Would you Upgrade?

It really depends on what you are trying to achieve

The focal is a better design then your older loudspeakers however it comes down to what is the cost to swap and would making a change elsewhere give you a better return


When you heard the sopras  on a completely maxed out sound system that is probably why they sounded so good so you may want to look at your budget and you may consider upgrading your sources or preamp or both and then see if you can’t spark some new life out of your old speakers while laying the ground work for an even better speaker swap in the future

We have over 30 years of professional experience and a vast selection of hardware to play with to best advise our clients

We consult with people all over the world so please seek us out


We would recomend you also listen to the new paradigm persona series they are pretty remarkable and are even more transparent then the focals with unbelievable imaging

We are willing to bet if you heard the focal with your own gear you would like them better but would not be as bowled over as when you heard them on such an alaborate and expensive rig.

Dave and troy
Audio intellect nj

IMO, if you are buying an expensive piece of equipment from a local dealer, you should be able to get a home demo.  It is the only way for you to know.  Whether the speaker is "better" or not will depend to a very large degree on how it interfaces with your room.  I have had some great speakers in my room and they just didn't work acoustically and I had to get rid of them. Of course, the level of demo equipment matters and the dealer should be able to tell you whether your Classe amps would be a good match.  But the home demo is the only way, IMO. 

+1 @chayro 
When I made a choice of speakers, I tried out a number of options in home: Dynaudio, Martin Logan, Fritz Speakers, Focal, and finally Salk (which I kept). These speakers were fabulous, but not all worked in my space. Thank goodness I limited my choice to those I could try at home, because the room is a huge factor and the dealer experiences, while fun, did not tell me much compared to my room.

Where'd I get these to try? Well, a couple came from The Music Room, an excellent and reliable dealer of used and new gear, which tests and verifies all used gear AND allows a 14 day trial. I strongly recommend the values and trial option with them. Crutchfield is another company that enabled me to try Martin Logan ML 60 XTi speakers-- 100lbs each, shipped -- for 60 days and $10 each for shipping. I am not joking. They have a variety of very well-regarded brands, offer free shipping, and have great open box or scratch and dent options. They have both mid-market and higher end gear, so don't judge them too quickly as a mid-fi company. They have some great stuff and are great to work with. 

I agree, that a home demo would be the best approach. Unfortunately, the dealer is about 100 miles from my home, and the speakers weigh about 150 lbs a piece. They would have to be delivered and returned. Also, they only have their floor models.

As far as my equipment being a good match, the dealer on one hand says that my equipment (CAM-200) would sound similar. Then on the other hand, he is telling me that i could start upgrading my electronics afterwards.

@onehorsepony, trying the speakers at home is not a bad idea. We use to bring the speakers to the person's home, set them up and picked them up a few days later.
Personally, I think you are going sideways. Put the money into a cookie jar and save a bit longer to make a bigger jump. Your amplifiers are not bad at all and will drive just about anything. Improving your speakers will make a more noticeable improvement in sound quality. Also it is always important to know what loudspeaker you are driving before you buy an amp as this is the most significant synergistic decision in the entire system next being cartridge for tonearm.