Напольная акустика — Focal SOPRA N°2

The Sopra N°2 is a floor-standing three-way design by Focal, presented at High End Munich in 2015 as the tower of the new Sopra line, which at that point comprised only the stand-mounted N°1 and this model. The line took over technologies developed for the Utopia range. The US price was USD 13,999 per pair, and Focal covered it for five years against faults in parts or workmanship.

Key specs that matter

Uppermost is an IHL-loaded tweeter with a 27 mm inverted dome of pure beryllium, followed by one 16.5 cm W midrange, which has its own TMD surround and NIC magnet system, plus a pair of 18 cm W woofers. Crossover points are 250 Hz and 2,200 Hz. The rated range is 34 Hz to 40 kHz at plus or minus 3 dB, with 28 Hz at -6 dB. Sensitivity is 91 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, nominal impedance 8 ohm, minimum 3.1 ohm, and the amplifier recommendation covers 40 to 300 W. Height is 1,190 mm, width 358 mm and depth 540 mm, and each speaker weighs 55 kg.

Engineering and use context

Each W diaphragm is a sandwich of woven glass fibre skins around a structural foam core. On both woofers and the midrange, the NIC motor uses a Faraday ring sized and placed so the magnetic field stays independent of voice coil position, current and frequency. Two tubular rings on the midrange surround form the Tuned Mass Damper, which steadies the cone in the 1 to 2 kHz region. Infinite Horn Loading places a horn deep in the cabinet behind the tweeter, its narrow end at the rear of the diaphragm and its mouth flaring backward, filled with absorbent material to dissipate the rear wave. The mostly MDF enclosure follows the Gamma Structure, is split into separate bass, midrange and tweeter sections, and has walls roughly 25 to 38 mm thick. The bass section leans back slightly under the Focus Time geometry and stands on two legs above a plinth of 19 mm tempered glass. A large port opens through the bottom panel, and the legs guide its air out at the front and rear of the base. Finishes were Dogato Walnut with a Graphite Black front, or Carrara White, Black Lacquer, Imperial Red and Electric Orange paint, always with a matt black tweeter section. Magnetic grilles cover the woofers and midrange, while the tweeter keeps a small round grille that is fixed permanently.

Pairing

A single pair of terminals means no bi-wiring or bi-amping. Modestly powered amplifiers can drive it, provided they remain stable when the impedance dips.

Alternatives

The Focal Sopra N°3 is the bigger floorstander of the Sopra series, using two 21 cm woofers and rated up to 400 W.