I listened to Focal Sopra 3s this evening. When I first watched this, I didn't understand the comment about the speakers going away, but I get it now. When you close your eyes, there are no speakers, only sounds. To quote Ferris Bueller, "If you have the means, I highly suggest picking a pair up."

I had a listen to these speakers not so long ago and my god they are bloody amazing. Chab Racontè at Translab has these in his studio I believe and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories was mastered using the focals.

Great video. I appreciate the info.👍

The smoothness of the mids and treble are due to the fast impulse response of the beryllium tweeter. It's not faking the "niceness" of the sound. It just delivers sound in a more natural way.

Fantastic Review. Thanks!

I couldn't imagine going back to studio monitors even for mixing. Such a small, intense sound from 2-ways.

Hi Streaky, how do you compare them to ATCs and Dutch&Dutch? Which one do you find more comfortable to work with or simply which one do you prefer?

Hey Mr Streaky I have a request It looks like your obviously no longer employed by metropolis mastering and looks like you went out on your own congrats ! I am interested in a show of all the different mastering gear you have chosen since going out on your own, And why you chose this gear instead of the gear you had been using at metropolis for all those years ! i know Im interested and Im sure a lot of others are as well !!!

Hello. What amplifier and cables do you use for them?

Hi Streaky, is it possible you can review the Avantone Pro Abbey's? They're a rare 3-way speaker (but are still in production) and I'd love to hear your take on them. Thank you.

Can you tell us what Naim amp and leads you got with the Sopra's?

Are you only using this for you speakers in mastering studio now? I'm looking at investing in them for my mixing and mastering business here in south africa. I've got dynaudio LYD48's and 2 subs in stereo which works pretty nicely actually but I'm looking for an all in one solution and this seems right? Please let me know. I would appreciate it! I just want to make sure I'm making a decision I don't have to regret.

They look really nice

Very nice! Two questions: seeing you like listening loud, Did you find yourself turning these up loud? Second, how do these compare to the 802's? Thanks for all the great videos!

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Cat andbeats not monitoring as loud in my new room as I don’t need to...loudness before was to try and get the bass in speakers / room working. Loved the 802’s but I think these are more together and detailed in the subs

@Catandbeats

5 жыл бұрын

@@Streaky_com nice, that says a lot for the room and speakers. Thanks!

Add B&W 802D3 and Amphion full range system to the audition list and we're gold...also some word on your new room would be interesting.

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Federico Lopez ok will try

@swzrd9169

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, please! I'm really interested in Amphion's full range!

Hello Streaky! Have you reviewed the Focal Alpha 65's? Thanks!

How is the sound stage compared to your trio 11? Of course sopra is bigger, yes- are trio flat compared ?

I gotta get some !

Nice review.What is the size of your room?

Great video as usual good sir!! I was curious, would you say the Focal Clear Pro would be a headphone equivalent to the Sopra?

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Production Rescue elears probably...but obviously different beasts

@productionrescue2928

5 жыл бұрын

Could you try to get your hands on the apogee symphony mkII with the se card to review? The se card was created for mastering engineers

The $15K £ question... are you keeping them?

Hi Streaky, thank you for this channel it's just amazing! I've heard that the converters into Slate's VRS8 are as good as Apogee Synphony ones, could you please test them? I am very curious about the results. Anothe test I would love to see is how much does a medium quality AD/DA conveter improve locked to a class A external clock. Thanks and keep the good work!

hi what size room do u have thanks

Very nice speakers. Look at those ATC babies. I wonder about them

What amp are you using and why

first person i see having these speakers close to walls. i m thinking to upgrade to these from sopra 1

What Amp that you use? Thank You

Please, review Neat Acoustics Momentum SX7i. I've auditioned the SX5i and thought they are amazing and the isobaric woofer is really something special. Btw, do you have any experience with old KEF Reference model 3 or model 4? They too have an isobaric woofer design. I've only listened to Model 2 and again loved how the isobaric design works.

@synesthetica

4 жыл бұрын

Or even better, review Neat Acoustics IOTA Xplorer. I spoke to Neat and they recommended them over Momentum range as they are more analytical. I'd really love to see what you think of them.

I had the Sopra No.2's when they first came out, great speakers but i swapped them out for the KEF Reference 5's (bass was better, better mid imo) I now have the B&W 800D3! If you want anymore suggestions I'd heavily look at the Devialet Expert Pro amps, with the speaker matching they make speakers which need control a lot better (Focal, B&W to name a few) and also speakers that have an awful impedance curve. Oh and watch the paint on the Sopra's! while its a lovely finish the paint is very thin and the grills etc will happily chip the paint, since i had one of the first sets mine arrived with the grills on and well, the paint chipped, and it chipped on the following 4 pairs i got from Focal before i finally got one with no damage.

I'm amazed that you haven't reviewed any Genelec monitors

lots of talking, but how do they sound?

Porsche Carrera White 😉

Hi Streaky, would love to know your thoughts on the smaller Focal Solo 6 be. Please review if possible !!! Cheers

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Matt Eden yeah really like them...I’ll ask to listen see how they compare to the big boys

@lextr3110

5 жыл бұрын

i'm waiting since forever for a solo 6 be 2 :) not sure why they dont release an updated pair..

nobody can buy the speakers you review but good reviews

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

lex Tr3 you can buy them but you’ll have to walk to work 😭😭😭

@lextr3110

5 жыл бұрын

do you need a kidney :p

@lextr3110

5 жыл бұрын

i say this but i find it awesome that you review higher end monitors with the ears of a mastering engineer.. you are well placed to find us the best monitoring pair in reasonable range... :) or comparing the midrange and high of these focal with a pair of very good e-stats. with good 1ohm-2ohm capable mono amp.. even a old perfectly working quad esl 57 could compete with these focal in the midrange and high in the nearfield with the right amp.. you would nead to absorb the back wave but in the end ... low driver mass and open back should be more effortless and quick.. in headphones it's evidant.. tho beryllium tweeter that cover all over 1khz can be as fast and cover a great range..but it's no wall of sound like e-stats maybe two benchmark AHB2 amp in mono block or NC500 based amps.. for the quad.. you should maybe try paradigm all beryllium bookshelf.. that could beat these focal.. also monitor audio came out with a cheap 2k studio HD speakers.. and you have to check unity audio boulder MK3 and legacy audio new monitors.. etc.. :) i guess lots of interesting offering everywhere hehe..

@JustinLoving

5 жыл бұрын

I find things affordable on the used market. I have a saving account dedicated to my hobby haha.

@wafflestoast5228

5 жыл бұрын

lex Tr3 Ever try saving up...?

am waiting for used local sopra 2

Why mastering rules are more flexible about the speakers that can be used as long as they are High quality and with the Monitors for mixing are so square and strong.?

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Mauricio Reyes you have a different approach/mindset/way of listening for mastering compared to mixing.

You made the same comment about the seamless integration of drivers about the Kiis.

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Mark Donen true I really liked the kii’s

@meshplates

5 жыл бұрын

@@Streaky_comAnd they're relative bargains vs the focals: no amps, cables or dac needed.

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Mark Donen yeah true but there is something special about a passive setup and the low end isn’t as strong on the kii’s 😢 but they are a space saver!

@meshplates

5 жыл бұрын

@@Streaky_com they've got a bass unit that you place the kii threes on coming out shortly. I think that'll take care of any shortfalls. However I think you may be mistaking room boom (the focals are right in the corners of your room) for accurate bass. The Kiis take the room out of the equation with their cardiod controlled dispersion. Their bass is super clean. unless you have a vast space and get normal non cardiod speakers way away from the walls you going to get doubling and nulling. Unless you go soffit mounts.

@johnnidark6463

5 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't agree that the Kiis' lows are so clean. The phase response is absolutely ultra-impressive, but the lows generate too much harmonic distortion (not necessarily surprising given that the drivers are only 6"- it's physics) tapeop.com/reviews/gear/120/kii-three-active-monitors/. Coupling to the back wall to increase efficiency by about 6dB (so probably lowering distortion by something similar since the speakers don't need to work as hard) helps, but I think they clearly /need/ the help of the bass units.

What amps do you use to power up them beast? Do you recommend them for mixing too?

@davidherbert9601

5 жыл бұрын

Artificial Island when I went to my local HIFI store, they had 2 Krell mono block amps powering the Sopra’s.

15999 :D sorry but at this price i go for 2 or 3 genelec or psi and adam ^^

Martin Bullfrog + Orgon.

OOOOooooohhhh Pleeeeeaassseeee Mr Streaky do a comparison between the ridiculously expensive cables the Naim people brought, and a more decently priced cables to see if you can hear any difference and well some difference will be but is a cable worth e.g. 5000 euro/meter worth it? (Not sure what the cables Naim people brought though but surely veeeeryyyy expensive because they are hifi people....)

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

corner liston ok the interconnect they bought over was £3.5k ! Not messing around!!! I always find it hard to compare unless you can a/b correctly

@cornerliston

5 жыл бұрын

Oh my. True that, difficult to a/b interconnects. But maybe a blind test, even if it's not a/b. An interconnect worth say £200 (as the Amphion cable) should sound quite a bit lesser good than that Naim brought. I can only guess the amps were around 10-15k each?

It's hard to believe that someone from FOCAL came down and set those up and shove them in the corners of the room, that room can't be more than 10 feet wide. No one who knows anything about hi-fi speakers put speakers in the corner of the room. also the mid range is 6 1/2 inch not 6 inches and they retail for $20,000 in the US!

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Walter hi Walter...well believe as I have no reason to lie!... the room is 5m wide, so yes no cathedral but good size/shape for a mastering room, there is a lot of bass trapping in the front hence why they look like they are close to the corners, the front Wall has traps to calm down the bass / side reflections tailored to my palette, all sounds pretty good to my ears. Yes the speakers are around £16k ($20k) then Naim amps and cables add another £10k ($13)... I don’t know much about trailers, sounds like you do! 🤭✌🏻

Speakers are supposed to disappear. Eddie

New room?

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Joey Fernandez yep last 6 months

you don't need to yell :D

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

Tom Verswyvel SOZ

Those no3's are $25k

Why don't you just Eq your PMCs if you don't like their frequency response and then save yourself spending another 20k on another pair of hifi speakers?

@Streaky_com

5 жыл бұрын

j it’s not the eq curve it’s the flavour you need to like at that level

More like a commercial than a review.

Right off the bat. To close to walls. Need to be farther out. Forgot about B&W.

Nice ...but very expensive

Are you Australian?

@andrewmacdonald3667

3 жыл бұрын

No.

I'm not worth..I'm not worthy to watch this! lol Focal rules

great review !!!! not

Why are you shouting?

They need to improve the bass of this Focal Sopra. The bass is very boomy and not smooth.

Can’t listen to this accent. Sorry. It’s annoying. Can you have someone overdub this in american?