three finalists are B&W 802D2, Focal 1038BE, it Focal Sopra No2. Problem I have is that the closest Focal dealer is about 3 1/2 hrs from me. Musical taste is all over the place Metallica, Foo-Fighters, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Rush, Pink Floyd and on and on and on. Any thoughs would be greatly appreciated.
h2gastech
Can’t comment on 1038be2 vs Sopra but I had Focal Electra 1028be2 speakers. 
They sounded great but I was disappointed with their stability and coupling to the floor. The anchor points for the spikes loosened on mine within a few months. 
To their credit they replaced my speakers with a new pair, but the design was exactly the same. 

I ended up using pricy Stillpoints to get the sound I wanted, but ultimately I just wasn’t happy with the cabinet design, although I loved their sound using the Stillpoints/Spike setup on my carpet. 
When the Sopra2 arrived, setup was easy and the Stillpoints got a new job in my electronics cabinet. 

The speakers are a few leagues beyond the ****BE series IMHO. 
CHEERS!!! 
PS:  Driving a few hours deciding to pull the trigger on buying $14K Speakers can be fun....and much cheaper in the long run if you get it wrong. 
@stereo5 Absolutely on the money; you turn it into a fun experience.  I flew 8.5 hours each way to audition the D'Agostino M400.  Similar to you, I turned the audition into a nice holiday in Singapore and it was fun all around (love the city and the amps were everything everyone said they would be).
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