How to make the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers sing?

Saturday update: HiFi store visit. Sopra No.2 / Naim test

Yesterday I went to a dealer an hour away to check their store out and get some additional input to my questions. The store had a lot of different Focal speakers as well as Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, Audiovector among others.

In one heavily treated room (too much?) there was a setup with a pair of Sopra No. 2:s connected to a big stack of Naim New Classic 300 series gear (50 000€+). When it started playing I immediately noticed the Focal signature that I have at home with the brighter type of sound and the same feeling of lacking lower mids. The feeling after a few songs was that it could really have been my Kanta 2:s playing in that room, maybe sized up a notch. The bass felt a a tad slower but heavier. The overall sound signature was the same type as I'm used to, although exaggerated. I felt that the system to be even more in the fatiguing league than the Kantas. The volume was cranked up quite a lot though. Sound stage in that treated room (bass traps, wall absorbers, diffusers, absorptive ceiling ) was more compact, like a thicker/fuller wall of sound in front of me than I'm used to in my living room.

In another room (not as treated) there was a lower end floor standing Focal speaker setup (probably Vestia No.2) driven by an AXXESS Forte all-in-one box. This system didn't play as confidently as the Sopra system and it had a bit more boxiness and harder treble to the sound, as probably could be expected.

I regret that I didn't ask for another speaker brand to play next to the Sopras, like a pair of good Dynaudio:s, just to hear the contrast between the different "house sound signatures". I might very well go there again for this reason.

To sum the trip up, my takeaways and impressions:

• Even with a lot more expensive and "recommended" electronics (Naim) and a treated room, the sound signature I have at home with my current setup is really there.

• Makes me think that the electronics I have isn't that bad (in comparison to Naim at least).

• Sopras deliver even more of the "Kanta signature" in the mids (even less lower mids) and top (even "more" details/treble). Bass is a bit fuller/deeper but slower. Sopra's sound is more detailed (and fatiguing). The room could have fooled me though as I didn't hear the Kantas at the same time.

• If comparing Kanta No.2 to Sopra No.2, Kantas are the better choice for me.

• I will look into acoustic treatment of my room more. The effect in the demo room convinced me.

• The trip made my Kantas sound better to me. One of the cheapest tweaks so far, 😀

BTW: The dealer is arranging a few Naim events now where they were asked by the distributor to demo the Naim New Classic 300 series electronics with the Kanta No. 2. I asked why they didn't want the dealer to demo the electronics with the Sopra No. 2 or No. 3 that they also have in the store, but the dealer didn't really know the reason. A guess was to keeping the total system cost down.

Saturday update No.2: Acoustical treatment

I got a quick response from an acoustical treatment company. After having looked at a simple 3D model of my room they recommended, apart from tips for speaker and listening position positioning (1650€ in total):

• Bass traps in back wall corners

• Bass trap-diffusor-absorber behind listening position

• Early & First Reflection Point wall absorbers

• Absorbers behind speakers

As mentioned my room is a family living room, so I have to choose my way forward here carefully, mainly with WAF in mind.

To test the concept further I also placed some temporary 8 pieces 0,5x0,5m absorbing panels on chosen locations in the room. Mainly treating first wall reflections and an absorber behind me calmed the sound down. The treble and room reverb is taken down. This makes the midrange appear better and the sound is less fatiguing as well as the sound stage is more precise. As expected. This is really a way forward.

The risk with accepting the whole suggested package above is that it will be too much as I already have a big fabric covered sofa and a big carpet in the room. I believe I will gradually increase the room treatment and evaluate.

Hi OP,

I’m a big fan of bass traps when needed, and they often do make big improvements, but the big issue you have already felt is excess mid/treble energy.

First reflection points are important but you need a certain amount of critical mass of absorbers to change the tonal balance in the room. Audiophiles often focus on first reflection points, but my experience is that alone they do almost nothing. They need the rest of the room to be treated to really feel their benefit.

If your attempt is to minimize changes to the room, I would add more absorbers and forego bass traps for now. Also, GIK offers some very decorative solutions that let you pick your own artwork.

Consider also combination absorbers / diffusors between the speakers, while focusing on absorbers on the sides as well as the ceiling between the listener and speaker. Not only does treating the ceiling add height to the images but they are a great, unseen space to add more absorption in the bands you care about.  In the case of the Focals, that tweeter has the same excess mid-treble energy vertically as horizontally.  With my previous pair treating the ceiling was a really big improvement over the sides alone.

I had these speakers for awhile and the Gaia II’s made a HUGE difference. If you can find them used, it’s a $500-$600 tweak and the difference for me was night and day. 

I pair my Kanta 2's with a MacIntosh integrated, which provides a bit of a warmer sound to begin with.  I thought the highs were almost perfect but there was some thinness in the mids and even lows.  I added a Rel subwoofer and now I'm pretty happy with th sound.