Focal Sopra 1’s or Dynaudio Confidence C1’s?
A new pair of discontinued color Sopra 1’s are the same price as a used pair of Dynaudio C1 platinums.
Which would you choose and why? |
Having never owned Dynaudio speakers, I can only say that the pairs I've listened to at shows were always underwhelming. Especially their top-end monitors. Having owned a pair of the previous generation Focal 1008BeIIs, it remains the favorite of the monitor speakers I've had in my system. Having listened to the Sopra speakers at my nearest dealer, I've heard no reason to change my thinking. Also, the Sopra is more than twice as efficient & at 8ohm, a much easier speaker to drive than is the Dynaudio, making it friendly to a much wider range of amps (tube or solid-state). And, if you measure your high-end gear "by the pound" (not unreasonable), then the Sopra weighs close to twice what the Dyaudio weighs. Both have stunning build quality. But, would be Sopra for me.
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I have owned the Focal Sopra 1s for almost three years. Very happy and combined with or without a good subwoofer they sound fantastic. I have never heard Dynaudio speakers so can't make the comparison.
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Just to chime in a bit, I own Focal Sopra 3s and Dynaudio Contour 20s. Not an apples to apple comparison, but I have an idea of each brands sound signature. The Focals lean towards the more detailed end while the Dynaudios have a more relaxed feel, with the tweeter being slightly smoother. I don't feel either system is lacking and both would probably sound great for you. My advice would be listen to speakers as close as possible to those specific models if you can.
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Well, I'm going to respectfully offer a counterpoint to Glenn, and say that having owned Dynaudios (Contour S3.4s) for over a decade, I'll go on record stating that, IMHO, Dynaudio is one of the finest loudspeaker manufacturers in the world. Their drivers are all designed and manufactured in-house, and many other loudspeaker manufacturers have OEM sourced drivers from Dynaudio, not least of which were Wilson, EgglestonWorks, Vienna Acoustics, Totem and many others.
Dynaudios are consistently very neutral, but that does not mean they are cool or analytical; they are...accurate. They are also very easy to listen to for hours on end, they will never drive you out of the room, something I cannot say for some Focal speakers I've experienced. They also scale incredibly fast and you will never, ever hear a Dyn "break up" during scaling. The Dynaudio Esotar tweeters are regarded by many reviewers, owners and manufacturers as one of the finest tweeters ever made, and are a key differentiator for Dynaudio. As for the Confidence C1 Platinum, this is one of the finest standmount speakers ever made by anyone. They have superb accuracy, transparency, speed, neutrality, outstanding imaging and impressive bass and lower octave response for a standmount loudspeaker. While they are a (large) standmount, they have a performance envelope comparable to a floorstander. Also, and this should not be overlooked, is the post-sale support and service one can get from Dynaudio North America, evne if you are not the original purchaser. If you ever need a replacement part or driver, Dynaudio makes parts available for 10 years after a product is discontinued, and if you still need a part after that, because Dyn manufactures their own drivers, they will make a single driver for you. Just my 2¢, take it for what its worth, but if its a choice between a Confidence C1 Platinum and Focal, that's an easy one for me (and yes, I am biased from the 10+ years of very satisfying Dynaudio ownership! ;)). |
Are any of you using subs with your 1's or are you happy with the level of bass? I have the 1028be's now and am concerned I'll be taking a step backwards going to a set of bookshelfs (without introducing a sub into the mix). While I'm not a basshead by any means, I like it when it's there. :-)
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If you like your 1028s as much as I did my 1008s, then the Sopra would seem a natural progression (that is what I should have done).
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Had a chance to listen to the C1 Platinums, the new C20's and the Sopra 1's today at a local dealer. I did the Dyn's first, and thought they sounded good (the C20's only slightly better than the model they replaced). Then I had them put the Sopra 1's in and it validated that I am a bigger fan of the Focal house sound than I am the Dynaudio sound. I prefer the extra sparkle from the Sopra's that I don't think the Dyn's deliver. YMMV.
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Could not agree more. I've never heard a pair of Dyn's that I wanted to take home and have never listened to a pair of Focal's that did not 'light my fire'. Your 'extra sparkle' description is a good one.
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By the way my previous speakers were Wilson Sophia II’s and I have never regretted moving to the 1’s. |
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So, while I am confident there are many dedicated and satisfied Focal owners, the same is true of Dynaudio. Also, I think its important to acknowledge that one cannot get a truly accurate impression of any given speaker without taking the specific system into account, and most importantly, the room into the equation. The room, by far, has the biggest impact on how a pair of speakers will sound. This is because there is a functional interaction between the speaker and the room. And audio show hotel rooms are not the place to be making final decisions about speakers, either, IMHO. |
Indeed........ that is why Dynaudio and Focal (and all the other speaker vendors) are still in business. We all hear what we hear and, thankfully, it is different.
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Comparing the two house sounds, and solely within that context, Focal is leaner and more detailed. Dynaudio is thicker and warmer.
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I love both. I’ve had 4 pairs of Focal and two pairs of Dynaudio:
My speaker history goes: JMLab Electra 906 (sold) Dynaudio Contour S3.4 (sold) Dynaudio Confidence C1 (sold) Focal Micro Utopia Be (Office Speaker, had at same time as C1’s) (sold) Focal Scala Utopia V2’s Focal Diablo Utopia (purchased for apartment but now in storage) I’m currently using my Scalas. I love the sound of both Focal and Dynaudio, however Puma Cat is right about the bass. The C1’s have PLENTY where as the Focal standmount options need a sub. They’re both detailed but in different ways. The Scalas are the first ones I’ve owned that have enough bass and aren’t harsh with high frequency. The Electras and Micro Utopia Be were too harsh (Micro less so) but I didn’t find them great with ALL kinds of music like the C1’s were. I recently downsized and bought the Diablos because I thought the Scalas were too big for my LA apartment. The are great and improve on the past issues I had with leanness in the Focal stand mounts. I still missed the fullness of the Scalas and so brought them back out of storage and try not to play them too loudly. My black Diablos w/stands are in storage and I need to sell them as they’re just sitting. DM me if interested. I’m in LA. |
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I have Diablo Utopias in my listening room and C1s in my living room. FWIW, the Utopias integrate in my listening room better than the C1s did. I have a small listening room, but the bass coming from the Utopias is flatter, smoother, more tuneful, even deeper than the Dyns. I just played the 20th anniversary edition CD of Soundgarden's Superunknown, and the bass, while not chest-kicking, sounded deep and thunderous. I listened to the Micro Utopia BE years ago, and the treble was extremely detailed but fatiguing. I think Focal learned from that, and the Diablos have an extremely balanced presentation as a result. The Diablos are not lean at all, to me, though someone used to the Dynaudio sound will find them that way. They're just cleaner. Comparing the tweeters, the Estoar2 definitely is sweeter, while the Be tweeter is clean, slightly thinner, but also much more transparent. There's more sparkle. Cymbal taps are mesmerizing. Someone going from the house Dyn sound to the Focal sound will experience somewhat of a shock because they've gotten to warm, thicker presentation and are going to a more transparent and cleaner one. In comparison, the C1 is actually more forward, the Diablo more laid back, as a result. And the Diablo midrange is notches better than the C1. Like Windex to a window. This is my personal experience, so YMMV. And something happened over the past few days that felt strange enough for me to post about it. Over those days, the Diablos seemed to lose sensitivity, about 1.5 dB, or 1-2 clicks on the on the volume of my preamp. But after that, everything coming from the speakers exploded, like they've fully broken in, while I'm back to my normal/usual gain on my preamp. |
I'm assuming that you're considering the Sopra 1 because of a downsize in listening room size? If not, I doubt if you'll notice an upgrade in sound quality over your 1028be's. In fact, I'd consider it to be a downgrade, especially without a good powered subwoofer. I'm running my 1028be's in a fairly large and open room and use an REL sub to get the more substantial bass output that I want. The 1028's alone are no slouch when it comes to accurate bass output, but the whole system sounds bigger and less strained with my sub.
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