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Focal Sopra No.1 VS Revel F226BE

MarkWinston

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2 great speakers that measured excellent, 1 by Audioholics and 1 by Erin, they both share the same type of tweeter but different presentation. Which one do you prefer soundwise? Im with the Focal on this one, especially with a sub.
 
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Dennis Murphy

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2 great speakers that measured excellent, 1 by Audioholics and 1 by ASR, they both share the same type of tweeter but different presentation. Which one do you prefer soundwise? Im with the Focal on this one, especially with a sub.
Subject to the obvious limitations of this kind of test, and in spite of what sounded like distortion on a number of the tracks, I much preferred the Revels. The Focals had a pretty obvious mid treble peak that got pretty grating pretty quickly.
 

MarcT

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Yeah, I think I'd agree the Revels had a more natural and coherent sound to them, and seemed to have a bit more effortless dynamics.
 

dfuller

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The Focals had a pretty obvious mid treble peak that got pretty grating pretty quickly.
I think what you're hearing is Focal's "house sound" so to speak with very wide lower treble dispersion thanks to that inverted dome tweeter of theirs.
 

Dennis Murphy

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Also,
I think what you're hearing is Focal's "house sound" so to speak with very wide lower treble dispersion thanks to that inverted dome tweeter of theirs.
I think it's more of an issue just below 2 kHz (which is really the lower treble, not the mid treble as I guessed). You can see it in the NRC measurements in their anechoic chamber. The Focals still measure very well--but that little boost does show up in comparison to the Revels.

fr_on1530.png
 

richard12511

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First song I could hear a difference, but had trouble forming a preference.

Second song I definitely preferred the Revel. Focal seemed a bit too bright/thin.

Third song was a tiny preference for the Revel. I found the higher octave piano notes to be slightly more natural and neutral sounding. Lower octave piano and drum I had no preference for either speaker.

Fourth song was also really close. I thought the male vocal sounded a bit more "open" on the Focal, but also a bit less natural. Slight preference for the Revel again.

I tried to ignore the bass for the most part, as it has more to do with position/room than the speakers, but man, those Focal bookshelves put out quite a lot of bass for such a smaller speaker.
 

TimVG

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That mic is way off axis though.
 

Koeitje

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That mic is way off axis though.
I didn't listen, but if you are basing it on the video thumbnail then its not off axis. The photographer is.
 

TimVG

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I didn't listen, but if you are basing it on the video thumbnail then its not off axis. The photographer is.

Based on this and other videos it seems the direct sound hitting the mic is from a 45-60° angle.
 

Koeitje

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Based on this and other videos it seems the direct sound hitting the mic is from a 45-60° angle.
45 degrees? So your listening position in a triangle? Its a bit too much of an angle I'd agree, but for sure you don't want on-axis.
 

q3cpma

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but for sure you don't want on-axis.
Eh, why? That's what's always recommended, unless you get oddball speakers like Dali which do recommend no toe-in or diffraction happy speakers (Revel's 2-ways like the M16, M105 and M106 or KEF's coaxials, in a lesser amount) that prefer a slight angle of ~10°.
 

TimVG

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45 degrees? So your listening position in a triangle? Its a bit too much of an angle I'd agree, but for sure you don't want on-axis.

Most loudspeakers will work best close to on-axis, usually not more than 10° horizontally. This usually mitigates most of the diffraction effects (if present) while maintaining a neutral regression. At a 45° angle (or a 90° beamwidth) a well designed speaker may hold pattern control, but the regression will surely feature a downward trend. A speaker with wide but slightly uneven dispersion, such as the Focal won't respond well to being recorded this way. This may be what @Dennis Murphy is hearing as well, as the Focal is pretty neutral on-axis otherwise.
 

Pearljam5000

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First song I could hear a difference, but had trouble forming a preference.

Second song I definitely preferred the Revel. Focal seemed a bit too bright/thin.

Third song was a tiny preference for the Revel. I found the higher octave piano notes to be slightly more natural and neutral sounding. Lower octave piano and drum I had no preference for either speaker.

Fourth song was also really close. I thought the male vocal sounded a bit more "open" on the Focal, but also a bit less natural. Slight preference for the Revel again.

I tried to ignore the bass for the most part, as it has more to do with position/room than the speakers, but man, those Focal bookshelves put out quite a lot of bass for such a smaller speaker.
The bass is incredible I got Focal Flax Evo speakers in my car and people always ask me if I installed a sub because the whole car shakes
 

Koeitje

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Eh, why? That's what's always recommended, unless you get oddball speakers like Dali which do recommend no toe-in or diffraction happy speakers (Revel's 2-ways like the M16, M105 and M106 or KEF's coaxials, in a lesser amount) that prefer a slight angle of ~10°.
You are recording from a listening position, you never don't put the mic on-axis with a speaker because then its more off-axis for the other speaker. In the case of toe-in, you toe-in the speakers not the mic. The mic has to be in the center. Unless you record two mono speakers separately and then combine them in the final mix.
 

q3cpma

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You are recording from a listening position, you never don't put the mic on-axis with a speaker because then its more off-axis for the other speaker. In the case of toe-in, you toe-in the speakers not the mic. The mic has to be in the center. Unless you record two mono speakers separately and then combine them in the final mix.
Oof, this was about mic angle, another misunderstanding of mine.
 

archerious

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2 great speakers that measured excellent, 1 by Audioholics and 1 by Erin, they both share the same type of tweeter but different presentation. Which one do you prefer soundwise? Im with the Focal on this one, especially with a sub.

Interesting comparison. Focal nails the appearance/looks.
 
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