Sopra No 2's or other alternatives?

Oh lord, a bit bright? I had them for 3.5 years, they shredded my ears daily. They threw knives at me, but they sharpened them first with their vomit inducing sibilants. Have I ever heard all the “SSSSSSS” and “SSSHHHHH” in my life? No! I heard them for my next two lives!

Tried everything. Electrical improvements, borrowed everything that I could borrow, switched cables. Nothing helped.

I had no choice and sold them. That was the only good part about them.

For something with a similarly detailed sound characteristic, but not as bright or harsh you might consider the paradigm persona five f. I find that these offer  the detail and resolution of the.Focal but not overly bright 

If you are interested in a different sound all together, something more musical, you might consider the Sonus Faber Olympica nova V

good luck 

@riie 

We would appreciate it if you not sugarcoat how you really feel.

I had a Pass 250.8/Pass XP10 pre and PS Audio DS Jr a couple years back running Focal 1028BE with a REL s/510 and the set up was great; musical, dynamic etc. I (in my case) couldn't leave well enough alone and upgraded to Sopra 2 after reading reviews and assumed "more was better". It was not. I struggled to like the Sopra 2 for over a year or more and never warmed up to them. They were def on the bright side, frequently sounded etched and the bass though present and deep at times sounded dry and diss connected from the rest of the speaker. where the 1028's were not fussy and always sounded great the Sopra's never locked in and always left me frustrated and uninvolved. I sold them and didn't miss them. I got Harbeth HLS5 Super Plus to replace them and loved them for a long time. 

I have Sopra 2s and absolutely love them. Bass is tight and lighting fast, mids are natural and highs sparkle.

Needless to say, opinions are just that.

50% of what you are hearing is reflective sound - if the room is not treated your are making the sound worse. If the speakers are placed incorrectly, room modes will destroy any detail in the bottom end. 

It's like drinking a great wine out of a dixie cup - will taste bad every time. Put it in an appropriate glass, and you get everything the wine maker was intending.