Focal SOPRA N° 2 2018 - Glossy Black

FOCAL SOPRA N°2 - 3 WAY FLOOR-STANDING SPEAKERS

Sopra N°2 clearly inaugurates a new era for the“Premium High End” by taking into account new performance criteria. Compact, modern, a pure design, character... all these are essential factors to ensure perfect integration into your interior.

Equipped with best midrange drivers ever developed by Focal, with the NIC and TMD technologies, Sopra n°2 pushes back the limits of sound reproduction in terms of transparency in a very compact enclosure. Indeed, unlike Utopia, which is extravagant by essence and where size is by no means a constraint, Sopra aims for maximal compactness to ensure easy integration into reasonably sized rooms. 

The Best High-End Loudspeaker of the Year

Sopra N°2 has been elected Best Product 2015-2016 by EISA in the "High-EndLoudspeaker" category!

The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) is a major event where the most prominent European journalists of specialized audio and video magazines gather to reward the most innovative and the best products in each category (Home Theatre Audio, In-Car Electronics, Photography, Home Theatre Display & Video…).

The well-informed jury composed of 50 of the most influential European journalists in the field. 

NIC
NEUTRAL INDUCTANCE CIRCUIT

Stabilizing the magnetic field

Since the beginning, we have always had a great interest in the magneticcircuit, an essential aspect of a speaker drive unit. The precision anddetail of audio reproduction depends on the stability of the magneticfield.

After having pushed back the limits in electromagnetic technology withthe Grande Utopia EM and the Stella Utopia EM, our engineer discovered that themagnetic field varies regardless of its intensity. Indeed, it is not stablebecause it is modulated by three factors: the movement of the voice coil(Lenz's law), the current passing through it (Foucault current) and thefrequency. Consequently, the voice coil, the moving part, is in the magnetic fieldwhich becomes too variable, and this leads to loss of precision.

The NIC technology lies in a Faraday ring whose dimensions,materials and positioning we were able to optimize to make the magnetic fieldbe no longer affected by the position of the voice coil, by the amperage or thefrequency of the current passing through it. This solution permits to controlthe magnetic field to decrease the effects of distortion and give the sound a veryhigh-definition and an unprecedented dynamic. 

TMD
TUNED MASS DAMPER

The obsession with the midrange

The midrange register is no doubt the most complicated to control in asound system.

Thanks to the power of finite element analysis, our teams have revealedresonances which alter definition in the suspension which connects the cone tothe basket

The solutions already known for increasing the damping properties of thesuspension all result in an increase of the mass which consequently altersdefinition. The answer came from a technology used in earthquake-resistantskyscrapers and which is also used for the suspension on racing cars. Thistechnology is called a "Tuned Mass Damper": an additional massoscillates in opposition to the resonance frequency to control it.

Our Tuned Mass Damper consists in simply two tubular rings on thesuspension to avoid deformation of the cone without afflicting the dynamics. It reduces drastically the distortion and increases the definition. This innovation is patented. 

IHL
INFINITE HORN LOADING

Getting the most out of the Beryllium tweeter

Our Beryllium tweeter features an incredibly light and extremely rigiddome, that deliver a transparent and dynamic sound. Its main limitation comesfrom the compression of air in the cavity behind it, that create interferencewith the incredible definition. To overcome this, the ideal would be to have anearly infinite volume. But the requirement for Sopra to be compact meant thatas much of the cabinet as possible had to be used for the bass. We had toexplore other options for loading the tweeter, which led us to come up with the IHL system.

The rear of the Beryllium tweeter is loaded via a small cavity which isconnected to the exterior of the enclosure by a horn. whom inside is filledwith a damping material. Sound waves from the rear of the tweeter aredelicately and gradually absorbed. Its acoustic impedance approaches zero sothat no resistance alters the movement of the dome. This reduces distortion by30% and pushes definition to its maximum. Thissystem is patented. 

BEYOND AESTHETICS
AND SHAPE

The Sopra line is destined for the most passionate sound enthusiasts.Its design favors performance, whilst bringing together the qualities expectedof an object which will be integrated into very elegant interiors and décors.Lacquered or bloodwood finishes are associated to noble materials to create anelegant line. Substantial efforts were made to give the front a tidy appearance,particularly around the speaker drivers, to iron out any aspects which couldafflict the acoustics or the appearance.

What’s more, the cabinet’s Gamma Structure with a 69mm front panelprovides remarkable inertia considering such a size. Weighing 120 lbs (55kg),Sopra n°2 is by no means envious of its larger competitors... Thus weight andcompactness are well balanced to provide impressive density and articulation.

This remarkable control of the bass makes Sopra n°2 even easier tointegrate. It is perfectly at ease in rooms measuring up to 320ft2 (30m2),and is even ideal for larger rooms measuring up to 750ft2 (70m2). 

MADE IN FRANCE

Cabinets manufactured in Burgundy

Sopra's cabinetsare designed in our cabinet-making facility in Bourbon-Lancy using the samemanufacturing process as for Utopia.

Speaker drivers and tweeters made in Saint-Etienne

All Sopra'sspeaker drivers are manufactured in France for an optimal products control andthe guarantee of a unique sound quality.

Assembling and quality control

The finalassembly of all our hi-fi loudspeakers is done at Focal to ensure a betterquality control.  

TECH SPECS

Type: 3-waybass-reflex
Drivers: 2 x 18cm 'W' bass
Midrange Drive: 16.5cm 'W'
Midrange: TMD Suspension
Motor: Neutral Inductance Circuit
Tweeter: 1" IHL inverted dome
Tweeter Material: Beryllium
Freq resp: (+/- 3dB) 34Hz - 40kHz
Low freq point: (- 6dB) 28Hz
Sensitivity: (2.83V/1m) 91dB
Nominal impedance: 8 Ohms
Minimum impedance: 3.1 Ohms
Crossover freq: 250Hz / 2 200Hz
Recm amp power: 40 - 300W
Dimensions (HWD): 1190 x 358 x 540mm
Weight: 55 Kg