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When it comes to Focal loudspeakers, I've been a lurker. For decades now, their demonstrations at audio shows have been memorable—a highlight was when, several years ago, I got Focal to play a powerful percussion track through a pair of their Grande Utopias at very high volume on a show's last day. Just to hear and feel how this mammoth system could deliver clarity and impact was awe-inspiring, and it was underscored by seeing folks from all the neighboring rooms quickly entering to enjoy it with me. It has also been a continuing pleasure to relax and listen to music with Stereophile's…
The bass was also better controlled—or was I just adapting to it? Now I took Hurry's advice about the spikes. The Sopra No.3's stainless-steel spikes come pre-installed in the speaker's base of tempered glass—all I had to do was turn the knob at the top of each threaded spike until it protruded through the rubber feet. To protect my floors, I borrowed some of the nice magnetic spike cups from my Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 loudspeakers that were now lying around unused. I adjusted the spikes with reference to a small bubble level placed on each Sopra's base. It worked: The lowest…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way bass-reflex floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.125" (27mm) pure beryllium inverted-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) W-cone midrange driver, two 8.25" (210mm) W-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 250Hz, 2.2kHz. Frequency response: 33Hz–40kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 91.5dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Minimum impedance: 3.1 ohms. Recommended amplification: 40–400W.
Dimensions: 49.8" (1264mm) H by 15.8" (402mm) W by 23.4" (595mm) D. Weight: 154.3 lbs (70kg).
Finishes: Carrara White, Black Lacquer, Imperial Red, Electric Orange,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Oppo Digital BDP-105 universal BD player, Baetis XR3 PC-based music server, exaSound e28 Mk.II DAC, QNAP TS569L NAS.
Preamplifiers: Audio Research MP1, Parasound Halo P 7.
Power Amplifiers: ATi AT543nc, Classé Sigma Mono monoblocks, Monoprice Monolith 3, Parasound Halo A 31.
Loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3, JL Audio E110 subwoofer.
Cables: Analog Interconnect: AudioQuest Earth/DBS balanced. Digital Interconnect: AudioQuest Vodka (HDMI) & Carbon (USB). Speaker: AudioQuest Granite. AC: AudioQuest NRG-10, JPS…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Focal Sopra No.3's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. (I measured serial number '000325.)
The Focal will play loudly when fed only a few watts, my estimate of its voltage sensitivity being 89.2dB/2.83V/m. However, as fig.1 shows, the Sopra No.3 is a difficult load for an amplifier to drive, with a minimum magnitude of 2.75 ohms at 96Hz and a combination of 4 ohms and a –56° electrical phase angle at 68Hz, both frequencies…
I was pumped about this year's Montreal Audio Fest, the city's 30th consecutive audio show, for a couple of reasons. First, I was pumped because I was covering the show for Stereophile with the estimable Art Dudley, and, second, because after last year's debacle that saw the show being unceremoniously cancelled by then-fest organizers/owners, the Chester Group, then resurrected by previous and self-re-instated show organisers, Michel Plante and Sarah Tremblay, the event's rapid revival was proof to me that the Montreal audio show still has legs and a purpose.
Stepping off the 10th floor…
One is bound to hear at any hi-fi show—even a superior one such as this—the live, acoustic version of the Eagles' "Hotel California," just as one is bound to hear, at any Catholic mass, a Hail Mary: no surprise at all, and under the best possible conditions the aural equivalent of comfort food. At the 2017 Montreal Audio Fest, I first heard it at the exhibit sponsored by France's Atoll Electronique—and it reminded me of Ian Anderson's gracious comment, when asked if he was dismayed at the undeniable similarities between that Eagles song and Jethro Tull's own "We Used to Know," from the album…
Whatever our preference in sound, there are audio components or systems that are not only better than others at plucking our heartstrings, but of doing so on such a level of intimacy it's as if the hardware were delivering the musical performance specially for us. I experienced such moments while listening to Coherent Audio's audio setup, which featured a Baetis Prodigy music server ($US3000), a Triode Labs Au Pre preamp ($CDN2000), a Triode Labs 2A3 SET ($CDN3900), and a pair of dual-concentric Coherent Audio Model 12GR speakers with a sensitivity rating of 96dB and an impedance of 8 ohms.…
I entered the Oracle-Gershman room to the sounds of the Albinoni (or Giazotto, if you prefer) Adagio in g—from an LP that turned out to be by bassist Gary Karr—and the sound was gorgeous, with lots of texture (the good kind), color (ditto), and bass weight (very ditto).
The gear responsible for the fine playback included Oracle's recent Origin turntable ($US2000, including Oracle tonearm and Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge) and PH100 phono preamp ($US900), along with Gershman Acoustics' Grand Avant Garde G2 three-way loudspeaker ($US13,000/pair), which is a revision of the company's original…
All LP collectors live to some degree for that mystical moment when they walk into a garage sale and there, waiting just for them, is some fantastical record, let's say a mint, unpeeled Beatles "Butcher" cover, priced at two bucks. Or even better, that random afternoon when a neighbor will ask you to take grandfather's old records and there, amongst the shellac flotsam and jetsam, will be a mint 78rpm disc of Blind Lemon Jefferson singing, "Black Snake Moan" still in the original Paramount sleeve.
Sad to say, but the return of the LP, coupled with the immediate and encyclopedic nature of…